Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

This novel by Eric Randstad is a gripping thriller that explores the dark secrets of a small town and the devastating consequences of a single note. The story follows Wayland Maynard, a teenager who witnessed his father’s suicide when he was eight years old and found a note that said “I am not who you think I am”. Eight years later, he becomes obsessed with finding out the truth about his father’s identity and his death.

. With the help of friends, he uncovers corruption, and violence that involves the town’s most influential family.

The novel is fast-paced and full of twists and turns that keep the reader hooked until the end.

The author does a great job of creating a suspenseful atmosphere and a complex plot that keeps you guessing., with well-developed realistic characters. each one with their own flaws.

The book also deals with themes such as grief, trauma, obsession, and fate, and how they affect the choices and actions of the characters.

I Am Not Who You Think I Am is a brilliant and addictive thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It is a must-read for fans of mystery and suspense. I highly recommend it.

Big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange of an honest review!
2.5 stars
Content warning for animal cruelty/ abuse.
This book does a lot of telling as opposed to showing. It's written in retrospect and this book acts as a confessional, which for me meant that the stakes were never too high. Even parts where my heart was supposed to be racing (like when Wayland is about to get caught by the bad guys and his foot is stuck in the ground so he breaks his own ankle to escape) I was still not afraid for him, because I already know he's fine by virtue of him telling this story to us. I also didn't care for any of the characters. I especially didn't like the way Wayland described and thought about Juliette. It seemed like he was only interested in her because of her looks and he kind of treated her more like an object than like a person, acting super childish when he saw her talking to his friend.
For those reasons, I never found myself invested in this book or the characters and decided to DNF@ 55%, even though I think the plot itself is interesting. I am curious to see if it really was his dad (which I'm guessing it wasn't) so I'm going to try to read other spoilery reviews. Small thing but I do also enjoy when the title of the book is in the book, it's a fun little easter egg to include.

Marked as DNF 12/30/22 | Didn't like the writing style and narration choices. Also way too much tell, with the narrator just info dumping stories on the reader. There's really little to no dialogue in the beginning at all. Too many books, so little time, and all that...

This mystery is a bit confusing. I had a hard time following what was happening until at least half-way through the book. It was an ok story but not one I would highly recommend. At times you felt bad for the kid and other times not. A lot of the things that happened really didn’t make sense until they explained it at the very end.

I am not who you think I am. 8 words that haunt Wayland. This was such a gripping tale full of lies and betrayal!

There are moments in this book when you can tell it was written by a white man. The way the dog in heat is described is one example. It took me out of the story for a bit as the description was really unnecessary and made me focus more on how the character had awful thoughts about the dog he could just bathe and all his issues with her would be solved.

The narrator did an excellent job with what he was given.

Overall, the story was good enough as a mystery/thriller that you can speed through. Would be a good beach read, but there were elements that just didn't hit quite the way the author intended for me.

I Am Not Who You Think I Am ~ Eric Rickstad - audiobook arc
Eight year-old Wayland Maynard witnesses his father kill himself with the only note left behind reads "I am not who you think I am"
Eight years later Wayland makes a shocking discovery and is certain the note is the key to finding out the truth.
I really like the premise of this book, however some of the dialog felt stilted. It was a little over descriptive at times, However, the deeper you fall into this rabbit hole, the more intriguing the story becomes.
Does Wayland's mother know more than she's letting on?
Who is the tall man?
Who is the scary red-haired women being kept on the top floor of a scary and derelict mansion?
But the biggest mystery is... was that really Wayland's father that he saw kill himself all those years ago.
The answers will SHOCK you.
So despite the somewhat slow start of the book, the ending did payoff for me.
I'm giving this book 3.5 stars. For those of you that enjoy this author, you will definitely find this book worthy. It was my first trip with Eric Rickstad .
At then end of the day, the ending was twisted and not at all what I thought it would be, so kudos to that..
Audio narrator was good as well.

This dark mystery by Eric Rickstad had a lot of unique aspects but falls short in convincing me that any of this could be realistic. Although there were parts of this I enjoyed, I have a lot of issues with this book. Firstly, I would classify this more along the lines of young adult/gothic mystery. This is not a genre that resonates with me, so if its more along the lines of something you like to read, you will probably enjoy this more than I did. As far as believability goes, the author will try to convince you that the people in an entire Vermont town are so stupidly unaware of their surroundings that they wouldn't notice or find issue with two supposedly dead people being hidden away for decades as well as two other boys just going missing and everyone just shrugs and says "oh well." I would have expected there to be at least some kind of investigation, so the ending just seemed rushed and unrealistic. The incest plot was also completely unnecessary and just felt like another element threw in to say "gotcha!" but did not seem to fit with the rest of the story. Overall, this seemed a bit immature and rushed. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn’t expecting this to be a young adult gothic novel, but that’s what it is. Wayland was 8 when his father shot himself in the head, but the book takes place when Wayland is 16. He is convinced that his father did not commit suicide, despite the fact that he left behind a rather cryptic note saying “I am not who you think I am”. Wayland spends most of the book creeping around investigating, like something out of the Hardy Boys, or mooning over a girl. There is a lot of teenaged angst.

If you enjoy reading this genre you will probably like this book more than I did. You will have to believe that people in this small Vermont town are extremely stupid and unobservant. I would have expected them to at least be nosier. You will also have to believe <spoiler>that not one, but two, supposedly dead people can be successfully hidden away for decades, two teenaged boys can go missing and everyone just says “oh well” and an incest plot that will make your eyes roll. </spoiler> Steven Weber did an adequate job narrating the audiobook, including the overwrought parts.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publisher.

My mouth is still dropped open 😲 This is a very dark thriller/mystery that keeps your full attention. Such a crazy story, but man it was so good!! I toggled between the audiobook and ebook. The narrator of the audiobook was very good! If you want to read something that really makes you cringe (and keep reading), this one is for you!

*Thank you @blackstonepublishing for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.*

Thank you to Netgalley and Blackstone Media for this advance listener copy in exchange for my honest review.

Wow. This book was a mindf***. Just when I thought I knew what was going on, Rickstad proved me wrong. This book was intense from start to finish.

In this story we meet Wayland, who was just eight years old when he witnessed his father's suicide. He finds a note on the floor with only the words 'I am not who you think I am' written on it. What happens from there is a long, twisty ride to discover the truth behind the suicide. This book is best gone into knowing as little as possible, so I won't go into too much detail, but we'll just say that it kept me guessing and the multiple twists were jaw dropping. I definitely recommend this one.

As for the audio, well, it was Stephen Webber and that's enough said. He's one of my favorite male narrators. Great book!

Really enjoyed this book! Loved the character building, the writing, and the plot. It kept me thoroughly engaged the entire duration and I am very grateful for the opportunity to read and share my reviews!

Wayland Maynard was just eight years old when he saw his father commit suicide. He was just eight years old when he pocketed the note his father left behind - "I am not who you think I am." And that day shaped Wayland in every way possible. Eight years have passed and Wayland is even more convinced that the man he saw that day was not his father and the note he left behind has haunted him every single day since. With the help of his two friends, Wayland digs into the mystery of his father and discovers hidden messages in the library books his father left behind. Wayland digs into the messages and discovers the scandalous secret about his father's birth family, the most prominent family in town. With every secret that is revealed, is Wayland closer to discovering the truth about that day?

While I Am Not Who You Think I Am is a mystery, it also examines the depths of grief that plague one fatfatherless boy. There wasn't a single page of this book where Wayland's grief wasn't papable. The poor kid could not come to grips with the fact that his dad was gone. But as the story progressed, it seemed like Wayland was coming unhinged with every passing day. There was a shocking twist that only left me feeling sad for Wayland after I picked my jaw up off the floor. - CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS

Bottom Line - I Am Not Who You Think I Am is not exactly what you think it is, but it is a thriller with some twists and turns that will leave you speechless.



Details:

I Am Not Who You Think I Am by Eric Rickstad
On Twitter
Pages: 240
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Publication Date: 10/5/2021
Buy it Here!
Thank you to NetGalley for the book in exchange for review.

I first read Eric Rickstad when THE SILENT GIRLS came out. The grit and suspense were top-notch. Now, with I AM NOT WHO YOU THINK I AM, I am reminded why I liked the author so much in the first place. With hidden secrets, a cryptic note, and a quest for the truth, this book is positively gripping.

Audiobook Note: The narrator Steven Weber did a wonderful job of giving a voice to the characters within the book.

Nathan was a boy when he witnessed his father commit suicide. When he finds these words, "I am not who you think I am" written on a suicide note, he hits it away. Years later, he find the same words in one of his father's notebooks and sets out to find out what happened to his father.

Well written and well narrated.

I AM NOT WHO YOU THINK I AM
By Eric Rickstad

Suicide
Secrets
Shocking

Wayland witness his father's suicide and keeps a note with those eight little words, I AM NOT WHO YOU THINK I AM. Over the years, tormented Waylan who never received any help for witnessing such a tragic event - he slowly questions and wants answers about the man, the note, the secrets hidden from him.

i love the ominous feel of the book, the dreams, the oppressive feeling - all building up to what happened. The tension was amazing and so was the twists.

AUDIO - The audio narration by Steven Weber was well done and captured the eerie and ominous feel of this book. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

I couldn’t finish this book. It just wasn’t for me. The beginning was too tough and disturbing for me to want to continue reading.

This book left me incredibly sad. It reminded me of Atonement in that a child causes so much tragedy because of something they saw and did not understand. Wayland was that 8 year old child that saw his father shoot himself and subsequently finds a note that says "I am not who you think I am." This would haunt him for the the rest of his life and make him embark on a journey of discovery about his father's "suicide.

This singular event sets off a chain of events in Wayland's life that leaves so many casualties in its wake. I felt sorry for Wayland through .most of this book and wanted him to get to the truth. But unfortunately this book demonstrates that the truth doesn't always set you free, sometimes it destroys everything it reveals including the seeker.

Thank you Blackstone Publishing for the audiobook and finished hardcover of this unforgettable book.

DNF: Could not connect with the narrator on this book. I tried on several occasions - I even tried skipping ahead. No luck.

Thank you for the chance to review.

Thank you for the advance audiobook in exchange for an honest review, NetGalley!

This was not my jam. It’s going to be a DNF.

I tried to get into the story but it didn’t catch my interest. I couldn’t pay attention. I restarted it with the intention of listening the second time around and again I found myself totally lost because I wasn’t paying attention and listening.

I did not care for the narrator. He seemed condescending and smarmy.

So overall, not for me. But maybe this is the book for you!