Member Reviews
This story is told in close third-person point of view, through the eyes of Rose Dennis, a 68-year-old recent widow. In the opening chapter, Rose awakens in a park, barely able to remember who she is or how she got there. Through a drugged haze, she observes that she is wearing a hospital gown and is severely dehydrated. Before long, she is discovered and taken back to the memory-care wing of a local nursing home where she has been residing.
Something is off, but it takes her muddled brain some time to put the pieces together. She suspects the pills the staff give her are poison, so she surreptitiously stops taking them, building up a stash which she eventually uses to drug the night nurse so she can escape again. As her mind starts to clear, she figures out that someone in her family (two stepsons and their mother) wants her out of the way.
With the help of her 13-year-old granddaughter and reclusive, tech-savvy older sister, Rose puts the pieces of the puzzle together and uncovers a much larger scam affecting other patients in the nursing home who have been drugged and then involuntarily committed.
The plot twists and turns, keeping the reader guessing until the end. The writing is superb. Rose gets beat up a lot; at times I was reminded of the coyote and the roadrunner. Apparently, she was quite fit before her recent confinement, and she's able to call upon that strength.
The only real negative is the insertion of political views which I suspect are the author's. But I could believe they might also be Rose's, so I could forgive.
Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read an advance copy of this entertaining stand-alone.
I could not put this down. Rose may be 86 years old but she is one feisty lady. The author had me on the edge of my seat with the action and it did not disappoint. I have read this author before and her stories are good.
I loved this unputdownable book!
It was a thrilling, unnerving read. The characters were realistic. The plot was gripping and fast-paced. Run, do not walk, out to get this fab book.
Thank you NetGalley.
Although I have read a book or two from Barr's Anna Pigeon series I am not very familiar with her writing but the publisher's blurb on netgalley made me very excited to read it, and it stood up to its description.
What Rose Forgot is a fun and enaging mystery, with a funny, unique and old-fashioned protagonist. The book feels a bit like a throwback to the Agatha Christie novels. I liked that this book focused heavily on Rose and her predicament rather than on any culprits or suspects in the solving of the mystery. It made it more difficult to spoil the ending.
This book was full of questions and kept me wondering. Who was Rose? How had she found herself with no memory on an Alzheimer's ward? Who out there was missing her? Who did this to her?
This woman was clever and strong and totally unique. People all around her seemed to be ready to writer her off as either crazy or demented. But she was spunky and smart. She never ave up and wasn't every feeling sorry for herself. But that doesn't mean that she was too perfect or unlikable.
My father had Alheimer's for several years before his death and while it is incredibly difficult and sad it was also filled with little precious moments of humor, clarity, joy and love. And this book allowed me to grieve my dad, be angry at the disease, remember the silly moments... and when it got too deep Rose figured out that she didn't have dementia but was being poisoned. It relieved the tensions of such a personal struggle and introduced a high energy, sometimes scary and often funny mystery.
The book isn't all that believable, and you will need to suspend your disbelief. But it made me feel, and it made me laugh. And, in the end, it made me fall in love with the 68 year old spitfire. This is not a heavy, dark and twisty mystery. It isn't even as high impact as the Pigeon series. This is lighter, sweeter and fresher.
Thank You to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and Nevada Barr for this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.
This was a strange bit of a story. When the first book started, I was hooked. We meet Rose in the Alzheimer unit of a facility. Something is just not right from the very beginning and we all know it.
I'm not exactly sure where the book went off the rails for me, but it did. By the time that I got to around 60%, I was giving so many eye rolls that I was afraid my eyes were going to stay in the upward position permanently. I had to finish the book and I'm glad that I did. What Rose Forgot turned out to be a fun little mystery.
My thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for this advanced readers copy. This book is due to release in September 2019.
I have been a long time fan of this author. When the opportunity arose to read and review her latest book I jumped at the chance and hoped I would not be disappointed. Well I was not disappointed Ms Barr still has the ability to catch my attention early and keep me enthralled to the final page. The story line centers around a rich elderly female who has found herself drugged and being held in a secure memory care facility. Fearing for her life she manages to escape not once but twice. In the process she discovers who the villains are and exposes their deadly misdeeds with the help of her young teen granddaughter and others. There are several well laid red herrings to mislead the reader so careful attention is required of the reader.
I have rated this book the maximum of 5 stars.
I received an ARC from Netgalley for my unbiased review.
What Rose Forgot by Nevada Barr is a well-written standalone mystery that I was excited to read since I thoroughly enjoy her Anna Pigeon series.
This story is set in Charlotte, North Carolina and the main protagonist is 68 year old Rose Dennis who wakes up outside in a hospital gown and her mind is foggy. She has been committed to a Memory Care Unit of a nursing home, but Rose becomes convinced that her life is in danger. With this information, Rose enlists the help of her sister in New Orleans, her granddaughter Mel, and Mel’s friend Royal. The clever plot progresses rapidly. To avoid spoilers, I will withhold the rest of the story line.
The plot is thought-provoking, intense, insightful and captivating. While many have considered this book to be humorous, I did not. Yes, there was a chuckle here and there, but I was so upset with the situation that Rose found herself in that I did not find the time to laugh.
The story showed great depth in the main character. Additionally, there was never a dull moment. To me, it was fascinating, gripping, heartbreaking, insightful, courageous and very memorable.
I highly recommend this novel to both mystery fans and those that are fans of Nevada Bar.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Nevada Barr and Net Galley for a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.
What a delightful read. Rose, a patient in a memory care facility escapes. As her meds wear off, she finds she is thinking more clearly. Captured and placed back in MCU Rose decides to escape agsin with the help of her friend Chuck. Her granddaughter Mel finds her a place to stay, a teepee in her friend Royals backyard.
Mission 1 is to get Chuck out of MCU and then to solve who is behind all this. Great fun and then the action is as good as any mystery.
Not the usual Nevada Barr story but well done.
Wrongly committed to the dementia unit by her own family, she must figure out how she can get herself out. How can she convince anyone that she isn’t demented?
Getting herself out is her challenge
This book dragged up until around mid first chapter. After that, I couldn’t put it down. Rose was such a tenacious character and Mel is her perfect sidekick. The story flows so well that you just get so wrapped up in it, you don’t want it to end! I also loved the ending and how there was a resolution of sorts for one of our “bad” guys. Solid book that was a very quick read!
I received this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
This was the first book I have read from this author, and was a very unexpected and unusual read for me.
I found myself disinterested and confused at times, as the story unfolds.
That's not to say I didn't like the book, it just was not at all what I was expecting.
I wouldn’t rate it as a thriller but more as a mystery.
Rose is a hilarious and wonderful character and you just want to keep reading to find out what happens next! Great book!
I've read all the Anna Pigeon books and really liked them. Along comes this standalone and took me completely by surprise.
The main character is my new best friend. She is strong and capable and took everyone by surprise. I lost count of the number of times her life was in jeopardy. In amongst all the tragedy was some pretty laugh out loud funny stuff. By the end, I had narrowed the field down to about 5.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.
This book was gifted to me by the publisher in return for an honest review.
A fun romp involving a miss used elderly artist and her side kicks. Sweet, laugh out loud antics are balanced by drug abuse, lies and deceit. The sad reality is, this scenario could happen, without the happy outcome. An excellent story, add this to your TBR list.
When Rose wakes up outdoors, she doesn't understand where she is or why she's there. At first, she thinks she's fallen asleep while meditating, or that maybe she's dreaming. Her behind hangs out of a hospital gown. Her arms are pocked-marked with needle tracks and she's so thirsty her tongue feels like jerky. She's told she walked away from the Memory Care Unit of Longwood Nursing Home. She's grabbed up by white-coated orderlies and sent right back there before she even has time to process what's happening.
No one seems interested in telling Rose why she's in a nursing home or how long she's been there. Just that she's had the flu and is off her medications. Her doctor orders the nurses to increase her prescriptions slowly, but someone in the unit has other plans for her. Alarmed, Rose secretly decides not to allow herself to be sedated. She stashes her pills, and now more clear-headed, devises a plan to escape. Free and on the run for the second time, Rose doesn't know where to turn without ending back up in their care.
Rose is new to town. She and her husband recently moved to Charlotte, North Carolina from New Orleans to be near his sons from an earlier marriage. They are her family now, but they are also the ones who signed papers to legally commit her. Even her beloved thirteen-year-old step-granddaughter, Melanie, says Rose was acting strange before she was admitted to the nursing home. Not long ago, Rose lost her husband in a tragic accident. She doesn't remember much after he died, but she thinks if her behavior was odd, losing a husband would count as a good reason.
Everybody forgets things. Being a Buddhist, and practicing yoga or meditating shouldn't count as crazy. Rose doesn't know who to trust other than Melanie, so together they try to sort things out before she's found. An attempt on her life outside the nursing home walls removes any doubt that Rose is in danger. Someone wants her not just out of the way, but dead.
I loved this stand-alone mystery. Rose is a feisty heroine and her comments on life are hilarious. Nevada Barr is a favorite author who wrote the Anna Pigeon mysteries set in National Parks all over the USA.
Rose is 68ish.she can't really remember. Her mind is a fog. She does know she is incredibly thirsty and half naked thanks to the hospital gown she is wearing. All she can think about is escape. Then she is being dragged back by two burly men to the facility she has just escaped. All she knows is that she has been drugged and diagnosed with dementia with not long to live. If only they knew!
Rose is not the quintessential grandmother. She's tough as nails, funny, determined and brave. She is eccentric in a eccentric way. She will survive come hell or high water. And she has her sidekick 13 year old granddaughter by her side.
A funny, exciting read. Everyone needs a grandmother like Rose!!!
A Netgalley preview for which I’m very grateful. This title is more of a cozy mystery, which is not one of my preferred genres, but I did like the characters. Rose Dennis wakes up in a memory care unit and she’s not sure why. She overhears nurses say she won’t make it through the week. Startled by that, she stops taking the little red pills they are giving here as she’s sure these meds are keeping her from thinking clearly. Turns out she’s right.
She escapes. But doesn’t know quite how to prove to her family that she doesn’t have dementia. She forms a crew with her teen granddaughter, Mel and her computer hacker sister, Marion, to find out who wants her dead.
I can total relate to a grandmother heroine and she was a well-drawn, three-dimensional character, as was her granddaughter.
The plot was a bit out-there, but why not? It's fiction.
If you like Barr’s writing and you like cozies, you’ll almost surely enjoy this book.
This was a very unexpected and different read for me. I was pretty confused as the story unfolded, it was not at all what I was expecting. That’s not to say I didn’t like the book, it just took me awhile to get into it. I wouldn’t rate it as a thriller but more as a mystery.
The main character, Rose, discovers by chance that a member of her family has had her committed to a Alzheimer’s unit. Which of her family would do this? Why would they do this? What follows is some hilarious and really, some far fetched, ridiculous moments. You want to keep reading just to see where this is all going.
Many thanks to NetGallery, St. Martins Press and author, Nevada Barr, for the opportunity to read and give my honest review of “What Rose Forgot.” The opinions expressed are my own.
Navada Barr spins a really original tale in What Rose Forgot. An elderly woman poet and painter is a fog at a long term memory care unit, but starts realizing she shouldn’t be there. As she figures out how to escape, she figures out there’s much more to this story. Her Buddhist view of life is shown throughout the book. Further complicating things are her relations with her granddaughter, who becomes a teenage coconspirator. This is a wonderful read.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rose Dennis wakes to find herself in a memory care unit with no memory of the past or present. She can't even remember her own age! Determined to escape, she hides her pills and makes a daring plan. The longer she's off her medication, the more her memories come back. Who is determined to lock her away with a fast onset dementia diagnosis? Her investigation into this mystery while on the run from police and the nursing home staff is nerve-wracking and, at times, even hilarious.
I love that the main character in this book is such a tough senior lady. Rose is my hero! Her would-be assassin called her "one crazy bitch" and wasn't referring to her diagnosis. Considered eccentric her whole life, it will take a lot to convince people that she's not crazy and someone is out to get her.