3.5 stars. I found this book to be creative in many ways, yet overall pretty mediocre. It was not much of a thriller and the ending was a bit of a let down for me. I did like the way the story was told through different characters perspectives throughout.

Many women between the ages of 25 - 45 struggle with friendship like Liza & Molly: a friendship, once so strong that the friends were practically inseparable, fade away as one friend moves, another has a baby, and life happens. Catching up over a drink is impossible for friends in two different cities, and even arranging a video chat is just as difficult. But through the effort, Liza, in Chicago, manages to connect with Molly, in Ohio, while her husband is away and her child is asleep. But Liza sees something on the video chat that shakes her to her core - so much, that she drives overnight to greet and comfort Molly, only to be turned away on her doorstep. Did Liza actually see what she thought, and is Molly just forgetfully in denial or actually in danger?

While I (and many others in my age group) can certainly attest to the pain, tears and regrets that occur when a friendship starts to slide away, Liza and Molly’s ends with so many secrets that are unraveled throughout the novel. Of course, most of us have secrets, but hopefully not as explosive as the ones that blow up a friendship, chip away at a marriage, and change the course of action for not only two friends, but those closest to them as well.

Overall, this novel was fun to read from different points of view and slowly piece together the parts that each character is hiding from others, and in some cases, even themselves. Sometimes, the only answer to a relationship that ends with an explosion is to “Forget You Know Me.”

Molly and Liza, two long time friends separated by distance, were having a long overdue video chat when they are interrupted by Molly's child.. Molly leaves the room to attend to the child and a masked man appeared on the screen. He closed the computer. Horrified and terrified, Liza tried to reach her friend. Unable to do so, she called the local police in Molly's city. They found no evidence of an intruder. Liza and a friend drive through the night to check on Molly only to be turned away by Molly. What followed was a devastating event in Liza's life which resulted in Liza moving back to her home town Was there enough left of their once close friendship to see them through all that has just happened?
The author brings to the reader a well crafted and intense story that closely examines Molly's and Liza's friendship. as well as Molly and Daniel's marriage. Molly and Liza are realistic and relatable characters. The narrative is so well told the characters fictional world seems real. There is tension throughout the story which keeps readers totally engrossed.. Who was the man wearing the mask and what did he want? For the answer to that, I can highly recommend reading this book.

The first half of this book was fantastic. Like I couldn’t put it down, needed to know what would happen next fantastic. And then... it got really annoying. All the characters were mean and ridiculous and petty. Storylines from the beginning were simply dropped. Even the writing took a turn for the worse. Really bummed that such a promising beginning turned out so blah.

Forget You Know Me is a most unusual novel. Liza and Molly have been friends forever, but have been drifting apart over the years, since Liza took a job in Chicago. They decide to have a video chat once Molly's kids are in bed while her husband is out of town. While chatting, Molly goes to check on the kids and an intruder enters the house. This sets off a chain of events, scary and baffling that has Liza driving through the night to check on Molly's safety and then wondering why Molly is angry with her for showing up unannounced on her doorstep. Their friendship in tatters, no one can explain what really happened that night....

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in return for my honest review.

When longtime friends Molly and Liza finally find time in their busy lives to connect via video chat something happens that will have far-reaching consequences. Molly is married and mother of two small children. Her husband Daniel has grown weary of her attempts to find a cure for her chronic pain. Feeling unsupported Molly is pulled in other directions – one being a new neighbor (a recent widower) and his toddler. She has secrets she keeps from her husband that could prove to be her undoing. I grew a bit anxious just learning about Molly’s secrets. But Daniel has secrets of his own.

Molly is going through a huge life change forced by a catastrophic event. It will force her to question so many things she once thought unshakable. Will she have the courage to move forward?

Forget You Know Me is about messy relationships made messier by life and the inability to work things out or know when its time to call it a day. I liked it and have to add that the final chapters really upped my satisfaction with the resolution. As one would hope, right? Recommended to fans of novels about messy emotional and moral entanglements that just might result in second chances.

A bit of a suspenseful characterization of friendships, motives, and lies and how well people really know each other. I was moderately entertained and feel others might enjoy this book more than I did, so I'll still be recommending it even though I wasn't as thrilled as I'd hoped to be.

Molly and Liza have been best friends for a long time. But their relationship became strained after Molly married and had two children and Liza moved from Cincinnati to Chicago. But then they had a chance to reconnect over Skype but that went very wrong. Molly left the room to attend to a crying child and Liza saw a masked intruder enter Molly’s home and then left realizing he had been seen on screen. Liza and her friend Max, drive all night to Molly’s only to find that Molly is cold and unwelcoming and virtually slams the door in Liza’s face. We then start to learn of many complications in the relationships between Molly and her husband Daniel and between Liza and Molly.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Molly and Liza are the best of friends - and like a lot of friendships, this one begins to fade as the years go on. When Molly's husband Daniel is away on business, Molly and Liza video chat and Liza ends up seeing an intruder while Molly steps away. Liza immediately goes to her friend to be there for her, but Molly gives her the cold shoulder. Did she actually see an incident occur? Why won't Molly talk about it, to her or her husband? What's really going on?
This was more of a story about relationships than a thriller. It was an enjoyable read - fast paced and a well-developed story line. The characters were also well-developed and Liza was very likable and relateable. All in all it was a great book!
Thank you to Jessica Strawser, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Marin’s Press for the ARC.

After having read, Strawser’s last book, “Not That I could Tell” I was offered a free copy of her latest that sent to release early next year.

While I mostly enjoyed the former book by this author, this latest one by her fell a bit flat for me.

See the earlier novel was more of a thriller that kept me guessing pretty much throughout the book. This time out the most intriguing event happens pretty early in the book with Molly and Liza having phone conversation via video chat. It is during this call that Liza thinks she sees someone break into Molly’s home while Molly is off camera tending to her young child at bedtime.

This horrific vision upsets Liza to no end. She even drives over 10 hours with her best guy friend to make sure Molly is OK. But when she reaches out to Molly, Liza finds that Molly is indignant. Molly tells Liza off and cuts her out of life for caring about her. Which is pretty bizarre behavior for lifelong friends.

While Liza was out that evening driving to Molly her apartment complex in Chicago went on fire. The building was pretty much destroyed. And most of her neighbors perished. Because she was out chasing after Molly, she was sacrificed somehow from this event.

As the book further unfolds, we are left to figure out why Molly treated Liza the way she did. It could be a few scenarios. But the plot truly was at a snail’s pace. I had trouble wanting to even read, let alone finish this one. Finish, I did though. And honestly, the reason behind Molly’s behavior fell flat for me, as well as the conclusion to the rest of the story. That said, read at your own discretion.

I enjoyed the way Strawser brought about her mystery. It reminded me of liane Moriarty in many ways. I also liked Liza’s character but really disliked the other female lead. And the male leads were all very lackluster too.

Thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for this ARC.

It’s hard to not compare this with Not That I Could Tell, which was the first book I read from the author. Both took me a substantial amount of time to read because I could not get invested in the characters. In Forget You Know Me, I would often forget what I was reading about because I was intially so pulled in to the masked intruder that makes an entrance into the beginning of the book. I was hooked! But that excitement quickly leveled out, and that was the last time I was hooked. I am all for books delving into deep rooted problems; done right they can be poignant and touching and I often learn something from another’s struggles. That’s one of the best parts of reading, living other people’s lives, for worse and for better. When I read a thriller that made a ripple or a splash, I like to stay loyal and continue reading future works from the author, but I think maybe this author is not for me. I do hope whoever reads this finds something in it and enjoys it more than me, because the author really has a talent for writing.

Forget You Know Me by Jessica Strawser is a women's fiction novel with a hint of suspense... not a thriller at all.

Before starting this book, I kept seeing reviews about the disappointment with this not being a thriller. What you find behind this pages is more of a character driven novel about relationships, challenges of life, marriage, and friendships.

What I love about Strawser's story here is how relatable it can be to anyone. Strawser dives deep into the depths of relationships in this one. How relationships can change over time or as two individuals grow apart from one another. It takes effort to maintain that bond between one another and sometimes as we don't like to see that relationships can fade in time.

Molly and Liza have been friends since they were young. The plot is mainly focused on the relationship of these two women and how the strain/distance of their relationship occurred over time. "Forget you Know Me" is a significant title to the book and makes you think about what it truly means as we all grow/change over the years. Are we meant to have the same people in our lives forever?

Strawser is such a talented author but I struggled with this novel. It was very very slow and I wasn't particularly entertained. I was hoping for more action and this was a bit of a disappointment for me.

Overall, I will definitely be checking more out from this author. She's become an author I definitely watch out for! :)

This was a solid 3 stars for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Publication date: 2/5/19
Published to GR: 11/14/18

Thank you to NetGalley, Jessica Strawser and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book.

I really enjoyed the story, but didn't fancy the ending. I thought it was going to end one way, and it went in the complete opposite direction. Molly's character started to get a bit stale towards the end, and I wish there was more written about Liza.

Overall, a good story.

Estranged friends attempt to catch up on a video chat. The “mom” friend goes to check on a child and the friend sees a prowler enter the house. This sets the scene for this thriller. A marriage hanging on by a thread; best friends or past friends? Well developed characters, but the storyline falters. Are the “bill collectors” coming? A great start, but the end is lacking.

Forget You Know Me#NetGally
Jessica Strawser

Liza and Molly have been friends forever, it seems. Since Junior High into adulthood, they had been there for each other. But, Molly had married and had children and Liza had remained a professional business woman. With different agendas in their lives, they struggled to remain close. When Liza takes a job in Chicago and moves away, they become dependent on keeping up via webcam. One night while chatting, Molly has to see to a crying child and Liza, still on webcam, sees a masked man enter her house. Concerned when she can’t get Molly, she drives 4 hours to check on her friend. She finds Molly safe but unreceptive to her concerns and cold and icy toward her. Puzzled, Liza drives home without a clue as to what is going on in her friend’s life. Can their friendship survive? They clearly have wounds in their relationship and refuse to deal with them. If this storyline catches your attention, you'll have to read the book to see how it all turns out. Happy Reading.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGally for an advance read copy for a fair and honest review.

FORGET YOU KNOW ME reminds us that old friends still know us, even when we want to deny that they do and that sometimes, old friends can bring us back to our true selves. Such is the case with Liza and Molly, old friends replete with fond memories and buried resentments. When Liz sees something odd scene during facetime with Molly, she seeks to help her friend. But Molly doesn't want her help - she denies what Liza saw. But Liza knows what she saw and goes to help Molly, even if Molly doesn't want her help. Good read, good characters.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review. The story of failed relationships, marriages and friendships was very interesting. The main characters were well developed . Once the plot evolved, the story became very gripping and hard to put down. The plots(s) involve a broken marriage, mistrust , many lies and coverups . When a friend witnesses an intruder in her girlfriend ‘s home ,via the commputer screen, the cover ups and lies begin. Relationships and a marriage are at stake. I didn’t like the extra information and stories the author inserted into each chapter. I wanted to read what was happening, not extra information. I think that took away from the story.

I very much enjoyed this book! I felt that the characters were well rounded, and I cared what happened to them. They were all very sympathetic. I will be recommending this to my book club and students.

Molly and Liza have been close friends for a long time, but distance and life seemed to have gotten in the way. The two friends decide to have a video chat over wine to catch up and things are going great until Molly goes in the other room to check on her daughter. Liza, while waiting for Molly to return, notices a masked intruder walk across the room. Naturally Liza is concerned, she is more than concerned she is freaked out. Who wouldn't be? She makes attempts to contact her friend and calls the authorities. When she finally contacts her friend the next day, she is stunned by her friend’s icy reception which ends with anger and hostility.

The opening of the book is strong and instantly grabbed my attention. Molly's reaction to Liza being concerned had me scratching my head. Just what the heck is going on? When Liza returns home, she gets another shock. Then there is Daniel, Molly's husband who was away on a business trip and is concerned when his wife fails to mention an intruder being in their home. Ummm... that is huge, why not mention it? Sure, their relationship has been strained and over the years, they too have had some distance come into their relationship as hurt, resentment and lack of communication crept into their lives.

It is obvious that there is more going on than meets the eye. The opening scenes along with the book description may make this book look like a thriller but it is really a look at relationships and how relationships can become distant, lonely and lose their luster. It shows how lack of validation in a relationship can damage it. How people want to be acknowledged, heard and respected. It also shows the effects of secrets and how one act of bad judgement, once committed begins to snowball until one is making one poor decision after another. It's a look at what happens when you get in over your head and you don't ask for help.

Relationships. Love. Distance. Secrets. Resentment. Guilt. Intruder.

After the intense beginning, this book slows down and has a slower pace as it explores the relationships of the main characters. Strawser is a gifted writer but even with her great writing, this one just didn't blow me away. Having said that, I did enjoy this book -especially how the Author showed how sometimes life gets in the way and individuals need to make time for their relationships. Friendship is important. Making time for those in our lives is important. Communication is important. I enjoyed Liza but found that I never warmed to Molly or Daniel as I would have liked. I really enjoyed Strawser's other book "Not that I could tell" and had high hopes for this one. For me this was just a little too slow. I would advise everyone to keep in mind that this book is about friendships, marriage, relationships, choices, secrets and lies. It's a slow burn which is satisfying but if you are looking for a lot of action, you may be disappointed.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.