Psychological thriller with a twist!

After crashing her boat on a remote Greek island, an unnamed woman is rescued by four writers who are on a retreat. The woman can’t remember her name, where she is from, or any details of her life. As she recovers from her accident, she struggles to remember who she is. While she can’t remember anything, what she can recognize is that the four writers who have rescued her aren’t who they seem. Her rescue eventually becomes a struggle for survival.

At the same time, in Twickenham, England, Lochlan Shelley recevies a phone call alerting him to his wife’s disappearance. Why would Eloise, seemingly perfect mother and perfect wife, just up and dissappear? Did someone abduct her or is there more to Lochlan than meets the eye?

This was a captivating and intriguing read. I’ve been reading a lot of formulaic thrillers latelty and this is anything but. I figured out the twist pretty early on, but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment. I would recommend to fans of psycholgical thrilers who are craving something different!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I was hooked by Lochlan’s side of the story right away, while the island story left me wondering how in the world the two stories would ever be woven together. Never fear, it does happen, but not in a way I would have predicted. A complex psychological read that ends with a strong hopeful outlook.

While compulsively readable (read it in just ONE day!), this story started to lose me around 50%. While an interesting premise, I started to form some theories at the halfway point and for once in my life, THEY WERE CORRECT! Now, why is this significant?!? Cause I never figure these things out!! I’m someone who loves a great twist, so the predictability was the downfall for me, however, for someone who doesn’t figure it out, this could be a bigger win. I don’t want to say much more because the surprise factor is essential here, so give it a try for yourself and see what you think!

Wow what a sizzling and intense psychological thriller that C.J Cooke serves on a platter ;).

A woman wakes up on a beach in the beautiful island of Kommeno Greek. This woman has no idea how she landed on this island or where she came from. She is nameless and in a vulnerable state. A small damaged sailboat lies next to her washed on shore. Luckily, this mysterious woman comes across 4 fellow islanders that take her in as their own and nurse her back to health.

Meanwhile, Lochlan Shelley who is living in a beautiful area of London gets a frightening phone call while at work from his neighbor about his wife Eloise missing from their home. Lochlan's neighbor explains that Eloise is no where to be seen and their two children Max and infant Cressinda are alone in the house. Eloise's disappearance hits like a tornado and Lochlan's world comes crashing down. Eloise's keys, purse, car, and personal documents are left at the home... but she is no where to be found.

Lochlan calls in Eloise's grandparents Gerda and Magnus to help him with the children. Soon, the investigation takes off into finding Eloise but the investigation takes a dark turn when Eloise and Lochlan's marriage isn't what it appears to be.

Back on the island of Kommeno, this mysterious women is being taken care of by the fellow islanders but tension quickly begins to unravel between the the five of them. Each of the four fellow islanders appears to be hiding something that may help this woman find out who she really is.

C.J Cooke delivers a very engaging thriller that has plenty of twists and turns! Cooke takes off with the characterization and this is one of the strongest aspects to the story. What I truly loved about this novel was the deep psychological aspect. Cooke takes you brilliantly down another whole rabbit hole my friends. But, this habit hole is somewhere you definitely want to go! Can, I just say now THIS is what you call an ending. I loved how the author tied the title to the ending of the book.

4 strong stars!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for an advanced arc. This was based on my honest review.
Publication date is 1/16/18.

A really good thriller! Where is Eloise? Why did she leave her very young kids? Who is the woman who has washed up on the shore of a Greek Island? Why can't she leave? There are lots of questions posed early on in this well plotted novel. The classic theme of secrets and lies expands here into an examination of what we know about each other and how our past affects our present. The characters= Eloise and her husband Lochlan in particular- are sympathetic even when they might not be. It's hard to review this without spoiling it. There aren't that many twists but it's one that makes you think. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Let me start off by saying I had high expectations for this psychological thriller. Told from multiple perspectives over a period of time keeping track of every day from the time Eloise goes missing. You think on the surface that their marriage is perfect. But, Eloise’s disappearance makes her husband, Lochlan, realize he didn’t know his wife at all. She suffered many years of abuse and hid it not only from him, but herself. She didn’t face her demons. Beautifully written, making each character feel so real and giving the different POV of each. While in my book it wasn’t a “thriller”, since there was no gasping moment that kept me on my toes waiting to see what happens, it is a psychological book. The writing really helps you get into Eloise’s mind and better understand what she’s going through and confuse you as well. The book battles mental illness and one that isn’t commonly spoken about (SPOILER: Multiple Personality Disorder). While it wasn’t a thriller in my opinion and left me slightly disappointed at that, I Know My Name was a fantastically written novel. Many ups and downs with some twists and turns.

Anyone who knows me knows the psychological thriller is one of my very favorite genres to read, and C.J. Cooke's I Know My Name is one of the better ones I've read lately. I'm not normally a big fan of plots involving amnesia, but something about the synopsis caught my attention and I decided to give it a chance anyway. I'm so very glad I did.

A woman is washed up on the shore of a remote Greek island and rescued by a group of friends on a writer's retreat. Unfortunately, she's unable to tell them who she is or where she came from. She has absolutely no memory of her past, and her rescuers are understandably at a loss as to how to help her. Of course I - being used to all the conveniences of modern technology - found myself wondering why they just didn't call or send an email to someone on the mainland, but it turns out part of the purpose of the retreat is to get away from all the distractions of everyday life, including things like telephones and computers and focus solely on their craft. So, our heroine agrees to stay a few days on the island until the next time someone comes to deliver food to the group.

Far away in London, Lochlan Shelley's work day is interrupted by a frantic call from his neighbor, who informs him that his wife has disappeared, leaving their three-year-old son and infant daughter unattended at home. Lochlan is understandably distressed by the news and rushes home in hopes of locating the missing Eloise, but none of her friends or neighbors have seen or heard from her. The police are called, but they don't seem able to turn up a single clue, and Lochlan grows increasingly more concerned for his wife's safety.

As days pass and the investigation seems to have come to a standstill, Lochlan begins to dig into Eloise's past, and it soon becomes clear that she has been keeping huge parts of her life a secret from him. What was her connection to a local writer's group, and why has she been seeing a mental health professional? The more he learns about his wife, the more Lochlan is forced to call everything about their marriage into question, and the more certain he becomes that Eloise is in terrible danger.

Right away, I figured out that Eloise Shelley and the unnamed woman in Greece were one and the same; in fact, I think Ms. Cooke expected readers to figure it out. The timelines match up perfectly, and certain clues are dropped that make it feel super obvious, but don't despair that the mystery has been solved too soon. The author is about to take you on a very twisty ride, and Eloise's identity is just the beginning.

I'm not someone who is usually frightened by these types of books, but I Know My Name managed to really creep me out on a few occasions. Ms. Cooke does a great job ramping up the suspense in tiny increments, and I found myself on the edge of my seat as I sped through the novel. There were several times I was sure something very bad was about to happen, but I was unable to predict where the threat was coming from.

As I stated above, amnesia plots usually don't work for me as I often find them too cheesy and hard to take seriously, but this wasn't at all the case here. We get to spend quite a lot of time in Eloise's head, and Ms. Cooke does a great job making her struggle to remember feel completely believable. Plus, the chapters from Lochlan's point of view fill in some of the missing pieces, and this helped me not feel totally confused.

My only quibble with the story has to do with the climax. Parts of it felt a little rushed, and this affected my ability to completely buy into a few key plot points. It's hard to explain what I mean without entering into spoiler territory, but Lochlan makes a couple of really important discoveries near the end of the book, and while I know he needed to make them, I wish Ms. Cooke hadn't made them seem so completely out of the blue. Still, the rest of the story was so excellent that I'm able to overlook the slight feeling of discontent the ending evoked and give I Know My Name a wholehearted recommendation.

Buy it at: A/BN/iB/K

There is more sizzling intensity in these pages than the actual Hades-like heat coming from the Sun's rays over the Greek island of Kommeno.

Kommeno, an uninhabited gem of nature northwest of Crete, opens its arms to a woman who has washed up on her shores. The small damaged sailboat rests in the sand alongside her. Barely alive, the woman crawls seeking shelter.......a nameless woman with no recognition of how she came upon these shores or, shockingly, who she is.

C.J. Cooke sweeps the storyline like a tidal wave in a completely different direction and location in the pages that follow. Lochlan Shelley, working for a corporate finance firm in Edinburgh, receives a phone call from a worried neighbor. Lochlan's wife, Eloise, and their two children reside in their home in Twickenham outside of London. Lochlan commutes back and forth for work.

The neighbor gives a rapid-fire rendition of what she came upon. The children, Max and newborn baby Cressida, have been abandoned. There is no sign of Eloise although her car is still in the driveway. Her handbag and keys remain in the house. The police are contacted and the search for Eloise hits the pavement. Having no parents in the picture, Eloise's grandparents, Gerda and Magnus, are called in to help with the children.

My jaw drops at the very thought that this is a debut novel in this genre from the author, C.J. Cooke. Cooke takes charge from the get-go leaving deeply embedded footprints in her character development. It's the weaving back and forth of these flawed individuals, who drive this storyline with such magnitude, that sets this story aflame. The quest for Eloise is met with such ferocity and that ferocity is met with secret landmines of which we readers could never imagine.

My only concern was the closing out of this nerve-driven storyline. Cooke wades deeply into the heavy, heavy weeds of psychological entanglements. It's quite the closure.......almost like getting hit in the head with a housebrick. But at the same time, this strange river manned by strange characters demands a strange conclusion. Be advised: it's a very, very worthy read.

I received a copy of I Know My Name through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Harper Collins (Grand Central Publishing) and to C.J. Cooke for the opportunity.

I Know My Name by C. J. Cooke is a psychological thriller that had my attention from the opening pages. A woman is rescued on a remote island when her boat crashed by a group of four writers on their annual retreat. With no memory of who she is or how she came to be on the island the woman wants nothing more than to contact the authorities and find her identity but there is no way to leave the island.

In the next chapter readers are introduced to Lochlan who gets a phone call that his wife is missing leaving their young children alone. With his world falling apart after that phone call Locklan is frantic to find out what happened to his wife, Eloise. With police and family called the search begins for the young mother who has left her young children and husband behind.

The point of view during the story switches mainly between our mystery woman on the island with whom we assume is the missing Eloise and her husband, Lochlan, who is frantic to find what happened to his wife. There are also chapters that take a reader back in time to learn of Eloise’s past intertwined within what is going on in the current story. Everything is very easy to follow along with all throughout the book when switching and flowed very well keeping me on the edge of my seat as I tried to piece together what the outcome would be.

I Know My Name is a debut novel for C. J. Cooke but I would never have been able to guess that fact. The story was very well done and pulled me in immediately with the tension building from the opening pages. The setting on the island was a wonderful one that I could clearly picture and the characters were very well developed. The ending is not necessarily a new one to those that read a lot of thrillers but it was done rather well and it really seemed the author did a lot of research to make it flow smoothly. Great read and I’ll definitely look forward for more to come from this author.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. Although some of the subject matter is emotionally tough, it’s a wonderfully written story. I was hooked from the very beginning.

The word fear has so many meaning. This book has so many fearful things that happen. One of the biggest fears of a parent, is losing control and harming your child. Would you leave your home, husband, children if you felt they were safer without You?
This book brings a lot of important issues to do with mental health. It is excellently written. It has in-depth information. Exceptional read.
5 Stars

I Know My Name by C.J. Cooke is a suspenseful and unusual amnesia mystery. A woman disappears. A woman turns up on a Greek island with no memory of who she is or how she got there. Are they the same woman?

Four friends on an annual writing retreat rescue a woman who washed ashore, but difficulties arise almost immediately. Contact with anyone off island becomes difficult; the group is stranded with limited supplies.

Meanwhile, back in London, Lochlan is frantic about his missing wife who left their toddler and infant daughter alone.

I Know My Name is not the stereotypical amnesia thriller, but is a clever psychological mystery with several unexpected twists. Not what I anticipated when I began reading, but all the better for it.

Read in November; blog review scheduled for Jan.

NetGalley/Grand Central Publishing

Psychological Suspense. Jan. 16, 2018. Print length: 384 pages.

A beautifully written novel about the disappearance of a woman who is found on the beach of a Greek island, she has no idea what has happened to her or how she got there.

The woman is Eloise Shelley, who is a mother of two young children. Her husband, Lochlan, panics when he discovers she is missing and has left all her belongings behind. He learns that he didn't know his wife as well as he had thought.

The story unfolds slowly and is compelling. I was easily swept away in the heartfelt search that went on for Eloise. We also hear Eloise's story as she struggles on the island to recall what has happened. Who are these people helping her on this remote island? Will they help her get home or are they conspiring against her?

I also enjoyed the setting of the island and could visualize all the sights and sounds. I really enjoyed the first person narrative. This debut author does such a wonderful job with characterization and I felt deeply for Eloise and her family.

The story is an interesting one, but the last third of the book fell short for me. It took a completely different direction than I expected. At this point, I figured out where the mystery was heading and the ending was just too far-reaching for me.

The way it wrapped up is what didn't work for me, but others have loved it.

I received a free electronic copy of I Know My Name by C.J. Cooke from NetGalley for my honest review.

This book is a very intense psychological thriller that sucks you in from the first chapter. A very deep read with lots of twists to it. A story a a happily married woman with two children who goes missing and leaves behind her husband and children. A very emotional book about childhood abuse and how it affects a person many years later and mental illness.

Eloise, wife and mother has disappeared from her London home. Her husband, Lochlan is desperate to find her…or is he? Despite telling the police his marriage was picture perfect, the reality is that is was anything but. Around the same time, a woman washes up on a beach in Greece. She has no idea of who she is or where she came from. Stranded on the remote island, she is forced to let a group of friends vacationing there take care of her. She senses that the group is holding something back. Could they know who she is? Could they have something to do with her memory loss and her appearance on the island? This story really had me flummoxed. Every time I though I knew what was happening, I turned out to be wrong. A satisfying, super twisted mystery