This book took me awhile to get into to be honest. It was a slow paced start. Rose plots an escape from an elderly facility for people facing memory issues. She doesn’t believe she has this problem. She thinks someone put her there but she doesn’t understand why. To help her investigate is her young teenage granddaughter Mel and her old sister Marion. They come up with pretty crazy plans to get information and end up in some situations that are both funny and scary. In the end, it’s a pretty predictable reason why she ended up there. But overall a good read.

Well this turned out to be totally not what I expected! It started out with most people's worst nightmare - - Rose seemingly in the throes of dementia. It didn't take long, though, for the story to do a complete 180 and we learned Rose definitely did not have dementia. It was a clever twist and an interesting and scary look at how easily people can be convinced that an old person has 'lost their mind'.

Rose is a colorful character and though it's sometimes a bit hard to believe she can manage all the physical feats she accomplishes at her age, I'm willing to cut her some slack. I'd much rather see an 'older' character able to do more outlandish things than be depicted as unable to function! Precocious granddaughter Mel is vividly depicted too. The other characters - stepsons and their wives or ex-wives, deceased husband Harley and his ex-wife, etc. are sort of hazy with not a whole lot of vivid characteristics.

There is humor, mystery, and just a general 'good yarn' in this book A very enjoyable read.

This was a funny, edge-of-your-seat mystery. What a unique combination. I fell in love with Rose Dennis and her quirky sense of humor and her strong personality. And when you add her granddaughter, Mel, into the formula, you have a delightful read. There are some credibility issues with the plot, but it doesn't matter! The author does a great job of holding your attention and keeping you invested in the story and the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

When I started reading this book I didn’t really know where the story was going. Our protagonist is 68 year old Rose Dennis, who finds herself incoherent and partially nude in the woods outside a senior care facility for the mentally unstable. Not really aware of how she came to be there, Rose is returned to the facility on a drug induced state. Rose slowly becomes aware that she is in the wrong place. Without the influence of the drugs she has been on, her mind starts to wander to her previous life. Feeling like she she is the wrong place, she stages an escape and makes her way to the house of a relative. The longer Rose is gone from the facility the better her mental faculties become. Rose begins to wonder just how she ended up being committed and how many others there are that are like her. It doesn’t take long for a burly, night stalking attacker to come after Rose. It is at this point Rose realizes that someone from the facility doesn’t want to let her live to get to the bottom of the conspiracy. With the aid of her 13 year old granddaughter, Rose embarks on a dangerous journey to expose this conspiracy. This is a fun story to read. I did find Rose to be a refreshing character since she is a senior and she is very atypical as a heroine. This should appeal to most fans of suspense stories. It’s a quick read.

Wow What Rose Forgot is an absolute wild ride. It took me a few chapters to find the groove of this one but as soon as I did I was hooked. I could not put this one down and could not wait to see what happened next to Rose and her granddaughter Mel.

We enter to Rose lost in the woods to find that she has escaped from her nursing home. Since back in their care she believes that the medication that she is being given is making her loose her cognitive abilities and seem senile. She has no memory of how she ended up in this facility or what is going on. Is she right? Is she really not suffering from dementia?

At first I did not think I would be able to relate to an older narrator suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s, but I was so wrong. This Thelma and Louise esc adventure where Rose and Mel are against the world.

This is a serious read sprinkled with humor. The humor helps you get through the topics of greed, eldercare, family, abuse of prescription drugs, and a scary mystery. There are several characters that created an emotional roller coaster. Rose, what a risk taking hoot. Her sister, Marion, tech savvy with a no I can't do that and maybe I can do that attitude. Granddaughter Melanie provided a nice compliment as she provided a down to earth perspective as her grandmother reached for the unexpected. Enjoyable read that shines a light on the elderly and family.

Nevada Barr’s newest stand-alone mystery is a humdinger. My thanks go to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for the review copy; this book is for sale now, and you should read it.

Rose Dennis wakes up ragged and half naked in the bushes. Sturdy staff members close in on her and drag her back to the secure wing of the Alzheimer’s unit. She overhears an administrator in the hallway opine that she’s unlikely to last a week, and she knows she has to get out of there, but proving she’s not suffering from dementia is a tall order, and saving herself calls for desperate measures.

Barr’s wit and sass are at their best here, and the pacing picks up at ten percent and never flags. Rose and her thirteen year old granddaughter Mel are well crafted characters. Although I appreciate Rose’s moxie and self reliance, Mel is the character that impresses me most. I spent decades teaching children of about this age, and so I am overjoyed to find a writer that can craft a believable seventh grader. For Mel to do the things she does, she has to be gifted—as Barr depicts her—and again, this character is right on the money, clever without losing the developmental hallmarks of adolescence. The dialogue is resonant and I love the moment when Rose borrows Mel’s cell phone for most of a day. The suffering Mel tolerates for her beloved grandmother is priceless.

But now let’s go back to Rose, and to her situation. A lot of Barr’s readers are Boomers; I am perched on the margin, retired but not yet drawing Social Security. Looking through Rose’s eyes at the way senior citizens are treated gives me the heebie-jeebies. As a younger woman I had regarded assisted living facilities as a sensible approach to aging; my mother lived the last few years of her life in one, and I have often joked to my children, whenever I have done them a favor, to “remember this moment when you choose my nursing home.” But after reading this novel, I am not going into one. Not ever.

Now of course most places aren’t complicit in murder for profit schemes, but there is so much here that is completely believable. Nursing assistants talk to the patients as if they are toddlers. “Diapers are our friend.” Rose is planted in a day room in front of a picture of Sponge Bob and a handful of crayons. Do we really believe such patronizing behaviors aren’t present in real-life nursing homes? It makes my skin crawl. And the pills that render senior citizens passive and helpless: “Her brain floats in a chemical soup concocted by evil toddlers in a devil’s pharmacy.” And this place has a two year waiting list!

Rose isn’t going gently, and before we know it, she’s on the loose. Now and then the things that she does in her own self-defense make me arch an eyebrow, but the fact is that people age very differently from one another. Some are still kicking butt and taking names when they’re eighty; others pick up the knitting needles and head for the rocker at sixty. And more to the point, what Rose does makes me want to cheer, and so I choose to believe.

My only quibble here is with the way Barr depicts large women. She’s done it for decades; I wrote to her about it once, and her response was that these negative notions weren’t her own thoughts but those of Anna Pigeon. Well folks, here we are with Rose Dennis, and the Nurse Ratchet character here is—oh of course—huge. I would love to see Barr feature a plus size character, oh just once, that is a good person. Please let’s lose the stereotype; other authors have managed it, and Barr should too.

Should that hold you back from buying and reading this book? It should not. I laughed out loud more than once, and the subtext is powerful. I recommend it for Barr’s many readers, and for all feminists at or near Boomer-age.

WHAT ROSE FORGOT by Nevada Barr is a stand-alone, suspenseful new mystery from an author who has been winning awards (Firestorm, Deep South) for more than two decades. The story opens with Rose Dennis, an older woman, cowering in the outdoors. It soon becomes apparent that she has run away from a nursing home called Longwood, chosen in part because of its proximity to her teenage granddaughter's house. Soon discovered and returned to the Memory Care Unit at the facility, Rose plots a subsequent escape while questioning her own sanity. She is an appealing character – very resourceful, wonderfully artistic and into yoga and meditation (Breathe ... Right View ... Right Intention ...) which helps to center her. Some of the actions are a bit "crazy," but granddaughter Mel, her friend Royal, and Rose's "techie" sister ("I am not a hacker") named Marion build on each other's strengths. The mystery – involving drugs, deaths and greed – and a sense of menace build rapidly. WHAT ROSE FORGOT received a starred review from Library Journal. Once started, you will be finish it quickly, cheering for Rose all the way.

This appeared in the Toronto Star on Sept. 21, on line a couple of days earlier.

Arrivals: A handful of thrillers you won’t be able to put down

By Sarah MurdochSpecial to the Star
Fri., Sept. 20, 2019timer2 min. read

As the days get shorter and the nights turn chill, here are five domestic thrillers to warm you up.

What Rose Forgot, Nevada Barr
Here’s a novel that taps into Boomers’ worst nightmare. Rose awakens in a hospital gown with big fat holes in her memory. As the mist lifts, Rose discovers she is living in a Memory Care Unit but is certain she does not have dementia — just drugged to the gills. She sets about executing her escape, a feat that involves poisoning the night nurse with a day’s worth of sedatives. Rose is now on the lam — determined to discover who wants her out of the way, and why.

The Nanny, Gilly MacMillan
Jo, a recent widow, returns to Lake Hall with 10-year-old daughter, Ruby, to stay with her difficult mum. Jo has unhappy childhood memories at Lake Hall, beginning with the unexpected departure of her beloved nanny, Hannah. Soon, Jo and Ruby discover a skull in the lake. Our thoughts immediately turn to Hannah. But then a woman purporting to be Hannah shows up, 30 years later, and is soon entrusted with Ruby. This is MacMillan’s fifth novel, each markedly different from the last, each excellent. If you haven’t read her, The Nanny would be a fine place to start.

The Perfect Wife, JP Delaney
JP Delaney’s third novel in three years offers an audacious premise: Abbie wakes up, she assumes in hospital, her beloved husband Tim, a high-tech savant, at her bedside. To her horror, he tells her she is not his wife but a “cobot,” a companion robot he has developed to replace his wife, Abbie, who has mysteriously disappeared — with Tim the prime suspect. Her vivid memories, her appearance, her voice, are all based on his flesh-and-blood wife. Soon cobot Annie sets off to discover the whereabouts of human Abbie.

29 Seconds, T.M. Logan
Sarah is a young academic at a London university whose career is stalled by a celebrity historian who demands her sexual favours in return for advancement. Through a fortunate happenstance, she is offered the opportunity to have one person in her life vanish. Will she take advantage of this sketchy offer and disappear her predatory supervisor? Of course she will. Sarah’s scholarly field is Christopher Marlowe, whose Doctor Faustus concerns a man who is offered a similar deal with the devil in exchange for his soul.

A Girl Named Anna, Lizzy Barber
Two young women take turns telling their story. Anna, 18, lives a sheltered life with her pious mom in Florida, near Astroland, a famed theme park. Rosie, 16, lives in Britain with parents who have never recovered from their visit to Astroland 15 years ago when their first child, Emily, vanished. Anna and Rosie embark on separate quests, Anna to find out who she is, Rosie to find her missing older sister. A Girl Named Anna won Britain’s Daily Mail’s first-novel competition. An exciting thriller, suitable for teenage readers, with cliffhangers, a plot that clicks along and likable central characters.











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Sarah Murdoch is a Toronto-based writer and a freelance contributor for the Star. Reach her via email: smurdoch49@gmail.com
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Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reader copy.

This book doesn’t suck you in right away, but once it does it’s pretty engrossing.

There are a lot of characters to keep track of, and honestly, you must suspend all belief in reality. Ha.

A bit of a fun ride, though.

I absolutely loved this book. There is nothing like an eccentric and spunky grandmother, but when she turns out to be badass it's a whole different ball game. Seriously Rose is one old lady that I wouldn't want to mess with.

After an incredible escape from the MCU unit at a local nursing home, Rose begins the quest to find out what's really going on. How did she go from normal to nutso in a matter a weeks, why is there a hitman after her and most of all who is behind the sudden price on her head.

With the help of her equally spunky granddaughter Rose embarks on a journey that will continue to bring danger closer and closer to the ones that she loves. No matter the cost, Rose is willing to do what it takes to save the ones she loves and to bring the corrupt people down.

This was my first time reading a Nevada Barr book. I chose it because it was a stand alone and I wanted to read something of hers. I thought this book was really good and it hit the ground running with Rose right from the start coming out of her medication induced stupor. I was rooting for her and was surprised that a woman of her age could do some of the the things she was able to do, but I guess years of yoga and activity kept her in great physical condition. It was a fun read for anyone who likes a mystery and always wants to root for the underdog!

I received an early copy from Netgalley for a fair and honest review.
What Rose Forgot by Nevada Barr. Is a fast paced thriller, with somewhat comical undertones. This was a very fun read with very likable characters. I enjoyed this book. Thanks again Netgalley.

This is my first Nevada Barr read and I was not disappointed!

While it took me a chapter or two to get engaged in the story, once I was, I was hooked. We follow Rose a she tries to figure out what has happened to her and how her family may be involved.

What set apart this from some of the other thrillers I've read recently was the dry humour populated throughout the book. It really added to the story. I also enjoyed how well Barr was able to craft characters of different generations and their relationships, particularly Rose and Marion.

Thank you to #netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.5

Elderly grandmother, Rose, wakes up in a nursing home with no idea how she got there or, honestly, who she is. When she realizes her only chance for survival exists outside the nursing home, Rose escapes and begins her quest to determine who wants her locked away in the nursing home and why.

While the story held my interest for the first few chapters, it lost my interest beyond that. Both the plot and Rose herself seemed unbelievable. A 68-year-old Buddhist woman and self-proclaimed hippie escaping nursing homes, scaling roofs, evading police, conducting covert operations... It just didn't feel real to me and, because of that, unfortunately, I couldn't really get into the story.

Overall, I'd give "What Rose Forgot" 2/5 stars. However, it has gotten excellent reviews elsewhere, so, if you think it sounds interesting, give it a try! Not every book is for everyone, and that's okay! Thank you, Netgalley, for my advance review copy!

Thank you Minotaur Books and Netgalley for a copy of What Rose Forgot by Nevada Barr for review! What Rose Forgot it publishes today!

This book starts in a very interesting way. A style that mimics the confusion Rose is feeling but also one that is very hard to follow. It was hard for me to read past the point to where the book takes a more conventional style and I think it made it much harder for me to get into this book!
Rose is certainly a character and the book eventually takes on more of a mystery style as it progresses but I’m not sure it was my favourite read. One thing I loved was having an elderly lady as the protagonist, I do hope we see more of that!

First and foremost I’d like to thank Netgalley, Barns & Noble and Nevada Barr for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own and are completely unbiased.

Imagine waking up with no recollection of the events preceding your admission to a nursing home, on the Alzheimer’s unit? You then over hear a conversation, one that seems to be sealing your fate! You know not all is as it seems, there’s something malicious going on and you’re determined to get to the bottom of it; time is running out.

This is what Rose, a 68/69 year old woman is facing. She knows it’s crucial that she find a way to escape. She fakes taking her medication, she needs to maintain a clear mind and stay focused; she needs to plan her escape... But where do you turn when your own family, own blood are the ones who have put you there? You can’t turn to the authorities; they’ll just think you’re delusional.

Luckily she has her computer hacking sister Marion, grand daughter Mel, and Mel’s friend; who are willing to help her unravel this whole twisted plan

There is a lot in store, you’ll be flipping through the pages; in the need to know - who wants so badly to have Rose out of the picture and more importantly, why?

Rose Dennis is a 60 something woman who wakes up to find herself in a dementia. She’s confused, feels drugged, and manages somehow to escape. Found by a young teen she’s returned to the home. But she’s more aware. She’s starts hiding her drugs and plots her next escape. Fortunately her granddaughter’s home is nearby and Rose makes her way there. In the backyard Rose meets up with Mel her granddaughter. Mel is a teen used to fending for herself in her odd household. She ubers, does her own shopping, and now will help her Rose sort out her mystery.

This is a fast-moving novel as Rose fights for her life and her memory. This is a story well-told. I highly recommend it.

My Review:
At 68 years old, Rose opens her eyes to find her in an unfamiliar place. Lost and confused, she wears a hospital gown; thinking she is dreaming. The last thing she remembers was that she was sitting on her meditation cushion. Rose was fit and healthy now finds herself very very old. And now she is admitted at Longwood Memory Care Unit, for early onset Alzheimer's.

But Rose is convinced that she does not have dementia, and that she that her life is in danger.

So what happened to Rose? How did she get here?

Rose quickly figures out that the medication they have been giving her are the "poison" giving her dementia. So she pretends to take her medication; which helps her make an erratic escape from Longwood MCU.

Now what?

Now, Rose with the help of her Sister Marion, her Granddaughter Mel, and Mel's friend Royal, set out to figure out who is to trying to kill Rose, and why?


This was my first time reading a book by Nevada Barr and I was not disappointed!

This book is very detailed; that I had to read slower than I usually do. If I read a part too fast, I would've had to re-read that part again. And although the first few chapters were a bit confusing for me, it was such a great read; it was hard for me to put it down!

This book was way much more than I had expected and I loved it! The suspense left your heart racing, and with you at the edge of your seat! They were some parts they were violent, some parts that were heartbreaking, and there were a few parts where a bit of humor was thrown in.

I love that the ending actually gave me closure. I have read a lot of books that the ending had me yearning for more, or I have had read books that I was not very fond of the conclusion. But this one, I think had a perfect ending to this suspenseful, and thrilling book!

I highly recommend this book!

Rating 4.5/5

What I thought would be a bittersweet story about a grandmother with Alzheimer's and her relationship with her granddaughter turned into a twisty whodunit with a bang-up ending. Such a pleasant surprise!

Rose discovers herself disoriented in a hospital jonnycoat, pantsless, in the woods. A couple of teenage boys find her and help her get back to the nearby nursing home. She hears the staff talking about getting her medicated and stabilized, but when she's handed the pills, her brain tells her they are poison.

Rose had to figure out truth from paranoia and convince others that she's mentally fit. She has the help of her granddaughter, her far away sister, and a failed hit man - an unlikely team that somehow manages to get a few things right.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.