You Don't Know Me

I enjoyed this book, and the fast pace and intrigue helped get me out of a bit of a reading slump! Alice and Noah were pretty interesting characters, and they bounced off each other well, revealing just enough to each other to keep readers guessing about what secrets they were hiding. The relationship and family dynamics at play were the most interesting part for me, and using the podcast element to explain some of the backstory was an interesting way to contextualize what was happening in the plot. I actually didn't see the twist near the end coming either which was refreshing, and I found this to be an easy but exciting read.

An enjoying and intruging book, that was rather fast-paced! The intriguing characters gave me more investment into the book, as I was trying to find out more of all the charcters as the story went on!

The premise of the story was great, and the execution of the plot was well thought out!

The themes of loyalty, friendship, and family were well portrayed in the story, and I loved the development of characters, especially Alice and Noah. The plot twist was very well placed as well!

Rating: 4/5

(This review will feature on my blog on October 18!)

Another great read from another great Aussie author. You Don't Know Me was a super quick read for me. I started it on Saturday night and by lunchtime on Sunday I was finished. The story was written at a fast pace and there were plenty of twists and revelations to keep you hooked right from the very beginning. I have read one other book by Sara Foster and will be looking out for more.

Alice is an Aussie living and working as an English teacher in Thailand. Noah is an Aussie on holiday in Thailand. When they meet at a Buddhist temple sparks fly and they fall hard for each other. So much so that Noah extends his holiday to spend more time with her. Both of them have big secrets in their pasts and tell each other just enough. Eventually Noah has to return to Sydney to run his families restaurant and Alice stays, not knowing when they will see each other again. Soon though she is forced to return home for family reasons. As they try to find time to be together their family lives are in tatters.

There is a lot more happening in the story but I will let you read it find out this all out. It is told from the perspectives of both Noah and Alice. Family is important to them both but can they please everybody? Can they have everything that they want in life and be happy?

Thanks to Simon and Schuster Australia and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased.

When Noah met Alice on vacation in Thailand, they immediately clicked and he extended his holiday to spend more time with her, both hopelessly smitten. Time together all seemed so free and easy but what they didn't know then was that they both carried a dark family secret. At the time Alice was working as an English teacher in Bangkok so at the end of the holiday Noah had to return alone to Sydney to his job managing his family's restaurant and to attend an inquest into the disappearance of his brother Tom's girlfriend, Lizzie eleven years before after a lover's quarrel. However, not long after Alice must also return to Australia to face her past as her life starts to unravel.

Alternating between the voices of Noah and Alice, the events that happened in their past and in the current time soon spill out. As a contemporary touch a true crime podcast is used effectively to fill in the details of Lizzie's disappearance and to fuel public hatred towards Tom and his family. Someone does know what happened to Lizzie that night but there are one or two red herrings to point the finger in other directions before we learn the truth. However, this is not only an engaging mystery novel but a love story under difficult circumstances and a family drama with the complexities of loyalty and guilt overshadowing family dynamics. Sara Foster has made the two main characters people you can empathise with and cheer on as they navigate through their difficulties and their relationships with their families.

Sara Foster has become an auto read for me and I’m happy to say this lived up to expectations.

Alice has been living in Bangkok and teaching English in a local school, the last thing she expects is to fall hard for Noah, a fellow Australian on holiday in Thailand. But both have been tormented by situations in life, can they overcome these barriers to move on?

There is a wonderful sense of time and place in this book. I felt both Alice and Noah were very realistic and I could feel for both their situations. Especially Noah and the expectations that were placed on him with the family restaurant.
Snippets of a podcast threaded through the book was very effective, detailing the disappearance of Lizzie fifteen years ago, who happened to be the girlfriend of Tom, Noah’s older brother. I could also feel the menace of Tom towards Noah in those younger years.

Due to life, I was a little slow with reading the first half of this book but I raced through the second half in one evening. A very entertaining read, that certainly had me guessing.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to read.

“The search parties move through the forest shortly after dawn, flashes of neon jackets among the trees, the slumbering air stirring towards an early morning chill. They call her name again and again, then wait, hoping for something in return.”

For just a moment, when Noah glimpses a woman with long red hair on a ferry while holidaying In Thailand escaping the pressures of work and family, he thinks it could be his brother’s missing girlfriend, Lizzie, more than a decade later and thousands of kilometres from where she was last seen. Of course it’s not, but he is drawn to the beautiful redheaded stranger, and when he sees her next, he learns her name.

Alice is almost half way through her six month contract teaching English in Thailand, having fled Australia in search of anonymity. She’s not looking for anything that might complicate her attempt at building a new life for herself, but she finds Noah irresistible.

Though Noah has to return to Sydney in a few days, and Alice can’t leave Thailand, they embark on a passionate affair, and vow to find a way to make their relationship work, but the truth is, sometimes love just isn’t enough.

Unfolding from the perspectives of Noah, and Alice, You Don’t Know Me is an absorbing story of family drama, mystery, and romance from Sara Foster.

Foster deftly explores the complicated dynamics that has both shaped and ultimately twisted the members of the Carruso family. Meeting Alice causes Noah to question the path he has taken in life stirring up lots of family drama that is exacerbated by the return of Noah’s older brother, Tom, after an eleven year absence. With no love lost between the two brothers stemming from childhood rivalry and the uncertainty surrounding Lizzie’s disappearance, the tension ratchets, and then explodes, just as a coronial inquiry to determine Lizzie’s fate forces Noah to confront the guilt, shame, and anger he has been repressing for years.

I was intrigued by the mystery surrounding Lizzie’s disappearance, the details of which are communicated through the transcript of a podcast. Foster presents several suspects, and creates some stunning twists as the coronial inquiry plays out. I was left guessing about what happened to Lizzie, and who was responsible, until very nearly the end.

While Noah struggles with his conscience, Alice unexpectedly returns to Australia when her father is badly injured and must face her own demons. The combined drama and its emotional toll leaves its mark on Noah and Alice’s fledgling relationship, which Foster explores thoughtfully as they try to support one another through all the turmoil, and desperately attempt to hold on to the joy they find in each other.

I found You Don’t Know Me to be gripping novel with a dramatic story and captivating romance.

Alice Pryce had been in Thailand for the past three months, teaching English to the Thai children. Noah Carruso was on holidays in Thailand, away from the family restaurant in Sydney which had always drained his energy. When Noah and Alice met, the sparks were immediate; they spent the last days of Noah’s holiday exploring; being tourists and making memories.

When Noah arrived home, the looming inquest into eighteen-year-old Lizzie Burdett’s disappearance twelve years prior had the Carruso family on edge. Tom, Noah’s older brother, had been Lizzie’s boyfriend and the suspicion that he’d had something to do with her disappearance was always there. Noah, only fifteen at the time, had long suspected that the media were right about his brother. But would they find answers at the inquest?

What could possibly be the outcome for Alice and Noah – both carrying secrets they wanted no one to know?

You Don’t Know Me by Aussie author Sara Foster is a gripping, intense psychological thriller which I thoroughly enjoyed. I found it hard to put down, wanting to know what was coming next. Family dynamics and the pressure of “doing the right thing” is blended throughout this book, while guilt has a strong part, along with plenty of twists and red herrings. A great read, I have no hesitation in recommending You Don’t Know Me to fans of the genre.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

‘As he reaches the threshold, the next words pierce him like bullets in the darkness. “I know what happened to Lizzie.”


‘You Don't Know Me’ is another great read from Aussie author Sara Foster. With good pacing and plenty of twists with well timed revelations that will keep you turning the pages. Told from the perspectives of the two leading characters - Noah and Alice - this is an absorbing family drama with a lot of mystery and a little romance thrown in for good measure.

Sara investigates the many complicated family and community dynamics after the mysterious disappearance of Lizzie both in the past and throughout the current day inquest. With little love lost between some family members, many an accusatory finger is pointed at a range of suspects as underlying regrets and old rivalries surface. The guilt and anger increase to a rather climactic ending.

The inclusion of Alice and her story is an aside and may be just a stimulus to resurface the many emotions all involved parties are feeling. It provides a good outlet for the exploration of the emotional toll such incidents can have on individuals.


“Are you listening to me? You can’t change the past, and it sounds like you didn’t have much say about it in the first place. So why are you clinging so hard ...why can’t you let it go?”







This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.