A haunting and immersive thriller about a struggling young mother and a secret from her past. Great atmosphere and setting, and more than a few crazy twists. Ending was clever. I received an advance copy and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Reagan’s memory of the night her friend died 10 years ago is spotty, tainted by alcohol and drugs. Ever since her son was born a few months ago, she’s been out of sorts and remembering little flashes. Just enough that she knows she knew something more happened that night, but nothing cohesive. When a 10 year anniversary memorial is organized, she goes because she feels like this will help her regain her memory. She gets far more than she bargained for…

A solid thriller. Compelling storytelling and interesting characters. Parts of it were a bit predictable, but there were enough twists to keep it engaging. Full four stars and a strong recommendation for thriller lovers.

An atmospheric, twisty slow burn thriller about a struggling young mom haunted by memories from her past. The last third really picked up and the ending was great.

This book grabbed me immediately from the prologue, and it only got better from there. I could not put it down and read it all the way through.

Reagan is a new mother struggling with post partum depression, and adjusting to married life with an infant. Awful memories come flooding back from her past when she opens an invitation from an old friend, Ella, for a weekend getaway for their 10 year college reunion. This is also the 10 year anniversary of the tragic death of their friend Lanie, that occurred at this same camp.

As the weekend approaches, Reagan can’t help but remember snippets of that night: the drugs, the alcohol, a mishap with the fire, how many people were there, a biker guy, the scream… what’s real and what’s subconscious guilt? What actually happened that landed their friend Lanie at the bottom of that ravine?

Once the old gang gets back together at the cabin, the second hand awkwardness due to the tension building is palpable. Reagan, Ella, Ted, Brady, & Josh are all back together. Ella’s parents, Helen and Rob, even show up for the memorial. As the weekend wears on, a hurricane makes its way inland trapping everyone there so nobody can leave after the memorial service, and everything starts to unravel as Reagan begins putting the broken fragments of her memories back together.

Everyone begins to turn on each other… where does Reagan’s husband Matt fit into the equation? The pebbling of clues throughout the book kept me turning the pages anxious to find out what happened next. Highly recommend!

I read this book as an ARC thanks to NetGalley. All opinions are my own and given voluntarily.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
Release date: Feb 11, 2025

The morning after a raging college graduation party, we found Lanie Martin lying at the bottom of a ravine, her neck snapped in a fatal fall. And I’m not proud of what came next.
Before we called the police, we covered ourselves. Cleaned up from the blow-out at Ella’s cabin in the Adirondacks the night before. Got our stories straight.
Ella begged me not to tell the police what I saw. She insisted that it was an accident—and we all went along. What did I know? I was plastered that night, and large chunks of that evening are missing for me.
But now, in my postpartum state, memories are starting to return, and I can’t help but feel that they might be connected to the soul crushing depression I’ve been experiencing. Is it guilt? Or do I know more than I think I do?

Reunion in at a cabin while experiencing PPD-sure, I'll go! This novel is a slow burn and often has you questioning if Elle is an unreliable narrator, in a dream, or just plain crazy-read to find out! “The Unforgetting” by Bonnie Traymore completely sucked me in from the very first page and I finished it in a day. She is a newer author to me and while I found some chapters a little unbelievable, it was a fun book that kept me engaged until the end.

I loved the pacing of this thriller. It begins like a lowbrun and you have time to get to know the character and dive inte her problems. The last third picked up the pace and ended nicely with a good twist. Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for giving me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Bonnie Traymore has a unique writing style that I really enjoy. This is my second book of hers and enjoyed it very much. I look forward to more of her books. The way she makes you think you have it figured out, then twists the story in another direction only to twist it again!! I definitely didn’t see this ending coming no matter how much I thought I did!
Thank you NetGalley, BooksGoSocial and especially Bonnie Traymore for this eARC.

Reagan is struggling with postpartum depression. A few weeks ago, she had what she calls an “incident,” where she mixed stuff she shouldn’t have and nearly died. While she has a strong support system in her mom and husband, her fragile mental state makes her incredibly vulnerable. Her struggles, however, are nothing new—she’s always been prone to mental illness (though she refuses to use that term). As a college student, she used alcohol and drugs to drown her anxiety. Ten years ago, one of her friends died in what was ruled an accident. Since Reagan was, in her words, “high as a kite,” she doesn’t remember much of that night, but she knows she saw things. When her friend Ella invites her to commemorate their old friend’s death with the surviving members of the group, Reagan says yes.

The gathering is a typical case of “why are these people even friends to begin with?”—because honestly, they aren’t good friends to each other. And it’s not a “we’ve changed too much over the years” thing; they were already pretty terrible friends even ten years ago. I really enjoyed getting inside the minds of Ella and Reagan, one of them afraid the truth will come out, while the other battles with her mind, trying to find out what’s true and what’s not. As is often the case in thrillers written by women, the men are awful (I swear, some authors must use these books as therapy! 😅), and I do wish we’d learned more about Matt, Reagan’s husband.

I can’t give away the ending because it would spoil things, but the resolution is both satisfying and frustrating—because yes, it *can* be both.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

In Bonnie Traymore's "The Unforgetting" Reagan, a young woman in the throws of postpartum depression, Reagan can't forget what happened at a booze-filled party almost a decade ago. Will the mysterious death that occurred in the past threaten her happy marriage to Matt, Reagan's husband?

"The Unforgetting" delves into themes of memory, trauma, and identity. Traymore explores the ways in which the past can shape and haunt the present, as well as the resilience of the human spirit.

Traymore's writing is elegant and suspenseful, a perfect balance for a psychological thriller. Her prose is vivid and evocative, drawing the reader into the shadowy corners of Reagan's world. The pacing is impeccable, with each chapter leaving you eager to uncover the next piece of the puzzle.

"The Unforgetting" is a gripping and emotionally resonant novel. Bonnie Traymore has crafted a story that is as intellectually stimulating as it is thrilling, making it a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers.

This book is a testament to the power of the human mind to remember, forget, and ultimately heal.

A postpartum mom, Reagan, starts to regain forgotten memories of a horrible incident that happened in college. When she's invited back to the "scene of the crime", more of those memories start to resurface, bringing to light what actually happened vs what she's been told. Suspenseful with a welcoming plot twist. I went into this book expecting more of a fast paced read based on previous works by the author but this book took it's time and dragged out all of the truths til the end!

I really enjoyed this one. It was hard to put down. It kept me wanting more. The characters are amazing! And I love the title and the story line. Such an amazing book! I flew threw this book.

I thought I knew what was happening and had guessed the ending. I thought wrong. There were at least 3 times where I thought I had figured it out only to be swept away with what had actually happened.

The only thing I noticed was a light typo where it said Helen's mother instead of Ella's mother on page 86 in Chapter 15. Other than the that, the writing was fanatastic, the plot line twisty and the characters were all so grey instead of straight up good or bad which was like a breath of fresh air.

This book had me completely hooked in the first 5 pages! So many twists and turns, right until the end. At several points I thought maybe I was losing my mind too. And while I had a lot of guesses during reading, I never actually figured out the mystery myself. Such a page turner and highly recommend!

The Unforgetting by Bonnie Traymore is a gripping thriller that explores secrets, guilt and memory. This story also discusses postpartum depression, so if that is triggering to anyone, be aware.
After a wild party at a cabin in the Adirondacks Lanie Martin is discovered at the bottom of a ravine, her neck broken from what looks like a fall. Before the core group of friends call the police, Ella convinces Reagan to not say anything about what she may have seen to the cops. With their stories coordinated Ella and Reagan clean up the evidence of the party and the police deemed the death an accident. Now years later Reagan is struggling with postpartum depression and fragments of that harrowing night are coming to the service. When Ella invites her and the others to a 10-year reunion at the cabin, will Reagan's memories reveal what truly happened at night?
This story was a great read. Perfectly balanced with tension and deceit, I was hooked early on. I liked the dual POV between Ella and Reagan and how it shows that perceptions can change depending on the circumstance.
Thank you to NetGalley, Bonnie Traymore and BooksGoSocial for this ARC. Expected release date is February 11th 2025.

Bonnie Traymore's books always keep me hooked, the twist and turns were shocking and I was kept guessing throughout!

Out next week, The Unforgetting is a memory-loss thriller, or rather a memory-regain one! The book is tense and builds a solid feeling of inevitability at each stage of remembering.

So, what is it about? There’s a college graduation party that gets out of hand. The main protagonist, Reagan, gets totally wasted and can barely remember what happened. But what happened was Lanie Martin ended up dead.

The book builds on this by following a reunion of the core group of friends. This is supposedly to pay tribute to Lanie, but there’s a strong undercurrent that there’s an ulterior motive. Reagan has to assemble what she knows about her college group to try and understand who might be a danger to her, and assembling her memory by revisiting the site of the party is crucial to understanding her friends.

I really enjoyed following along with Reagan’s story and the writing style allowed me to care about what was going on. There was definitely a snowballing of tension and action that increased my reading speed along with the desire to discover the ending. There were small details in each chapter that added texture to the scene and helped you feel like you were somehow there in the moment.

One of the best compliments I can give is that when I think back to the occurences in the book, I can really see them. I can picture the woods, the cabin, and the ravine so clearly!

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬
The day after a wild college graduation celebration, a group of friends discovered Lanie Martin at the bottom of a ravine, her neck broken from a tragic fall. Before they made the decision to contact the authorities, they cleaned up the aftermath of the party at Ella’s cabin in the Adirondacks. They coordinated their stories, with Ella pleading with Reagan not to reveal what she had witnessed. She maintained it was an accident, and everyone agreed. Reagan had been heavily intoxicated that night, leaving her with significant gaps in her memory. However, now that she’s in a postpartum phase, fragments of that night are resurfacing, and she can’t shake the feeling that they might be linked to the overwhelming depression she’s been facing. Is it guilt, or does she hold more knowledge than she realizes? When Ella invites her to a ten-year reunion at her family camp—a gathering meant for remembrance and healing—Reagan feels compelled to attend. Could the memories she’s trying to piece together be the key to her moving forward?

𝐌𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
The Unforgetting explores deep-seated secrets, guilt, the tricky nature of memory, and the struggles of postpartum depression (just a heads up for trigger warnings). The story unfolds through the eyes of both Reagan and Ella. Reagan is on a quest to piece together her memories, while Ella is determined to keep any secrets hidden. Throughout the book, I found myself questioning why this group of friends even stuck together, which I think is part of what the author intended. It also shows how perspectives can shift based on different circumstances, leaving you unsure of who to trust. The ending caught me off guard, but I was definitely satisfied with it. Overall, I’d rate it 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Thank You @Netgalley and @BooksGoSocial for allowing me to review this ARC.

Reagan is invited back to her friend Ella’s cabin a decade after their big blowout party that ended with the death of their best friend, Lanie. Ella’s asked their whole gang to return for a small memorial for Lanie and so everyone can catch up. Most of that night was a blur for Reagan, who was drunk and high and only remembers bits and pieces ever since. But more has started to come back for her since giving birth to her son and she feels that returning to the cabin may help her remember what happened and quelch any lingering suspicions. Because she thinks there was more to Lanie’s death than an accidental fall. But the question is, will she be able to handle the truth of what happened that night?

The narrative is from the point of view of both Reagan and Ella, although there’s not too much revealed to the reader that Reagan isn’t aware of. Just vague snippets of dialogue from Ella to others that make you suspicious of her intentions and how much she knows. Reagan is the typical unreliable narrator due to her state of mind that night and how she constantly doubts herself about whether she really saw that, heard that, etc. It gets a bit repetitive. Plus, she suffered from postpartum depression, and everyone treats her like she has serious mental issues that make her unreliable. You’d think she had schizophrenia rather than anxiety and depression. The characters never really apologize for their treatment of her mental health, either. It's not a big surprise, they are all liars and terrible people anyway.

Some of the twists are good but you may see them coming. And there’s a big unanswered question which isn’t terrible, but was just odd, like the author couldn’t decide how to resolve it. But the story flowed easily and kept me interested and engaged. Based on this book, I’d read more by this author.