This was such a fantastic book! It was like a puzzle in the whole book kind of played out in my mind like a movie, so I think it would make a great one. I love all the little puzzles and twists and turns that this book had. I love how it seems kind of like a magical realism, but also paranormal/Sci-fi

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

What a strange and amazing story! One of those where you are reading it and picturing who should play the characters in a movie version. Mind-twisting.

This book was something completely unexpected! A young woman experiences a mysterious psychological incident which sets off a number of sequential mysteries when her psychiatrist goes missing. This is the kind of gripping but slower mystery that goes places you would not expect, and the writing was absolutely beautiful. I wouldn't normally go for a sci-fi book, but this really hit the spot!

This was... somewhat anticlimactic. The story started off slow, but it eventually picked up as Jane's backstory began to unravel. Then it kind of lost me again. I'm giving it 2 stars because the premise was interesting and there was an unexpected reference to Elliott Smith. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

The Strange Case of Jane O is a fascinating dive into the unknown. From the moment Jane wakes up in a park with no memory of the past 24 hours, the story takes you on a whirlwind exploration of mental illness, psychosis, and the blurred lines between delusion and alternate realities. The plot is both intriguing and unpredictable, keeping me hooked as I tried to piece together what was truly happening. I found the story incredibly unique and thought-provoking, with a depth that lingers long after the last page. Though I expected it to lean more into a thriller at times, the psychological and existential twists made it even more compelling. Highly recommended!

I was a psychology major in college, and my favorite things to learn about were the case histories of patients whose unusual symptoms and circumstances revealed fascinating things about the workings of the mind and the brain. So when I was invited to review this book on NetGalley and read the description, I was immediately hooked.

This novel tells the story of a woman with a perfect memory who begins to experience strange symptoms -- hallucinations, blackouts lasting hours to days -- and as a result starts to doubt her memories. It's told in alternating sections in the form of case notes of the psychiatrist treating her and of her own letters to her young son, which she writes for him to read at some point in the future and which reveal her struggle to understand what is real and what is not. But the reader soon realizes that neither narrator is completely reliable, Jane because of her symptoms and her doctor because of his past efforts to research phenomena that can't necessarily be proved through science. The result is a fascinating, propulsive story that will leave anyone questioning their memory and whether someone with a seemingly perfect memory can remember things that never happened.

This is a strange book. I had read both of the author's past two novels and felt the same way, but was not as unnerved by them as I was this one. It is about mental health, parallel universes, coincidence, and memory with shades of COVID. The chapters alternate narrators between a discredited psychiatrist and a patient he is (reluctantly) treating. I was disturbed, distressed and engrossed, and yet, To me, the writing was a little stiff and the pandemic virus plot line a little contrived. I cannot recommend.

Strange and beautiful, this engrossing tale cross-crosses time and space in the voice of two intimately-voiced first-person POV narrators.

First we have Dr Henry Byrd, a psychiatrist with a traumatic past, who appears to have many secrets that may or may not intersect the world of his current patient - a woman who is quite likely the most unusual client Henry will face.

Henry’s patient, Jane O, thirty-eight years old, is suffering from the life-long effects of her prodigious and excessive memory, a phenomenon known as “Hyperthymesia”. This condition has resulted in Jane’s deep and profound “loneliness of the soul”, which may be related to her recent eerie psychological behavior - behavior that Dr Byrd soon finds to be as deeply troubling as it is unexplainable.

As Jane begins to tells her inner story via a diary written for her infant son — a backdrop that may help explain some of her current challenges — we, the reader, get a fascinating peek into her extraordinary world, -- a tale that counterbalances the (initially at least) more rationally-focused confusion of Dr Byrd.

How Jane and Henry come to resolve their respective narratives is a story well worth reading, and one that kept this reader deeply absorbed (and guessing all the way) throughout this puzzling and expertly-crafted narrative.

Without giving the plot away (no spoilers here) this is a tale that will delight explorers of the human mind — as it challenges linear thinking, dissolving the boundaries between the relationship of human identity, memory, trauma, and our mental experiences and choices — and opens the door on a world that will ask far more questions than it will answer.

A great big thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an ARC of this mind-bending book. All thoughts presented are my own.

Jane O., is on the surface, a very ordinary woman. She lives in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn and works at the main branch of the New York Public Library in Manhattan . She is a single mother and has her child, a little boy, in a homey daycare. However, Jane is anything but ordinary . She remembers literally every fact and object she has any interest in. And, recently, she has encountered, on a busy Manhattan street, the middle aged version of a boy, Nico, she knows has committed suicide. Days later, she enters a kind of fugue state and wanders off, leaving her child at daycare. She can remember nothing of what she did, coming to in a park much later. She seeks out the services of Dr. Byrd, a psychiatrist she saw briefly as a teenager after Nico's death.

Byrd and Jane live lives that are much alike. Both are single parents; both have experienced profound loss and trauma. Jane through the suicide of Nico moments after she talked to him, Byrd, through the loss of his wife and then his job. Their story spools out, in turn, through letters written by Jane, which are to be read when he is older, and by Byrd in a case note.

This is not a traditional mystery. I thought I had figured it out a half dozen times, but I was wrong. Its ending makes perfect sense, is satisfying and ,in looking back over the course of the story, all elements are tied together. The reader is in for a good ride. Walker keeps the plot moving along like a Coney Island roller coaster, zigging and zagging , climbing great heights and plunging down to great depths. This a five star read.

I was SO excited for this early read because I have loved her previous 2 books. Now the worst part about having read this is that now I'm ready for her next before this even hits pub date.
The research and thought behind this novel is mind blowing. The author has written such a unique, thought-provoking, and well hashed out story with such sympathetic characters. Dr. Byrd, Jane, Nico, and the Dr.'s wife were somehow all equally developed and easy to identify with.
The mystery created behind this story was also so intriguing. At first I felt myself immersed in the parallels between motherhood and dissociation then caught up in the race to capture Jane's history and try to diagnose her. But the 'answer' was so much more pleasing and fascinating than I imagined. A highly recommended read!

Wonderfully unique and beautifully written. This was not what I was expecting but I was pleasantly surprised.

I was so excited for this book...unfortunately this isn't my favorite book by this author. It was very interesting, and it kept me turning pages, but ultimately I didn't love this story. Dr. Byrd, an NYC psychologist, is sharing his notes about one of his patients, Jane O. Jane has been having these "blackout" episodes where she disappears, but continues to care for herself and her son. Is this really a fugue state....or is she pretending? Interspersed through the story are Jane's letters to her infant son. I was confused some of the time, really thrown by the pandemic section, but I could not stop reading. I will read anything from this author, but her first two books were hits to me--this one fell flat.

Beautiful writing and an intriguing story. Not the ending I wanted, but I appreciated it.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/213870076

Thompson Walker writes books that all deal with some unique science fiction type issue but don't feel like science fiction books. This book is written from two viewpoints: Dr. Byrd who is treating Jane and letters that Jane writes to her young child. The book is a slow burn initially but when the two paths take a sharp turn away from each other I was definitely hooked. This was an interesting book that had be guessing how the mental health issues of Jane were going to be explained. The clues had me believing one direction and the ending details changed that for me. I was committed to keep reading to find out what was happening and had empathy for the main character's struggles to understand what was happening to her.


Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Marketing for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

I think this book is already one of my favorite psychological thriller/sci-fi reads of 2025! If you left me alone in front of a whiteboard with a marker to write my feelings about it, I would keep filling the board with "I freaking love it!" over and over again!

I love challenging my brain cells with extra smart, twisty books that push me to form theories and make far-fetched guesses, ultimately disturbing my mind until my grey cells burn. I also enjoy a great adrenaline rush and surprises that pull the rug out from under me. I love to pick my fallen jaw off the floor and reposition my popped-out eyes after reading a remarkable thriller. Thankfully, this book gave me all those feelings, and I'm still holding my head with a bag of ice to cool down my burning grey cells.

This story revolves around Jane O., told through the journals of her psychiatrist Dr. Henry Byrd and her own letters written to her son Caleb. The two different POVs drag you into very different perceptions and make you question everything when you have two not-so-reliable narrators: one who might be suffering from dissociative disorders and delusions, and the other a disgraced doctor for mixing his feelings with his profession. Which one tells the truth?

Their connection starts when Jane appears at Dr. Byrd's office, at first leaving without saying a word, and next, the doctor is summoned to a hospital to find out Jane went missing for one day, leaving her child behind, lying in the park without remembering anything about her missing day. Her short-term amnesia pushes her to see her doctor again, and as they start their sessions, Henry realizes there are many things about Jane, like her gift of hyperthymesia: highly superior autobiographical memory.

She insists they met twenty years ago. She even describes everything about his office, including every knick-knack, the books shelved in his library and study. She can tell the weather, events, and her full schedule of a random day in detail. But that also raises the big question: Why can't she remember what happened during her blackout? And why is she hiding the truth about the tragic incident she faced twenty years ago: her friend Nico's death?
She insists she talked with his future self as a middle-aged doctor in the park, which might be an illusion because ghosts can't talk. After this episode, she has a one-day blackout. What are the connections between these incidents?

Before digging deeper, Jane disappears again, this time with her child. As the investigation turns into a sensational news story, bringing about the doctor's suspension, a detective's suspicions about Jane's motives after seeing her on CCTV walking in her apartment corridor, and inconsistencies in her statements about Nico's death make him wonder if Jane is just a regular mother suffering from postpartum depression who put her child's life at risk. What if she never had episodes and is playing a very dangerous game? Is she a liar or a very troubled woman who deserves to be locked up for her own good?

Well, I have to say the puzzle pieces fit together perfectly in the end. I loved the conclusion of this story. I couldn't put this book down, kept theorizing about what was happening to Jane. How can she have a deteriorated perception of things when she has a perfect memory? How can a woman who remembers everything lose days of her life without acknowledging it?

I'm still putting ice on my burning head! But it's truly worth it! This book is such an amazing masterpiece! I wholeheartedly loved it! Don't miss it, my bookish friends! It's FANTASTIC!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for sharing this fantastic book's digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This book took a long time to grab my interest...the foundation in the first third of the book took too long to build. The story is unconventional (to say the least), and the details are vital for its integrity, and some of the details seemed inconsistent and unbelievable. How could the main character leave her phone and wallet behind in 2018 and manage in NYC for 9 days, all while taking care of a young child? I just didn't find that feasible. The ending was fascinating, however. The potential is great, but I would have preferred some tightening.

Wow! This one drew me in right from the start and moved in unexpected directions throughout! If you loved a psych 101 class in school, like to decode other people’s dreams, or have felt curious about deja vu and premonitions… this book is for you. KTW has made it to the top of my favorite authors list!

I didn’t read a thing about this book before beginning it and I’m glad. What a wonderful and expected book that winds psychology up with our relationship to time. I loved reading from both characters perspective and while I suspected what was happening based on lots of readings I’ve done about quantum physics, this was one of the most unique ways I’ve seen it used in a story with the push and pull between possibility and “reality.” 5 stars. Thanks to netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There is not a book Karen Thompson Walker can write that I will not immediately drop everything to read. After having just finished her newest novel, The Strange Case of Jane O., I want to drop everything and read it again. Twenty years after a brief one time visit with psychiatrist, Dr. Henry Byrd, Jane O. sees the doctor again following inexplicable events in which she enters a fugue state. Jane's impeccable autobiographical memory makes this fugue state even more confounding. Told from two points of view, Jane's and Dr. Byrd's, The Strange Case of Jane O. follows their separate journeys to try to understand Jane's mysterious time lapses. Quiet, well-written, thought provoking, The Strange Case of Jane O. is not to be missed.

I want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this novel in advance of the publication date! All my thoughts are honest and without bias from any outside source :)

After reading Karen Thompson Walker's "The Dreamers" just a few weeks ago, I knew I had to get my hands on more of her work. When I saw online that she had ARCs available for "The Strange Case of Jane O.", I requested it immediately. I am glad that I did!

On a general note, I love Walker's exploration of different realities in her novels. The use of alternate timelines, contextual understandings, and placement of people in the universe is all very intriguing to me, especially because she handles it in a very non-science fiction manner. This was a sentiment I carried through "The Strange Case of Jane O." I loved the idea of events taking place just slightly to the left of our reality and how that changes the way the reader perceives their universe. I was a big fan of this theme overall.

Our narrator, Dr. Byrd, starts as a very reliable narrator, with Jane being the unreliable character in our story, but this dynamic shifts as both of them become increasingly unreliable (or more reliable, arguably) as the story progresses. I think Walker did a wonderful job of allowing the reader to explore inconsistencies in Jane's story alongside Dr. Byrd's and piece them together as we learned more information. Between Jane's letters to her son and Dr. Byrd's notes, it was very interesting to figure out what was going on and whose stories were "true" only to find out that they both were.

It was obvious to me that the two main characters, Jane and Dr. Byrd, were written by a woman (and a mother at that) because they felt incredibly tender in their vulnerability surrounding grief, longing, and dreams for their children. I loved that even though Jane and Nico had not known one another for a long time, there was a world in which he was looking out for her and her son as an adult. Similarly, I found the conversations about Dr. Byrd's late wife's bookstore existing somewhere in the universe to be an incredibly comforting feeling. These were two very tender details that I truly enjoyed.

The only issue I had with this novel is that Dr. Byrd's previous missteps in psychiatric work made the story feel as if it should have turned more toward themes of a thriller or suspense novel when that was not the point of the story overall. I felt like I was supposed to be anticipating this revelation more to be a more pivotal point in his work with Jane, but it was not nearly as climactic as I felt the lead-up made it seem it would be.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and will continue to read everything that Karen Thompson Walker puts out because I think she has a very unique way of writing about what we can, and can't, see.

3.75/5