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
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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.

Ruby and her family moved to Cottage Grove for a slower pace and a fresh start. After Ruby comes across a body in the water one morning while she’s rowing, she’s shocked to find out that most of the neighbors identified it as her husband Tom – Ruby doesn’t recognize him at all. Suddenly Ruby is the police’s prime suspect, and things are about to get a lot darker as Ruby’s present and past secrets collide.

I really enjoyed this twisty, fast-paced read! Plenty of action, suspense, and secrets had me flying through the pages! Ruby as a morally grey, potentially unreliable narrator really kept me guessing as the dual timeline unfolded. Although there are some dark themes here, the inclusion of the Murderlings neighborhood true crime group and the community message board posts are fun touches that add some humor and lightness. The big reveal was a surprise but in a way that made sense when thinking back on the breadcrumbs dropped along the way, and the final moment of the book left my jaw dropped!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Thriller Book Lovers Promotions for providing me an advance copy of this book.

Don't forget me by Rea Frey; it was such a great read. It had a lot of twists and turns. I was hooked on the book from the beginning. This was a great thriller. I love that one of the characters, Daisy, was a crime podcaster, and they had a true crime night with the neighborhood murder club, "The Murderlings." I really like Ruby; besides everything she has been through since her childhood, she has been strong throughout her life. The fact that Lily was not her real daughter and that she had been there for Lily since the start and knew something was wrong with her was amazing.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and I did not see that ending coming at all. It was an OMG moment for me.

Thank you, Thomas and Mercer, for the ARC and Netgalley.

This book was what mystery readers love! It was enthralling until the end! I loved the back and forth from past to present and the twists and turns!

When Tom decides to move his family a quiet and quaint suburbs, Ruby believes this is exactly what she needs for her retirement. When Tom and Lily go missing Ruby becomes the prime suspect… Ruby decides to dig for answers and when she does she uncovers secret after secret. Did Tom have a past he was hiding? Does Ruby?

This book takes you on a journey and at times it very unlikely but still keeps your eyes glued to the page. Definitely recommend

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this Advanced Reader Copy.
pub. date 03.01.24

Rating 4.5 rounded up to 5.

I. WAS. HOOKED. The entire time. Don't Forget Me is a fast-paced, wild, murder mystery ride. There is so much going on for a book that isn't very long. Frey fit in a crazy amount of action in less than 300 pages. I ate it up! The story is told from the MC, Ruby's perspective, but in dual timelines. We learn information in the present day and then back track into the past to gain a little more perspective and understanding of the why and when.

Some might find it predictable. And it may be a teensy bit? I had it narrowed down and then had to change my guess twice. There is cast of neighborhood amateur sleuths that add an interesting layer to the story. So many secrets and twists are revealed along the way that will also keep you guessing.

I loved it. I highly recommend it. It was a really fun time!

I would like to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it in your local and online bookstores and libraries on March 1, 2024.

I think I may have found one of my new go-to authors! I just devoured this book in about 4 hours and OMG was it good! This was my first book by this author and I can’t wait to read more!

Don’t Forget Me is oozing with murder, secrets, lies and deception all wrapped up in an upper class housing community. This book will have your head spinning while you try to guess who did what and I guarantee you’ll be shocked at the end! Pub date is March 1st - make sure to grab your copy!! Available for pre-order now!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and of course the talented author - Rea Frey - for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Title- Don’t forget me by @reafreyauthor
Rating-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was my first book by Rea and boy did it not disappoint one bit. This book is easily in my top 10 for 2024 and I hope it ends up in yours.

Synopsis-
When a body is presumed to be her missing husband’s, a woman must unravel the secrets of her own past to clear her name, find the truth, and put her conscience to rest once and for all.

dead body in the lake, dark family secrets, and neighborhood drama, the perfect combo of a thriller with the ultimate plot twist at the end.

This book will catch your attention right from the beginning and I promise you, that you’ll read it one sitting.

I honestly thought I guessed the twist but I was completely wrong and caught off guard by the reveal.

This book is available for purchase March 1st, 2024 but I honestly think you should just go ahead and run to Amazon and pre order it✨😮‍💨

Thank you @netgalley @reafreyauthor @thrillerbookloverspromotions for this advanced copy 🤞🏽✨

When Ruby stumbles on a dead body, she is shocked when everyone claims it’s her husband, Tom. She doesn’t see it and believes Tom left to find their missing daughter. However, as more people turn up murdered, Ruby becomes the suspect. She sets out to find the truth before she is arrested for crimes she didn’t commit.

I loved this one! It was so good at building suspense. I was also completely convinced I knew the whodunit and was like well that could have been more original. However, I was COMPLETELY WRONG. Like not even close. Looking back, I can see how Frey did a great job building in that doubt about certain things that led to my thoughts. It also leaves on a complete cliffhanger/twist. I’d definitely recommend if you’re looking for a good thriller to pick this one up!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Beware of moving to those perfect communities! There will be lies, secrets and unexpected discoveries as we soon discover in this dual time period mystery. It is an action-packed mystery with lots of twists that I didn’t see coming until the final pages. Well done! Thank you to Rea Frey and NetGalley for my complimentary copy.

Sometimes I don’t want a dark thriller but one that’s more emotional and will pick apart my heart a little. Rea Frey does that for me every time.

Don’t Forget Me starts off slow but it quickly morphs into a mind bending what is going on take of domestic suspense. I didn’t expect there to be so much action! Once things took off this was really fast paced.

I loved Ruby’s character and of course I played the detective and tried to figure out the twist and who the culprit was but there were so many twists and turns, my mind kept changing so Rea Frey definitely got me with this one. Now I intend to read all the other books by Rea Frey I haven’t read yet!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

When a body turns up in a nearby lake, Ruby is shocked to hear that it is her husband Tom. But she can't recognize the body.

Holy moly! Talk about secrets galore! This book had so many reveals, I loved the way it all came together at the end. I was hooked from page one and really enjoyed how twisted the storyline was. I can't wait to check out more by Rea Frey now!

Many thanks to Rea Frey, NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the advance electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited to get a copy of this arc from the author. It is told in alternating timelines, then and now. Ruby’s daughter has gone missing and things are not going well with her husband, Tom. Then Ruby finds a body while rowing in the lake. Her past is not what it seems. What is going on in Cottage Grove?

Highlights |
•true crime nights with the neighborhood murder club ‘the murderlings’
•secrets and lies. What is real?
•nosy neighbors' forum (one of my favorite parts)

There are a few places where I had to suspend belief, and a few plot holes, but overall I enjoyed this book and I wanted to know what was going to happen. Just when I thought I knew where things were going… I did not see that ending coming!

4/5 stars

CW | Some instances of strong profanity.

I love Rea Frey’s books and her latest thriller was completely wild and compelling.

This is my third book from this author and the stories are so different from each other but each one fantastic in their own way.
This story gripped me since the first chapter and it was a non stop roller coaster until the end. Intense, twisty and suspenseful, my kind of thriller. Loved it.

A twisty dual time line novel which I thought left too many loose ends. That said, it's a fast read with an entertaining premise and good characters. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

I enjoyed the two timelines as it allowed parts of the story to come together. This one had a ton of twists and new details being dropped. My biggest issue was the bad guy felt really predictable. There was also parts of the story that didn't make sense and an explanation was never given to the reader.