Book Review: ‘Forget You Know Me: A Novel’ By Jessica Strawser

Molly and Liza are best friends. Or were for a long time but haven’t had much time for each other. Liza lives in Chicago and Molly lives in Cincinnati with her husband Daniel and kids. They try to keep up but both are busy. They finally have time one night to skype, drink some wine and try to have some time. Molly has to run upstairs to tend to one of her kids. Liza is waiting and sees the door open and a man in a mask enter. She shouts at the man and says she’s calling the police. The laptop goes dead. The police arrive and Molly and the kids are fine. No sign of anyone coming in the house. Molly ignores Liza (who has driven all night to check on her friend).

Molly acts like nothing has happened and distants herself from Liza and is having problems with Daniel. Weird things are happening to Liza. Her apartment burns down. She almost involved in a major car crash. She moves to Cincinnati to live with her brother and his expectant wife. She has decided to rebuild her life there.

The story then follows each woman’s life and the ups and downs that each is going through. Molly has a big time secret as does Daniel. Liza is on edge about almost everything in her life. Men, dying and figuring out what happened to Molly that night. What she finds is shocking and leads to confessions being made by all involved.

A strong follow up to last years Almost Missed You. The characters and story are strong and have you rooting for them to overcome the issues in their lives. The mystery of the man in the mask plays into the story but it’s the relationships of the characters that take the center stage.

You can pick up Forget You Know Me in stores from St. Martin’s Press on Tuesday, February 5th.