Creepy thriller with lots of twists and red herrings .Diverse group of characters who find their lives turned upside down by the death of their friend.

It seems lately that I read books with the life of teenagers being the background and what happens now when they are grown.
This book is no exception and revolves around three friends since school with one of them being found murdered. At first no one can imagine what led to the killing but soon enough we find out that as teenagers these girls were really obnoxious and this has led to the killing of one and the other two marked as next in line.
The characters were well written and believable and the story quickly evolved. I wasn’t too keen on the ending but not enough to not like the book overall.
I happily recommend this book and give it 4 stars. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this advance copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

This book has a rather unusual start: it begins with the murdered woman’s last thoughts. No clues about how or why Clare died. That is the last you hear from her, though her best friends – Rachel and Julie – now take up the baton and fill in her personality and life. No-one can quite grasp why anybody would want to kill “my friend smiling from her Facebook page. My friend who’d got the most contagious laugh in the world.” Clare seems to have been universally loved. Last seen “she’d been so happy – glowing, in fact. … She was happy in work, hoping for promotion, and she’d met someone.”
The story is told from two points of view (after Clare’s last thoughts): Rachel; and Elizabeth. Elizabeth is the middle-aged lady who found Clare, while out walking her dog. Both women had suffered tragic family deaths not too long before this point, and the brutal murder sharpened their grief and loss. Though neither are in any way responsible for Clare’s death, both women are keeping secrets. I couldn’t really warm to Rachel (too many stupid decisions), but liked Elizabeth, and understood why her secret was kept hidden until near the end. It is not certain that the killer would have been identified much more quickly if the police had been party to what the women knew.
I had suspicions early on as to who the killer might be, but had no real idea what was their motive, nor really their identity. Even once all was finally revealed, I still could not really understand why the killer felt the need to kill, and why at that particular time. The killer clearly had intelligence and planning skills, and a charisma that belied the impression that most had of the killer as a child. I did enjoy the mystery and the storyline right up until near the end when the killer was revealed. Then, I felt it lacked credibility. The police work was good, and believable. The characters of Rachel and Elizabeth remained true to type, and were also believable. But, the killer had one too many screws loose. You do expect a murderer to lean towards a bit of insanity (after all, murder is not a sign of sanity) – but do also hope for a reasonable, understandable pathology, or at least an unavoidable pressure to kill. I did not feel either of these were the case.
In conclusion, I really liked most of the book and the writing and story-telling was strong throughout, but I did not feel satisfied with the end. However, given the set-up, I am not sure how else it could have been brought to a close. So, a good, worthwhile read, and hopefully you won’t be as picky as me.

This book demands that you do NOT put it down. It is worth getting absolutely no sleep in order that you keep reading and discover the truth. I admit I guessed the culprit very early on, but not quite in the way the story delivers the answers near the end. The book still had me with its edge-of-the-seat, is it, isn't it? feel.
So easy to read and so cleverly plotted. Clare, Rachel and Julie are childhood friends, teenagers at school where Laura attends. Laura had a brother Aaron and a mother Elizabeth. Laura marries Michael and all of them, including Clare, Rachel and Julie have children. Clare and Julie work together and Rachel is a school teacher who also runs a creative writing workshop which Michael attends. Paul is seen with Clare but didn't tell his wife Rachel. Rachel is on the cusp of an affair but doesn't tell Paul. On top of all that Laura committed suicide two years ago.
How are all these people and their lives linked? What will happen to them all in the end?
I loved the prologue. Clever, because it is not what you think it is.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough and can't remember the last time I devoured a book so quickly!
Thank you to Claire Allan, the publishers Avon and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this book. I have loved every minute of the experience.

After reading Claire Allan’s “My Name Was Rose” I was very excited to start this book and was intrigued with the title “Forget Me Not”

WOW what a beginning!! You are thrown straight into this book, you had me hooked from the start and I was completely oblivious to my surroundings the whole time I was reading this book.

Elizabeth was walking her dog when they stumble upon a woman who has been attacked with a knife. Elizabeth calls for an ambulance and holds the dying woman’s hand. She mutters “Warn them” before dying.

The police are desperately trying to find the person responsible for this heinous act. When the victim’s friends are also being targeted you can’t help but wander who else will be next!! And what is the connection of Elizabeth to these women?

This is a psychological thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat biting my nails, there were twists galore and a surprising ending. I practically devoured this book in one day. The tension builds throughout the book like a pressure cooker about to explode!!

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

Damn and blast that I have to go to work and not finish this brilliant piece of work by Claire Allan. As soon as I see she has another book due for release, nothing else gets read. One of my favourite authors. This book will grab and hold your attention span, leading you through all the twists and turns from the views of Elizabeth and Rachel. Excellent, can't praise Claire high enough and this is only her 3rd thriller novel having come from the romance genre. When's the next one? Can't wait.

I disappeared on a Tuesday afternoon. I was there one minute and the next I was gone. They’ve never found my body…
 
It’s six in the morning during the hottest summer on record when Elizabeth O’Loughlin, out walking her dog, comes across Clare, a victim of a horrific knife attack, clinging onto life at the side of the road.
 
Clare dies minutes later, but not before whispering her haunting last words to Elizabeth.
  
When it becomes clear that Clare’s killer has more than one murder on his mind, Elizabeth has to take drastic action or face losing everything.
 
But what if she can’t stop a killer determined never to be forgotten?

This is the third book I've read by this author and once again she had me hooked. The story is told mainly from the perspectives of Elizabeth and Rachel. It's a tale of intrigue, heartbreak, secrets and lies and one particular character wonders whether, if they had reported an incident way back in their past, would they be witnessing this now? I didn't like Rachel's character, she was very self centred, but I felt so much for Elizabeth, there's only so much heartache one person can take. I loved the final twist, I had initially suspected one person but I was wrong, or was I......?

I'd like to thank Avon Books and Netgalley for the approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and on Amazon on publication day. 4 stars

Whilst out for a walk with her dog Elizabeth comes across a woman lying battered and mutilated in the ditch seconds from death, despite her previous life as a nurse Elizabeth is helpless as the victim mutters her last words then dies. Who could have committed such an atrocity??

I haven't read a book this quickly in a long time, every opportunity I had, i was squeezing in a few pages here and there.

I really liked the dual POV narrative and I quite liked both characters, Elizabeth and Rachel.

There was plenty of action to keep me entertained and whilst I guessed the perpetrator early on, I didn't guess any connections, I think it was more luck than anything.

Claire Allan just goes from strength to strength with each book

This is a fantastic book that had me hooked from the first few pages.
Elizabeth discovers Clare dying beside the road early one morning and whilst she tries to help, Clare passes away in front of her.
She can’t forget the last words she said to her, but they make no sense.
Rachel and Julie are devastated to hear that their best friend has been murdered and do all they can to help the Police piece her life together.
Rachel’s marriage is not great and the affair she has recently started is all that’s keeping her going.
Soon Elizabeth, Rachel and Julie receive some flowers, all with a cryptic message.
Elizabeth can’t understand why she’s been targeted but it seems to link to her daughter who committed suicide a couple of years before.
She struggles with her grief but wants to tell someone what Clare’s last words were as she doesn’t want anyone else to get hurt.
Things go from bad to worse and soon another life is in danger.
This is a breathtaking read and even when you think you’ve worked it out, it’s turned right on it’s head.
Thanks to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Claire Allan is back and this book might be her best yet. Forget Me Not is an intricately woven tale that keeps you guessing! Told from the perspective of Rachel one of the best friends of the slain woman, Clare, and Elizabeth, the woman who found her.

When Elizabeth is out early one morning walking her dog by her home out in the country she comes upon a disturbing sight. A woman barely alive at the side of the road, As she waits helplessly for help to arrive she comforts the victim in the only way she can; staying by her side and making sure she doesn’t die alone. Before Clare takes her last breath she issues two words. “Warn them.”

And so begins an intense police hunt for the person responsible for this heinous crime. Elizabeth does not know the victim but still reeling from the loss of her own daughter she feels a vested interest in making sure the suspect is caught.

On Rachel’s end, she is left in shock and horror to learn that one of her best friends has died at the hands of such cruelty. Clare, Rachel and Julie have been inseparable since they were young students at the same girls school. Why would anyone do this to her best friend? She was well liked and happy again in a new relationship. None of Clare’s friends or family had yet met the mystery man due to its infancy and Clare’s fear of jinxing the relationship, So we have a a plea for him to step forward.

Rachel also has a secret. She is toying with an affair of her own but no one knows about this either as Rachel is married and has two daughters.

The police investigation doesn’t appear to be gaining any traction and those most affected want answers. When strange messages with a posie of Forget Me Nots start to arrive for Rachel, Julie and Elizabeth it would appear that all the women are indeed linked in some strange and awful way. But no one can think why. With many twists and turns and with so much happening you would think this story would become confusing. But it is expertly and deftly crafted and it will have you racing to the dramatic conclusion. Special thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books for my ARC of Forget Me Not.

With thanks to Netgalley and Avon for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

I discovered Claire Allan earlier this year when I read Apple Of My eye. When I discovered she was releasing Forget Me Not I was excited to read it.

During a heat wave pensioner Elizabeth O`Laughlin decided to take her dog for walk before the heat set in for the day. During their walk Elizabeth found a woman badly injured in the road. Elizabeth held the dying woman's hand and she slipped away, before she died she whispered `warn them`.

Meanwhile teacher Rachel was at work when her best friend Julie told her that their friend Clare had been murdered. Rachel, Julie and Clare had became friends at school and the friendship remained into adult hood. Rachel and Julie were absolutely devastated and tried to help Clare`s parents and brother. When Rachel visited the sight of Clare`s murder there was a bunch of forget me nots by the roadside with a note saying every action has consequences. Every inaction too.

Days later Elizabeth found a bunch of forget me nots tied to her gate, there was a note attached that said `Laura sends her love`. Eighteen months earlier her daughter Laura had committed suicide, leaving her husband Aaron and two children. Elizabeth`s son left home short!y afterwards because he couldn't deal with the grief.

What do the cryptic notes mean ? Who murdered Clare and why are they targeting Rachel and Elizabeth?

I was drawn to this book from the first page. Forget Me Not was a fast paced thriller with twists and turns a plenty. I constantly kept changing my mind about who the killer was as the story unravelled. When the killer was finally discovered I was absolutely gobsmacked, I did not see it coming.

The story was told from the POV of Elizabeth and Rachel. I felt sorry for Elizabeth who still lived in the farmhouse where she brought up her two children. Rachel`s affair with Michael made an interesting side story to the police investigation. In the story Paul mentioned they started to grow apart after Rachel`s mum died but that was barely mentioned in Rachel's POV.

The final two paragraphs of the book were gripping and left me wanting more.

I look forward to reading more from this author. I recommend this five 🌟 read.

I absolutely loved this book. It held my interest all the way through and I never guessed who the murderer was. My jaw dropped when I realised I had not made the connection .
I’m so happy there are 2 more books by this author as I loved her writing style.
It seems a thing for authors to throw in a red herring right at the end of the book and I have to say that the ending did confuse me slightly. That wouldn’t stop me from awarding this fantastic book 5* though.

Forget Me Not was a book that I read in one afternoon. I have loved all of Clare Allen's books and this one was no exception. Once I started reading it I didn't want to stop. The story had me sucked in from the beginning and held on until the end. The ending had me shocked - I didn't see it coming at all, The characters all had their quirks - not all of them likeable but it worked. And we can't go past that gorgeous cover! Great colours!

Elizabeth is walking her dog early one very hot morning when she come across a woman who has been brutally attacked and left for dead. She calls the authorities and holds the woman's hand but she dies in front of her. But not before uttering her last words "warn them" She is identified as Clare a local woman. Clare's best friend Rachael is devastated by the news and wants to know who would do this to her friend. Her secrets start to come out as do Rachael's. And then her life and that of her family's are threatened. What is the link? And how is Elizabeth connected? You will not pick it and the ending is shocking.

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon UK for my advanced copy of this book to read.. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased.

Forget-Me-Not
by Claire Allan
due 5-30-2019
Harper Collins, UK.
4.5 / 5.0

When Clare Taylor´s body was discovered on a June day, by Elizabeth O´Loughlin, walking her dog in the park, she was clinging to life....her last words only Elizabeth heard....
Clareś death changed the lives of everyone around her. It effected them in different ways for different reasons, no ones life was ever the same.
For one person, her death symbolized so much more....
For one person, karma in a coffin is better than no justice at all....
For Elizabeth, it was a truth she never saw coming and could never have guessed...

Claire Allan has such an astonishing talent for bringing her characters to life. This one has twists, emotion, families and secrets that leave you guessing until the end....a twist in itself.
Thank you Harper Collins, UK for this e-book ARC for review.
#netgalley #ForgetMeNot

I'd had a bit of a reading break when I picked up my iPad to read an advance copy of Forget Me Not by Claire Allan. And of course, instinct kicked in and I had to keep turning page after page (well, electronic page after page) until I'd finished the book.

It was the kind of read that - at about three-quarters of the way through - I thought an earlier prediction re the whodunit had been right - but then Allan introduces a twist I didn't see coming.

The book opens with the disappearance of a woman. It's written in first person and I wondered if we were going to get a The Lovely Bones type scenario, where the entire book is written by someone who's died, or What Came Before by Anna George, narrated by someone who's near death.

But no, it's just the prologue. Allan then takes us back a week or two (though we don't know that at that the time) to the discovery of a dying woman and introduces us to our two narrators.

It's 67yr old Elizabeth who finds the dying woman, dumped in a remote area of her Derry neighbourhood. 

Then we meet Rachel, a teacher and mother of two who's struggling with her marriage and on the cusp of an affair. The murder victim is Rachel's close friend and comes on top of the death of her mother from cancer years earlier. We learn she's already been struggling with grief and has disconnected a little from her life.

Allan paces this thriller well and there's a sense of uncertainty in the beginning. The pace quickens then as the police, Rachel and Elizabeth try to work out who killed Clare and might now be targeting others involved in the case. And of course the why? Is it because of their interest in Clare's death, or is there something more at stake?

Rachel's link to the victim is obvious but Elizabeth's is far more tenuous. Her discovery of the dying woman was random, though as we learn she's lost a husband and her own daughter prematurely she feels a sense of obligation to the woman's family.

I should mention that there's a clear suspect from the beginning. Clare had been 'dating' someone and been quite secretive about him but after her death all trace of him has disappeared.

So it seems kinda obvious 'who' our killer might be. The why is not entirely clear, and is perhaps a tad nebulous anyway. There's the twist I mention, and even perhaps another at the end. I think.

Although not overtly (or overly) deep and meaningful, there's an underlying theme here of grief, regret and guilt.

Elizabeth is grieving her daughter and feels guilty that she wasn't able to do more to protect her. She's lonely now and there's a sadness about the life she's left with. And we learn Rachel's a shadow of her former self, having locked away part of herself after her mother's death and disengaged a little from those around her, including her husband and long-time best friends.

Both narrators are strong characters and Allan gives us good insight into their lives... as they are now and context around how they've gotten there. The support cast - Rachel's daughters and husband and her friend Julie (who shatters after the death of their mutual long-time friend) are also well-shaped and felt very real.

Another gripping thriller from Claire Allan, full of twists and intricate threads. It makes you wonder how much we can hold people responsible for their past actions, and whether people can change. Whether we should give people the opportunity to change. An enjoyable, insightful read.

A really good read. This story is really well written and full of suspense and action the whole way through. In many ways the story is really sad. I can’t imagine the heartache of losing someone close in those circumstances.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

4.5 stars. I have read other books by this author and thoroughly enjoyed them. This was no exception. Full of twists and turns it certainly kept me guessing. Highly recommend this book.

This book just pulls you in from the first page to the last I was totally hooked. A murder of a young woman but how does this connect to a suicide a couple of years previously. This book is full of suspense and twists and turns. Will be reading more books by Claire Allan. This book felt fresh and definitely gripping. I read it in one sitting not one to put down 💜💜💜

I raced through this fast moving thriller. Intriguing twists kept me hooked. It’s well written and the characters well developed. I did not like some of them but that was probably the point as some of their actions were questionable. I did guess the end but that didn’t spoil it. Definitely worth the read.
Rachel, Clare and Julie were a tight knit group at school and now mother’s themselves remain close friends. Clare is tragically and mysteriously murdered, her body is found by Elizabeth whilst walking her dog. Rachel, Julie and Elizabeth all receive some flowers with a cryptic note attached and it becomes clear that they are all connected in some way to Clare’s death.