Book Review: Forget Her Name by Jane Holland

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons!

  This year I have been enjoying new authors. I have found many books that have been very intriguing. I was searching for a book that takes place at Christmas time for my Xepherus Reads 2018 Reading Challenge. I noticed that one of the novels that I recently purchased for my e-reader did, and it was a thriller. Of course I had to read it. 

   Forget Her Name is written by Jane Holland, and it is published by Thomas and Mercer, an Amazon imprint. In it we are introduced to Catherine Bates, a socialite that has decided that she wants to give back to her community. Volunteering at a state run food bank, Catherine helps those less fortunate than her. She is set to marry her love, Dominic, before Christmas. She is happy, mainly because she is away from her overbearing parents. She shares a modest flat with Dominic and they get by. Nothing can break her happiness, even memories of her hateful sister, Rachel, who died a decade prior. 

  Then one day she receives a parcel at the food bank addressed to her. Upon opening it she notices that it is a snow globe that once belonged to her sister. She is perplexed as to why it is being sent to her, since it disappeared many years prior. When she shakes the globe she notices something horrifying floating in the glittery water. As she grows closer to marrying Dominic, their flat is broken into and Catherine's dress is torn to shreds and defaced with what looks like blood. Soon Catherine is seeing things pertaining to her dead sister begin to surface. Catherine fears that her parents may have lied to her about her sister's death. Because all of these current incidents are reminiscent of the horrible pranks Rachel played in her youth. Catherine begins to investigate her sister's demise, but what she finds is not what she expected.

  On the surface Forget Her Name sounds very promising and it was. Even though the beginning was a bit slow, the story began building into a mystery that I was eager to solve. But ultimately I found this novel to be a disappointment to me by the end. I guessed early on what was happening, but that was not what turned me off to this novel. I was given another reveal at the end that I did not see coming. It was a good twist, but then the book seemed to suffer from the "one more chapter" dilemma. An epilogue continued the story and twisted the narrative from a suspense novel to what read like a movie-of-the-week love story. I was left scratching my head, wishing that I had not read the epilogue.

  As with many authors' works, this seemed to feature an editing choice that did not work for it. It was disjointed, as if it were three different books stuck together to make one. Jane Holland seems to be a very good writer, so I am puzzled by what happened with this novel. I do plan to read more of Jane Holland's novels in the future, regardless of my thoughts on this one. Many authors have released books that I have not enjoyed, but I still read their material. Giving up on an author should never be any person's style.

  The audio book was narrated by Henrietta Meire, who did a very good job juggling the various characters. She helped move the story along during the slow pieces. And I enjoyed her handling of the first reveal, which involved slowly changing her voice and accent. I found her performance very good, and would listen to another book narrated by her. 

   Forget Her Name had a beginning that was slow, an excellent middle with a decent reveal, and a second reveal that led into the unnecessary epilogue piece that changed the narrative. As someone who has worked with food banks before, I enjoyed Holland's handling of the processes involved with state run programs over seas. She portrayed those in need very accurately. I also enjoyed the creepy atmosphere of the Bates' home, which drove the mystery forward in the middle. All-in-all it was a book that held my attention. But with the epilogue I gave this novel three out of five stars.            

Have fun reading this week. Let me know in the comments below what you are reading.

 
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  Because there is always time to read,
   Xepherus3 



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