Book Review: "Forget You Know Me" by Jessica Strawser

Liza and Molly have been best friends since childhood. Even when Molly was dating, and then married, Daniel, Liza was still a part of their lives, sharing stories of disastrous dates and her real lack of ambition. But when Liza moved from Cincinnati to Chicago for a job, it put a real strain on their friendship, and that strain began working its way into Molly and Daniel's marriage as well.

But one night while Daniel was on business travel, Molly and Liza are determined to remedy their lack of connection. Once Molly's kids are asleep the two settle down to a long Skype chat, complete with wine. For a few minutes, things seem like they used to—and then one of the kids begins crying for Molly. While she attends to her daughter, Liza finds herself staring at the blank computer screen...and then suddenly she sees a masked man, dressed all in black, come into the frame. Liza screams for Molly, tries calling her cell phone, but the intruder closes the computer screen.

Liza is at her wits' end. She is in a panic, constantly trying to reach Molly, and then eventually calling 911 to see if they can make sure everything is okay. But when Molly finally responds—via text, no less—her replies are curt, leaving Liza confused. Suspecting something more complicated is occurring, Liza decides to drive to Cincinnati to see Molly herself, but after driving all night, she is sent away following an angry confrontation that Liza doesn't understand at all.

Meanwhile, Daniel, who returned early from his business trip, doesn't understand why Molly didn't even call him about the intruder, nor can he figure out why Molly would have sent Liza away with such anger. What is she hiding from him? He's curious to know, although he isn't without secrets of his own, secrets which could upend all of their lives.

When Liza returns home and discovers she narrowly avoided a brush with disaster, it sends her into a tailspin when coupled with the apparent dissolution of her and Molly's friendship. She's still determined to find out what Molly is hiding from her, but she also needs to pull her own life together, as everything seems to be spinning out of control.

I had been under the impression that Forget You Know Me was a thriller, but while it has a tension-filled, pulse-pounding start, it becomes an exploration of the stresses, the secrets, and the lies that threaten to tear our relationships apart. It's a book about marriage and friendship, of fear and bravery, of giving voice to the things that threaten to destroy us.

While many of the problems facing the characters become obvious, the mystery of the masked man lingers, although many may figure out his identity. For me, it almost was a distraction once it became apparent that the book wasn't really focused on that incident as much as everyone's problems. At times I felt that the book wasn't quite sure what it wanted to be, and I wondered whether one incident in Liza's life would wind up coming back into the plot as well.

I like the way Jessica Strawser writes, and really enjoyed her last novel, Not That I Could Tell (see my review), which was released earlier this year. I didn't feel that this book was as strong, because the characters aren't all that likable, and because I really didn't know what to expect from the overall story. However, even though it was a tiny bit slow at times, I couldn't stop reading it, because I needed to know where she was going to take the story.

Once you understand this isn't a thriller, you may be able to enjoy the book for its storytelling, and for the twists and turns Strawser throws in. She's definitely a talented writer, one who can take ordinary situations and turn them into drama.

NetGalley and St. Martin's Press provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!