The best book I have read in ages!! Riveting, smart, beautifully written, and literally perfect. If this book isn't "Silent Patient" huge (but a million times better), I will be genuinely shocked. As an author, I applaud Walker. As a bookseller, I am so excited to have the no-brainer hand-sell of 2025. I love a book that makes my job so easy. Thank you for the arc!

The Strange Case of Jane O is an excellent psychological suspense novel about a woman experiencing episodes of amnesia. This is a difficult book to review, because this book is best read with little advance information so the twists and turns can naturally unfold. This book kept my attention the entire time, and was a quick read. I enjoyed the dual perspectives of the therapist and Jane. In my opinion this really added to the suspense and layering of the story.

I recommend this book for readers who enjoy a thought provoking psychological suspense and a deep dive in to the human psyche.

I rate this book 5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, Karen Thompson Walker, and Random House Publishing for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Books about people who have gone missing tend to be similar. The Strange Case of Jane O., however, is unusual.

We alternate between a psychiatrist's notes and a journal of letters by Jane O. At times I wondered why a certain topic was discussed.

Highly recommend you go into this book without knowing more specifics. Let the details flow over you.

I needed a book to cure me of my book slump… and bam! Here it is!

A fabulous 5 star read - the twists and turns of Jane’s story had me thinking of all the different possibilities and angles the book could take.

I actually really loved that I didn’t know what to believe, who to trust or what the heck was going on because it was written in such a phenomenal, fun way.

An absolutely awesome story- worth the read and absolutely worth recommending to any readers who enjoy a good mystery or psychological thriller.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this excellent story in exchange for my honest review.

A year after her child’s birth, Jane begins experiencing amnesia, premonitions, and hallucinations. Three days after seeing a psychiatrist, she goes missing, only to be found unconscious in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, with no memory of what happened. As Jane’s visions of a young man who died years ago warn her of a disaster, her psychiatrist questions both her reality and his own.

Karen Thompson Walker’s novel explores memory, identity, and the bonds of love in a haunting, speculative mystery.

Review:
An intriguing premise with deep emotional layers, but the story lacks direction and resolution. The mystery is compelling, but it leaves too many questions unanswered.

What a weird, delightful book. I couldn't put it down - the way that the 'mystery' at the heart of this book is unveiled was so well one and keeps you really intrigued. When I originally finished the book I was a bit underwhelmed, because I had been expecting a BIG twist, but the longer this sits with me, the more I think it deserves a 4.5 star instead of the 4 star I originally gave it. It's thought-provoking and truly inexplicable!

Jane begins to suffer episode of hallucination and amnesia. When she sees the ghost of a friend who appears
alive and well, she seeks the help of psychiatrist Dr. Henry Byrd. Jane, who has a photogenic memory, has
instances where her details of what happened do not match the actual facts. Jane's story is told through her
letters to her son Caleb and Dr. Byrd's notes. When Jane mysteriously disappears for a day, camera footage shows
her acting normal, no threat present. The same happens when she suddenly disappears with her son. Is what she
is going through real or a product of her mind?
#TheStrangeCaseofJaneO #RandomHouse #NetGalley

I enjoyed this novel. I didn’t know where it was going at first, but I kind of appreciated that. The FRINGE like take it took and discussions of the human mind were fascinating. The characters were well fleshed out. I liked the different storytelling techniques!

THE STRANGE CASE OF JANE O. is a potent reminder that we all contain multitudes and the human mind is a mysterious place. Told in alternating perspectives between a psychiatrist and his client, the story reads like a clinical case study of a young mother’s unexplainable dissociation from her body. While the plot was focused on the internal state of Jane’s mind, it felt propulsive in that I had to know where Jane’s mind went during the spells when her body was living out another existence than her reality. This was a fascinating and haunting story that I will continue to think about long after I’ve closed the last page.


READ THIS IF YOU:
are intrigued by the complexity of the human mind
enjoy stories set in New York City
have ever had a feeling of deja vu

RATING: 4/5
PUB DATE: February 25, 2025

Many thanks to Random House and NetGalley for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The strange case of Jane O. by Karen Thompson Walker is my first book by this author. As a retired nurse (although not psychiatric) I found her descriptions of psychiatric issues: amnesia, hallucinations and premonitions very well explained, even for those not familiar with these conditions.
I love a good mystery: is Jane O. really suffering from amnesia, seeing deceased people from her past or is it some deception on her part? Walker's skill as a writer handles this back and forth well.
I found this book somewhat slow in the beginning, but it gradually picked up speed.
Not wanting to give anything important away, I'll just say that Walker presents her ending hypothesis gradually and with little fan fare. I would encourage reading the ending very carefully, as she only briefly explains what she thinks is the underlying cause.

The Age of Miracles is one of my favorite books, so when I saw this on NetGalley, I pounced, and was not disappointed. The story is told from two points of view: Dr. Byrd, a widowed therapist and now single dad of a little girl, and Jane, a single mom who is experiencing some very strange episodes, like conversating with a long dead friend and losing huge chunks of time. To reveal anything more would deprive readers of peeling back the onion on this story for themselves. My only complaint is that I wanted a little more from the ending. Another beautifully written, thought-provoking novel from Ms. Walker.

Jane has begun to suffer strange episodes - amnesia, hallucinations, premonitions and she begins to see a psychiatrist, Dr. Byrd. But just 3 days after her first appointment, she vanishes, only to be found later in a park with no recollections of what happened. Throughout the book, we alternate between Jane’s narration of her life, and what Dr. Byrd is finding as he works with Jane, including an alternate sense of reality.

As someone who absolutely loved Karen Thompson Walker’s first novel THE AGE OF MIRACLES, I was so excited to receive an advanced copy of this, her third book. At first, I was uncertain what I thought about the novel - or more specifically, if I thought others would like it. Through Dr. Byrd’s eyes, we’re focusing heavily on the psychological part of Jane’s case, which comes across as formal and sort of detached, while also being moderately deep in the weeds of the mind. For me, I loved it. I’ve always been fascinated by psychology, even studying it for a brief time in college.

Moving into Jane’s parts felt more novel-like as she was writing letters to her one year old son, through what she remembers - including pieces of her past. But then as it all began to come together, that’s when I saw the real genius of this novel AND a big twist that came that lead into the end of the novel. I loved the way that the author brought it all together while I was left questioning what exactly was happening.

As with her two other novels (her second was THE DREAMERS), Thompson Walker takes seemingly normal scenarios and flips them on their heads in the most interesting ways that really make you think about your own life and reality. I’m excited to see what more people think of this novel - and especially to talk about the ending with someone!

I don't know how to write a review for this book. There are certain things you know after reading this book that you absolutely cannot know going into the story. The format took me a minute to get into- notes from a psychiatrist discussing his confusing patient, and letters from said patient to her son. This book was absolutely right up my alley given some of my interests and beliefs. Karen Thompson Walker has written nothing that I have not given five stars. I cannot wait to continue reading everything she writes the moment it comes out (or before!). Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a big fan of Karen Thompson Walker's previous books, I was delighted to see this available on NetGalley. The Strange Case of Jane O., as one might assume, follows Jane O. and her strange case of amnesia. She hasn't forgotten her whole life, just small bits of it. Or so we think! Throughout the book, we follow Jane, and and her psychotherapist, as he tries to uncover what exactly happened to her.

Throughout the book, we flip back and forth from Jane and her therapist's POV. I loved this approach, and I was always excited to see what the other person was experiencing. They were both somewhat unreliable narrators, which I enjoyed a lot!

I really enjoy Karen Thompson Walker's writing, and that remains true for this book. The characters were also super interesting! I read this very quickly, and can't wait to recommend it and read it again.

A young mother is found in a Brooklyn park after being missing for over 24 hours with no recollection of how she got there or where she’s been during that period, and the police have questions. We follow The Strange Case of Jane O through a retelling by her psychiatrist, as well as through Jane’s letters to her son, and as the story progresses, more strange events happen to Jane as the police and her doctor struggle to decipher these occurrences. This is a thought-provoking, beautifully written thriller that has the reader spellbound, unsure where the story is leading us to, and the author keeps us unbalanced as more details of Jane’s illness are revealed. The less told here the better, you’ll appreciate the story all the more! Loved the plot, the writing and the characters, this is a winner. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Excellent psychological suspense! When Jane starts experiencing hallucinations, a deep sense of dread, and missing time, she seeks out the help of a psychiatrist, Dr Byrd. Told through alternating perspectives between the psychiatrist, who is trying to come up with a diagnosis, and Jane’s personal diary, the mystery unfolds in a compelling, twisty, and ultimately satisfying way. I loved the deep dive into the world of psychiatry. Is Jane experiencing true dissociative fugue? Is she just being manipulative or an unreliable narrator? I loved coming up with my own theories and then being surprised as new details came to light.

This was fascinating, well researched, literary but easy to read, compelling, and kept me reading late into the night. I highly recommend this to those who enjoy a good puzzle, psychological suspense, and are OK with some speculative fiction elements.

I loved her novel, Age of Miracles, and loved this one as much or even a bit more. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I am not the reader for psychiatrist patient stories. This was dry and detached, had no real resolution and then just ended. I should have DNFed.

I loved this book so much! To me it felt very unique among the books I am reading right now, a woman who has amnesia and is trying to figure out what happened during the time she can't remember, with the help of a psychiatrist. It just went in all different directions that I did not expect, and I couldn't wait to see what happened next. I really liked the characters. It's so nice to read something a little different!

An absolute stunner of a psychological thriller - it took me less than 2 days to finish "The Strange Case of Jane O." and I have no regrets.

Told from alternating perspectives, the novel opens with Dr. Henry Byrd, a psychologist in NYC who's introduced to his most intriguing patient yet: Jane O. Jane is a single mother to her infant son Caleb who resides in Brooklyn in works at the NYPL. Their first session results in little being said and Jane leaving abruptly - only for Byrd to receive a call from the hospital, informing him that Jane has vanished for nearly a full day, leaving her son at the daycare, waking up hours later at Prospect Park with no recollection of what happened. Jane continues to visit Dr. Byrd and he's able to piece together more on her background, including her hyperthymesia (photographic memory), which makes her amnesia even more out-of-the-norm; her childhood when a close friend named Nico took his own life; and her struggles as a single mother.

Jane's perspective is also shared in the form of letters to her son Caleb, an exercise that Dr. Byrd encourages her to begin. We learn more about her from this vantage, including the details of what happened when she was a teenager in NYC and befriended Nico - and just how disturbing her visions of him as a grown adult in the present are. As Jane begins to question her own brain and being, we're pulled into her world and her vision... and slowly begin to piece together how her next dissociative fugue lasts much longer, causing an uproar in the city as she's announced a missing person and her photograph is shared across multiple channels. Little by little, the many disparate components of her and Byrd's stories come together, shedding light on each of their pasts.

From the first few pages, I was hooked into this story - both Jane and Henry Byrd are presented as compelling characters and as we learn more into each of their backstories, more and more of them are called into question. Can we trust Jane, despite the near-perfection of her memory? What about Dr. Byrd, especially given his own past research that led to him being shunned by the medical community, and his own mixed feelings towards Jane? I thought Walker did an incredible job adopting two completely different voices and tones, and her concise, methodological writing blended well for this type of novel. While there are no firm conclusions by the end of the novel, I love the ending and just how much is left onto the reader to interpret.

Very much a recommended read when "The Strange Case of Jane O." is published in Feburary 2025!

This book is written in a way that it feels like you're reading a doctor's case notes and a journal written by one of his patients, and I loved it. It’s told from two points of view, Jane the patient and her psychiatrist, Dr. Byrd. The writing is very dry because it is a very clinical tale but it is also very straight to the point, which was another aspect I enjoyed.

The book is twisty, but not in the way you may think and it's also very intelligently written. It's a very good character study and case study if you will. This was an utterly unique premise that was executed wonderfully. I highly recommend going into this one blind because the less you know the more interesting it will be. I will say it's a multi-genre tale. It's science fiction, mystery, suspense and literary fiction all rolled into one and it’s done extremely well.

I am left wondering if this will be a series and I certainly hope so because I would love to go on another Journey with Jane to see how she and Caleb are doing in the future. That says a lot because I am not into reading series. The blurb says it's a literary puzzle and pieces of the puzzle fit together nicely by the end but you'll still close this book scratching your head and wanting more. That’s why I hope there is another book on the horizon. I was surprised by this one, in a really good way.

I just want to add that I loved the name of the bookstore in the story. I thought it was fabulous that the author came up with that.