Secrets, twists and broken families is what The Memory is all about. You’ll be hooked from the first page and drawn into the lives of Isobel and Eve, Claire, Tim and Rosie. I read this book in a couple of days and found it hard to put down. A compelling plot line, the story unfolding at a steady pace and a dramatic conclusion make this book a great read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.

I read this book with difficulty putting it down, the twist that kept going from chapter to chapter, you really didn’t know what to expect. After Claire looked at the house, although she wasn’t to say who it actually was for., I did think at one stage she would become friends with Eav, however with izzies weird obsession with Tim, it did start to become obvious they wouldn’t. After Tim had made the mistake with the money I was surprised Clair stayed with him, but with his dad buying Clair the house to one degree. I could understand. I actually hate spoilers so trying very hard to not give any away. After the trauma that Izzie suffered as a child with Tim trying to protect her. In some ways you could understand her obsession. I did feel sorry for Adam. Tony Tim’s dad I do believe the offer of the house was with motive. I also think he definitely got his just deserts. What actually baffled me was izzies demise. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason. I think she set the fire. Yet maybe her demise was due to justice at last or her finally being at peace. Very good and interesting book, I really enjoyed it. I would have given 5 stars if it only had explained izzies demise a bit better. I did feel that bit just left it slightly unfinished. Having said that I would definitely advise you read it, it’s a good book to read. Written very well, I would recommend it. I suppose we all want slightly different reasons to any book about certain things, for me it literally was izzies demise. Highly recommend

I've just finished The Memory and am absolutely blown away. This was not what I was expecting at all. A dark and mysterious book, The Memory delves into so many fascinating and important themes. And although I am a massive wimp, it creeped me out when I was reading late at night!

I loved every second of this book. It was utterly compelling. The characters perfectly constructed, the secrets brilliantly revealed. An excellent read, perfect for these cold, dark evenings!

A tragedy happened many years ago. Eve moved her daughter, Isobel, to an isolated home on the outskirts of town. Isobel is only 7 years old and sadly, she will remain at that age for a long time.

Eve has decided to sell their home and move somewhere smaller and less expensive. When the new family arrives, their presence in the house with unearth a dark past that has long been buried.

But secrets have a way of coming out of the shadows and into the light ... no matter how terrible they are.

This is a hard one for me to review ... at least without spoilers of one kind or another. Suffice to say, what I thought was happening .. wasn't. The people involved weren't who I thought they were. The story premise is a good one ... kept me glued to the pages from start to finish.

This is a well-written psychological thriller that will play with your mind .. and characters not easily forgotten. There are no secrets exposed until the very end .. and it's quite volatile.

Many thanks to the author / Bookouture / Netgalley for the advanced digital copy of this psychological thriller. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

I was really looking forward to this as I loved the daughter and white lies . This wasn't quite so compelling for me, other than the first chapter which was seriously tense . I did work out what had happened to Izzy although that didn't affect my enjoyment . We are told the story from the points of view of Eve and Claire with various supporting characters including Tim , Claires parter and Izzy who is Eve's daughter . Tim and Izzy are bound together after a horrendous act of violence when they were young and Izzy has never got over it . Well written as expected but it just fell a bit short for me . Still a 4 star and would recommend .

I received a copy of this book through netgalley.
Definitely a 5 star read,liked the way the book does backward snd forward in time,full of dark,mystery and many secrets to unfold,the ending of the book was unexpected,took my breath awsy.

This was a 5 star read! I really enjoyed the different time periods (20 years ago, 10 years ago, present) and the different character perspectives. There was no predictability in here at all. The beginning starts out as one story and then it is interwoven into the present while bringing everything together somehow in a way I did not expect!
This was full of paranoia, deep dark secrets and a huge secret that made me fall off my chair! Warning - pay attention to every detail because the BIG TWIST is so subtle which makes it even more awesome. If you read it fast you just might miss it, but when you catch it, its HUGE!
This book is so full of heart felt emotions and just the female characters are some pretty strong women who have been through hell.
The author definitely played with my mind. Twisty, dark, deep, sometimes heartbreaking. This book is going to be a success when its released!
Thank you #NetGalley, the author and the publisher for my free ARC in exchange for my honest review. 10 dark stars.

This was a very good book that had me from start to finish. Ending was a shock. Was not expecting that. Eve has a daughter Isabel who is very different. Eve's husband died when Isabel was very young in a car wreck and then Isabel was shot at with pellets at a dance recital. Tim and Adam her 2 closest friends are there for her.. Tim gets married to Clare has a daughter and ends up many years later buying the home Isabel grew up in. This is when things get very strange.

A very good psychological thriller with that makes you think and different than what I was expecting, there is a lot of suspense in trying to work out some of the secrets that being kept and this makes you keep turning the pages unable to put the book down till you reach the end. It was a quick read for me and I read it in one sitting making it a book i really enjoyed. The writing was excellent and the characters good so a solid 4 Star read.
My thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Many years ago something happened to my daughter Isobel, something that broke her from the inside. Our family fell apart that day, and we never could pick up the pieces… When tragedy strikes, single mother Eve retreats with her daughter Isobel to Fox Cottage, their isolated home on the outskirts of town. Izzie, seven years old and sensitive, needs time to heal away from prying eyes. Days become years and the town moves on, but Eve won’t let go and Isobel can’t grow up. When a new family comes to Fox Cottage, their presence in the house will unearth a dark past that has long been buried… that somebody close to them would do anything to hide. It will expose secrets that Eve never knew about her own daughter – that she can scarcely believe could be true… A heart-breaking domestic drama about families and secrets.

This psychological thriller is told from two points of view, starting with Eve then jumping about thirty years to Claire. It goes back and forth between the two, which I thought would get confusing but it flowed really well. I enjoyed this story and the background it provides, however the middle kind of lagged. All in all it was a good book!

Thanks to #NetGalley for this ARC of #TheMemory
Pub Date: 06 Dec 2018

* I felt there was a lot of build up in this book, and unfortunately for me, not enough pay off.
I never really got a good idea on who Isobel was, with her stunning good looks and baby voice.
I don't think I particularly liked any of the characters.
Good to get to the end and find out that SOMETHING had happened and it wasn't just a build up to nothing.

Thanks to #NetGalley for this ARC of #TheMemory

Lucy Dawson presents a tale of childhood trauma and its aftermath decades later. It is strewn with mystery, deceit, and dark motifs. As mystery novels go, it does contain the adequate emotional elements and scope of suspense. However, the plot pacing for this genre was slow to build and the characters were hard to relate to. 3 stars.

30 years after a traumatic life-changing event.....

Claire knocks on Eve's door. Claire is here to check the house out for her in-laws. Claire is besotted with the house and finds this a great fixer-upper for them. Eve (the current owner) really doesn't want to sell the house all that much - but how do you turn down a cash offer? Claire's long-standing boyfriend, Timothy, was the first boyfriend of Eve's daughter, Isobel (Izzy). Neat, huh! Adam -the current "boyfriend" of Izzy - was also present at the tragic "shooting" event along with Izzy, Tim and Eve. The event seems to have affected everyone who had been there over time.

Tim lost Claire's $250,000 inheritance on a bad investment with his friend, Harry. Add that to the fact that all Tim wants to do is become an actor - he has been trying for 6 months - he is currently out of work. Tim's retired attorney/judge father says that he will "give" the house of Eve's to Claire if Tim, Claire and their 9 year old daughter Rosie live there for a year and remodel begin to remodel. There really is no choice. The $250,000 was their entire savings. Claire was quite upset with Tim. Moving away from their friends is difficult. Sam, who maybe was going to help Tim get into movies, will now be far away. But, Sam hosts a beautiful party for the family before they leave.

But, why did Claire allow herself to initially choose her in-law's new house? She may have felt that it was an honor. Tim's father, Tony, sees mega plans for the many-roomed place and outlying land. Clair feels as if she was hoodwinked (which she was) - she is not thrilled with the idea of living there for ANY amount of time. The deal is that Tim, Clair and Rosie live there a year and during that time do remodeling.

The year of living in and fixing up the house is slow and painful for Tim, Claire and their daughter. A new school, new people - much less cosmopolitan. Eve and Izzy (Adam, too, in a way) are settling into their house quite well. It is much more difficult for Claire and Tim. Tim's parents (Tony & Suzanne) are still living at their old home. Due to the massive amount of work needed to move in to their "new" house, Tim and his family are living with his folks for the time being. Fun!

At this point, the story goes off on a few tangents involving the occult and Izzy's psychosis. Did she EVER get treatment? Tim becomes stricken with paranoia as the time to move into the house comes closer. Claire lets Tim have the house be blessed by a priest. Claire gradually becomes meaner. On the first two nights while staying at the new house, things begin to come to light. This, as the story draws to its' conclusion. (Sorry, can't give out any spoilers).

Overall, a really great read.

Many Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for a most interesting read.

This is the first book I have read from Lucy Dawson and got involved from the first page. I did lose a bit of interest about the middle of the book and did a bit of skim reading.

After saying this I did find it picked up later in the book but in my opinion I didn't find it to be a gripping page turner.

I am not sure I will read more from this author but thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity.

I’ve loved all of Lucy Dawson’s books so I was super excited to get sent a copy of this one. I was hooked from the first page and really enjoyed it. It fell a little flat mid way through the book but the pace picked up at the end. Overall, it’s a good psychological thriller that I’d recommend to anyone who likes this style of book.

This psychological thriller is told from two points of view: Eve and Claire.

The story starts with Eve, a young widow dropping off her little girl Isobel for a judo class. The class does not go as expected and something happens that will haunt the people present for decades to come.

Fast forward to about thirty years later. We find Eve wanting to sell her house and meet Claire, who shows up for a viewing of Eve's house. We re-encounter Isobel and it soon becomes clear that something is not quite right with her. Then Claire and her family end up in Eve's house, and the tension becomes almost palpable. At a certain point I just didn't trust any of the secondary characters anymore. As the story unfolds, some weird stuff happens and I kept wondering about its origin: was it supernatural, were some of the characters having a psychotic episode, was there evil intent? Very cleverly done.

The story starts strong, then slows down, allowing us to get to know the characters and then races towards a rather satisfying finale. Many things in this book are not what they seem and I quite like when that happens.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Memory by Lucy Dawson was a story that had me hooked and I read it in one day because I did not want to put it down.
Claire, Matt and their daughter Rosie move to a rural house near Matt's parents.
The former owner Evie and her daughter Isobel know Matt from years earlier. They were both involved in a terrible incident when they were very young and Isobel has never recovered from this.
Strange things are happening in the house that can't be explained and this causes tension between these two families.
This is a story of secrets, lies and manipulation.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Bookouture for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

In this ambitious novel, the lives of three young children are turned completely upside down by one terrible morning. Their lives entangle again decades later, when Isabel’s mother, Evie, puts their family estate on the market. We whirl through the story alternating between Evie and Claire’s (the woman who buys the property) perspective. There is a lot going on, and most of it has promise. It certainly kept my attention! There’s a mystery revolving around Isobel, themes of grief and loss, and then a lot of supernatural content involving the house.

A lot of bombshells are dropped, but I feel like the wild range of subjects dilute this story. I would have loved if this novel had settled into one theme, in a deep, meaningful way. The setting was irresistible, and I was solidly invested in all the characters. But none of it was quite enough.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc.

She’ll never forget… I’ll never forgive.
People always notice my daughter, Isobel. How could they not? Extraordinarily beautiful... until she speaks.
An unsettling, little-girl voice, exactly like a child’s, but from the mouth of a full-grown woman.
Izzie might look grown-up, but inside she’s trapped. Caught in the day it happened… the day that broke her from within. Our family fell apart that day, and we never could pick up the pieces
My thoughts
4.5
This is more of a suspense thriller then a psychological thriller. While in a psychological thriller makes you "jump off your seat, this one keeps you on the edge of your set. As your reading the story you meet Isoble and find out that unknowingly to her mother Isoble has a secret and not just any secret but a dark one that's connected to her childhood as well to the house they live in, and the more you read the more you find out that not only is this dark secret connected to Isoble and her home but to a other family as well, like i said its more of a suspense thriller then anything because of the the more you read , you became ware of things unknown to the Isoble's mother before she finds out, its still a good story to read because it makes you keep asking yourself what is this dark secret that holds Isoble so much that it seems that even though she's now growing up she's still a very much so a scared little girl inside, and how its connected to her home and to the other family , and why didn't she mother notice some thing was wrong until now, to find out more you have to read the book, with that said i want to thank Netgalley for letting me read and review The Memory in change for my honest opinion. Can't wait to read more from this author.

2.3/5

The Memory was actually a decent read riddled enough with mysteries and character building that I love to hate (spoiler alert: IT'S EVERYONE, with the exception of Adam). Unfortunately, it got saddled with supernatural theme (or is it?) and a secret that got dragged for pages before it finally unfold pretty quick and easy on the last pages.

(I received a digital arc for free from NetGalley & Lyrical Undergroudn in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion)