Forget You Know Me: A Novel

by Jessica Strawser

Molly and Liza have always been close in a way that people envy. Even after Molly married Daniel, both considered Liza an honorary member of their family. But after Liza moved away, things grew more strained than anyone wanted to admit - in the friendship and the marriage.

When Daniel goes away on business, Molly and Liza plan to reconnect with a nice long video chat over wine after the kids are in bed. But when Molly leaves the room to check on a crying baby, a man in a mask enters, throwing Liza into a panic - then her screen goes black.

When Liza finally hears from Molly, her message is icy and terse, insisting everything is fine. Liza is still convinced something is wrong, that her friend is in danger. But after an all-night drive to help her ends in a brutal confrontation, Liza is sure their friendship is over - completely unaware that she’s about to have a near miss of her own. And Molly, refusing to deal with what’s happened, won’t turn to Daniel, either. But none of them can go on pretending. Not after this.

Forget You Know Me exposes the wounds of people who’ve grown apart, against their will. Best friends, separated by miles. Spouses, hardened by neglect. A mother, isolated by pain. The man in the mask will change things for them all.

But who was he? And will he be back?

• ISBN10: 1250184460
• ISBN13: 9781250184467
• Publish Date: 1 March 2019 (first published 5 February 2019)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 8 May 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: St Martin's Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[chymerra]

Molly and Liza were besties from way back and nothing could break their friendship. After Molly got married, Liza was considered part of their family. But Liza and Molly start to grow apart. One night, during a video chat, Liza witnesses a man, dressed all in black, breaking into her friend’s house. Then the screen goes black. Panicked, Liza drives all night to find a standoffish Molly. A confrontation follows and Liza goes home. But Liza finds out, that there is no home to go to. Forced to move in with her brother, Liza realizes that her friendship with Molly might be over. Liza also realizes that there is more going on in Molly’s life than she is letting on. Everything is tied to the man who broke into the house. Who was he? What did he want? Will he be back?

I wasn’t expecting to like Forget You Know Me as much as I did. I enjoyed reading about people who had the same issues that I do. I also enjoyed reading about how the different relationships worked in this book. What I liked, even more, was that I “got” Molly. I “got” Molly and Daniel’s relationship. As a mother to 3 and in a relationship with their father for almost 15 years, I got that they grew apart. Heck, it happened in my relationship. Even Molly’s pains I got. It was nice to read a book where I connected with at least one of the main characters.

I wasn’t too sure if I liked Liza in the book. She rubbed me the wrong way for some reason. It started when she got skeeved out when Max told her that he was bi. Then it was how she acted during the dinner that Daniel and Molly throw and followed by how she treated Henry. She did come back in my eyes at the end of the book. She was able to bridge the gap between Molly and Daniel. But it was almost too late.

I didn’t like that Molly was keeping such a huge secret from Daniel. I mean, she had people tracking her down and threatening her at her job. I would have thought that she would have mentioned something to him before that. I was kind of shaking my head during that. She put herself and her family in danger.

I thought the plotline with Daniel and Toby didn’t bring anything to the story. It did explain why Daniel was so preoccupied during 90% of the book. But still, I could have done without reading it.

Same goes for the storyline with Rick, Molly, and the girls. I, for one, was in the “there is something going on between them” boat. I also had the same suspicions that Liza and Molly did about Rick. So, I was surprised when that storyline turned out the way it did.

I was surprised at who the man in the mask (from the blurb) was. I was also surprised at why he did what he did. In hindsight, I understood why. In his own screwed up way, he wanted Molly to realize that she was the same person she was before kids.

The end of Forget You Know Me was emotional. I wasn’t expecting the tears to come. But they did. So, yes, the ending will need tissues. The author did a fantastic job at bringing all the storylines together. She also did a fantastic job at wrapping the book up.

I gave Forget You Know Me a 3.5-star review. This book was a good read. I was able to connect to at least one of the characters in the book. I liked how the author gave a no holds bar look at motherhood and relationships. She gave the good, the bad, and the ugly. I didn’t like who the man in the mask ended up being or the reason why he broke into the house. I also thought that there was extra weight with some of the plotlines. I could have done without reading about Toby and Rick.

I would give Forget You Know Me an Adult rating. There is no sex (but there are mentions of it). There is violence. There is language. There are triggers. They would be a home invasion, survivor’s guilt, threatened miscarriage, homophobia and emotional affair. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread Forget You Know Me. I would also reccomend this book to family and friends.

I would like to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Forget You Know Me.

All opinions stated in this review of Forget You Know Me are mine

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**