This book was a too slow for me. I liked the premise of it and the story kept me interested but I found myself getting bored easily so I stopped about 35%. The author does a great job in making the characters very relatable and communicating just how relationships need to be nurtured if you don’t want to grow apart.

I will definitely read more by Strawser.

I would like to thank NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

The beginning of this book hooked me right away but after that it didn't keep my attention as I thought it would. It's not really a thriller--but more of a look at what can happen between friendships over the years. The book is about close friends Molly and Liza. Molly gets married and Liza moves away and as time passes their friendship changes and neither of them is happy about it. They try to get the friendship back on track and plan a video chat so they can reconnect. But when Molly leaves the video chat to go check on one of her kids, Liza sees an intruder enter Molly's house. He closes the computer screen, to Liza's dismay. She tries to contact Molly to make sure she's ok but the response she gets from Molly doesn't make any sense. She's so upset that she drives all night to check on Molly and things just get worse from there. Everyone has secrets...but the problem is that none of them are that compelling.

I really thought the book was going to be more of a thriller rather than a drama that focuses on the personal issues the characters were dealing with, but that wasn't the case and I was a bit disappointed. The masked man scenario almost seemed like it was added to the beginning of the book after the whole thing was written just so there was some sort of compelling way to get readers into the book. But it just didn't work for me.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

3.5 stars

Read this last year, but for some reason I missed reviewing this one.

This is one of those books that I think will affect people differently. I didn’t have any problems with the writing style or even the characters, (only criticism would be that they were a bit cookie cutter) it was really the plot premise that had first intrigued me, then fell apart by the end.

The plausibility of this ever happening IRL as it does on paper is was made this hard for me to become invested in the how and why of it all. But that’s just my take...others have had a much different response and perspective than what I walked away with.

I’m still a fan!

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley

This book was good but different than what I exoected, I thought it was going to be more of a thriller than a drama. It was however a good read.The characters were well developed and the writing was done in a manner that kept the reader interested.

I tried to give this book a fair shot, but I couldn't get into the story. It wasn't my cup of tea and ended up not finishing this.

How well do you really know the people that you are closest to? Forget You Know Me will have you questioning that for long after you finish the last page. Jessica Strawser created this engrossing thriller with complex characters and a juicy storyline that is impossible to put down.

I found this to be an enjoyable book. Not as much suspense as I usually enjoy in a book, but as a slow read I would recommend it.

Molly and Liza have always been enviably close. Even after Molly married Daniel, the couple considered Liza an honorary family member. But after Liza moved away, things grew more strained than anyone wanted to admit―in the friendship and the marriage.

When Daniel goes away on business, Molly and Liza plan to reconnect with a nice long video chat after the kids are in bed. But then Molly leaves the room to check on a crying child.

What Liza sees next will change everything.

Only one thing is certain: Molly needs her. Liza drives all night to be at Molly’s side―but when she arrives, the reception is icy, leaving Liza baffled and hurt. She knows there’s no denying what she saw.

Or is there?

In disbelief that their friendship could really be over, Liza is unaware she’s about to have a near miss of her own.

And Molly, refusing to deal with what’s happened, won’t turn to Daniel, either.

But none of them can go on pretending. Not after this.

My Thoughts: The twists and turns of Forget You Know Me kept me fully engaged throughout, although it would take a while to sort out events. To figure out what, if anything, was left of the relationships between friends and between husband and wife.

Alternating narratives take us through the story, and I couldn’t help but be more drawn to Liza and her situation. Her friend Molly, who had done something truly confusing on the strange night of the video chat, seemed flaky and a little unreliable. What was really going on with her, and would she confess to her old friend, or even her husband, about what was happening?

Many events felt a little too unbelievable, but I did keep reading, because I was curious and wanted to know the meaning of it all. There were explanations by the characters at the end, leaving me with some hope for them all. 4 stars.

***My e-ARC came from the publisher via NetGalley.

I had previously read "Almost Missed You" by Jessica Strawser and it broke my heart! I was hoping this latest novel could evoke such intensity of emotion and it came very close even if nothing here drove me to tears. Molly and Liza were the best of friends, and although they tried to remain that way after Liza moved, the distance between them made it impossible. Meanwhile Molly has been suffering debilitating pain, and she and her husband have drifted apart. When Liza and Molly try to rekindle their friendship over a video chat Liza witnesses something she wasn't meant to see. Fearing for Molly and her children Liza drives all night to get to her, and is treated as an unwelcome and unwanted nuisance when she arrives. She is shocked when Molly turns her away. but there's an even bigger shock waiting for Liza when she gets home, and there is just no telling if their friendship or Molly's marriage will survive

Thank you to St.Martin's Press and Netgalley for a copy of the eARC in exchange for fair review.


Liza and Molly have finally sat down to a skype call and too catch up. When Molly steps away for a minute to take care of one her children. Liza is shocked when sees something on the video. Then everything descends into chaos as they all try to figure out the next steps to fixing their lives.


So this is like super vague, but after kind of looking at the synopsis I just didn't want to give anything away. Which I kind of always say so just count on me to so vague you can't stand it, but hopefully it pulls you in and makes you want to read this. I am not always sure how to feel after I read a novel by Jessica. This is my 3rd one and I think I have always felt the same way when I am done. I often go into the story expecting one thing and it turns out completely different from what I thought it would be.


This was true of this novel as well. I was thinking more of a mystery but it wasn't really that. It was so much and something different. Deeper and that is true of the other two books I have read by this author. For me it doesn't translate into something bad, although I can always get why others rate it lower. One thing that always strikes me is the characters are completely relatable.They are just regular people who sometimes make stupid or horrible choices, or make great choices and that is what appeals to me about her stories. It is something that could happen to you or to someone you know. In the ordinary we find the extraordinary.

My first novel by Strawser, and definitely will not be my last. I love her characters. I loved the character of Lisa. Thank you to Net Galley.

Although I did not love this book as much as other books by this author it was still a really good book and I am glad that I requested it. She is an excellent author who writes a very complex story and always brings it all together in the end with a very unique twist. Was able to read this in a day. Enjoy the book !

Although I expected this book to be more of a thriller because of the blurb from the publisher, I still was not disappointed when I read it. It starts with a huge bang in that Liza is in Chicago, trying to touch base with her best friend in Cincinnati via a video call, when she sees an intruder come into Molly’s house. She can’t get in touch with Molly again, so concerned for Molly’s safety, Liza rushes to find out what happened. Molly denied that the event ever occurred and therein lies the mystery, not the thrill. I was definitely drawn to keep reading to find out why Molly would lie and who the masked intruder was. The book is not really about the masked man, however. It is about how people grow away from each other as they mature: spouses, siblings, and friends. The pace was slow and methodical as the author revealed what was happening in each of the main character’s lives. I was not able to identify with any of the characters, but I found Liza to be the most likable since she was willing to rush to her friend’s rescue and upend her life to try to help Molly. All of the characters were flawed and needy, so none drew a lot of sympathy from me since their problems were of their own making. I enjoyed the book and think readers of domestic suspense will like it, also, but I must say readers need to be prepared to stay the course because the book is definitely worth finishing.

I wanted to like this, but I just could not get into it. It started off exciting, but just lost speed, in my opinion. I only got to 46 percent, and I just can't get further. I will not be reviewing this anywhere else except here, since I could not finish. 3 stars simply because the author clearly can write well, which I appreciate, even if I didn't enjoy the book.

A wonderful plot with great characters, but I felt like I was plodding through it. Could have been half the length, and a little more zippy. The beginning started with such a bang, and the plot progressed nicely though. Solid 3 stars from me.

Liza and Molly were the best of friends- almost sisters- until Molly marries Daniel. But as their friendship starts to fizzle, the girls attempt to rebuild what they once had through long-distance Skype calls. But one night, their regular catch-up is suddenly interrupted by an masked intruder when Molly steps away from her laptop.

I was immediately drawn into the novel as a suspenseful mystery with a focus on female friendships. With emotions running high and distrustful characters abound, "Forget You Know Me" starts off really strong. And though the action slows considerably in the middle, the spark is back for the last few chapters.

It's a shame that the novel is being marketed as a thriller because that's not really what it is at all. If I had known going into it that it would focus more on marriage, children and relationships, I think I would have enjoyed it more.

Well written and easy to read ,this book has a lot to offer. Suspense, a little bit of thriller and a lot of back and forth between a husband and wife and the work it takes to make a marriage last. Secrets abound in this story and I really enjoyed reading.

I will start off by saying I requested this book because I thought it was a thriller. It isn't. the beginning starts off as a thriller and hooks you but the book really turns into a book about relationships and the extent we will go to hide our lies.

I liked this book. It was a 3 star for me. I liked it but it isn't a book I will rave about over the years.

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the free review copy. I also won a physical copy of this book from @goodreads.

Jessica Strawser has created an engrossing read in Forget You Know Me. Look forward to more from this author!

This book is about relationships, friendships, and the realities of adulthood. Despite an amazing "thriller" opening chapter, the rest of the book is a slow burn and is not in the thriller genre, with a few suspenseful moments. Molly and Liza are childhood friends who have drifted apart over the years. I don’t want to give away plot details, but know that the opening incident changes both of their lives, and drives the rest of the book.

This book devotes a lot of time to character development and makes me think about what it takes to keep a friendship going as well as sustaining a marriage. There are also plotlines about keeping secrets, the lengths we go to keep them, and how it can eat away at your well-being.

Liza has moved away from home to make her way in the big city of Chicago and I completely related to her sense of failure to coming home again and that feeling of not being able to make it a new city. It’s the pull of the familiarity of home versus being successful.

I think this would make an interesting book club book and lead to some interesting discussions!

*will update my Goodreads review to the full review close to publication date