I Am Not Who You Think I Am by Eric Rickstad is a dark story with many twists. When a family has secrets, lies and betrayals, lives can be ruined. A young boy witnesses his father’s suicide and years later starts uncovering discrepancies that he believes prove his father did not die. His investigation leads to tragedy.

This book grabbed me from the beginning. I loved the story the coming of age feel of Wayland's story. The mystery kept you guessing and kept the book engaging, but towards the middle, things slowed down a little. I'm still unsure of how I feel about the ending. Part of me feels a little let down by it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing - Audiobooks, Blackstone Publishing for an audiobook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Dark and bizarre this story was addictive... a true who done it and mystery tornado. This is a story about a boy who see's his father kill himself. But as he gets older he begins to question the truth of it. He has evidence that might just blow the truth wide open.
I was drawn to this story and needed to know the truth behind the suicide. It was a slow and steady boil to an excellent finish. Good listen for fans of psychological thrillers... with the truth of family and relationships leading to heartbreaking finishes.

Quick and entertaining. I enjoyed this narrator a lot. I was engaged in the story throughout and never saw the twist at the end coming!

3.5 stars

I Am Not Who You Think I Am, sucked me in quickly with in the first couple pages. Wayland at 8 years old he watched his dad commit suicide. When he finds a note saying "I Am Not Who You Think I am " and this sends him into a tail spin trying to figure out what this means.

I loved the plot, it had me curious, second guessing myself and all the characters. Who was his dad and why so many secrets? I found that I didn't like any of the characters though, Wayland really drove me crazy. He was really hard to take in parts. I really enjoyed the pace and Wayland's NEED to find answers, but dang not the way he tried. The letters to the police at the beginning and end were great and the ending wrapped it all up nicely!

I really enjoyed the narration in the book!

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and Netgalley for my copy for review.

This was definitely a disturbing and twisted story filled with unimaginable family secrets and lies. Wayland Maynard witnessed his father's death at age 8. He finds a note at his deceased father's feet but tells no one about the note that reads "I am not who you think I am." This message as well as what he witnessed will haunt him until he is a teenager and becomes determined to discover the meaning of the note no matter the costs. There are so many intensely emotional scenes of abuse and neglect that Wayland experiences causing him to not trust anyone. The author and narrator both do an amazing job keeping the reader wanting to get through all the uncomfortable and sometimes stomach twisting moments to solve the mystery.

Such a fun and quick read - I always love listening to thrillers as I think they’re so fun. The setting for this book was so spooky and interesting, I loved how well developed it was in detail.

In this story, I definitely felt a connection to our main character and the hurt and loss he went through after finding a note his father left before committing suicide saying “I am not who you think I am” - super creepy right?!

Definitely recommend this read.

This was an interesting thriller! I thought the narrator was really good and showed emotion throughout the reading.

I’m a bit conflicted with this book. The concept was a little far-fetched and the conclusion was not very satisfactory. However, it was an engaging development of a unique story. Wayland witnesses his father’s suicide at the age of eight and now at 16 he is trying to come to terms with what he saw as well as the clues left behind. The narration of this audiobook was very compelling.

I received a Netgalley copy for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book and didn’t see the conclusion coming. The story takes place in a small town and follows the story of a-boy who lost his father. Wayland is trying to understand many things about father he didn’t know. The story kept you wanting to keep reading and the ending of the story I really enjoyed. I highly recommend.

Wayland Maynard's life is turned upside down after witnessing his father's suicide. While searching for the truth, Wayland finds answers he is not prepared to know. The narration added a layer of clarity to this well paced, complex mystery thriller. this book is dark, engrossing and at times disturbing. Thank you Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for my audiobook.

Though I already own one of the author's earlier novels, this is actually my first experience with his writing. Set in a small Vermont town, the bulk of the book comes from Wayland Maynard's perspective. When he was only eight years old, he saw his father shoot himself. As a teenager, he begins to try to investigate his father's death - uncovering even larger secrets. Surprisingly action-packed, this one hooks the reader/listener in right away. The tittle refers to the note that Wayland found and hid when he was a boy - and that note spurns him on into a rather crazily plotted drama.

The book definitely takes some shocking turns - a few scenes literally had me gasping aloud (and then quickly replaying the previous 30 seconds to make sure that I didn't miss anything). While Wayland isn't always likable, he does remain sympathetic throughout. A few of the plot's turns may not be as shocking as others (there are some familiar vibes here from other books - but I don't want to spoil anything!).

The audio performance is really stellar - I have listened to this narrator perform before and I really enjoyed hearing his voice again. And I definitely found myself listening to this one at literally every opportunity - always a great sign for an audiobook! I am looking forward to reading (or listening) to more from Rickstad in the future!

Eight words on a piece of paper found by the then-eight year old main character, when his father commits suicide.
But, was it his father? Why did his feet not reach the floor? Who lives in the secluded mansion?

This is a fast-paced, gritty thriller that tells the story of a family riddled with hidden truths about who they really are. Wayland keeps the note hidden for years before he begins to uncover facets of his life that just aren’t adding up. He enlists the help of friends, or tries to, only to be left disappointed and betrayed. But was he really betrayed?

When he finally learns truths, it’s too late.
“Don’t wreck your future trying to understand the past.”

Then only part I didn’t care for was the eager wielding of a revolver by a distraught teenager who clearly didn’t need to be in possession of such an item.

The narration of the audiobook was performed by Steven Weber, and was well done. Thank you to NetGalley, Eric Rickstad, and Blackstone Publishing for an advanced listening audiobook copy. My opinions are my own.

I started this one on audio and had a hard time stopping it, I was intrigued and had to find out what was going to happen next. Wayland was 8 when he came home from school early one day only to stumble into the house and find his father committing suicide. At his feet was a note. It read, "I am not who you think I am" and Wayland hid this note from his mother for years even when she asked him if he found anything. Years later when he started having nightmares, he and his friends started to piece together the mystery of his nightmares and the note. What they found was unbelievable.

**Received this ARC for review in audio from the publisher from NetGalley**

I Am Not Who You Think I Am by Eric Rickstad. #IAmNotWhoYouThinkIAm #NetGalley
What a ride! This book is a psychological mystery that pulls you in many directions trying hard to figure out which way to look. Every time I thought I had it almost figured out it zigged one way or zagged another. The story is enveloped in vivid prose--the language just speaks to us and takes us into the story with both feet. Not putdownable! The ending was a huge twist that felt out of left field, yet makes sense in the context of the whole picture.

Wayland was a young boy when he witnessed his father's apparent suicide. He find a note that reads "I AM NOT WHO YOU THINK I AM" that he keeps hidden from his mother who is trying hard to convince him that he witnessed his father's death. Wayland struggles with the thoughts that this was not his father. When he asks family and friends about this he senses that they are not telling him the truth. He knows people are lying and is determined to find out the truth.

Wayland walks in as his father kills himself and he finds a note that reads I am not who you think I am. Not knowing what it means, he keeps it to himself. Eight years later at 16, he’s convinced that it wasn’t his father that he saw that night and starts to investigate. And as he does, it seems everyone has a secret and everyone is trying to stop him from finding out the truth.

I must admit I was drawn into the audiobook from the start because of the narration of Steven Weber. I’d recognize that voice anywhere.

As the story unfolds you follow Wayland through his obsession in finding out what happened that night. He is still dealing with his grief. This is a slow burn psychological thriller. The author does a good job of creating the tension as the story builds. I must admit I had no idea what the secrets were.

This book ended up being psychologically spooky which I wasn’t expecting. This book was hard to put down and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time!

Wayland has never gotten over the death of his father when he was a child and the note he left saying “I am not who you think I am” that 8 year old Wayland never showed anyone. But now as a 16 year old Wayland has questions about that day, about his father and about who he is. But those answers may come with danger. Wayland is confused about so much that he may act without thinking.

I don’t want to give too much away this was an excellent book that I honestly requested from NetGalley because of the narrator Steven Weber however now I will be digging in to this authors back list of books because I enjoyed the authors style!

Steven Weber’s narration was as always amazing!

4 stars

I received this book from the publisher Blackstone Audio and NetGalley for a fair and honest review.

Wayland Maynard is just eight years old when he sees his father kill himself, finds a note that reads I am not who you think I am, and is left reeling with grief and shock. Who was his father if not the loving man Wayland knew? Terrified, Wayland keeps the note a secret, but his reasons for being afraid are just beginning.

Eight years later, Wayland makes a shocking discovery and becomes certain the note is the key to unlocking a past his mother and others in his town want to keep buried.

The book starts out with some gruesome and violent depictions of suicide, so consider this a trigger warning. I wasn't sure I liked Wayland very much in the beginning, as he goes with his friend Clay to shoot the brains out of small rodents and he has a horrible temper, but it's clearly reflective of the trauma he's experienced. When he finally reveals what the note says and he embarks on his quest to find out who his father was, the story takes a more intriguing turn and Wayland becomes more likable as a character, although eventually it comes out that there is a reason why his character is so difficult to like. I expected it to come out at the end that Wayland is delusional, psychotic, or possibly psychopathic, but I wasn't expecting the truth revealed at the end. Again, some pretty shocking themes here, so be forewarned, but the riddles are effectively answered by the end of the book.

I was thrown by the narration: while the vivid details and incredible word choices accentuate the story, it doesn't sound like the voice of a 16 year-old, and certainly uses far too high a vocabulary for the eight-year-old Wayland at the beginning of the book. If it weren't in first-person POV, this probably wouldn't strike me as much. Eventually, I became accustomed to it, but be aware this may throw other readers as well.

Overall, this is a gripping book. The twists more than make up for it, and the story will keep fans of dark psychological thrillers locked in.

Wayland, at eight years old, sees his dad shoot himself in the face. He finds a suicide note with only eight words on it: I am not who you think I am. What does this mean? Wayland doesn’t show the note to anyone and keeps it for himself. Years later, he teams up with his crush and together, they investigate the suicide of his father. Will Wayland ever find out the truth about his father?
This was an intense read that kept me interested throughout. The writing was wonderful, and the character development was on point. This was a fast-paced story about mystery, family secrets and determination. It was a twisty thriller that took unexpected turns. It might be one that I have to go back and read again to see all the clues that Rickstad left throughout.

I had such high expectations for this book based on the description, but the story line fell very flat for me. There were many forms of abuse and neglect, as well as a lot of violence in the book that I had a hard time stomaching. The attention to detail was pretty impressive as I was able to easily visualize every scene setting in this book. I would have liked to see more of that detail to go into the plot, which I felt was really lacking. I listened to the audiobook version and while I liked the narrator and felt he did a great job, I had to speed up the book to 2x the speed in order to get through the book. By the time the big reveal/plot twist came around I was so very bored with the book that I just could not care about it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the audiobook version of this book in exchange for my honest review.