Enjoyed it. This wasn't my favorite book by the author, but it was still a good read. I have so many mixed feelings. I didn't love any of the characters. No one seemed to be able to tell the truth. There were so many twists and turns, I never knew who to believe. Ruby was aloof pretty much the whole book. She never told the truth and kept pretty much everything a secret from the reader. She lied so easily, even to the police. They could easily look up the information. How did Ruby not recognize Tom? She was married to the man for many years and swore it was not him. Yet the neighbors easily identified him. Ruby swore she wouldn't get married but then ends up with a man just like her father, maybe worse. She became exactly like her mom. Not only was she a liar but she also help Lily in so many illegal ways. She even lost her job over these activities. Ruby should have realized what a horrible person Tom was after he purposefully let her old cat out of her house. Cats definitely come before abusive men.

From the start I was suspicious of pretty much everyone in Cottage Grove. I knew one of them had to be the killer. The list kept getting shorter as more neighbors died. I never suspected who was behind all the murders. I never got any indication that this person who be capable of killing. There was only one incident with a bird mentioned and nothing else and that was revealed near the end. The ending and discovering the truth about everything was a bit disappointing. It seemed out of the blue. Ruby acted like everyone should have figured it out. How could we when everyone was an unreliable source??? The killer was definitely messed up and deserves to be in jail forever.

The story had so many things going on between the present and what happened to Ruby in the past. Some stuff was mentioned and never fully explained. How did Daisy get all that information about Ruby's past? The best part of the book was the Murderlings. That's one group I would join (as long as I wasn't killed).

Definitely recommend the book. Enjoyed the story, writing style and the characters. Look forward to reading more books by the author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas & Mercer through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Another great book by Rea Frey. Fast paced, interesting characters, great flow!

Definitely recommend.

Thank you #netgalley and #thomasandmercer for the eARC.

Well, this was a twisty beast of subplots and hard-hitting topics! Definitely one that’ll have your head spinning a few different directions!

At a glance:
* Dual timelines
* Amateur sleuths / murder club
* Facebook trolls & online community forums
* Unreliable narrator

Thank you kindly to Thriller Book Lovers Promotions, NetGalley, and the publisher for the digital ARC!

Wow! I couldn’t put “Don’t Forget Me” by Rea Frey, Author, and finished this in one sitting. In this intense and edgy, well written novel, there are twists, turns, surprises, betrayals, danger and murder. The Genres for this novel are Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Fiction, and Mystery. The author vividly describes her quirky and dramatic characters as flawed, complicated, complex, and possibly dangerous. The timeline is set in the present and goes to the past when it pertains to the characters and events.

Ruby and her husband Tom, and daughter Lily move to a ritzy community near the water. Ruby is recently retired from her job as an emergency nurse, and is trying to adapt to the new community and her neighbors. Ruby holds the key to a dark secret from her past, and can’t seem to move on. Tom is a manipulative and abusive husband, and tries to control Ruby’s life. Lily, is ready to start college, but is dealing with emotional problems.

Ruby loves to row her boat as an escape on the water, and one day she discovers a body. After calling 911, strange things happen. In Ruby’s community there is a Club that likes to try to solve murders. On the day that Ruby sees the body, the neighbors are sure that it is her husband Tom. Ruby doesn’t recognize the body as Toms. The Police certainly are checking out the suspects, and Ruby is considered one of them.

Ruby discovers that often the past secrets, can have a cause and effect on the present and future. Rea Frey had me captivated and searching for clues to what is going on. There are many surprises. I highly recommend this edgy and thought-provoking psychological thriller and mystery to others.

I don’t read a lot of thrillers, but I’m a longtime fan of Rea Frey’s writing—she didn’t disappoint. This book is chilling and gripping—a murder mystery, a family drama centered around the horrors of domestic abuse. I was on the edge of my seat as everything unfolded, almost scared to find out what would happen and what would be revealed next. There were so many ways this story could have gone, and ultimately the ending was as alarming as the crime itself.

This thriller was exactly what I expected in the sense that I was intrigued from page one and could not put it down!
Great book characters were intriguing ! Highly recommend

2.5 stars. A very interesting premise: Ruby, a former trauma nurse, finds a body in a neighborhood lake, which virtually all in the neighborhood identify as her missing husband, Tom — that is, all in the neighborhood except Ruby. So, Ruby becomes the chief suspect in this murder. The story progresses as Ruby tries not only to eliminate herself from suspicion but also to find out the truth of whose body she found and where her husband could be — and, as an added twist, where her missing daughter is and why she disappeared. This was definitely a page turner and really kept my interest until about the last 25% of the book when many things went unexplained, the revelations began to lose all credibility, and the ending really jumped the shark (even though I had long suspected who the murderer was). Overall, I was disappointed in the last portion of this novel, which dampened my enthusiasm for the book as a whole, but I would try another written by Rea Frey because of the good reviews her books seem to get.

3.5⭐ This was a decent twisty read. There are plenty of unexpected revelations. I found the story suspenseful and I never felt bored. Parts of it felt a little unbelievable or maybe requiring you to suspend disbelief. I liked how it ended. I enjoyed the writing and plot.

Out March 1.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Good grief! Wow! This is everything I ever want in a thriller! I truly couldn’t put it down. I loved the author’s style of writing and the characters! Again…just wow!

I'm torn in my rating of this book. One the one hand I thought the writing was good and flowed well and the first 75% or so I was hooked, but after that it just got a little repetitive and less and less believable.

Oh. My. God. Don’t Forget Me was one truly brilliant mind f*** of a book. Starting off as one thing and slowly morphing first in one direction and then another, the final reveal quite literally took my breath away like few others have. Action-packed yet also filled with plenty of gritty topics, I was simply gobsmacked by the well-written premise and ingeniously linked subplots. Ultimately, despite a few tiny flaws, my eyes were riveted to the pages as my thumb swiped left at what was record speed.

The plot on this one was, for the most part, an absolute hole in one. Finely layered as the past intertwined with the present, the storyline had plenty of twists and turns—none of which I was able to see through. Add in the heaps of red herrings and the possible unreliable narrator and my mind was well and truly blown. Told in dual timelines of then and now, the shifting plot kept me firmly in suspense until the timely—and shocking—reveal.

As for those characters, Ruby was a dynamite hit. Potentially an unreliable narrator since she even doubted herself, she was hard to pin down. At the same time, I could absolutely relate to some of her actions. Others, well, they went a little beyond what I could see myself doing. As for the rest of the cast of characters, most were only vaguely described. I would’ve loved to learn more about Daisy and the rest of the Murderlings as how often do you find a group of true crime fanatics within a murder mystery plot?

The biggest bee in my bonnet, however, was the very over-the-top turn that the story took as the bodies began to pile up. Requiring quite the suspension of disbelief, the first and second halves of the book were hard to tally together. After all, what was a certain five star beginning quickly went off the rails. In the end, though, I still was utterly spellbound as I raced through the pages, so, ultimately, I guess my hang up was relatively minor.

All said and done, this domestic thriller had me gasping out loud—especially when I reached that thrilling last page. Ending with quite the bang, I’m praying this is just book one of a series. After all, there are just so many delicious directions in which this one could go. Stuffed to the brim with long held secrets, well-perfected lies, and all-consuming guilt, this is not one to be missed. How I overlooked Rea Frey until now is the ultimate question. All I know is, I’m overjoyed at the prospect of digging into her backlist ASAP. Rating of 4 stars.

Really loved this book. Wasn’t expecting the ending and really looking forward to reading this authors other work. Very easy read and like the idea of a group that comes together to solve fake murders that was a new and interesting thing to see in a book

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book had a good start with a potential plot but lacked smooth storytelling and the thriller aspect. The writing is poor, the scenes are not completed, and we jump into different times without giving clear information about each incident. There are lots of plot holes, many incidents are happening too conveniently. I didn't connect with a single character.

The last chapter is the best chapter in this book! Wow, what a punch!

Not to say the rest isn't good, it's just the last is outstanding.

A body shows up in a lake in a small community and then Ruby's secrets start to come unraveled. It seems like the more secrets revealed, the more the body count goes up and Ruby seems to be the one person they all have in common!

I didn't love the way this was written. Told between chapters from "then" and "now" I didn't feel like the chapters always ended in the appropriate place, causing some confusion. I have no issues with alternating timelines and maybe the author wanted that confusion, but I had to go back and look a few times to see which timeline I was on because they bled together at times, especially in talking about Lily and her disappearance.

I wouldn't call Ruby an outright unreliable narrator, she's just been living with so many secrets for so long she's a pro at withholding info. Overall I enjoyed the story! The pacing kept me interested, the secrets kept tumbling out, and there were enough characters to create a pool of possible evil doers to chose from. I had a good feeling who the killer was but the author did a good job at continuing to instill doubt about my choice.

I would for sure read this author again.

This is my 6th book by Rea Frey so when I see a new book of hers coming out, I immediately want it. So happy NetGalley and the publisher sent it my way for my honest review. This had a lot of suspense to it all till the end. It’s actually her very first thriller and she did a great job with it! That ending! Wow!!! I really enjoyed it!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing Thomas & Mercer for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest thriller by Rea Frey, a favorite. If you haven't read her past books, do yourself a favor and check them out! 4.5 stars!

Ruby was hoping for a fresh start wither her husband, Tom, and daughter Lily, in a tight-knit, wealthy community. Her husband, Tom, wanted to build their dream home there but Ruby still years for her small place in Nashville. Recently retired, Ruby is struggling to find her place. But soon she's living a nightmare - both Tom and Lily are missing. When she's out rowing on the community lake, she comes across a body - a body that everyone says his Tom, but Ruby insists is not. Soon she's being treated as a suspect in his murder.

Rea Frey's books always surprise me with their twists and this one was no exception. Told in alternating chapters of Then and Now, complete with snippets of an online community chat thread, I loved how the story spooled out. You were never quite sure who you could trust. Another great book by this author!

What a wonderful read. I enjoyed reading this one very much. Went very fast. Recommend reading it! 4 stars for sure

A story with good pace, but a convoluted plot which gets worse in terms of plausibility and logic with each added twist.

This is a story told in current and past timelines. In the present timeline, Ruby is an ex-trauma nurse who is out rowing early and finds a body in the lake. Detective Katherine Ellis oversees the investigation and shortly after tells Ruby that the neighbours have all identified the body as being her husband, Tom. As per Ruby, Tom had left her a few weeks prior. Her daughter Lily is also missing but Ruby tells Ellis that she is studying at MIT. There is a local online forum which discusses Ruby being disturbed after Tom and Lily left. More murders follow. As the investigation proceeds it turns out that Ruby has been hiding secrets, which increasingly make her the prime suspect. The past timeline covers the family relationship, and Ruby’s past.

There are a lot of revelations as the story progresses. This makes the story lose its coherence and plausibility. At the end it simply falls apart. There are also simple aspects which make no sense, nor are they explained - Ruby’s failure to recognize Tom’s body, and many lies told which are easily verifiable and serve no purpose. The online forum chats were distracting and the role in the resolution of the plot felt silly.

If you want an easy read with lots of twist and revelations, unmindful of soundness of plot, this might work for you.

DON’T FORGET ME is a twisty thriller by the talented, Rea Frey. Her first foray into the mystery/thriller genre was a fun one. In an exclusive Nashville neighborhood, a dead body is found in a lake by a woman and her neighbors are convinced it is the woman’s missing husband.

There are a lot of elements that come together to make this a quick but compulsive read. I especially enjoyed the neighborhood “Muderlings” who meet together to solve crimes, the inclusion of the true crime podcast, and the group community chat with the neighbors speculating on the murders.

Fans of the genre will enjoy this unhinged wild ride with multiple mysteries to solve. If you’re willing to suspend a bit of disbelief this is a fun story to get lost in.

RATING: 4/5

Many thanks to NetGalley and Rea Frey for graciously providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A wild and crazy domestic psychological thriller that was unhinged! Ruby discovers a dead body in the lake and later discovers it is her husband. Thus, a murder mystery investigation ensues to solve the crime. Ruby, her husband, Tom, and daughter, Lily, have recently moved to this quiet, small community of Cottage Grove for a fresh start. Ruby's family appears to have everything going for them but what secrets are Ruby, Tom, and Lily hiding? Read this book if you are a fan of true crime podcasts, unreliable narrators, and unhinged psychological thrillers. I enjoyed this fast paced, tension filled, dark thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.