I Know My Name is C.J. Cooke's impressive thriller in which two narrators are employed. Eloise describes her ordeal on the small Greek island where she finds herself with absolutely no memories of how she got there or her life. Meanwhile, via alternating chapters, her husband, Lochlan, describes her sudden disappearance, his frantic attempts to discover her whereabouts and why she suddenly abandoned their home and young children, and his dealings with Eloise's grandparents who raised her. Lochlan also divulges secrets he kept from Eloise and the strains in their marriage that may or may not have contributed to her departure. Eloise struggles to remember who she is and, as bits and pieces of her memory gradually return to her, survive. As the pace of the two narratives steadily escalates until they merge, answers are revealed, and new questions about the future emerge. Cooke has constructed a taut, evenly-paced thriller that is full of plot twists, turns, and surprises, all of which lead to an emotionally satisfying conclusion.

RATING: 2.5 STARS
(Review Not on Blog)

I did finish this novel, so one star for that, and the writing and plot idea wasn't too bad (so 1.5 stars more). I found this book slow, odd characters and hard to follow. I don't think I would try another book by the author.

***I received an eARC from NETGALLEY***

I Know My Name is the debut novel of C.J. Cooke. And I have a copy to giveaway to one lucky reader!

The book opens in 2015. A woman is washed up on an isolated Greek island. She has no idea who she is or what she was doing when her boat wrecked on the island's rocky shore. And in England a man is frantic - his wife has gone missing, leaving her two small children behind.

The reader is privy to more than either lead character. We know what is happening in the England investigation. And what is happening on Kommeno Island. The island is not completely deserted, as we discover that there are four other people on the island. Their behavior is odd and they seem determined to keep our unnamed woman with them. "The only way to get off this island is to remember."

I always enjoy a back and forth narrative - it's guaranteed to keep me reading later than I had planned. Cooke inserts a third narrative about a quarter of the way into the book. It is set in 1983 - and explains much. With that information, I had a strong inkling as to how the two 2015 narratives would connect. I was partially right, but Cooke throws in a twist at the end.

I found myself drawn more to the London search than the time on the island. Perhaps because there were numerous characters and more happening. I found the island scenes and dialogue very off kilter with it's decidedly strange inhabitants. Things did make more sense in the run up to the final answer. That ending goes on a bit longer than I would have preferred. Now, being deliberately oblique - Cooke uses those last chapters to 'educate' the reader. While I appreciate this, it was more than I wanted as the pieces had already been put together. Warning to gentle readers - there are some disturbing elements to this tal

After a woman rushes ashore with no memory of who she is, where she is from, or how she got to this tiny island, she soon realizes that the people that rescued her may hold the key to her existence, and her survival. I Know My Name by C.J. Cooke is an interesting, yet flawed, novel that has good intentions and a perplexing story, but it needs some tweaking before I give it a better rating.

As we watch this woman, who we come to know as Eloise, try and remember who she is, the story jumps back and forth between her on the island, and her husband who is in London searching for her. Even though the multiple perspectives give a great inference into what is going on in this book, the constant jumping back and forth really gives you some whip lash. 

Learning about Eloise, the people on the island, and Eloise's husband was very intriguing. The characters in this story were all so unique, and their stories were interesting, just the fact that this story couldn't sit still for more than a few pages really bothered me. 

All in all, I give this book 3 out of 5 stars, if it had some reworking done to it, I could seat even being a 4 star novel.

Though I liked the book, I made the decision at the time I finished not to review it on my site. Maybe in the future I will include it in a book list post or another article.

This book while interesting topic felt like it needed more work. The beginning it jumped around everywhere and nothing much made sense. It didn't take too long to figure out what was wrong with her but figuring that out was the only thing that made it make sense. I did however love the multiple personalities manifesting as hallucinations as people on the island with her. Parts of this book were great but parts could have been done better.

No memory, washed ashore on a Greek island and no way to leave. Eloise starts to investigate the how and why she is there. Meanwhile her husband, in London is looking for her. The investigation puts live and evrything they thought they knew in danger. This is a different kind of thriller

This book was a bit challenging for me, it had some intense parts to it and anyone uncomfortable with trauma and mental illness should be advised. That said, this book captured my attention and kept me turning page after page. I felt drawn into the life of these characters and I became emotionally invested in their story. It was a bit hard to read through the first few chapters, once the book got going and things started to come together a little more clearly, I was hooked and couldn't stop reading until the last page! Great psychological thriller!

Washed up on shore with nothing but scrapes and bruises only to discover that the island is as deserted as her memory. The main character is rescued by 4 other people who happen to be on the vacant island for a writer's retreat. As she struggles to remember anything about herself, even her own name, she also struggles to survive as not everyone on the island is as helpful as they intially seemed.

The story does get very deep as well as jump around a lot from past to present as well as between characters. Mostly between Eloise and Lochlan, her husband who is desperate to find her-alive. Although a time or two it moves into Gerda's, Eloise's grandmother's, narrative. Once I read past the first two-thirds of the book, then it became very hard to put down as everything begins to come together quickly. The last 10% or so is very detail heavy and focused on mental illness which I appreciated, however, it is a big change in tone of the story as it begins to feel more like a lecture on mental illness rather than a work of fiction. On the other hand, it does wrap up the story in a warm manner.

My favorite character was Max. He seemed to portray the polar opposite of what Eloise's childhood was as well as the "red rope" that tethered Eloise to her own self. He was so pure, so hopeful, so precious.

The only thing that I felt took away from the story was the red herring that brought forward a side of Lochlan that wasn't really necessary. It was almost a red herring and a half as it is in regards to two side characters that I felt were pretty weak.

I would recommend this book for readers who enjoy psychological thrillers. I would also recommend this book for readers who are fascinated by mental illness.

Conversely, I would not recommend this book for readers who my be sensitive or triggered by: mental illness, drug abuse, sexual abuse, child abuse, sexual abuse to children, rape, violence, self-harm, parental abandonment, cyber invasions of privacy, and infidelity.

A woman awakens on a Greek island with no idea of who she is, where she's from, what she was doing to end up on the island, or anything about her life and who may be looking for her. Meanwhile, in London, a husband frantically searches for his wife. She is the mother of their two young children, and she suddenly vanished one day.

The story is told from two points of view, the husband in London and the woman on the Greek island. There were a few flashback chapters that helped fill in the backstory.

An easy read with well-developed characters. Good for fans of psychological thrillers, especially ones that involve amnesia and/or a missing wife.

I am such a sucker for a mystery/thriller with a missing wife. Gone Girl started the trend and, now, I cannot help but add a book to that similar thread to my TBR pile. I Know My Name, the debut novel by CJ Cooke, had just that element.

Lochlan’s wife, Eloise, is missing. She disappeared from their home leaving her phone, her wallet and her children behind. Meanwhile, a woman washes up on a Greek island without any knowledge of who she is or how she got there. Told in a back and forth narration, these two tales weave together making quite the digestible read. In fact, I sat down to read a few pages and was finished within a few hours.

Cooke’s tale is not only beautifully written but incredibly entertaining. It becomes quite clear within the first few chapters that the missing woman and the woman on the island are one in the same but Cooke still had me on the edge of my seat wondering how she got there and how Lochlan would discover her whereabouts.

My only complaint in the novel came from sections of narration. There were a few moments where I found the style to be incredibly confusing. Told mostly through the eyes of the woman on the island and Lochlan, as he desperately searches for his wife, there ended up being some random chapters narrated from Eloise’s grandmother’s point of view and also a few chapters from the past which felt a little bit random. These had me flipping back and forth trying to re-orient myself in the text.

The final twist nearing the end I did find interesting and quite fitting for a novel of psychological suspense. Overall, I felt like it was a solid crime read that readers who are looking for a softer bit of crime fiction will enjoy.

"Light creeps in through the cracks caused by tumbling through the hard spaces of life. But it's love that lets the light back out of us, moving inward and outward at the same time, dissolving the thresholds between past and present, between each other."

A nearly drowned woman washes up on the remote and derelict Kommeno Island -- 8.4 miles northwest of Crete. In Potters Lane, Twickenham, London, 37-year-old Eloise Shelley has vanished from her charming Edwardian semi. She left behind her four-year-old son, Max, and newborn daughter, Cressida, as well as her husband, Lochlan. What follows is an incredibly complex narrative told in alternating points of view with occasional shifts between 2015 and dates from 1983.

NO SPOILERS. This is a remarkable novel unlike any I've read previously because of the many nuances and details leading to an incredible revelation. Yes, it's sort of a mystery, but it's more than labeling it a psychological thriller as well. It's really a case study more than anything, and one that I won't soon forget. Nothing like I was anticipating when I read the blurb thinking that I knew all about where this was going to go being a fan of this genre and all. I don't want to put this in a category. The writing was incredible and the story horrific and heartbreaking.

I could go on and on in this review, but I don't want to ruin it for any reader. This book would be great for a club discussion for sure, but it also begs a lot of questions that each of us will ponder, turning and assessing in our own minds. Is it realistic to think this could happen? I'm a skeptic at heart, but I was quite moved by the struggle and the outcome experienced by the characters -- all very vividly depicted and so three-dimensional.

Just get a copy and read it and I'd love to know what you think of it all. I could not put it aside as I kept coming back to the situations and just had to know the truth once and for all. Sure I had some clues and was pretty sure I had figured out where it was going, but the author was so skillful that I wasn't quite sure how it would all end. The conclusion was fitting and satifying for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an e-book ARC of this to read and review.

My review can be seen at RT Book Reviews

I loved this psychological thriller! This book had me turning pages up through the night as fast as possible! I highly recommend this book!😄

Fabulous book. Thoroughly loved. Highly recommend!

With alternating chapters, this thriller keeps the reader guessing from the beginning to nearly the end with many questions that get answered in the last few chapters.

A woman washes up on shore in Greece and is rescued by four people. With not knowing her name they can't help her find out where she belongs. In London a husband comes home from a work trip because the neighbor reports his wife missing and his two young children left home alone.

It is hard to talk about this book without giving major spoilers so this review will be somewhat vague and quick. I thought this one was interesting solely because I couldn't for the life of me figure anything out. Being an avid reader, I can guess the ins and outs of a book sometimes too quickly, but this one kept me wondering for the longest time.

The sole plot point of this book and the thing that connects the story didn't completely work for me. I just didn't like it. Its hard to say more because I really don't want to spoil a thing.

The writing was fantastic and I loved that there were two stories and the reader had to find how they connected; I was just disappointed by what that connection ended up being.

I think I would read another book by this author, but I would definitely have to check the synopsis and would maybe even check a few reviews before diving in.

Thanks to Grand Central Pub for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for my honest review!

A missing wife in London, a mystery woman found on a remote Greek island, and secrets between spouses. I KNOW MY NAME by CJ Cooke is a solid thriller debut! With similar elements that we all know and love in the thriller genre with a fitting end for a psychological suspense novel.

When Eloise goes missing, Lochland's world is turned upside down. He receives a call from his neighbor that his children (toddler and newborn) are home alone with their mother nowhere to be found. Her phone and wallet are left behind - where is Eloise? Meanwhile, a woman washes up on shore of a remote Greek island. She has no memory of who she is or how she ended up there.

This book instantly pulls you in. You quickly learn that Eloise is the mystery woman on the island - so no spoiler there! What happened to Eloise and how did she end up in Greece? The book bounces between different perspectives - mainly between Lochland and the woman on the island. We had a couple random chapters from other perspectives that helped tell a little bit about the woman's past. I do agree with my buddy readers, Chandra and Sam, this had me a little confused. The fluidity was broken up here, but otherwise this was a solid debut.

The ending had a great twist and I think it was incredibly fitting for the psychological thriller genre! I will definitely be looking for more from Cooke in the future. She can tell a story and I really enjoyed the writing in this one. If you want a good psychological thriller to get sucked into, then you'll have to pick up I KNOW MY NAME!

I give this 3/5 stars!

I Know My Name by C.J. Cooke is one of those books that instantly, from the very first page makes me curious and engrossed. I'm really impressed with the fact that this is C.J. Cooke's first book. The writing pulls you in and to be honest, I had some serious problems with closing the book, despite the fact that I needed to get up early and the time just disappeared while I was reading the book.

The story shifts focus between Lochlan who discovers that his wife has gone missing without a trace, and a woman that is washed up on the shore of a remote Greek island with amnesia. This seems like a straightforward story, but is it really so? Without giving away too much, did I as the story progressed suspect how it would turn out, and yeah, I was on the right track. However, that only made the story more interesting to read, to see if I was right. I was also thrilled to read a book where the husband wasn't treated as a suspect from the very first minute. I could clearly picture how he would have to get on the run to find his wife to prove that he was innocent, but that never happened and that made me very glad.

I also found the ending to be very satisfying, and once again I face the trouble of trying to explain why without giving the story away. It's just that it could have ended more abrupt when Lochlan learns the truth, etc. However, the epilogue gives a more satisfying ending.

All and all is this a great book and I can't wait to read more books by C.J. Cooke.