I have to admit, the premise of this book definitely grabbed my attention and I was so excited to learn I was approved to read and review this one! Many women in my book club group suggested this novel and so I thought I would give this new author a try. As a mother myself, I could not imagine knowing someone broke into my house without my knowledge while we were there. The suspense in this book was set at a great pace and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I recommend this book to those who enjoy reading the family suspense/drama genre.

I enjoyed this solid 3.5 star book, first time author for me.

Two friends, Liza is single & living in Chicago & Molly a married mom of 2 young children living in Cincinnati. Molly looks forward to their late night face time chats, she loves to hear about Liza's life, her dates & the guys she meets. Liza on the other hand is done with the crazy dating single life. One night while Molly's husband is away & Liza is waiting for Molly to return to their live chat, Liza sees something moving in Molly's house- an intruder! But the most surprising part is how Molly reacts to what Liza sees & how it is handled....

Not a thriller or a psychological thriller but a story of how a marriage can stop feeling special, how secrets are never a good thing & how friendship matters.


Good book!

Thank you Net Galley & St Marton's Press for this advance copy.

Molly and Liz were the best of friends who were video chatting one night while Daniel, Molly’s husband was out of town on business.
Molly had to go quickly check on the kids but left her call live. Liz witnessed a masked intruder in the house. They then cut the call off. Liz panicked and with a friend drove 10 hours to see if Molly was ok when repeated calls to her were left unanswered. Imagine her surprise when Molly didn’t believe her about the intruder and was cold to her and kicked her out of the house.
Their lives as friends and separately would never be the same. Would they ever find the intruder? Could Molly and Liza ever repair their friendship?

A great premise to this book! Less tension, more suspense. The development that the characters go through in the book was pleasing.

I definitley recommend this book for readers of literary fiction with a suspenseful plot and interesting characters.

"Forget You Know Me" was the first Jessica Strawser book I've read, and it began with a terrific premise: two friends are on a Skype type of call when one of them, Molly, takes a break to go check on a child upstairs, and her friend in another city, Liza, is still watching the computer screen when a man in a black mask enters Molly's home and slaps her computer closed as Liza yells at him. And as we love to say in fiction, Things Are Not What They Seem. While the set-up was great, I found the book was unable to sustain the momentum, and I found Molly an annoying character and Liza not much better, but then I have little patience with weak female characters. That said, Strawser's writing style is enjoyable, and she occasionally tosses in intriguing philosophical asides (""How long could you hinge a relationship on a history of what had been?" or "The person who wants less from the relationship holds the power"). The conclusion of the book wasn't very satisfying, but Strawser's elegant writing style was enough to make me want to try another of her books, because there's every possibility these characters just weren't for me.

Excellent novel! Pulls you in from the very beginning with the intruder and all that follows! I love how this story developed and I never once felt like I was reading anything that didn't pertain to that development. A lot of books in this genre tend to ramble about irrelevant things just as a sort of filler. This book is a great example of how life throws you twist after twist. Sometimes you jusy have to roll with the punches! Often you have everything the way you want it but other times...you feel like you have lost yourself somehow. Suprisingly, this book review came at a stressful/troubling trial in my life and helped guide me through. There is always hope and things always work themselves out! This book emphasizes on cherishing what you have even when things are going badly. This is not the first book I have read and loved by this artist! Check it out :)

I really enjoyed this book. I actually liked most of the characters and wanted to see what happened and how they worked out their problems.

This was an advanced reading copy from NETGALLEY and I am hoping some of the little things I didn’t like get corrected in the final copy. I felt some things needed a bit more insight and information to wrap up the story, but I don’t want to put that in my review and spoil it for anyone who hasn’t read it.

I was thinking this was a psychological thriller, but it is really more about secrets, friendships, and relationships. It is my first book by Jessica Strawser and she is a very good writer.

This book was well written and fluid to read; however the plot was not suspenseful and their seemed to be no goal to the book.

Interesting story line. The beginning really grabs you. Not quite the suspense type of story i was expecting but compelling story. Very complex characters. Would definitely read more by this author .

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for an advanced read in exchange for this review.

Liza and Molly have always been close, even through moves and marriage.  While video chatting one evening, Liza sees an intruder in Molly's house.  Liza panics, calls the police, and then the screen goes black.  When she finally reaches Molly, Molly is icy and reassures her that everything is fine...

I was expecting one type of story and was completely surprised in a good way what this turned into.  This book dives deep into the relationships that everyone has with each other.  Best friends, spouses, mothers, fathers - things are strained and people need to quit pretending.  I appreciated how this was not a typical thriller but a story with great character development and how relationships go through different phases.  A good and solid read.

“Forget You Know Me” by Jessica Strawser”

I picked this up as its description sounded like it would be a very interesting psychological thriller. It was an interesting read, did have a slight psychological thriller aspect to it, but mainly it was about two long term friends who have slowly grown apart, a marriage that was struggling, and the personal issues of all the main characters.

This was not a novel that I read straight through without stopping. In fact, I only read it in the evening before bed. Mainly because it held my attention for only an hour or so at a time. For me, the ending was rather anti climatic, although for many other readers this may not be the case.

As an avid reader and one who reads a variety of novels, a great many of which are thrillers, psychological mysteries or thrillers, and this just didn’t hold up to a good majority of them. This is a novel I would recommend for those who don’t often read this genre. You will appreciate this book.

The writing and storyline are clear, while some sections need a bit more expanding for full understanding. The characters have their positive and negatives and are generally well written.

For me, this novel is a 3 star read, yet please understand many would classify this as a four star read.

Rating: 3.4
⭐️⭐️⭐️


** I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is my first book by this author, but it won't be my last. What a page turner! This story between two best friends will keep you guessing right up til the very end. Highly recommend!

What an intriguing great premise! Childhood best friends Liza and Molly decide to catch up over a Skype call and some wine. But when Molly goes upstairs to check on her daughter, Liza sees a masked intruder enter her house. This one incident sets off a chain reaction of intriguing events that kept me guessing.

Guys, this is not a thriller, it is a domestic suspense novel, and as such there is less tension and suspense, and more character development and thoughtful themes. No, the plot doesn’t veer wildly from one plot point to the next, but you will get to know these intricately crafted characters and understand each of their motivations.

This book is about friendship, honesty and deception. It is emotionally complex and thoughtful. It asks if a debt can ever be paid and if forgiveness can ever entirely be given. With thoughtful themes and well-drawn characters, Forget You Know Me is a lovely book to read over a glass of wine and chat with your girlfriends about.

This book takes the classic BFFs-Growing-Apart and adds some twisty mystery. Liza and Molly live far apart, and are talking on Skype, when Liza sees an intruder in Molly's house. Exciting, right? What is happening? Why won't Molly return her calls? Liza, of course, panics, and drives with her maybe-gay friend Max to find out what's going on.

I couldn't buy into this one. I just couldn't, though I tried, and I really was curious about what was happening. But ultimately the characters lost me. I didn't like them much. The sister in law who snaps during stressful moments, the brother who is obliviously optimistic, the maybe-gay friend who talks to Liza like he's stepped out of a romance novel. Henry, the pilot, who apparently bakes cinnamon rolls for himself every morning... It just wasn't believable for me. I kept waiting for one of them to say, "Wait, seriously? You're a pilot, you travel all the time and yet, you bake cinnamon rolls every morning for one person? Like, you make the dough, let it rise, roll it out.....all of that? You know you can buy them in the pop cans, right?" When no one in the tale questioned these things, I found myself doing it for them, and they just...lost credibility I guess.

Solidly OK, if you can tamp down your disbelief and just ride the roller coaster.

The story line grabbed me right away. Two friends, Molly & Liza, are trying to return to their days of closeness with an online video chat, when Molly gets called away to tend to a child. While Liza waits for her to return, she sees an intruder enter the house. How can that not grab you?

Sadly, that was the best part of the book. The remaining story lines were interesting, but seemed pretty far fetched to me. Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

This was a first read for me by Jessica Strawser. I am looking forward to looking into some of her other novels even though I cannot say that I loved this one. The story line is well put together leaving no questions at the ending, but the characters were selfish, paranoid and psychotic and it made me dislike them. It took me a longer time than usual to get through this book. While I was reading it, I was into it, but the desire to continue reading it after I put it down just wasn't there.

Forget You Know Me is an excellent novel! I was racing though the pages to figure out all the little mysteries that were peppered through the novel. I very much enjoyed reading this one and am excited to grab a finished copy when the book is officially published in February! This is the perfect example of a book that must be shared with friends!

** 4.5 Stars **

It started out strong, meandered for the next third or half of the book and then picked up again. I liked it but not as much as her previous novel I’ve read. I was expecting more suspense and excitement, and this was a little soft for me.

An exciting mystery keeps the pages turning and the nuanced and layered characters and relationships are strikingly real and leave a lot to reflect on.

Also welcome was inclusion of a woman with chronic pain of unknown causes portrayed in a believable, sympathetic, and strong manner.

Two best friends lose touch and begin to question their relationship. One of the pair is a hypochondriac whose marriage is falling apart. End of plot. Slogging through the main characters' internal thought processes made for a tedious read. There was an uninteresting mystery involved, and an "all's well that ends well" final chapter. I didn't care about the "ending well" as much as I did that it was ended for me. (And, by the way, how did the title of the book relate to the story? No idea.)

Thanks to NetGalley for this free read.