This is a book that should have been great; to be sure, the premise is enticing: A husband and wife are kidnapped by someone who claims not only to have known the wife years ago, but is her soulmate. The challenge? She has three tries to come up with his name - and with each incorrect guess, her husband will pay a heavy price (put another way, it's three strikes and he's out - permanently).

Needless to say, I was on the edge of my seat at that point - especially as the wife, Ellie Patterson, digs through her memories in an effort to come up with the correct ID. I can't reveal that outcome because it sets the stage for the rest of the book. What I can say is that from that point on, the writing started heading downhill - trite emotings from all the characters, not the least of which came from the female detective who's investigating. Besides that, character perspectives often switch in the middle of chapters (and at least twice, smack in the middle of a single paragraph). As a result, by midpoint, I almost called it quits.

But I've always vowed to finish the advance copies I get from publishers if at all possible (and only twice in literally hundreds of books have I pulled the plug before the end). So it was that I kept plugging away. I can't reveal details, but it's safe to say that no one - not Ellie, not her husband Neil and not the kidnapper - are who they seem to be. There is perhaps one exception in the kidnapper who was surgically altered to make him resemble George Clooney - which somehow makes him more acceptable to Ellie despite his evil acts. But he's not alone in his duplicity; each and every character has at least one secret that impinges on the life of one or more of the others. How their pasts are intertwined takes up the rest of the book, leading up to an ending that to me was neither satisfying nor even close to believability (if it were really true, for sure I'd want nothing to do with Ellie, her husband or the rest of her family).

Actually, despite my misgivings I'll call this a decent beach read. But as is, I'd be surprised if it makes it anywhere near the big leagues without a major overhaul. Truth is, I hope that happens; as I said at the beginning, the potential for greatness is in there. Somewhere.

Wow! Unputdownable! A must read for fans of psychological thrillers.

In Tell Me My Name, Ellie and Neil Patterson are kidnapped and tortured by a stranger claiming to be the man that Ellie was supposed to be with forever. Ellie is then tasked by the stranger to guess his name. Ellie is given three chances to guess the name correctly. Any incorrect guess would lead to unimaginable consequences for Neil.

In a series of flashbacks, the story of Ellie, Neil and the stranger is revealed in this terrifying novel. You won’t be able to stop reading until the very end.

An amazing five stars! I could not put this novel away once I started reading it. It was that good!

I received a digital ARC from Dundurn Press. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.

Tell Me My Name by Erin Ruddy

Told in three parts this is a story that drew me in, kept me guessing and had me scratching my head from time to time. The first part introduced Neil and Ellie Paterson in their new summer cottage for the first time without children there and time to reconnect. Then suddenly that idyllic time was turned into a nightmare. Part II brings the end of the time in the new cottage neighborhood with a chase to catch up with an unhinged kidnapper and his kidnappee. Part three has the kidnapper still on the loose and people trying to get back to normal only to have another nightmare to deal with before the book can conclude. The backstories of the three main characters: kidnapper, Neil and Ellie are revealed throughout the story and there are twists and turns aplenty.

At times I felt the story seemed a bit more TV drama than a book or perhaps an illustrated book, in some ways, than a serious thriller. Why? I am not sure…perhaps it was the way the characters were presented or the way the scenes unfolded. Or it might have been the ineptness of the policewoman in charge of the case. It could have been the almost cozy mystery feel of the person trying to beat the police to finding the kidnapper. There were a few other instances where I wondered about how easily a child was influenced or a relationship turned upside down. The ending left me scratching my head.

My takeaway is that the story well written and plotted, there was plenty of drama and intensity, and the author will grow as she continues to write. I would read another of her books in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dundurn for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3 Stars

Unfortunately, I had to make the decision to DNF this novel. The writing style felt almost too cliche, that I was unable to truly enjoy the plot.

Tell Me My Name started with a unique idea- a bad guy threatens to kill a husband unless a women remembers his name… It had promise… But then it all completely fell apart.

The writing was choppy, the characters were clliche, and the story was ridiculous. Seriously- it was like a parody of a scary movie where the story just get getting more involved.

I cannot recommend this book. Thank you to Netgalley and Dundurn Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Tell Me My Name - Erin Ruddy

Ruddy is a Toronto editor, and Tell Me My Name is her debut novel. This story was a major page turner. I thought I'd hit the climax of the story early in and was about to be disappointed - but no! There are more twists and surprises, and I found myself exclaiming, "No!" when the pieces all fell together. Fab debut! Thanks to @netgalley and Dundurn Press for this free eARC in exchange for an honest review. Tell Me My Name will be out October 27th, 2020.

This book took a turn I didn't expect it to take. It is divided into three parts. While I won't give any specifics, I will say that the synopsis only talks about the first part. I had a lot of fun on this adventure. I thought the author did a good job of using the characters to solve the mystery. While they were all trying to figure things out on their own, it wasn't until they came together and shared all their individual information that they were able to achieve their goal. (I'm being vague here because the actual mystery could be a spoiler).

Some negatives: I thought the mystery was fairly easy and convenient. The characters didn't really have any issues getting the information they needed. Whenever/whoever they asked, they were immediately given the answer. There were also a few "accidental" successes. Also, the story itself felt a little repetitive at times. It got to the point where I could pretty much predict what would happen next based on what I'd read before.

Some positives: I really loved the characters. They were all very unique and had distinctive voices. They all felt like real people and each had their own pasts that added to the present story. The "bad guy" was really well written and he truly read like a crazy man. Also, the plot twist was something I didn't guess. However, I don't think it's something that could have been guessed because it kind of came out of nowhere. Depending on the person, this could be considered a negative, but I enjoyed it.

Overall, I had a lot fun reading this and will check out this author's works in the future.

Great plot idea, terrible writing.

Tell Me My Name by Erin Ruddy was a book with a great story idea, but the author didn’t know how to capitalize on it. That’s the only reason I gave the book 3 stars instead of 2, was because the idea behind the story was a good one. The writing was juvenile with pointless sex scenes thrown in. If your gonna write a segment with sex, you better be able to write it convincingly and not just throw it in. Honestly, I didn’t really relate to any of the characters and I didn’t care why things were happening.

The first toodle-o from the detective, and my interest was done. When’s the last time you read or heard a detective say, “please excuse me while I go catch r bad guy. Toddle-o”. Really! Take my advice, skip this book. Life’s too short.

Thank you to NetGalley, Erin Ruddy, and Dundurn Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This thriller will keep you guessing until the very last page. I found the characters to be very interesting and I was completely wrapped up in their stories the whole time. It starts with a happy couple just moving into a small cottage in the middle of nowhere. However that is right when the story takes off. After Ellie finds out that her husband Neil is cheating she gets attacked by her neighbor, "Jake Palmer", and dragged off. Neil comes
home shortly after trying his best to figure out how he is going to tell his wife he is cheating only to succumb to the same fate as her. This mystery man tells the couple that he knows Ellie from her past somewhere and if she manages to guess his name correctly the two will go free unharmed however if she doesn't manage to guess his name after three guesses they will be killed. This leaves the couple at the mercy of a mad man, and Ellie desperately searching the recesses of her brain for any clues on who this man could be. I liked how the author switched from their kidnapping to Ellie's past as she tried to figure out who this man was. It gave a lot of back story to the characters and made them more interesting and it also explained why she would think that these certain people were the mad man who held her captive. I loved everything about this book! The only thing I suggest is clearing your schedule because once you start you wont want to put it down. Every time I closed the file I had to open it again because I just had to see what was going to happen. Great read and I'm so glad that I got the chance to check it out. The only thing I wasn't a big fan of was I didn't expect to find out who the kidnapper was so early on in the story. His reveal left me a little confused although it did leave for more story on why he was doing what he was. The first half of the book I devoured however the second half left me feeling a little lost and I lost interest part way through.. I love the characters in this novel even the bad guys were well written and it is nothing like I've ever read before. Thank you netgalley and Dundurn Press for allowing me to read this book.

Well, this just wasn't for me. The story idea itself held a lot of promise, but the story was so much bigger than the writing. There was very little show, with a whole heck of a lot of tell and the author putting all the pieces out there, connecting the dots, and making conclusions for the reader so as to be sure she got her point across. I don't need to be quite that much direction in my reading experience. I don't like to be lost, but I also do not need to be spoon-fed the details and the discovery I'm supposed to make. I also found the writing to be a bit clunky. The characters were flat and very cliche.

Honestly this book was a mess. Ruddy writes with a cringy, high school style that suggests a teenager getting giggly over sex and violence rather than the "roller coaster thriller" I was promised in the pull quotes. The premise itself is also frankly absurd though its out of the box enough to explain why it might appeal to publishers who are no doubt drowning in gimmicky thrillers these days. It probably sounded really fresh and new in the treatment.

Ellie and Neil Patterson find themselves held hostage by a lunatic who demands that Ellie tell him his name, thereby apparently validating his belief that they're soulmates. If she can't he'll cut piece off her husband and eventually kill him.

Now had the entire book actually been about a woman forced to re-examine her past to find that one lonely incel or misunderstood loner or even good guy she never realized loved her and thereby learn hard truths about herself and her husband culminating in a thrilling battle between past, present and future where you honestly don't know who the bad guy is anymore I would have been totally on board. Maybe the whole book takes place over just a few hours with Ellie using up her guesses one after another and trapped in her own mind trying to figure out how to escape or fool the kidnapper. Maybe the husband and the kidnapper are in cahoots! Maybe there IS no kidnapper! Maybe Ellie's insane, maybe she's in on it, there are a lot of very cool possibilities.

Instead the reader is treated to creepy and awkward recaps of a series of gross guys Ellie met before she finally guesses right and then everything turns into a very weird and totally unbelievable "race against time" where Neil and some very hapless cops try to save her. Its not at all exciting and her kidnapper turns out to be the typical "mom didn't love me" lunatic who has creepy and deeply unpleasant inner thoughts that are, again, more uncomfortable and cringe inducing, then terrifying or threatening.

There's also a super weird conservative Christian vibe running through the narrative that made zero sense to me.

There's some really, really problematic ideas about rape here and what it does to a woman's "status" that left me feeling deeply unsettled. Ellie is desperate to avoid being raped by her captor, which obviously is understandable. But, I was left with the impression that the true horror of rape is not the act and the crime and the brutality but how it leaves a woman as less of a woman afterwards and that its somehow the woman's job to prevent it from happening.

Then there's Neil. Neil is just a horrible human being. Its revealed through the course of the story that not only did he recently cheat on Ellie (her fault because she was busy being a good homemaker and mom and not putting out enough, Neil didn't feel desired guys) but it the weirdest turn of events imaginable he's responsible for a drunken hit and run accident from their youth that crippled and ultimately killed Ellie's sister. Conveniently Ellie's parents have recently converted to an unnamed religion and are all about forgiveness and really the whole thing is Neil's evil parents fault because they covered it all up for blackout drunk Neil who doesn't realize he committed murder.

So Neil is a murdering philanderer who's done some truly unforgivable stuff and he spends the whole book working against the investigators trying to find his wife, puts his best friend and Ellie's other sister's husband in mortal danger multiple times and is just an all around deplorable human being but the reader is left with near certainty that because they are deeply, truly in love with each other none of this matters and surely they will work everything out which sounds an awful lot like the fundamentalist crap one sees preached by the Duggars when one of their son's visited Ashley Madison a few times and molested his sisters.

So this was not a good book.

This twisted tale begins with a couple enjoying their newly purchased cottage in Northern Ontario for a much needed vacation without their kids. I couldn't wait to read this story because I was sure there would be places in the book that I would recognize. The fact that it was a thriller ensured I would request to read it. I received the ARC from the publisher and Edelweiss+ for an unbiased option of this book.

Unfortunately, I cannot say that I enjoyed this read. It was an okay book, I see that other reviewers have listed this book on their LTS (life is too short) pile and didn't finish the story. I finished this book however I struggled the whole way through, I was distracted and easily drawn away from the story.

The plot of the book was all over the place and the characters just seemed unbelievable. Ellie's is kidnapped by a man who claims to be her soulmate. He also kidnaps her husband, Neil and makes Ellie try to guess his name or Neil will suffer the consequences. So for the majority of the book she has to to relive every creepy encounter with men she has ever met to satisfy her kidnapper. The husband and the protagonist are apparently superhuman because they go through multiple physical traumas but are able to still function despite their injuries. The head investigator seems relatively competent however sounds a cartoon character when she ends calls by saying toodles. Then there is Neil's brother in law who gets drawn into the drama but it's not explained why he he really is there. They mention Ellie's sisters and some back story to them however they also and inconsequential to the actual meat of the plot.

I am sorry I didn't like this book because I do love to give kudos to Canadian writers but this book fell short for me.

This kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I read it in one sitting because I just had to know what became of the characters. I liked all the twists and how everything was connected in the end! The characters seem well fleshed out and the plot was certainly carefully crafted to make a magical, thrilling ride of a book.

When I read the synopsis of this book I thought wow this is one I will enjoy. Sadly it didn't wow me. It teases you with a brilliant idea for a storyline but unfortunately, it didn't deliver on that promise. I couldn't find compassion with the characters and the ending left me frustrated.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dundurn Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

For me, this one is just 'okay' or dare I say pedestrian even..
A couple who's marriage has become stale drop their kids off at camp, go to their cabin (of course), meet the neighbor who doesn't match the description the realtor gave them only to be taken hostage by said neighbor. The villain is someone from the couple's past that the wife has to 'tell him his name', of course he's changed his appearance making it hard for her to do and she only has three guesses before he kills the husband.
I will say I was invested enough in the characters to care about their fates but I just wasn't thrilled by this thriller. It is fast paced and it held my attention from start to finish but I just felt it is a little predictable and pretty formulaic.

Pulled in from the very first chapter, this one kept me on the edge of my seat and had me guessing. I'll post a full review again in October for release day!

I was provided a copy of this book by NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This book was divided into three parts, and the third part was definitely not needed in my opinion. I was 90% through the book and suddenly there was a part three that didn't seem to be part of the same book. Yes, it followed the same characters but the tone changed and the outlook changed. It changed my opinion of the book cause the rest of it was pretty good.

The main plot follows a woman who has been kidnapped by a man who gives her three tries to 'tell him his name' or he'll kill her husband. She doesn't remember who he is and he states he has had surgery to change his face. It was an interesting setup but this part didn't last as long as I thought it would be. The rest of the book follows a sort of cat-and-mouse chase between them and the cops and the husband. Overall it was interesting, but there were just a few aspects that fell short for me.

It was supposed to be high stakes, but there was something I can't put my finger on that didn't feel dangerous. I think it felt unrealistic, like a movie with a good premise but bad acting so you can't buy into it all. There was supposed to be some mystery surrounding the trio of characters (the kidnapper, the wife, and the husband) but it was just sorta so-so. I think if the last part would have been left out or the danger was actually felt, it would have been a lot better.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This book has a very intriguing premise, and seemed to be well written, but in the interest of honesty I found it very hard to stay interested in the story. I made myself finish it because I agreed to review it and I really skimmed most of it. It gets into the action pretty quick, and moves along well. You know from the summary something is up with the husband, and you keep guessing about it the whole time. But the 'bad guy" of the story keeps flashing back to how terrible his mother is and how it's responsible for everything he's ever done, and if, like me, this is something that makes you roll your eyes and swear profusely then you will not enjoy this book. If that doesn't bother you than you probably will like it which is why I gave it four stars. I did like the Heroine though, she actually thinks about things, doesn't try too many stupid reactions, and is overall a pretty well developed character. Really all the characters are well written except the bad guy.

You were a terrible book, but made me laugh which I desperately needed right now. Lord. I am going to try to do a non-spoiler review on this. I should have known I was in for something I was not going to like after the author starts off with the following:

"The idea for the novel came to me one summer day as I was pondering what it meant to be forty. As a mother, wife, and full-time employee at a small media company in Toronto, I came to the rather bleak conclusion that life after forty was all carved out -- the future, no longer that bright bountiful sea of possibility, but rather a dark, receding lake where rock bottom lurked menacingly close. Were all my opportunities drying up? If I wanted to change the course of my life at this age, was it even possible?"

Yeah. I don't know either. Here we go.

So "Tell Me My Name" follows married couple Ellie and Neil Patterson. The couple drop off their two kids at summer camp and make their way to a cottage they just bought. Neil is hoping that they get the fire going again in their marriage. Ellie is hoping so too. She has been dissatisfied with the state of her marriage and upset since her publishing company went kaput. You will read a lot in this book about that though I don't imagine for a second that Ellie reads books. Anyway, Ellie and Neil get frisky and meet their new neighbor Jake who seems to be...unnerving at times. When Ellie lets him in one day she is chloroformed and wakes up to her husband tied to a bed and her tied to a chair. Ellie is being given three chances by Jake to tell him his name or he's going to take Neil's toe, finger, and then his life. The book then follows Ellie remembering men from her past.

I am laughing right now. Sorry.

Back to the book. Ellie is a mess. You find out about her family's backstory and it's worse than anything I saw on Lifetime. Ellie's sister Bethany who was a gifted dancer ends up in a vegetative coma after a car accident left her injured. Ellie and her other sister whose name I am blanking on are left to deal with the fall out in their family. Her sister is pretty nasty and self involved and Ellie is angry over the fact her parents keep letting her get away with things. Then Ellie starts acting out when she gets to her 20s until she meets her now husband Neil in a bar. She likes Neil, but has a preference for men who look like George Clooney. Okay, still laughing because the George Clooney thing becomes an element of this messed up plot. Anyway Ellie and Neil you have to wonder about since you don't get why they are together. Only married for 10 years I think, the two of them have definitely let the flames burn out. And we find out that Neil is hiding something from Ellie and then we have like two reveals about that and I went are you serious and kept reading. There's also multiple mentions of Ellie's dancing and I kept thinking she looked like this in my head:

[image not inserted here]

The bad guy is a mess. And apparently has superpowers since he kept coming back like the Terminator. I won't get into him at all except nope. And then we get a final reveal about the guy at the end and I went how many twists is this? Six?

The lead detective on this case sucks and ends her calls and conversations by saying toodles-oo and I wanted to smother myself.

There's also the brother in law who should have told Neil to shove it through most of this story and the sister in law who...I don't even understand her purpose. There are so many side characters in this story which made my head hurt.

The writing was bad, laughably so at certain points and the linkage between things was not set up very well. I just started calling things coincide #1, #2, and so on. The author in the beginning talks about how this is a book about love, acceptance, forgiveness, and letting go and I went yeah that's where you went wrong. The whole book is very disjointed I found and throwing in the overall plot with the nonsense with Neil and everything else going on made for a messy book.

The flow doesn't work very well since we jump around in the third person to multiple people. I don't know if it would have been better to say with just Ellie or Neil. Honestly I don't know what could have saved this book.

The setting of this book takes place in Toronto. I am not familiar with the city and can't say much about it since the book jumps all over the place.

The ending was a whole mess. I really wanted to tell the author her trying to tie everything together showed she didn't really have a good grasp of writing. Honestly I felt at times I was reading different stories trying to force themselves into one coherent one.

This is a fast-paced suspenseful thriller, and a book that I devoured in no time. The story is set just outside Toronto where married couple, Ellie and Neil, have finally bought their dream house. While the children are away at camp, they spend some long-awaited time together. In recent years they have drifted apart a little, and this alone time gives them space to reconnect. 

All is going well until Hamish, their dog, decides to take a little adventure and explore the area. Oblivious to boundaries, Hamish ventures onto their neighbours' land. Ellie, in hot pursuit, expects the worst, having been told by the sales agent that her neighbours are not the sociable sort. Yet, when a man introduces himself as Jake Palmer, the grieving widower and her next-door neighbour, she is surprised by his warmth and welcoming tone and - inadvertently -invites him round for dinner.

Jake and Neil seem to get on well that evening, and everything is going well. Ellie and Neil rekindle their romance and the future is looking rosy.

Until Jake arrives the next day when Ellie is alone in the house. His tone has changed, and the charming man of yesterday is not so pleasant. In fact, he is insistent and demanding, and intent on kidnapping Ellie by fair means or foul. 

Later, when she finds herself strapped down and groggy, he reveals his real motives. He merely wants her to remember him, asking her to say his name out loud. It seems simple enough, he clearly knows Ellie, but admits to having changed a lot since those days. And he doesn't mean he's grown as a person, or changed his ways, but rather that he's changed his face. Ellie can't place him, and when he adds more context to the "game", she realises that by not naming him he will harm her husband. The stakes are high, and Ellie's thinking time is limited, plying even more pressure on her. 

As she thinks back, trying to identify who he might be, the tension mounts. It's a page turner as the reader waits to see if she can tell him his name. If she can't, what will become of Neil? If she can, what will become of her?  

The concept is so exciting and addictive, I just had to keep reading. However, as the story developed, there were quite a few "convenient" recollections that determined the outcome. And, by 75% in, I had gleaned enough from this foreshadowing to see the twist coming. 

Nonetheless, a great read. Definitely an author whose books I'll seek out again. 

Many thanks to @netgalley and @dundurnpress for this ARC; I've reviewed this honestly and of my own free will.