You Must Remember This is a mystery that is set in a gothic seaside mansion called The Whispers, aptly named for the sound the wind makes as it whips through the old estate’s gables. Suffering from dementia, widowed Mimi has returned home to The Whispers to spend Christmas. She wakens one night to the presence of who she thinks is her husband, urging her across the frozen cove for a tryst. This is where the story starts in a Clue-like whodunnit setting.

Did Mimi wander out on the ice out of confusion or was she lured there by someone with less than honorable intentions? The cast of characters is suspicious, indeed, and everyone is a suspect after getting their backstory.
This is such a well-rounded story with a great blend of romance, history and suspense! I was recommended this by my friend Carrie and I’ll be recommending it, as well!

My thanks to @WilliamMorrowBooks for this gifted DRC.

You Must Remember This is a beautifully atmospheric Gothic mystery. It was easy to get immersed and feel transported to The Whispers mansion.

The story is told in alternating timelines of present day and 1940-60’s which I really enjoyed. Getting to watch Mimi grow up and see how the past was seeping into present day was what I enjoyed most in the story.

Unfortunately the biggest flaw was the pacing, it was too slow in my opinion. Slow burns have been growing on me but this was too slow of a burn. The pace didn’t pick up until about 70% of the way in. At that point when the twists started being revealed, the whodunnit had become kind of obvious so felt anticlimactic.

The premise of the story was interesting and I thought the story came together well. However, the pacing and lack of a big twist made it feel a bit flat.

You Must Remember This, by Kat Rosenfield, is an immersive Gothic murder mystery and domestic drama!
In an about-face from her edgy contemporary thriller, No One Will Miss her, this story features an isolated mansion in Maine, a multigenerational family with dark secrets, and a Christmas reunion with disastrous life-changing results!
Told in two timelines, 1942 and 2014, the story unfolds from the POV of Delphine, who has moved to the family’s historic mansion, The Whispers, where her mother Dora has been helping Del’s grandmother Mimi. Sadly, Mimi has advancing dementia and has been placed in a local care home, and Dora fears for Mimi’s rapidly declining health. So Dora’s siblings gather for what may be their last Christmas with Mimi, who is brought back to The Whispers by her devoted male caregiver, Adam.
For me, this was very much a character-driven novel. I found the dual timeframes and back stories of the main characters compelling and, in some cases, very moving. The siblings range from sensitive to snarky to incredibly selfish. Mimi is certainly a sympathetic character as her life story is revealed piece by piece in the earlier timeline. Del’s devotion to Mimi propels the present time narrative and action, and she shows surprising growth and maturity during the story arc. Side characters were suitably mysterious with complicated relationships and motives. Cleverly, even the house, The Whispers, is a character, muttering in the background as its denizens play out the tale. Indeed, I also was particularly taken by the observant Fox.
The author’s writing is so strong, and she shows perceptive insight into human emotions and motivations with incisive metaphors and skillfully executed descriptions.
I highly recommend this book to readers who appreciate family drama imbedded in a well-written, Gothic, locked-room style, mystery story!

Thank you to William Morrow/HarperCollins and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

Another fascinating read from Kat Rosenfield! Her last book sent me for a loop, now she's back with an atmospheric Gothic mystery with her own special flair.

An old lady with dementia dies on the ice outside during the holidays and everyone is a suspect. Was it her family or an employee? Was it an accident or suicide?

The atmosphere sets the tone for a shocking family drama that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review! Looking forward to the audiobook.

You Must Remember This by Kat Rosenfield
.
Don’t read the synopsis for this one! It’s a little screwy and gives away plot from 70% into the book!
.
This book is set in Winter and follows two POVs, one in the present with Delphine whonis joining her family at their house on the coast for Christmas with her grandma who has dementia. The past POV is with grandma Miriam and her years in the house as a young girl.
.
What I liked:
-This book was un-put-down-able. I didn’t want to stop reading and binged the majority of the book in one day.
-The book is compared to Knives Out and I can see the comparison, but this one is a little different so don’t get too excited by that comparison. It has some similar elements but is not the same. Which is good because if it was the same wouldn’t that be boring?
-I was very satisfied with the ending.
-I wish I could tour a house like this in real life! A house built specifically with as many hidden cubbyholes as possible for hiding booze in the prohibition? Sounds like a fun place for hide and seek.
.
4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ When I can’t put down a book then I will definitely recommend it. I would say “ok after this chapter I’ll get up” and then not even realize I started a new chapter.

A thriller that sends goosebumps down your spine. Told in a glorious dark written voice with remarkable and delicious twists. A must read.

You Must Remember This
by Kat Rosenfield
Pub Date: 10 Jan 2023

85 year old Miriam walks onto a frozen lake behind her home. Miriam has dementia. Was it an accident, suicide or even worse, did someone assist her on purpose?

If you like different genres blended together, romance, mystery, thriller, gothic and historical fiction you will absolutely love "You Must Remember This". I assure you once you start reading this fantastic whodunnit you won't put it down until the final page!

Thanks to #NetGalley, #WilliamMorrow and #YouMustRememberThis for providing me with an E-ARC of this amazing book. All opinions are strictly my own.

I really enjoyed Kat’s previous novel No One Will Miss Her and went into You Must Remember This with high expectations; Sadly- it was a bit underwhelming! This book tells the story of a rich family gone bad, a long-ago love affair, and an icy death.

The star of this book was the setting- a gothic family mansion. It really was almost it’s own character with secret tunnels, mysterious doorways, and creaking floors.

Overall- I felt this one was pretty slow moving and I figured out the twist early on. It needed less backstory and more excitement… It was just way too easy to figure out the big secret!

Three stars! Lots of people enjoyed this one more than I did, but I truly found it quite forgettable!

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow, and Kat Rosenfield for an ARC of this book! It publishes on January 10, 2023.

2.5 rounded up. You Must Remember This is a very, very slow burn domestic suspense that I was expecting more from. The description made it sound much more thriller-like and the pace and multiple time line didn't work for me in this case. I found the 2nd half of the book better than the first and almost gave up a few times at the beginning. We know from the first pages that 85 year old Miriam has walked out on the ice below her estate and tragically falls through. Those pages were the only part of the first half that really hooked me. After that, it all went downhill. While I didn't guess the ending as other reviews have said, it didn't matter. It was so hard to get there. Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an advance e-copy in exchange for my honest opinion. You Must Remember This will be available on 1/10/23.

An immersive Gothic mystery, with a long-ago love affair, icy death, and a rich family gone bad, Whoa, this book has it all. A slow build that led into an exciting exchange of two viewpoints - past and present. Focused on Delphine and her grandmother, Miriam, whose health is failing due to dementia, a timeless story of family secrets set around Christmas.

Thank you to NetGalley for sharing this digital advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

I didn't want to put this one down. I guessed the killer early on but couldn't be sure until much later, since almost everyone could be a candidate. The book has a dual timeline and jumps back and forth, from when Miriam grew up and married (50's to 60's) and then at the current time when she is old. There are also unsolved mysteries from Miriam's younger days. Infidelity. Deaths.

I'm not sure that there were any really likeable people in this book. In a way, it reminded me of the old Agatha Christie books - a mansion, a dysfunctional family, an inheritance, and murder. When the book opens, Miriam is 85 years old, the matriarch of her family, and doesn't have long to live. She has been living in an assisted living facility with an aide, a young man named Adam. Her granddaughter is her most frequent visitor and Adam is her boyfriend (something Miriam does not know). Miriam is senile and doesn't always know *when* she is.

She dies soon after the book starts, on Christmas Eve. She walks out on the frozen reach to join a man she thinks is her lover, not realizing that she is old and that her lover is long dead. The reach is the stretch of water between the island where the house is, and the mainland. Was she following a hallucination or was it a real person?

Her family had gathered together to spend their last Christmas with her at their ancestral home, a large rambling mansion with several floors, much too large for modern families. Few of them like each other, so the atmosphere was already fraught. Some of them had hoped to convince her to help them financially. Miriam's death means that her will can now be read, which adds to the tension. Miriam's children don't know what their inheritances will be after their mother's death.

My thanks to the publisher William Morrow and NetGalley for the e-ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.

I think I would have liked this one better if the blurb and synopsis didn’t give away the majority twist … This information didn’t really come into play until more than halfway through the book, which really turned me off to the rest of the story since I already knew what was going to happen …

after not loving kat’s last novel, I was apprehensive about picking this one up, and I’m disappointed to say that this one went the same way 😭 the first half was so slow and I just couldn’t get into the “knives out” like story … it just felt so predictable once we found out who all of the players were.

I also think the prologue led to the conclusion, and the story probably wouldn’t have been as boring as it seemed. however, I’m thinking that kat’s novels are just not my style of writing and slow burn thriller, but I have a feeling that others will enjoy this more than I did!

thank you to netgalley and harper collins for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

rating: 2 stars
wine pairing: california zinfandel

**Many thanks to NetGalley, William Morrow, and Kat Rosenfield for an ARC of this book!**

And the award for most ironic title goes to...


Okay, so what exactly IS so ironic about this title, you might ask?

I only finished this book a couple of weeks ago...but it was so forgettable in the grand scheme of things, I would have guessed it had been months rather than mere weeks.

The premise is (somewhat) simple: Miriam is an elderly woman who now needs care after a mysterious stroll onto thin ice that nearly claimed her life. Her live-in nurse, Adam, has caught the affections of Miriam's granddaughter Delphine, and the two are now dating on the DL. Miriam's children Richard, Nicole, and Diana also make an appearance at Miriam's home in Bar Harbor to spend the Christmas holiday with Mimi before dementia takes hold of her for good.

When Delphine gets a large lump of money from Mimi's estate, all eyes are trained on her. Yes, she was Mimi's favorite and her most frequent visitor...but why her...and why now? Has Mimi's past come back to meet her? Or is Delphine not quite as innocent as she seems?

Kat Rosenfield's last book was a stunner: sharp, visceral, intriguing, with characters that held my interest and stunning plot points that kept me entrenched in the narrative from beginning to end (let's not even talk about the end of the first chapter of that book...still one of the best chapter endings I have EVER read.) I figured that she was going down a bit of a different path with this book, but I had enough faith to give it a try, with that abrupt shift in mind.

Let's just say if her first novel was a bit of a bumpy and wild ride across uneven terrain...this one WAS as smooth, uneventful (and as flat) as the tundra itself.

I honestly forgot some of these characters were even IN the book until I went back and read the synopsis...probably because their inane comments made little difference in terms of the actual plot. The book works in two timelines, Mimi's past and Delphine's present, and neither were particularly interesting. It felt like Rosenfield was trying to write a Gothic-style mystery, a modern-day domestic suspense, a family drama, AND a historical fiction book all at once...but this ambiguity in tone took a story that was ALREADY slower in pace and brought it to a grinding halt.

The plot was so unbelievably predictable, I figured it out pretty soon after starting this book...so again, even less incentive to keep reading. Slower burns have to sizzle at the end for them to feel worth the wait for me, and this one just didn't. Because everything seemed so obvious to me, it was even MORE ridiculous that the perpetrator wouldn't have been clear to everyone involved. I kept wondering what the POINT of the book was, which is one of the worst feelings you can have as a reader.

On a positive note, I did appreciate that the book was set at Christmastime, so at least it felt timely back when I was reading it...but if that's the nicest thing I can say about it, that's not saying too much.

There's a reason I don't get along with the winter...and sadly, this book only confirmed that for me. Though I was hoping for a memorable read, the only thing I'll remember about this one is that given the choice, it's ALWAYS best to stay far away from thin ice.

2.5 stars

For 2023 one of my New Year resolutions is to be more scrutinizing of the books I choose to request. I'm doing this not only for my personal reading enjoyment but for the publishers and authors as well. I really don't enjoy writing reviews for books that don't work for me.

Locked room mysteries seems to be a trope that always fails me for whatever reason. As soon as I started reading this all I could think was Daisy Darker. These two books are very similar even though the denouements are much different. Neither worked for me.

While I wasn't able to finish this I will say that I could foresee the end of this book almost as soon as it began and that does not make for an edge of your seat reading experience. I skipped to the end to see if my predication was right and it was.

You Must Remember This is a tale about death, family, love, and greed. Set on Mount Desert Island in Maine, a family gathers to spend one last Christmas with the matriarch, who is suffering from dementia... only she has fewer days left than anyone could imagine.

Told from the perspective of a young Merriam and her granddaughter, the book weaves together a love story piece by piece. As the story unfolds, the reader is left wondering who can be trusted, and what secrets might exist under the surface.

This book made me feel like I was right there with the Caravasios family. The setting and the characters were real enough to touch, and I enjoyed how it kept me guessing as the layers were unpeeled. I am sad to be finished with it!

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚖𝚢 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚛! 𝙸 𝚊𝚋𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚞𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 👌🏽
𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚞𝚒𝚕𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚞𝚙 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚜𝚘 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚞𝚝 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗.

𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞 @netgalley 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚍𝚟𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚙𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔. 𝙸 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚢 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚒𝚜𝚑 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚊𝚖 𝚍𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚢 𝚃𝙱𝚁!

I was intrigued by the idea of a Knives Out style story mixed with Taylor Jenkins Reid, but unfortunately this book fell flat for me. I never found myself completely invested into the story, and to be honest I found it to be very boring. I have Kat Rosenfield's other book on my tbr list (No One Will Miss Her), but this didn't feel like a thriller or a mystery at all, this was just a rich family drama novel. I really felt bad for Delphine for much of the book, but didn't feel emotionally attached to any of the characters. I also did not feel drawn to Miriam's backstory. In addition, the blurb/synopsis gave away so much of the book and with that being mentioned, nothing really happened until 70% in. The atmosphere surrounding The Whispers and the gothic vibes were so enticing, but not enough to keep me interested. I am sad to say I did not enjoy this one,

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Delphine and her family are gathering at ancestral home called the whispers for one last Christmas with her grandmother who she calls Mimi. This includes her eccentric uncle, her drama queen aunt Diane her mom her Mimi and Mimi‘s caregiver Adam. Delphene loves listening to Mimi’s fabulous stories and now that she’s suffering from Alzheimer’s they’re coming few and far between. Although she thought she knew everything about her grandmothers life does Christmas she will learn you could never really know someone… Really. It is tall from three different timelines her grandmother Miriam‘s childhood and great love affair with her grandfather, Delphines prior life to Christmas and of course modern day. It all makes for a very interesting story and I thought this book was long I didn’t want to put the book down and read it all the way through. It is rare to come across a book that’s good and I am so glad I got to read it this is truly a stellar five star read. When I read part of the summary I knew I would like it but I absolutely loved it I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

2.5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. Where to even start with this book. I really wanted to love this book because I had heard such good things about her first book (No One Will Miss Her) and I have it on my shelf to read. However, this book took sooo long to even get into and was such a slow burn. Like things didn’t even start really happening in the book until like 50% of the way through. The book also had dual timelines and I didn’t feel like the previous timeline really added a lot to the story until the very end. I feel like it could have just been tied into the current time period chapters and would have been fine.

The real problem that I had with this book was about 65% of the way in. I’m going to try to explain this without providing too many spoilers. One of the characters was given a ring and the inside of the ring supposedly had the inscription “F.A.T.” The MC made a joke about the previous owner of the ring being fat and having “some big shoes to fill,” and “Fat was twice the woman you are.” The book goes on to explain (several chapters later) that the previous owners initials are actually “E.A.T.” instead of “F.” I feel like this just didn’t add anything to the storyline other than having a fat shaming component to it. It was really immature and left a really bad taste in my mouth. Overall, I’m not really sure I would recommend this book and I really wish that the first readers and the author of this book would have looked at that part more carefully before putting it in the book.

I loved this book! Although I felt I was able to figure out a lot of the secrets, maybe that’s just because I’ve read a bajillion thrillers so I’m always suspicious. I loved the dual timelines that revealed two separate truths at the end. I loved the way it was written. I finished it in 2 days flat. Of course another reason I loved it is because it takes place in Bar Harbor Maine so it had those wintry gothic house on a hill vibes. Good times all around. Highly recommend it!

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for access to this digital ARC.