This was so good best book I read in 2024 so far and I am up to 23.
This had the perfect amount of everything. I thought I knew the killer from the start then I kept doubting myself all the way to the end.
Run and go get this book

Told in alternating timelines of now and then by the characters.

It kept me guessing with the twists and wanting to continue reading.
I didn’t expect the killer. That was a shocker.

I’d like to thank Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the chance to read this preview. I’ll be reading more by this author.

This twisted thriller starts off with a bang when Ruby finds a body, and the suspense builds as the bodies fall around her. Rea Frey does such an amazing job of combining internal conflict with Ruby's messed up marriage and the external conflict of the murders to create an amazing plot. I highly recommend this book for fans of twisted psychological, serial killer thrillers.

There were definitely dark moments to this novel and this kept me hooked to find out the truth about Ruby's missing husband.

Don't Forget Me by Rea Frey

This book was just published March 1, 2024, so I caught the tail end of the NetGalley permission to read and give an honest review.

Ruby Knight is living in a nice house all on her own, near a shared lake. She rows every day for her peace of mind, but one morning, discovers a body floating nearby. As she alerts authorities, the story begins to unravel with her possible connection to this body. Her college-aged daughter is not living at home, and her ex-husband is no longer in the picture. Is this body someone she knows from the community? Is this someone in Ruby's life, or could this be a total stranger that just happened to surface after some time in total coincidence of her daily rowing across the lake?

I feel like I was able to guess the outcome from almost mid-point of this story, but a few surprising twists showed up. While this did not hit my 5 star rating, I can say I was fully invested in the storyline and appreciated the modern references with elements like the community forum online. This was relevant to how life is with everyone online talking their opinions up and maybe saying too much in a public forum, and that held my attention to imagine this scenario in real life. Some of the characters were absolutely detestable, and some you really began to feel for as their stories unfolded. Some mothers will go to extremes to protect their children, while others breathe a sigh of relief to have unfair burdens lifted and to protect themselves.

I say give this book a chance, as I have really enjoyed others by this author. It is a good "whodunnit" mystery with a modern touch.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my chance to read and review this book.

Some of the author's main characters in her books start to run together -- I'd like to see a bigger difference. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the story, and I will recommend it to my fellow book friends.

This was so good, I hope she writes more thrillers! Ruby is recently retired from nursing, they moved into her husbands dream house and her daughter is on track in school and looking forward to deciding what she wants to do for college. When she is out rowing one morning, she finds a dead body has come to surface and when police start questioning her and the neighbors, things are not as they appear. With each interview, the police slowly are pulling out tidbits about everyone, as well as just who Ruby and Tom are, as the newest in the neighborhood. As more dead bodies appear and the investigation continues, it seems that Ruby has been telling half truths and even she is shocked by the secrets that come out about her husband. Not only do the secrets bubble up like the body did, so does her past and that may just hold the key to cracking the case. Will the police be able to pinpoint the killer before another body shows up, or will it be left up to the community crime solvers who are no longer just playing a game of solving the murder. I especially loved the added chat sections and the clever user names! Thank you to Thriller Book Lovers Promotions for the tour invite and to the author and Netgalley for the complementary book. This review is of my own opinion and accord.

Another WOW book. I think this is the best book Rea Frey has written and I've enjoyed a few of her books. This one literally caught me off guard. Up to the very ending I did not know who the killer was. I did have few guesses but I was wrong every single time. Good work. Well written. A must read for anyone who loves a good thriller.

This is the story of one messed up family. Mother, Ruby. Dad, Tom. Daughter, Lily. Three messed up people. And a neighborhood of victims and messed up neighbors.

Tom moved them to a new neighborhood. A new area. A bit away from where they had lived. It was his dream place to live regardless of whether his wife and daughter liked it or not. Needless to say I disliked Tom. He was an abusive husband. He thought he was sneaky about it though. That no one knew. Until they did.

Ruby wanted a stable home more than anything. She had been raised in a very abusive home and promised she would never put up with that. Her dad had brutally abused her mother for years. She was not going to live that kind of life. Until she did.

Ruby was the daughter. She had problems of her own. Problems that Ruby tried so hard to help with. She went behind Tom's back and got help for Ruby. Ruby had some mental issues that were controlled with medication. Until it wasn't.

There are several key players in this story but the three most important are in the Winslow family. There are five murders and one killer. Until there are more. I love how this story plays out. The drama that leads up to a great ending that I hope is possibly a beginning for another book. That would be the best. Because someone did have to help. One person could not have done all of that one his or her own...

Thank you #NetGalley, #ReaFrey, #Thomas&Mercer for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

Five huge stars and I'd give it more if possible. A true edge of your seat thriller from start to finish.

While domestic thrillers haven't been my favourite trope lately, this one surprised me. Just when I thought I had it figured out, unexpected twists midway through kept me hooked and transformed the story into something much more compelling.

Such a good read! This one was a thriller that kept you wanting to read more. This book was a bokk tbat brought you back to the "then" and to the "now. Love those type of reads because it helps give you a back story. Many twist and turns! Highly suggested!

This is a thriller that was a wild ride.

It’s set in a fancy subdivision outside of Nashville and it’s told in the then and now timelines. It also has a favorite of mine..a social media forum for these neighbors to air out all their gripes and present theories!

The main character, Ruby, finds a body floating in the man made neighborhood lake while she is rowing for her morning exercise.

From that point on we learn more about Ruby and the body in the lake.

These type books, I don’t want to give any of the plot away. The book does a great job of telling us about Ruby, her family, and her neighbors.

One of my favorite things in this book is there is a neighbor who is a true crime podcaster. She even hosts neighborhood get togethers for murder nights.

I suspected everyone and trusted no one during the course of this read!

Well-written psychological thriller where you are constantly trying to guess the “who did it”. I had my suspicions and enjoyed reading this book all in one night.

After reading this book I wish there was a “murderlings” type group in my neighborhood. Their get togethers seemed like they would be a lot of fun. I liked the alternating timelines. The present was a little faster paced, but the past made me question events of the present. I didn’t see the twists coming and while the way the mystery was solved seemed a little unconventional, I enjoyed it. I get invest in the characters I couldn’t put it down as with most of this authors books.

Thank you @reafreyauthor and @suzyapprovedbooktours for the gifted copy.

This was such a great whodunnit murder mystery! It had me hooked from the start and I loved trying to put the clues together to figure it out!

After moving to a new town with her husband (Tom) and daughter (Lily), Ruby finds a body in the lake and Tom and Lily have both disappeared. Everyone in town seems to think the body is Tom’s, except Ruby. Desperate to find answers, Ruby turns to some of her new neighbors for support. Ruby herself is unreliable and as the story unfolds, it becomes difficult to figure out who else can be trusted. Suddenly, it looks like it might be the work of a serial killer and the race is on to figure it out before anyone else becomes a victim.

The story alternates between past and present and as it continues, pieces of the puzzle come together. This is a fast paced read that will grab your attention from the start and keep it until the very end! It was my first book by Rea Frey and she will now be added to my list of auto-read authors! Thriller lovers will not be disappointed with this one…Definitely give it a try!

Thank you to Rea Frey, Thriller Book Lovers Promotions, NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the advanced reader copy!

“I recognized that darkness because I’d felt it too…I’d been running from it my whole life.”

This is my first book by Rea Frey and it most certainly won’t be my last!
When I say I gasped several times during this book…..what a wild ride!!
When Ruby is out on the lake she finds a dead body. Everyone is pointing their fingers at her, especially since they say the dead body looks like her husband who is missing. But Ruby swears it’s not him. It can’t be….right?? As more dead bodies pile up, Ruby is convinced someone is setting her up. Told in Then and Now to lead up to her husband leaving and their daughter missing.
I also loved the Neighborhood forum chat.
You certainly aren’t going to want to miss this thrilling and twisty book!
Be sure to check any trigger warnings.

Dual timelines. Missing family members. A suspenseful read.

Not sure I liked the characters in the book, but I wanted to know what was up from the start. Ruby’s husband and daughter are missing and I knew Ruby had secrets. I was proud I figured out one of the twists, but. I was surprised over and over as Ruby’s family secrets slowly came to light.

I really liked this neighborhood. With their forum of gossip and murder nights, the group was a great supporting character. I would have loved to know a little about the murderlings, the murder group night who tries to solve cold cases.

The complexity and layers kept me reading way past my bedtime.

I couldn't put this book down. Loved all the twists and turns. I never knew the killer until the very end. So happy to be able to review this ARC book and looking forward to more from Rea Frey.

I have read and enjoyed 3 other books by Rea Frey so when Don’t Forget Me popped up on NetGalley I just had to read it! This is a thriller and it’s totally different from all of her other books. This story centers around domestic abuse and the aftereffects it has on people. There was childhood trauma and secrets being kept that added to the suspense. There’s a serial killer in Cottage Grove who is slaying innocent people and it’s a mystery as to who it is and why they are going after their victims. The residents have a local murder club where they all try and piece the clues together. This was a chilling read that left me guessing throughout much of the story. I think it’s one of the best thrillers I’ve read in a long time. It grabbed my attention right from the start and had me reading late into the night because I had to find out the who and why behind the mystery. I’d like to thank NetGalley for the arc I received off the Read Now section. This was a great read, I’m giving it a 5 star rating and recommend all thriller lovers to read this book! I look forward to reading more by this author and hope that she continues to write more books in this genre.

I really enjoy Rea Frey's writing style and this thriller pulled me in right from the first page. With a potentially unreliable narrator, a neighborhood full of potential suspects, and so many twists and turns this book kept me glued to the pages. I especially liked the dual timelines of then and now, and also the neighborhood social media chats that were snarky and speculative. The story may be a little over the top at times, but it all leads to a spectacular surprise ending that one can only hope will lead into more of Rea's thrillingly suspenseful tales.

Don't Forget Me by Rea Frey is a crazy suspenseful ride.
This book takes off right from the beginning and it’s a wild ride!!—it’s a mystery and includes a lot of family drama. It was a quick read only because I couldn’t put it down.

I absolutely recommend this book. Trust me you won’t be disappointed!!

Thank You NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for allowing me to read this ARC!!