I fell in love with Lisa Jewell last year and have gobbled up everything I can get my hands on that she has written. The Truth about Melody Browne is another stunner. Will be adding to my collection and re-reading in the future as the complexities of her work lend themselves beautifully to re-reads.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley!

The cover is gorgeous.

The book is well-written and easy to follow. Once I got into it, I could not put the book down. Lisa Jewell is EXTREMELY talented, and I cannot wait to read others by her.

I'd definitely recommend this to my friends.

Melody Browne lost all of her physical possessions in a house fire at the age of nine and in the fire she also lost her memories of her life before that point. A chance encounter with a hypnotist reignites her brain and memories start coming back to her and with that she must confront the pain and joy of the past that she lost in and before the fire.

From her early childhood to the present day as a single mom, the chapters in the book are clearly labeled, but bounce back and forth as Melody remembers the childhood she lost. It was so easy to keep track of the plot of this story as everything felt like it was labeled and easy to know where in the timeline we were reading. I loved how it was laid out and how it worked out.

I always thought of Lisa Jewell as an author that would keep me on the edge of my seat with suspense and while I couldn't put this one down at all, the air of suspense wasn't in this one, but instead there was a feeling of wanting to know more about Melody and find out what memory she would unlock next! In this book, Lisa relied on character and she wrote a fantastic character that I couldn't wait to keep reading and watching her find herself.

After finishing this Lisa Jewell, it made me want to dive into another one. I still have quite the backlist of hers to catch up on and I wouldn't mind finding another like this one where the suspense may be a little diminished and the characters were amplified.

Lisa Jewells are always easy to read. I can always follow along without any trouble. It started off very strong and slowed in the middle. This was a different type of mystery.

This book was excellent, moved easily between the past and the present. Well written, flowed naturally and a great story line that kept me invested. Melody being a ordinary lady made this story believable, heart rendering and beautiful account of a lovely little girls struggle to survive a chaotic and at some points terrible childhood. The writing is beautiful and has so much detail. All of which is interesting and keeps me invested. I also really liked the way we got introduced to so many different characters.

Melody Brown does not remember anything before age 9 when her house burned down and destroying her history and memory. When attending a hypnotist show on a date, Melody faints while participating in the show. It's after this fainting episode that pieces of Melody's memory and past life begin flooding back and she begins the process of piecing together her life. Is it too late, now that she's in her early thirties with an 18-year-old son, to embark on this journey of exploring her forgotten memories? What deep, dark secrets will Melody find about her past?

Written in third-person omniscient from Melody's POV, but the timeline skips from Present-day Melody to Melody's life before the fire. It was a bit difficult to get into at first because of the disjointed narrative, but it was interesting uncovering the layers of Melody's mysterious life and how she forgets almost a decade of family, friends, and experiences. Because this is an older publication of Lisa Jewell's work, it doesn't have the dark/sinister tones or some of her more recent works (I feel like I was left hanging waiting for some darker undercurrents). This was an interesting premise of recovered memories, familial bonds, and the chosen family bonds we create as we grow. Overall, I enjoyed the book and found Melody's journey interesting and her character endearing. Did I love the book? Not really, but I enjoyed the discoveries Melody made into her tragic (somewhat traumatic, but for non-sinister reasons...there was no "evil villain") childhood.

Lisa Jewel has done it again!! Such a great thriller. She just has a way of writing that draws you in from beginning to end. 10/10!

I actually read more than half of this before giving up. This story seemed unlike many of Lisa Jewell's recent novels and it says it was originally published in 2009. The story revolves around Melody Browne who has lost her memories due to a fire when she was a child, those memories start to resurface now as an adult bringing back confusing flashes of a life she doesn't quite remember.

The story was okay... and the end may have made the book worth it. I just wasn't drawn in by the characters or the plot.

I am sorry for not reviewing fully but I don’t have the time to read this at the moment. I believe that it wouldn't benefit you as a publisher or your book if I only skimmed it and wrote a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for not fully reviewing!

I really enjoyed this book! Every time I read another Lisa Jewell, I am just in love with her story telling! This one had this twisty back and forth in the timeline story that had me constantly guessing about what was actually happening! I really enjoyed this one from start to finish, and I can't wait for more Lisa Jewell books to read!!

I have become such a fan of Lisa Jewell's psychological thrillers and was thrilled (pardon the pun) to get a review copy of The Truth About Melody Browne. I only realized after posting the book on Goodreads that it is not a new release, but was written in 2009. The author has become a much better writer in the last ten years. This book is good, but really struggles in parts of the storyline. The hypnotist storyline is necessary to bringing about her memories, but seems to just be plunked into the story. There a few other issues similar to this, but overall, it was a fine read.

This book was definitely different from other books I have read from Lisa Jewell., however I really felt that it captured a different take on family drama. Melody has a son that is almost an adult and one day finds herself having memories of things that she has no awareness of from the past. The book proceeds to capture these memories in sections throughout the book. I really liked the premise, however execution was not the sharpest. This book just seemed to kill a dead horse with all of the blathering on about the minutiae of life. I wished it would have been tighter in the plot, but overall found it to be an enjoyable read. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

I always love Lisa Jewell's books. This one wasn't my favorite but it was still a quick, fun read, and Melody's character was strong and resilient and had you rooting for her the whole time.

This was a great beach read for me and I couldn’t put it down. I was glued to the pages as Melody was discovering the secrets of her childhood. The plot was very good.
Many thanks to Atria Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Read this book and you will be wanting more! Love the story and didn't want it to end. The characters felt familiar and easy to understand the relationships. Thank you!

Lisa Jewell is an author that can always be relied upon to provide you with a great read! This is one of her older novels and while I think you can definitely tell that, as her writing style has evolved and changed quite a bit over time, it’s still most definitely worth a read! I loved the journey of Melody’s character and thought this was a really lovely book which I absolutely flew through.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing house for providing a review copy of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

For a change of pace, I picked up this little mystery with a fun culinary spin, the first book in this new mystery series.

A notoriously nasty food critic comes in to do his usual complaining and critiquing of a restaurant, but ends up dead on the floor instead.

Lila has been tasked with saving the failing family restaurant, but finds herself as the number one suspect when investigating this murder, tarnishing the restaurant’s reputation further.

Intent to save her family’s legacy, Lila becomes her own detective and decides to run an informal investigation, of her own, to clear her family name.

This is sweetly satisfying and filled with some fun recipes at the end, for replicating a few of these great dishes that you are reading about.

If you need a great palate cleanser, between heavier novels, this is a solid choice and a winner for my foodie friends.

Loved this one! It wasn't my favorite EVER, but I think that's because Lisa's writing has definitely evolved over the years, and strengthened.... this was clearly an earlier work, but entertaining nonetheless! I read it on vacation, and it was the perfect vacation read. Kept me invested in the story, but not so invested that it was all I could do on our trip. I'll always be a fan of Lisa Jewell!

What can a mind do to protect us from too much trauma when we are young. Melody lives a boring life, never going out and enjoying herself. She goes to work and comes home to her soon to be 18 year old son. That is until a stranger on the tube gives her his number and they go out on a date. Their evening out changes Melody's life as she discovers memories that were buried deep in her mind. A wonderful story of letting go of the past and learning to live your life.

3.5 stars

This is an older publication from Lisa Jewell that was recently rereleased. As with all of Lisa Jewell’s work, this was compulsively readable and addictively enjoyable. It had “The Family Upstairs” vibes to it (which I loved!) with a lighter feel. I really enjoyed the Past and Present day timelines. They kept the pace and flow engaging and enticing.

I really enjoyed following these unique and intriguing characters along their journey. The mysterious plot had a constant feel of tension and suspense that kept me curious and flipping the pages.

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for the review copy!