Jane suffers from a series of strange episodes, amnesia, premonitions and hallucinations. As her psychiatrist struggles to solve the mystery of what is happening, she suddenly goes missing. Told from 2 different perspectives, which gives you a true sense of what is happening in Jane's mind. Slow burning thriller that quickly turns into a mind bending, sci-fi like ending. Definitely left me thinking.

Thank You NetGalley and Random House for the free e-galley.
Publication Date: Feb 25, 2025

I don't even know how to write a review for this book. It's strange :)

This is the story of Jane O. who walks into the office of her therapist, which she only met once many years before (even though he doesn't remember) and then doesn't come back. Until he gets a call that she woke up in the park and is now at the hospital and can't remember the last day.

The story goes back and forth between Jane's diary entries and the therapist. And the more we find out, the more confused we get. It becomes hard to understand what's real and what's not. And you have to be willing to suspend your disbelief and just go with it.

I loved Walker's writing from the very first page. Once I started reading this book, I could not put it down and wanted to see what happened to Jane O. If you're open to reading unusual books, you will love this one.

with gratitude NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to preview this title in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really don’t know what to write here. This is the craziest story I ever read, but also one of the best! The story is intense and includes some heavy subjects but beautifully done.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the advanced reader copy.

Karen Thompson Walker does it again--how her mind can create such complicated webs of story (often speculative elements in an otherwise realistic world) while also revealing all the pathos of what it means to be a person trying to find their way through the world, boggles my mind. The story of Dr. Henry Byrd and his patient, Jane O, went in directions that I didn't see coming and kept me thoroughly engaged until the last page.

Karen Thompson Walker creates a brilliant storyline. A psychological thriller but with a sprinkle of sci-fi. A perfect combination.

Jane is a new mom who finds herself having recurring blackouts where she goes missing for days at a time. The police aren’t buying it when she claims she has no memory of her time missing.

It’s up to slightly flawed psychiatrist Dr. Byrd to help Jane discover her troubling condition, while others question her sanity.

This is not a fast-paced thriller, rather a journey into Jane’s reality told from the perspectives of both Jane and Dr. Byrd.

I love a book that’s just a bit mind-bending. And this book fits the bill perfectly. My second read by this author and looking forward to what she comes up with next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing

I love psychological thrillers, but this book is on a totally different level. I enjoyed the twists and the dual point of view, and the great writing. But most of all this book managed to scare me about my own state of psychological health. A great, gripping read.

Thanks Netgalley for the free ARC! I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Very in depth characters and articulate writing. Appreciated the letters and case notes because they added a thrilling dimension to the storyline. I was hesitant to read this novel originally because I’m currently grieving and I thought it might include a supernatural genre I was not ready for, but instead I felt this novel was more believable and fact-finding. I recommend this story for an enticing, engaging read.

Loved Thompson's previous books. Not a fan of this one. Interesting concept but so slow-paced abd tedious it took me weeks to slog through cuz I kept falling asleep
I received an ARC from netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I did not like this book. I had really high hopes for it because I loved Karen Thompson Walker’s novel The Dreamers so so so much. Unfortunately I didn’t love Jane the same way. It was so boring. The title alludes to Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and while I understand the nod it felt like a stretch. I know it was meant to be case notes and a journal/letters, but I found the writing really bland; it was so simplistic and repetitive that I almost DNF the book. So little happens in this book that it functions more as a character study than a plot driven novel, but by the end we still know next to nothing about the characters. I did enjoy the ending which is why I’m giving it 3 stars instead of 2; I wish the theory posited at the end had been explored in greater depth, it would have made for a better story. Instead the pacing was off and it felt rushed after a very long slow buildup. Maybe it would have benefited from another round of editing?

This was an interesting story, strange at times, hard to pin down whether Jane's issue was related to giving birth or stress. Jane is a single mom of a toddler, she's found unconscious in a New York City park, with no memory of how she got there. Jane sees a psychiatrist who tries to figure out why she has no memory prior to waking up in the park. Video from various cameras follows Jane who appears to be doing daily errands before disappearing into the park, no one followed her or took her into the park, and her son had been at daycare, and cared for by staff over night. A bit of Jane's history covers her university time and one person that she only knew for a short period of time before he died, for some reason this person had a strong impression on her, though they had little interaction. Jane goes through another incident of memory loss that lasts several days and included her son, she's quickly declared missing but is found not long after, and again with no memory of what happened during the time. Video again captures her movements around the city, she had ended up at an apartment of someone she knew, who wasn't there. The story is told through case notes of the psychiatrist and Jane's letters to her son. Overall a good story and I would recommend. Thanks to #Netgalley and #Random House publishing for the ARC.

The Strange Case of Jane O.
Karen Thompson Walker
Release Date: February 25, 2025
Dates Read: October 25, 2024 - November 22, 2024
220 page | Science Fiction/Fantasy

***NetGalley Review***

Background:

Jane walks into a psychiatrist office to get help for what seems to be some undetermined amounts of time that she has lost but, cannot necessarily explain. She comes to this doctor, Dr. Byrd, for the help based on past findings he might have. While being his patient, there are a number of strange things that occur that he (the doctor) cannot explain himself.

Overview:

From the get go, Jane was really adamant about keeping her full identity hidden, she never even really gave him the full name. With her having a kid, I would think that maybe, these episodes were a sign of stress and being a new mom was hard. The minute she spoke on seeing someone she hasn’t seen since high school, my thoughts went left and I did not know what to expect from there. Dr.Byrd has some recent dealings that the city now thinks he is a mass of destruction because he believes in the supernatural while, others don’t really believe that much into it; like the supernatural forces the life beings doing something that is not like them. Jane, also, showed signs of she could see into the future about her neighbor as well, she remembered every date and the significance down to the weather of that day in history, which I think that has everything to do with her friend she still sees from high school.

Review:

It is a very thought-provoking book with all types of puzzles to figure out. You stay wanting to read the next page without really lingering too much on the prior page because it makes it all the more interesting. All of these premonitions, amnesia , and hallucinations that she had been experiencing is something I wish not on no one especially to someone with a child.

The Strange Case of Jane O. is a literary psychological thriller, that was a bit light on the thriller and mystery for me. The primary bulk of the book is told from the point of view of Jane O. psychiatrist, an unnamed narrator, in NYC in 2018 as he takes on Jane's case. Jane has a remarkable memory but has noticed she's missing time and recently had a realistic vision of a man she knows for a fact is dead. The chapters do alternate between a case log about Jane from the psychiatrist's point of view to letters Jane is writing to her 13-month-old son about her mental health struggles. The two point of views don't always line up, and how they diverge and what is going on with Jane's mind is the mystery at the center of this book.
The book itself is fairly short, and the writing was well done. I have previously enjoyed Karen Thompson Walker's books and was prepared for a semi unrealistic solution based on that previous experience. I will say the mystery was well plotted and not easily guessed, but the resolution just felt too neat, and also just a bit odd. For that reason, I've decided to round down from 3.5 stars to 3 stars.
Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The Strange Case of Jane O. by Karen Thompson Walker is a mix of literary fiction, psychological thriller, and sci-fi. It switches between Dr. Henry Byrd, a psychiatrist treating Jane O., and Jane’s letters to her son. Jane, a single mom and librarian, struggles with hallucinations and memory loss that make her question who she is. As her condition worsens, Dr. Byrd starts to question reality itself.

I’ll admit, this book got me hooked quickly even though it is a bit slow paced which occasionally hindered the momentum. While it is labeled sci-fi, I’d say it leans more psychological. The writing is often clinical at times since it is coming from a doctor’s view which I didn’t like. Overall the writing is good and gave the novel a dreamlike quality which like I said captivated me.

While the mystery surrounding Jane’s condition was captivating, I wish the book delved deeper into explaining what was truly happening with her, as some aspects felt unresolved. Additionally, the romance introduced toward the end felt unnecessary and somewhat forced.

The Strange Case of Jane O. is just fascinating. Admittedly it starts off very stilted and formal, because about half of the book is written as if it is notes from appointments between Dr. Byrd and his patient, Jane O. Dr. Byrd is recounting what Jane has told him and his observations, so it’s very dry, and seems very routine, albeit the fact that Byrd is a psychologist and Jane is seeing him to try and sort out why she is hallucinating and having dissociative episodes. The reader also sees how Jane is interpreting what she is experiencing in letters she is writing to the older version of her very young son. About halfway through the book really gets interesting when Jane and her son disappear for days and Jane, from her perspective, seems to very much be living in an alternate, parallel version of the universe that has unfolded differently than the one of the book. How Thompson Walker goes about exploring this possibility is absolutely fascinating and makes it seem plausible in reality, bending the interpretation of mental health and what people outside of “normal” are really experiencing. It is so hard to define the genre of this book, it could be mystery, science fiction, literary fiction. I didn’t really expect this to take the path it did when I started reading this, but it made the book so much more interesting and engaging because it did. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Wow. I feel the start of a book hangover from this one. It’s definitely the type of book I will be thinking about days after finishing it.

I absolutely loved this story and couldn’t put it down. I enjoyed the alternating points of view between Jane and Dr. Byrd. It really helped bring the story together, though I can’t say it helped me figure out what was going on much! I was so intrigued by what was happening to Jane that I was determined to finish the book. I really liked both characters and appreciated their realness and imperfections. This book was just very engrossing and fun to read. I love a book that keeps me guessing.

Highly recommend this one! Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for allowing me to read and review this ARC.

A psychiatrist tries to understand what is happening to his patient, Jane. After having a child she suffers amnesia and hallucinations. Then she goes missing.

This books read like non fiction, and very interesting for anyone interested in psychology. It’s quite the mind puzzle trying to understand what is going on. I loved the ending how it makes the reader really think. It’s the type of book you’ll want to go in blind and likely reread once you know the end.

“In my experience, it is possible to help a patient by simply bearing witness - even if, as a doctor, one cannot explain what one is witness to.”

The Strange Case of Jane O comes out 2/25.

This book kept me engaged throughout the entire novel. It is just the right number of twists and is a combination of literary and science fiction. I could not put this down. This is my first five star in some time and I do not give out 5 stars loosely.
Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an honest review. i can't wait to get my own copy. This is one not to miss.
5 star

In 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘖., author Karen Thompson Walker tells an intriguing story that I would characterize as literary fiction with psychological thriller and sci-fi elements. The novel’s point of view shifts back and forth between two narrators: in the present, psychiatrist Dr. Henry Byrd recalls his treatment of a patient he refers to as Jane O.; in the past, Jane herself writes down daily events as letters to her son as part of a therapeutic exercise. At the time of their sessions, Jane is a woman in her late 30s, single mom to an infant, and city librarian who is suffering from hallucinations and bouts of what Dr. Byrd suspects is dissociative fugue—a kind of amnesia where one loses awareness of their identity and memories and feels the need to flee. As they work together, Jane’s episodes continue and her symptoms worsen, leading Dr. Byrd to question her sanity… and even the nature of reality.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘖. has a captivating plot. I very much wanted to discover the root of Jane’s issues and what would happen to her and her young son. However, I found the narrative pace very slow and the personalities of the characters—despite their extraordinary circumstances—somewhat bland, so this ended up being a surprisingly sluggish read for me. But overall I did enjoy the book and recommend it to those with a propensity for literary fiction with a psychological bent. Thank you to Random House for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

So glad I read this! I expect this one to really stick with me. Stylistically brilliant--not only are you figuring out the different layers of the mystery and the possible psychological diagnoses, but you are figuring out what you can and can't believe from two narrators. Of course a first-person narrator is inherently unreliable, but you also have the fact that each is presenting his/her views in written form, one more formal and polished but each with a clear sense of a possible audience. If you are intrigued by psychology, relationships, physics and the roots of the sensory experience, you will enjoy this. Also a great pick if you enjoy a surprising novel that defies traditional categorization. Highly recommend. Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC and the opportunity to share my review.

I read this over three days while walking on the treadmill—I must thank Karen Thompson Walker for accomplishing the impossible task of making me look forward to my daily exercise. (If only the book had been longer, so I could have enjoyed the treadmill for a few more days!)

This was a gripping, emotional novel. Not only was the plot perfectly paced, but the characters unraveled at just the right times to keep me completely hooked. It was relatable, it was completely unknown—it ticked all the boxes for me.

It was sad, yet hopeful. I really liked the concept and execution—this is a story that I’ll be thinking about for a long time to come.