“Close to Me” by Amanda Reynolds is an intense psychological drama. Throughout the book I found it difficult to relax. I felt tense, waiting to see what happens next. Peeling away the layers, trying to get through to those deeply hidden memories , anticipation... this story made me feel anxious and kept me focused.
I wasn't thrilled about how the book ended. I suppose I was expecting a little more from it. There was no “wow” for me at the end.
Nevertheless, I found it absorbing and will be very interested to see what Amanda Reynolds published next.
Thank you to the author ,the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

This book haad me at the edge of my seat-- a woman with amnesia is trying to remember the last year of her life, and coming to realise that things were not as perfect as her husband wants her to believe. Jo's past is drip-fed agonisingly slowly as she begins to piece things it was extremely gripping, and I was completely invested in her story right from the beginning

I really enjoyed this book and was desperate for Jo to remember so that the story could unfold, I was willing her mind to recover what it had lost so that we could also know the truth as a reader. It was well written and the main characters were rounded and believable, Finn felt a little flat and left behind but that would be my only negative,

Ooh, this book had me gripped, and torn – between wanting to rush through it to see what had really happened, and wanting to read slowly to make it last.

The story was intriguing and very well written, and was peopled by really vivid, real-life characters. There was no gore or terror, just a really gripping and entertaining story and I enjoyed it very much.

The Fall. We move backwards and forwards from this marker.
Jo has lost a year's memory after a severe fall down the stairs. Flashbacks throughout the story lead us to wonder if her apparently loving husband was in any way responsible, as one of her memories is quarreling with him on the stairway.
The story unwinds, taking us back to a time before the Fall, taking us onward to days after the Fall. Sometimes a little confusing to remember exactly where we are.
Relationships with her children are deeply affected, she is abused by a co worker, a counselor calms her throughout. The husband, loving, over protective, controlling, turns out to have his own agenda.
Jo says " I have kept my thoughts to myself, deeply troubling. Thoughts which have kept me from sleep in those dark waking hours. I have travelled to other places, recesses which repel and attract me in equal measure. I have seen terrible things"
As indeed she had, but it would spoil the story to continue.
Excellent ending. A very well written book.

This was a good read if a little slow but still enjoyable pace. The story focuses on Jo who has taken a tumble down some stairs in her home leaving her with no memory of the past year. Slowly but surely memories come back and as the story jumps between past and present we find out what really happened and why she has a sense of foreboding with the many friends and family that she comes into contact with. The book is quite thought provoking in that it must be incredibly hard for people to cope with any sort of memory loss and the author describes this really well. A really good read. 4 ⭐️

One of the best books so far this year. Kept me guessing throughout. I read this in one sitting as it was extremely hard to put down for more than 5 minutes at a time. I look forward to reading more from this author in the near future.

She can't remember the last year. Her husband wants to keep it that way.......
Loved this book and couldn't put it down. I would highly recommend it and a very definite 5 stars from me.

This is a book that will grab you and not let you go until the very final page! I am still not entirely sure whether I liked thew ending or not - but I'll let you make your own mind up! Fantastic thriller!

I did not like the way this book was written and therefore did not get very far. Seems like someone has gone to a descriptive writing class and decided to write a book. I got as far as the sentence something like My fingers worrying at the stones beneath me, their cool touch comforting. Are the stones worrying or comforting? I could not read any more of this. As it is a negative review I will not review on Amazon or twitter etc.

Close To Me is a gripping new psychological thriller from debut author, Amanda Reynolds.

The novel begins when Jo Harding wakes up in hospital after having a fall at home which has caused her to have some memory loss. Jo has lost a whole year of her life which she is now desperately trying to piece back together. Her husband, Rob, is desperate for it to remain that way and when Jo begins to realize that he is keeping things back from her she begins to wonder what sort of man he really is. The gripping pitch: she can’t remember why she’s afraid of her husband.

The characters and story line in this book were really well developed and I felt like I got to know every single one of them. There is a lot of drama going on in Jo’s family which her husband is trying to keep secret from her. This makes it really dramatic when she finds out what has been going on in the past year of her life. Before Jo has the fall, she starts to volunteer at a drop in center and becomes friendly with Rose who helps to run it. I thought this was a great idea and when Jo is trying to piece together what has happened in the past year it adds a lot of dramatic tension too. Rose was an interesting character although there were times when I found her a little annoying and a little bit pushy when it came to her friendship with Jo.

Amanda knows how to hook her reads and each new chapter kept me turning the pages as I learnt more about the year Jo has lost. The pace in the novel was great. The dark question which hangs over Jo drives the plot forward: did she fall, or was she pushed? What is her husband capable of?

A really enjoyable read, Amanda Reynolds is an exciting new name in the world of thrillers and I’m looking forward to see what she does next. I’m sure that Close To Me will be a big hit. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy to read.

Now everyone knows I LOVE a dysfunctional family (rumours that this is because it shows my own family in a slightly better light are of course unfounded!!) so I was totally tempted by the blurb of Close To Me which seemed right up my street, with family secrets lying at the heart of this memory loss suspense.

I wasn’t sure if I would take to Jo but as we shared a name and are of a similar age I wanted to give her a chance. Jo is struggling after a fall has left her with amnesia, not a total memory loss though, just of the last year. And it’s pretty obvious that her family are all keeping secrets about things that have happened in that year. Jo is having a few flashbacks though and although they seem to be rather erotic in nature, she has always been a faithful and loving wife……hasn’t she? Could her lost year really be hiding THAT much? As the plot unfold in the days following her “accident” we also get glimpses of the life Jo was living leading up to it. And as the plot progressed I actually came to like Jo and felt an empathy with her that came easier than I had thought it would.

One of the things I liked about Close To Me was the family dynamics and the rather realistic dramatic reactions to things that were happening. It came across like a reality show at times, with “looks” between different family members, non communicative children and lots of emotional responses once hidden secrets had been revealed. With Jo being of the age she was, she had to deal with “empty nest syndrome” as well which cruelly often coincides with the menopause which can make women more emotional and sensitive as well as having a dramatic effect on their sex life. Jo thinks she may have had an affair but if so who with? And is that the reason that she feels her fall wasn’t an accident? Due to the way the story was set out, sometimes we could see what had lead to events before Jo did but the twists and turns towards the end weren’t the ones that I had been expecting! I trusted nobody in this book and that’s just the way I like it!

I read a lot of books now that have similar themes so it does take a lot to stand out for me but I did rather enjoy Close To Me and even read it in one session which says it all.

Full of twists and turns and every time you think you may figure it out there's a bend in the road.

One of my favourite things about this book is that it avoids cliche and the result is that theres a depth to the characters that is often missing in books where there are things to reveal. I loved it!

Jo Harding wakes up in a hospital with partial amnesia,she has lost a whole year of her life.She is informed that she fell down the stairs but she has no memory of what happened on that night.

Jo begins a frantic quest to unlock her lost memories and discover the truth gradually uncovering secrets that some people especially her husband Rob would prefer remained hidden,at the same time discovering things about herself that make her start to wonder if she is the perfect wife and mother that she thought she was.

This engrossing story of lies,families,secrets and betrayals is voiced entirely by Jo in the third person pov.It unfolds in chapters that alternate between before and after the fall,the chapters are clearly headed and the story flows along nicely.The characters are well developed and realistic but mostly unlikable apart from Jo`s son Fin and Rose who works in the drop out centre where Jo volunteers.It must be absolutely terrifying to lose a whole chunk of your life and the authors portrayal of Jo`s fear,frustration and confusion was believable and realistic but I found it hard to feel any sympathy for her because of some of her thoughts and actions as the story unfolded.

It's an enjoyable debut mystery that had me hooked from the opening prologue right through to the shocking but not totally unexpected conclusion.I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading more books by this author in the future.

Brilliant book. Excellent main characters and plot. I would recommend this book.