This was such a FUN read!!! Brilliantly layered plot and told in dual timelines, this one will have you racing through to the jaw-dropping end. Heads up, the devil is well and truly in the detail with this one!!

I’m not going to give much away - this one is best gone into blind. What I will say is, I loved the complex characters, and I loved how our MC was potentially unreliable… (was she…? Well you’ll need to read it to find out…!) Also, the forum chapters were great. This element really immerses you in the storyline.

Also, can we give Daisy her own story please? I loved this character and her and her true crime group, the “Murderlings” need their own book. Pretty please 🙏🏻

Off to check out Frey’s backlist!!

Thank you Thriller Book Lovers Promotions for the opportunity to read and provide a voluntary review. 4.5 stars rounded up.

Don't Forget Me by Rea Frey is a thrilling suspense story.
This book is chilling and captivating—a wild murder mystery with family drama added. It was unputdownable in my opinion.
The book's atmospheric setting and well-developed characters create an immersive reading experience that will keep readers eagerly turning pages. Frey skillfully builds tension and suspense, leading readers down a path of discovery where nothing is as it seems.

Thank You NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Another fabulous read from Rea Frey! She writes SUCH brilliantly complex, compelling characters. I had no idea who the killer was until the very end. I found myself with guess after guess that was proven wrong.

The quick paced, short chapters and the dual timeline had me invested from the start, eager to keep reading long after bedtime. I loved the addition of the forum, and the twists toward the end were nothing short of brilliance.

Ruby moves to a new house in a fancy neighborhood, hoping for a fresh start. But first her daughter (Lily) and then her husband (Tom) disappear. When Ruby finds a corpse in the lake, everyone is certain it’s Tom, but Ruby is unconvinced. She does a lot of snooping around and enlists the help of her new friends in the neighborhood’s murder-solving club (!!) to unravel the truth of her own past and to find out what happened to her family.

This was fast-paced with lots of surprises along the way! Check this one out if you like books with:

🔍 armchair sleuths
👥 multiple suspects
☠️ multiple murders
🏡 neighborhood drama
🤥 unreliable narrators
⌛️ lost time/lost memories
🌪️ wild twists

Ruby is a woman dealing with grief. First her daughter Lily goes missing and then her husband. To keep herself busy she joins the “Murderlings” a neighborhood group that gets together to solve m*rders. When she finds a body in the nearby lake everyone is convinced it’s her husband Tom, but Ruby doesn’t think so.

This was a combo audio/kindle read for me for the simple reason that the audio wasn’t fast enough! What happened to Lily? Is the body in the lake Tom? I simply HAD to find out what in the world was going on RIGHT. NOW! I love dual timelines and Don’t Forget Me has that in spades as well as non linear storytelling which was easy to follow. Ruby is a captivating if unreliable narrator. She has memory gaps and has had them since she was young; she dissociates. The secrets of her past are slowly revealed while in the present she scrambles to figure out who is killing off her neighbors one by one. Yes, more bodies are found!

My only qualm is that there are some unanswered questions and areas that I wish had been explored further. Then again maybe the ambiguity is the point? Is there even more to the story that what has been explicitly revealed? I’d like to think so.

The audio was fantastic and Rachel L. Jacob’s was a pleasure to listen to. She captured emotions perfectly and I enjoyed the community forum excepts when listening. When reading the neighborhood texts, it didn’t add as much and I could’ve done without it.

I won’t hesitate to grab another thriller by Rea Frey! This was a mind bender of a read with some twists that took me by surprise! I did succeed in identifying the killer. I think? I’m still pondering that ending. . .

Thank you Rea Frey, Thriller Book Lovers Promotions, Thomas & Mercer, Brilliance Publishing and NetGalley for my gifted audio copy. All opinions are my own.

Tropes: Serial Killer on loose, mental health rep, Gruesome deaths/ Murder, Shocking truths, Dual Timelines & Twists and Turns

The book is intense and dark. This is a kind of book where you cannot predict anything and the more you will read, the more it will grip you. And each character has a secret. So many unthinkable things happens in the plot. So many secrets and so many twists. And talk about terrifying murders and complex relationships. It was all like a deceiving web and someone is trying to frame Ruby in the murder of her husband and neighbours. The ending was so shocking.

Ruby finds a body in the surface of the lake. She calls the police while somehow she becomes a primary suspect as the body is presumed to be of Tom, her missing husband who is found in an unrecognisable condition. While the book has been narrated in dual timeline; past and present. After an unfortunate murder, the revelation of Tom’s and Ruby marriage comes on surface too. While one of her neighbour reveals something but soon she is found dead too with a slit throat, the two of them seem to be connected. Ryan and Greg were on her side.

Ruby’s past was touching and the revelation of their marriage was shocking. Tom was harbouring his own secrets too. Lily disappears too. In the present day, the series of unfortunate events doesn’t stop. Ryan is found dead too and the killer is on loose, the killer must be found to stop them for hurting anyone else.

Many Thanks to Netgalley, Author, & Publisher.

I liked this one but didn't love it. It had me fooled for a while, thinking I knew who the killer was. That kept me hooked for a while but ultimately, the author added some extra murders that felt quite unnecessary and moved slowly through the main character's back story. I ended up guessing who the killer was and just felt like it could have been over sooner. I'm a fan of twisty thrillers, so am willing to check out more by the author in the future. Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC!

3.5 stars
Don’t Forget Me, by Rea Frey, is a decent domestic thriller/murder mystery.
The story is narrated in first person POV by protagonist Ruby, a middle-aged, recently “retired” trauma nurse. She, lawyer husband Tom, and her mentally fragile, teenage stepdaughter live in a newly developed, upscale, planned community near Nashville, Tennessee. Cottage Grove may look perfect, but its residents participate in gossipy online forums and even have a
true-crime discussion group called the Murderlings!
When a dead body surfaces in the community’s lake, and Ruby discovers it, the hunt for the identity of the victim and circumstances of the death begins.
The story moves from present to past, but in an unpredictable choppy manner; while some of the truly “past” events are from Ruby’s childhood, other references are to much more recent events. The timelines seemed jumbled.
I did like Ruby’s character, who struggled with unhappy childhood memories and with her adult mistakes. Most of the other characters were thin and not likeable. The inter-chapter excerpts from the “Cottage Grove Forum” were meant to show the mean-spirited, nosy neighbors’ thoughts, but did nothing to move the plot forward.
I wish the writing and the plotting was more organized, as this novel started strong, but did not hold together to the end. It had a very good premise, and it could have been so much more.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

I’ve read many of Rea Frey’s books and loved them so I was very excited to read her latest. This book did not disappoint. It is told in the Now and Then with the center being around Ruby finding a body in the lake. The writing is so good and the author gives tidbits of information just at the right time. I also loved how this book had a neighborhood crime night where they tried to solve made up crimes (or not so made up!). This is a book that will keep you reading way past bedtime!

Taking an early retirement, Ruby moves with her husband Tom and daughter Lily to a tight-knit lakeside community, where she will be a stay-at-home mom as Lily finishes high school. Bored, she turns to her new neighbors as a way to find new hobbies, and one of the ones she really enjoys is a murder club where they try to solve cold cases. Just when she is beginning to find her place, her troubled daughter and then her husband disappear without a trace. Weeks later, Ruby is out rowing on the lake and a body floats up to the surface. Ruby doesn't recognize the person, but everyone else that the police interviewed say the body is Ruby's husband, Tom. Determined to find out what happened to her family once and for all, Ruby digs into her neighbors’ lives, and her own, only to uncover secrets that raise more questions than they answer.
As more bodies begin to be discovered, murdered in the same way as Tom, it looks as if there is a serial killer living among them.

This book was SO good. I did not want to put it down. This was a bit different than this author's usual books in that the book was a psychological thriller however, she excelled at the genre. The story is told in alternating timelines between then and now, with a generous dose of screenshots from the local neighborhood gossip forum (which was quite entertaining and entirely relatable). This will keep you guessing right up to the end. If you are a fan of thrillers then this needs to be at the top of your TBR pile. You are going to love it!

Ruby and Tom and daughter lily moved to a newly built community by a lake. Ruby just went along with Tom on location, design and everything else. Her only focus was to protect and nurture Lily, who besides being a clever student had frailties of her own, which Tom refused to acknowledge.

Fast forward and Lily goes missing. Followed by Tom going missing. When Tom’s body is found floating on the lake, suspicion focuses on Ruby. She doesn’t identify the body as Tom, but all her neighbours do.

Is Ruby in a fugue state not able to acknowledge what is in front of her. When one and then another neighbour is found murdered, the focus switches solely on Ruby. Even at that moment three quarter into the story, one would go with the theory that Ruby kills these people while in some state, which blocks her remembering what she has done.

The final denouement is shocking and frightening and a surprise. The dual timelines, the uncertainty of Ruby, the changing face of the immediate characters all created a puzzle.

Prolific American author Rea Frey’s latest crime fiction thriller, Don't Forget Me (2024) is an enjoyable murder mystery. Recently separated and living alone in the family home, Ruby is out rowing early one morning when she discovers a body floating in the lake. The Cottage Grove locals are quick to identify it as Ruby’s former husband but she denies it's him. As the police investigation begins, they discover Ruby’s daughter has also left home and the strange circumstances of her parent’s deaths. Then the local gossip rumour mill is quick to accuse Ruby of the murder and so she delves into the neighbours to try and find out exactly what happened, stirring up trouble and discovering lots of secrets. A rising body count and local secrets combine to form an intriguing murderer reveal that is a four stars read rating. With thanks to Thomas & Mercer and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own, freely given and without inducement.

I am not quite sure about this one. Ruby moves to new neighborhood and right away her daughter and her husband disappear. Ruby admits she has no female friendships because she "doesn't do gossip" and after that I was like "you probably deserve what's coming." which did not make me a sympathetic reader at all.
This is okay but I really do not like Ruby.

I’d like to thank Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Don’t Forget Me’ written by Rea Frey in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Ruby Knight is on an early morning row at the lake near to her home in Cottage Grove when she finds a body that has floated to the surface. Detective Ellis arrives and asks if the body could be that of her missing husband Tom as all of the neighbours say it is although Ruby doesn’t recognise him. As Detective Ellis continues to question her, Ruby is convinced someone is trying to set her up as a murderer but she has no idea why.

‘Don’t Forget Me’ is a dark mystery thriller of family secrets, domestic violence and the effect it has on other members of the family. It covers the timespan of what happened in Ruby’s past to the present time and is told through her eyes with additional social media comments from the Cottage Grove Forum. I’ve been so engrossed by the story and what happens behind closed doors that I’ve been unable to stop reading and finished the book in less than twenty-four hours. It’s deep and poignant, is very well-written and totally gripping with characters that are described to perfection. There’s drama, tension and suspense but when I got towards the last chapters I was completely shocked by an outcome that I would never have guessed in a million years. This is the first novel I’ve read by Rea Frey and I’ve enjoyed it so much I’ll be looking out for more by her.

3,5 ⭐
This book is one fast and dangerous rollercoaster ride from start to finish. It starts with Ruby finding a body during her morning row. Everyone says it's her missing husband Tom, but why doesn't she recognise him? And who killed him?

The story is told in now and then chapters. We gradually learn what's happened in the past and how it affects the present. There are tons of secrets and twists, maybe even too many, if that is possible. I managed to guess the killer, but not the motivation. I also guessed many of the twists, but it did not hinder my reading experience. The pace is very fast and I just had to keep turning the pages to get to the end. I really, really liked the writing style. This is one of those books that could have been longer in order to tie in all the loose ends that left me wondering in the end. None of the characters were very likable, but I don't mind that in my thrillers. In fact the more nasty the better.

This book was a surprisingly fast read. It is a twisty thriller and while I did figure out where the story was going (and both of the major twists) I felt like this was a right way to use an unreliable narrator. The story unfolds slowly in both present and past tense. Ruby is rowing on the lake when she finds a body. She calls police and is shocked when her entire neighborhood is instantly convinced the man is her husband Tom who left her. She doesn’t believe it could have been him, but she and neighborhood murder solving club are on the case. As more bodies appear Ruby becomes certain that someone is trying to frame her and she is determined to figure out who it is before she ends up in prison. I liked the style. While the mystery got a little over the top I found it to still be a fun read and definitely recommend this one to anyone who enjoys a good thriller.

Rea Frey is a new-to-me author, and I can't say that I loved this book. It opens with Ruby, the heroine, who is the daughter of an abusive father, and who is currently married to her abusive husband, Tom, an attorney. He moved the family--his daughter, Lily, and his wife, Ruby, to a posh new community where she knows no one. She rows on the lake in the morning, and soon discovers a dead man floating in it. Her neighbors agree that the dead body is that of her 3-months missing husband, but Ruby doesn't see the resemblance because she has blackouts--and that's just for starters. 3 stars.

First the triggers: domestic violence, rape, child abuse, and gruesome murders. If these are a problem for you, I'd suggest reading something else.

The now and then timeline the author chose to use was confusing enough without the addition of an on-line chat forum on which no one uses their real name, and then there's her neighbor, Daisey's group--the Murderlings club, where each week the members get together and have 3 hours in which to attempt to solve a cold murder case. Ruby joined the Murderlings club in an attempt to meet some of her neighbors, and eventually her stepdaughter, Lily, joins as well, and shortly thereafter, Lily also disappears for months, but it was hard to figure out if her disappearnace was in the past or present, as was also the case with Ruby's now deceased husband, Tom, but again, it's hard to tell who to believe or trust, or to figure out whether you're in the past or the present, because the story jumps back and forth so many times.

What starts out with one murder, morphs into many more murders so quickly, that you need a scorecard to keep track. Yes there are motives for some of the cases, but none seem to really fit any of the large cast of characters. The suspense was good, and it kept me turning pages, but the constant shifts in the timeline were incredibly confusing, and not all of the victims seemed to have enough enemies to warrant their deaths. So what's going on? Who is a serial killer? And why is the killer targeting and eliminating so many people in the neighborhood, and to top it all off, leaving the murder scenes without leaving a single clue, which also seemed a bit too hard to believe.

As far as whodunits go, this was just an okay read, and yes, there was a surprise ending, but to then have the author feel the need to explain the murderer's reasoning for the murders seemed like a bit of a cop-out to make this convoluted story makes sense. If you're a fan of whodunits, you might like this novel far more than I did, but I think a straight timeline would have made this novel a far better read.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions stated are my own.

The reigning queen of mother/child stories, domestic suspense, and Book Doula, author Rea Frey (favorite) returns following The Other Year with her first 'true' thriller, DON'T FORGET ME —an edgy, gritty, and twisty spine-chilling psychological suspense that will keep your turning the pages into the wee hours of the morning!

With her signature style, Frey combines family secrets, domestic violence, and childhood drama with complex characters, mind-bending suspense, a twisty plot, lyrical prose, and an atmospheric setting—delivering a top-notch, compelling page-turner!

Ruby Knight Winslow is a wife, mother, and a former trauma nurse for over twenty years. Her husband, Tom (a criminal defense lawyer), wanted to leave their urban life to move to a new lakefront area, Cottage Grove, and she finally agreed.

Tom is a charmer; however, he is abusive behind closed doors. They also have a troubled teen (age 17) daughter, Lily. Lily has had trouble with depression in the past and mental health, and Ruby is concerned about her.

As the book opens, Ruby finds a dead body on the lake while rowing. Everyone thinks it is her husband, Tom, who disappeared, and her daughter. Since Ruby left the hospital job, she has not been working. Tom likes it that way since he likes control. There is also a next door neighbor, Ralph, a judge for over thirty years. Detective Ellis (Katherine) is handling the case.

In the meantime, this suburban lakeside neighborhood, Cottage Grove, is obsessed with true crime. They even have a thriller books club (whodunit) crime night where the members try to solve cold murder cases in under three hours. They are called the Murderlings.

Cottage Grove also has an online forum for the residents to share, connect, and explore. They are having a field day with the new body found in the lake. Everyone has an opinion.

Tom supposedly left Ruby, and their daughter started college, or so she said. Is Ruby telling the truth? However, Ruby has a past. From then to now, we slowly learn about complicated past events.

Ruby also meets another nice guy at the book club, Ryan (artist), and Daisy, a true-crime podcast host of Death Becomes Me, which hosts the monthly crime nights to solve hypothetical murders in under three hours. There is also the interior designer, Cassie.

Daisy had been a criminal law major and switched to forensics. Then the blog and podcast. Lily takes a summer job with Daisy working on the podcast and digging into cold cases. Ruby solved the murder quickly on her first night at the meet-up. Then when everyone suspects the body found is Tom, Ruby's husband, everyone suspects her.

One night later, Daisy pulls out photos from the past for them to solve, and Ruby recognizes them. The case is her family. Her dark secret history and a past that she worked hard to get away from. The ultimate betrayal. Lily is at the meeting, and Ruby is not about to let everyone dig into her past. This is not a game! What is going on?

Who killed Tom, and where did Lily go? Who is Ruby? Then there are more murders. Is a serial killer on the loose? Everyone thinks she is guilty - can she prove otherwise? There is more to the story than meets the eye. No one is as they appear.

DON'T FORGET ME is a clever, mind-bending, and shocking whodunit, as the author carefully peels back the layers of dark secrets behind closed doors. The author is always a pro, whether writing women's fiction, domestic suspense, or thrillers! Engrossing! You will be on the edge of your seat with unreliable narrators, red herrings, and a jaw-dropping final twist.

A massive fan of the author, my sixth book by the author —each one is unique and compelling and expertly crafted with finesse. For fans of Big Little Lies and authors BA Paris and Mary Kubica.

I highly recommend all of Rea Frey's books!

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for an advanced review copy for an honest opinion.

Blog Review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: March 1, 2024
My Rating: 5 Stars
March 2024 Must-Read Books
March Newsletter

This is one of the best thrillers I've read so far this year! The ending was absolutely unexpected and it was hard to put this down! I would highly recommend this! Thank you to Rea Frey, Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ruby has just moved to a new lake community with her family when she finds a dead body in the lake. She’s shocked to see the body, but more shocked everyone thinks it’s her husband. Everyone, but Ruby.

This fast and furious page turner had tons of twists. One of those novels when you can’t believe ranch person because there’s another secret hiding. I found the relationship between Tom and Ruby to be fascinating- Tom was so controlling and Ruby just let it happen. She found work arounds to continue to live her life, but why would she keep doing that?

My favorite part was the neighborhood Murder Parties. They would gather and try to solve murder mysteries. Who wants to join one with me?

Thank you @suzyapprovedbooktours @reafreyauthor and @amazonpublishing for my gifted copy.