** Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion. **

This was a very slow book and did not capture my attention.

Mysteries told from the perspective of teenagers are always interesting to me. Their lack of emotional maturity, the knowledge that only comes with age and their sense of invincibility always makes for an interesting plot.
Here, we have Wayland at age 16. At age 8, he witnessed his father commit suicide in his parents’ bedroom. Now, at age 16, he’s having doubts about what he saw. The story takes place in 1984, so Wayland’s search for information is limited to microfiche in the library and public records. He also can’t trust his mother, who got rid of all of his father’s possessions.
This is a fast paced, suspenseful story and kept me engaged. There’s a nice sense of anxiety that runs throughout. I kept finding reasons to listen to it throughout the day. As the story goes on, it becomes both darker and sadder. I felt for Wayland, as he starts to doubt everyone in his life. He makes bad decisions, which can never be reversed. The ending does a good job of tying up all the loose ends.
Steven Weber was a great narrator and I felt like he truly channeled Wayland.
My thanks to Netgalley and Blackstone Audio for an advance copy of this book.

Interesting but somewhat not really my cup of tea. A mystery thriller crime. Well written. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I Am Not Who You Think I Am
Eric Rickstad
Wayland is bullied at school; he is withdrawn and quiet. Eight-year-old Wayland Maynard was sent home from school early. He was surprised to see his father’s truck at home. Just as the boy steps into his parents’ bedroom he sees a man sitting on the bed with a shot gun against his head. The man pulls the trigger and there is blood and brain matter everywhere. Wayland finds a note on the floor; he picks it up hides it. His mother never talks about what happened. Eight years later Wayland wants more information; he wants the truth. He retrieves his father’s note from its hiding place. Wayland is persuaded the man who died isn’t his father.
This is an intriguing tale. I could not help having sympathy for Wayland. I wanted to know the truth as much as Wayland did. His mother seemed to disconnect from her children. This book is a bit slow moving. The ending of this book is unimaginable.

I Am Not Who You Think I Am is the story of Wayland and what he thinks he saw versus what actually happened. Wayland saw his father shoot himself at the age of 8, and everything has gone down hill from there. His little sister has a mean boyfriend, his mom works long hours, and Wayland has only one friend that he trusts.

As the years pass, 10 to be exact, Wayland starts to question what he saw that day, what really happened, and who he can trust. With the help of his old and new friends (Clayton and Juliet). As Wayland digs deeper into the past and new clues arrise, he struggles to make sense of what he knows, who he can trust, and what really happened the day his father shot himself.

This book has some nice plot twists in it, but it started off a bit slow. The beginning of the book seemed to have no direction, introducing new mean/emotional teens, everyone seeming nice then (potentially) hiding a secret, and nothing connected to what Wayland was feeling and searching for. About halfway through the book this changed and picked up pace; Wayland was making connections to clues he was finding, while he was slowly finding out that he couldn't trust many people around him. As the clues grow and less people support him, Wayland mak connections between his clues. Will he be able to find out what secret those close to him are hiding?

I rated this 4 stars as the beginning half of the book took a while to pick up. I loved that the ending was able to pull you in, tie everything together, and had me emotionally invested.

I'd like to say a huge thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

#reading2021 #fallreading2021 #audiobook #netgalley

I was so excited to listen to this audiobook! It’s starts out very descriptive. I thought that was to start “painting the details”, to really immerse the reader into the story. Unfortunately, this continues throughout the whole book and becomes tiresome and tedious. It was painted with too much detail if that’s possible. I just felt that there was too much artistry in places where it wasn’t necessary. The story as a whole is amazingly crafted and when things come full circle I was blown away with the creative way the story was woven. I really wish it wasn’t muddied throughout with all the extra wordiness that made it feel like it was trying to hard to be a literary masterpiece.

I Am Not Who You Think I Am, is an addicting mystery thriller with an excellent pace that kept me listening and finished it within a day. I'm totally gobsmacked by the conclusion!

Vermont 1984, eight-year-old Wayland witness his dad shot himself in the face. Near the body was a note with a message "I am not who you think I am." In present-day at sixteen and still traumatized from the event and the note, Wayland started poking around into his father's past and the family secrets.

This was my first Eric Rickstad novel and I love the quick and entertaining thrill. I'll definitely be looking into his other works. Thank you!

<b>These eight words had my imagination reaching for all kinds of scenarios and twists! Each time a new mystery was solved, it lead to more questions. The author did a terrific job of keeping the tension high, and throwing in some wicked twists!</b>

Wayland comes home early from school one day and watches his father commit suicide. Afterward, he finds a note that says “I am not who you think I am”. He keeps the note and doesn’t tell anyone about it until years later when he starts to suspect that the man who killed himself may not have been his father. The event has replayed itself in his head so many times he can’t forget it until he finds some answers.

This is a highly-twisted audiobook that I strongly recommend.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

<b>My Rating: </b> 4.5 ⭐️’s
<b>Published:</b> Oct 5, 2021
<b>Audio:</b> 7 hours 55 minutes
<b>Recommend:</b> Yes

#IAmNotWhoYouThinkIAm #EricRickstad #NetGalley #audiobookreview #InExchangeForReview #ARC #Bookstagram
#thriller #mystery

After publication, my reviews can be found at Amazon, Twitter, Instagram, GoodReads, Barnes and Noble, BookBub, NetGalley, and Edelweiss

@ericrickstad @BlackstoneAudio

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audiobook.

Wow! I was not expecting this. I HAD to know what was going to happen next, I almost felt the mental anguish Wayland was feeling as the story unfolded. Crazy ending. I would definitely recommend!

The first 30 minutes of this book made me want to kill myself. It was dark and depressing and basically had no redeeming qualities. Honestly, I could not finish it. It was horrible in the extreme, full of unnecessary ugliness and violence. Glad I know to avoid this author at all costs in the future.

*An ARC of this audiobook was provided to me by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

I liked it in the first half. Great writing, intriguing mystery, even though I wasn't keen on a couple scenes of animal violence. By the end though, this was just a chronicle of child neglect and abuse, and incomprehensible actions. The mystery reveal didn't convince me of anything it predicated, and the whole thing was depressing. Good narrator on the audiobook though.

The description of this book is what caught my interest, as well as the compelling title, so thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing a copy for review.
One of the things that this book does so well, is atmosphere. The way Rickstad writes, you are transported into the town it takes place in, and it is made all the more compelling by the narrator of the audiobook, who did a splendid job. I will not spend any time talking about the plot, because you can read that yourself, but focus on how I felt while reading it. Wayland is a very sympathetic character. After the trauma of seeing his father commit suicide, he grows up with so many questions and no answers, until he takes it upon himself to start finding the answers. The ones he does find are revealed incrementally, building on one another, sometimes creating even more questions, but it kept the pages turning (or in this case, it kept my headphones in!). Only when everything wraps up, do you see the journey that the author led you on and all the clues along the way.
Rickstad also did a great job with characters. Sometimes with mysteries and thrillers, there is no development of some of the minor players in the story, but he spent his time with each of them and I think the story was better for it.
I do think it suffered from a little bit of pacing issues here and there, but overall, I enjoyed it and it was a good mystery. Would definitely recommend!

Wow! Just wow!

After Weyland Maynard witnessed his father's suicide, he and his family were never the same. Weyland struggles to connect with anyone other than his best friend who is not always a good friend and is never a good influence. His sister searches for connection in an abusive relationship. His mother works long hours trying to hold her family together and bury the past. Weyland has always questioned the events surrounding his father's suicide, but when he digs for answers, the truth will harm him far more.

The author did a really good job of setting up what was to come and I did suspect some of it but really DID NOT see that ending coming. It was jarring but in a good way. Every revelation revealed a new mystery. This is such a page-turner. I was hooked up to the very last page.

I will definitely be following Eric Rickstad to see what he has in store in the future. Highly recommend this dark, twisty thriller.

Wayland Maynard's life is flipped upside-down one day at the young age of 8. He was sent home sick from school but when he arrives home, something seems off. His father's truck is in the driveway still running, but he's nowhere in site. Upon further investigation, he finds his father sitting on his parents bed holding a gun. Just moments later, the gun is fired leaving Wayland standing there in the presence of his now deceased father. A single note lay on the floor stating "I am not who you think I am". Terrified of what it means as well as what just happened, Wayland takes the note, never telling a soul about it. Years later when he is a teenager, Wayland makes a minor discovery that leads to a turn of events which send his world spiraling into a past full of dark secrets and suspicions, causing him to question the true events of his fathers death. He is convinced that what he thought he saw lay far from the truth. He turns to his mother and an old friend of his fathers for answers but it only leads him to further suspicion that someone is determined to keep him from learning what really happened. With the help of his friends, he is determined to get to the bottom of it once and for all. What is his mother hiding? Will he ever be able to get the answers he so desires?
Thank you Netgalley, Blackstone Publishing-audiobooks and Eric Rickstad for the opportunity to read this amazing book! This book was pretty intense with some great twists and one hell of a mystery. I didn't see the ending coming at all. The narrator Steven Weber did a pretty good job and seemed to be the perfect match for this book. This book definitely had my attention grabbed from the start, making it hard for me to put it down. I would definitely recommend this book if you're looking for a good thriller/mystery. I rate this book ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

This is my first advanced copy read, so I was super excited, especially because I recently received a free copy of What Remains of Her from a local library system's summer reading program. (Which is definitely moving higher up my tbr list now.) I finished this book the very night that I got it! Thrillers are one of my top loves and this one isn't cut from the predictable cookie cutter.

Wayland is a young teenage boy still struggling with the loss of his father half of his life ago right in front of him. But one day, he remembers a little detail that makes him think it may not have been his father and drags his unresolved emotions even closer to the surface. He plunges desperately into the past making some poor decisions with irreparable consequences on his journey to discover secrets that you won't see coming, which will change the course of his life irrevocably.

I really enjoyed the format and style of this book. It was a smooth and addictive read. If you can appreciate a slower pace and don't mind a little violence, definitely check this one out!

Think of yourself if you were an eight-year-old boy, and you walked into your parent's room just to see your father shoot himself. Then on top of that traumatic event, you find a note that reads "I am not who you think I am". But, you tell no one about this secret you just let it fester and weigh down on your shoulders until you can't handle it anymore.
That is what happened to Wayland he was too afraid to share this note with anyone but then one day he starts digging into his father and this note to see what he can piece together to find the truth.
With the help of two friends, he starts making connections, and then he starts finding clues about his father and first beginning with comparing the writing on the note to that of his father. The clues go from there. This is a tale of mystery and what he finds out later will turn everything upside down and everything that he once knew is the total opposite and the twist and turns make this book addicting along with the slow burn of the story.
This tale is full of lies and deep betrayals that it's crazy. But, so addicting this was an afternoon listen for me because once I really got into the book there was no way that I was putting it down.
I definitely recommend this book if you love twisty thrillers with lots of lies and secrets!
I received the audiobook of this book and the narrator was amazing and fit with the story perfectly.
Thank you Eric Rickstad, Netgalley, and Blackstone Publishing for the opportunity to read this one I really enjoyed it!

3.5 stars

I liked but didn’t love this one. It took a bit for me to really get into it, and I wasn’t totally sold on some parts of it, but the end did a decent job of wrapping up the main plot points. Overall, it was fine and a reasonably entertaining story.

Well that was not the secret I was expecting... 3.5 rounded to 4

The only downfall of this book was the pacing at the begining. I felt like it took a while for the story to really get going and open up. You are given limited information that seems to repeat a bit though most of the story. Thankfully once it picks up, it really gets a bit crazy and messy. I was not at all expecting what happened towards the end. Once the story all comes together, that really saved this book for me.

The audio itself was really well done. I felt the narrator fit the role well and represented the storyteller.

This was my first book from this author, but I see that he has a lot of other books out. I'd be interested to see how his other stories are.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and Netgalley for a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me this audiobook.
It started off as a bit of a slow burn but the pace picked up alot toward the second half of story..
Great choice in getting Steven Weber to be narrator of the story, he does an excellent job (in all his narrations).
I did only give it 3 stars because it felt too repetitive at times as well such a taboo secret and all they went to hide it was weird.

Sometimes it’s best to let sleeping dogs lie. Eight years ago, Wayland walked into his home just in time to see his father kill himself. Now at sixteen, Wayland has questions about that day. Why would his loving father take his own life? Why was everything afterwards shrouded in mystery? Was it even his father? This book had so much potential and I really liked the first half...BUT...it took a turn down a dark gothic lane using a plot thats been done before. A plot line that I have never liked. It was well written, an the audio voice was great, but, unfortunately, I was disappointed.