I am a mega fan of Lisa Jewell and have read, reviewed and enjoyed all nine of her most recent books. In January 2021, her publisher re-released one of her earlier books, The Truth About Melody Browne, which was originally published in 2009.

I went into the book expecting a mystery with sinister secrets about Melody's past before a childhood accident stole her memory. There are some twists, but this turned out to be more of a dysfunctional family drama with less focus on the edge-of-your-seat scenes that we have recently come to expect from Jewell.

The story jumps between flashbacks from Melody's unusual childhood and her adult life as a single mom of 17-year-old Ed. One of my favourite parts of the book was her bond with Ed which goes to show that despite her strange upbringing (and a supremely crappy parent), that with bucket loads of tenacity and the support of a BFF, she was able to overcome her past and raise a stellar human. I loved that!

Unfortunately and unexpectedly, this book was a bit of a struggle for me. I felt out of touch with Melody and found the story to be predictable and a bit implausible in a couple of spots. I liked the premise and saw brief similarities with her second to last book The Family Upstairs, but I thought the ending was too pat and I didn't feel it was as strong as her later work.

This book is a departure from her recent books, but not quite as light as her earliest books. It has a strong dramatic feel that many readers will love and while it isn't in my top Lisa Jewell books, she continues to be one of my must-read authors and I cannot wait to read her upcoming book The Night She Disappears which publishes in the Fall of 2021.

Disclaimer: Generously received as an advanced copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I love Lisa Jewell and The Truth About Melody Browne is no exception. I read the book, synopsis unread, because I’ve enjoyed all of her previous novels. While I expected this to be a psychological thriller, I was pleasantly surprised by this twisted family drama meets mystery!
I found myself quickly reading, to unpeel the layers of the onion- to learn who Melody Browne really is. I found the twists and turns interesting and slightly disturbing. Her past experiences were equal parts horrifying and captivating. As a mother, I felt Melody’s pain, through every inch of my being. When the truth is finally uncovered, I was flooded by a wave of relief. A thoroughly enjoyable read that allows you to feel a wild swing of emotion.

Abandonment. Repressed Memories. Dysfunctional Families.

As a child, something happened to Melody Browne. There was a fire and everything was lost. She has no recollection of the fire or her life before it.

Now, Melody is a single mother who lives in London with her teenaged son. Life is good, until the night she goes out on a date, is hypnotized, and faints. Thereafter she has “flashes” of memory from her life before, which she can’t escape from and because of it, is forced to regain her memory, regardless of where it leads.

Switching between the past and the present, this tale will bring you to tears with everything Melody goes through to face the horrors of her past. It will, however, also make you smile at times, as Melody is the epitome of strength and resilience.

Another buddy read with Kaceey.

Thank you to Ariele Friedman at Atria Books and Lisa Jewell for the mass market paperback.

Published on Goodreads on 2.23.21.

3.5*
Melody Browne Is about to embark on a journey into her past. Is she prepared for where it will lead her?

Melody is a single mom in her thirties, raising her seventeen year old son. At the age of nine Melody suffered a tragic event when her home burnt to the ground. It left her with no possessions and no memories of anything before this time.

We’ve all experienced slightly embarrassing first dates🙋🏻‍♀️. But Melody’s may be the worst.

With her date at her side, they attend a show featuring a hypnotist. Melody is then chosen from the audience to participate. During the act Melody faints in front of everyone (Eeks!🙈). When she awakens …a window into Melody’s past has been opened.

Told in two timelines, a picture of Melody’s childhood starts to take form. Perhaps this is not the upbringing she imagined.

This is a re-release of a much earlier work of Lisa Jewell. The writing is recognizable but you can see the growth this author has experienced over the years.

Though this was not a favorite from Ms. Jewell, I am glad I had the opportunity to read one of her older publications.

A buddy read with Susanne.

Thank you to Ariele Friedman at Atria Books for my copy.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

Melody is a grown woman who remembers nothing about her childhood. After an incident with a hypnotist, bits and pieces start coming back to her, and she is disturbed by what she remembers. She goes on a mission to track down evidence of her former life. I liked this but didn’t love it. Also, question: were we supposed to like Ken even though he was clearly a weirdo? That was tough for me. Well written and kept me reading. 3.5 stars.

Straight story telling that draws you in from the beginning when we are introduced to the main character. Melody goes on a date to a hypnotist entertainer show and is called up on stage. This experience triggers memories of her childhood that she had no recollection of. Told in flashbacks from present day to childhood events. Well drawn characters that are memorable and a feel good ending.

Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley

Sweet, heartwarming tale about a modest, somewhat forlorn woman who faints and then slowly regains her memories of a turbulent childhood. THE TRUTH ABOUT MELODY BROWNE is not in the style of author Lisa Jewell’s current work; it is not a taut, thriller with unexpected twists and turns. This is almost a character study more than a novel, but the book left me feeling happy upon completion and that’s no small achievement. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Melody Browne has had quite a life. Once she attends a hypnotist show - she has a life altering experience.
Written from ‘then and now’ perspectives, we get a view of Melody’s life as a child. Yet she doesn’t remember life prior to Age 9 from a traumatic fire in her home.
She now lives with her 17 yr old son, Ed, in government funded housing.
We follow Melody as she uncovers the truth about her childhood - so touching and emotional.

I really didn't know what to expect going in. I know that Lisa Jewell can write a great mystery. This has that in it. It also has a lot of heart. I felt so much for Melody. Her past wrote her future and she didn't even have any understanding of how. The brain works in mysterious ways. I loved her path to enlightenment and even though there was so much sorrow for a young child to bear, she definitely became much stronger and sure of herself. There are characters that you don't think you will like but you can't help yourself but like them. (I am talking about you, Ken.) It is also a look at mental health and how that effects everyone in the family. Another really good outing by Ms. Jewell.

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for a copy of this book.

This fell a little flat for me. I was expecting more. Not horrible but not her best work. I typically love her work.

My love of author, Lisa Jewell, is no secret. She is an incredible story teller and always comes up with unique storylines, fascinating and interesting characters, and endings that satisfy. This latest of hers is no different, though it's a bit different than her usual genre.

"The Truth About Melody Browne" is a book of mystery, yes, but it's also a book full of sadness, conflict, happiness, anger, confusion, anxiety... it's a book FULL of every emotion.

The start of this book is a bit confusing. It alternates between past and present and multiple characters are introduced that at the time that seem to have no connection. But as the story builds, and they mystery is made clear, everything starts to flow and I got sucked in quick!

Every character is fully formed and easy to imagine. There is such a wonderfully vast array of characters that it was an exciting journey I was sad to see come to an end. I really can't say enough good things about this book! Not my typical type of mystery, this was such an emotional journey, but I loved it. I truly did.

I feel the less you know going into this family mystery, the better the story will be. You do need to stay on your toes while reading. Take mental notes of characters names and remember how they fit in to the over all timeline.

I am not going to lie, I wish the ending was a bit more... I would love to have read more about the interaction between the two characters at the end of the book.

This is not a new novel by Jewell, though it was re-released and I was so happy to receive and e-copy from Netgalley and Atria Books to read and give my honest review. It was a 5 star read for me!

You can get your copy anywhere books are sold!

Happy Reading!

The Truth About Melody Brown
Lisa Jewell
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When I was approved for this book I was so excited!! I thought it was Lisa Jewell’s latest book. It is an older book that was just published into paperback. Anyhow I was very excited to dig in. For me this book started slow but heated up about one quarter in. Melody Brown was adopted, she has no memories of her previous life but after being hypnotized her life changes. She is starting to have memories and thinks it’s time to find out about her birth parents. Life takes a turn for Melody I enjoyed the journey she took and fell deeply for Melody. As usual this is a wonderful story written by such a talented author! You will love this one too!

Sending a sincere thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of The Truth About Melody Brown for my honest review!

Review posted on my Goodreads.

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/12409011-donna-beiderman

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Melody Browne is out on a date when a fluke event causes her memories from when she was a little girl to start returning. All of her life, Melody’s never been able to remember anything prior to the house fire she was in with her parents when she was nine years old. But as Melody gears up to help her son celebrate his 18th birthday, more and more memories start to surface, to the point where Melody realizes her family is much larger than she ever realized. I love Lisa Jewell’s books, although this one won’t land at the top of the ones I’ve read by her. Although it held my interest, there were a few plot holes and unanswered questions---stuff that didn’t necessarily need to be answered, but maybe we could’ve done without those passages altogether.

Special Note: Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

There was no big twist or shocking reveal, just a slow unravel to the end. This was an interesting format and one that worked with this plot. This is entirely character driven and I was invested in the story from the beginning. Full of emotion, this was a heartbreaking story. It was unique and the conclusion was well done. The dual timelines added a nice element to the story and they were woven together in a wonderful way. 3.5 stars.

My Review:⭐️⭐⭐⭐/ 5 stars

As a big fan of Lisa Jewell’s other books (The Family Upstairs, Invisible Girl), I was ecstatic to get an e-copy of another of her older books. It is a mystery novel/womens fiction following the story of Melody Browne who has no recollection of her life before she was nine years after her family home burned down, including all photographs, toys, and clothing. She left her parents home at 15 after getting pregnant with her son, Eddie, and raised him all alone in a council flat in Covent Garden. Now in her early 30s, she is content with her life, being a lunch lady at her son’s school, raising a decent man, and now finally going on her first date in years with Ben. The date turned out to be a hypnotist show - after the performer snaps his fingers, Melody immediately faints and after waking up, her memories from her childhood starts to trickle back slowly. Her sudden memory of the seaside town of Broadstairs results in her going there to see if anything else triggers her memory to her mysterious past and the possible people that knew her as a child.

This book had me guessing the entire time - of who her parents were and what other traumas that could have caused her to forget. Poor Melody - what a heartbreaking story of a very depressing childhood, but she is so strong and resilient at such a young age. I was wrong about some of the characters, and I am so glad I was. You definitely want to believe in the good in people and this story reminds you of that. I highly recommend it if you enjoyed Lisa Jewell’s other books, but this one I actually loved even more.

Thank you to Atria Books, Pocket books, and Netgalley for the e-copy in exchange for my honest review!

I have read and loved a lot of Lisa Jewell books. I realize this is a backlist title and because of that I kept reading knowing it was one of her earlier books. I did not like this one. I didn't care about the present day story. I was interested enough in the flashback story but then it seemed like a lot of build up to nothing happening. I hate to give this a bad review but I had to skim to finish. I will continue to read the author because I do really like her books, this one just wasn't for me.

What is the truth about Melody Browne? She doesn't remember her life before age 9 until she gets hypnotized and then starts remembering bits and pieces. The author takes the reader on an adventure through Melody's life and things start to get exciting as she starts to put the pieces of the jig saw puzzle of her life together. Switching between past, present and in between, this is an enjoyable fast paced read.

Oh, Melody Brown. This story was absolutely moving to me. As a child, she loses her home and her memory in a fire. Following a night out and a freak fainting, her memory starts to return. She begins to learn that her life isn't as lonely as she might have believed.

Lisa jewell is one of my fav authors but I had never heard of this one before, and after reading it, I have to say it was quite different from her other books.
When Melody Brown was 9 years old her house burned down and the trauma left her with no memories of her life before the fire. Then, while on a date at a hypnotist while she’s in her 30’s, she faints while onstage and it prompts her to take a look back at her life and want to learn more about her past.
It goes back and forth in a dual timeline from the current day when things trigger her memories and then the chapters of her childhood.
My biggest takeaway was that the ending felt a bit rushed and maybe the current day chapters could have been as developed as her childhood ones but overall I did like this story. It was an idea I had never read before and as usual, Lisa delivers.
Thanks to netgalley for this in exchange for my review.

I made a lot of false assumptions when I requested this book from Net Galley. First off, I assumed that since there's a mystery to it that it was the standard mystery/suspense/murder kind of book, which is the sort of fiction I normally gravitate towards. It is not at all. This isn't a thriller but more like a novel with a character who is unraveling the mystery of her own past. Secondly, I assumed it was a new release since it was Net Galley. It was apparently released in Scotland in the early 2000's so parts of it read almost like a period piece, especially since half of it is told in Melody's childhood. Modern readers will wonder why she doesn't just google things, for instance, and why she has to ask someone to help her use a computer. All that said, this was a really enjoyable read. I liked Melody and many of the people in her life. I related to a certain element of how it turned out because something similar happened to me, though how it all turned out was different for the two of us. All in all, this was a book that kept me reading into the night and was quite an enjoyable read.

I read a digital ARC of this book for review.