I did not like this as much as I was hoping but it's still a pretty good mystery. The main issue I had with the book is that all the main characters are REALLY unlikable. I found Molly to be the most unlikable of all. Her constant mystery health issues and anger at her husband when he was TRYING to do better were really annoying!

Forget You Know Me starts out like a superb thriller, but after the first few chapters it turns out to be a book about the complications of friendship and marriage and the damage that secrets can do in those institutions.

Liza and Molly are lifelong best friends whose friendship has lagged following Molly's marriage to Daniel and Liza's move from Cincinnati to Chicago. Without giving anything away, the novel starts out with a bang that threatens to end the Liza/Molly friendship. (Personally, I would not have gotten over it.) However, from there, the book is focused on daily life. Molly is a woman in great physical but undiagnosed pain, and she is hiding a really big secret from both her husband and her best friend. Strawser does a phenomenal job of bringing the reader into her world and developing empathy for all she is experiencing. And Liza is just a normal person struggling with a bit of PTSD from something that happens early on in the novel. She too is written sympathetically.

To be honest, I was just a bit bored once I realized that the thrilling start wasn't going to be the focus of the novel. It's a lovely story about friendship, but not a mystery and not a thriller. Three stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me an ARC.

An unusual tale of friendship- loss and recovered, with a mystery and romance. the characters are very believable and like real people sometimes you love them and sometimes you want to shake them into reality. A great story with lots of surprises. Chic read

Riveting from the opening scene, Forget You Know Me is a layered and suspenseful domestic thriller that will have you questioning how far you might go to help an old friend with a twist at the end that will take your breath.

Liza & Molly have been best friends/friends since childhood. They remained friends throughout teen years, college, and starting life after marriage & children.

The story presents itself when 1 fateful night a secret is created. When an intruder is witnessed during a video call between Molly and Liza. What happens. Why. And why is it such a secret. Molly's husband is out of town for when this occurs and she neglects to tell him. She lies to Liza and says it was no big deal.

Unfortunately, for me I think I miss the signal or the unveiling of the climax and the suspense because although listed as a thriller, I would identify this novel as drama, what happens when secrets are present? How far do we go to protect the ones we love.? What happens when marriages and friendships fall apart or were never real to begin with.?
I lean more toward 3.5 stars a good read just wasn't what I had expected and had me questioning.

The book started of course with the major scene. Got me right away but as chapters went on got less interesting to me. Had a hard time picking it back up once I put it down. I finished it just didn’t hold my attention. I was a little confused at times.

Special thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for a free, electronic ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Molly and Liza have friends for years. Even when Molly got married and Liza moved away, the two have retained their strong bond. One night, during a video call, Liza sees an intruder in Molly’s house and, worried for her friends’ safety, she drives all night to ensure her friend is not in danger. However, Molly seems almost put out by Liza’s unexpected arrival, claiming all is well and practically slamming the door in her face. Liza is convinced their friendship is over, but when other secrets are revealed and Liza has a close call of her own, both Liza and Molly are left with no one but each other to uncover the mystery.
“Forget You Know Me’ is the third novel by author Jessica Strawser. I was a huge fan of “Almost Missed You” and although I have not yet read “Not That I Could Tell”, I heard great things.
“Know Me” is an entertaining women’s fiction novel, which, heads up, is not my favourite genre. I found the writing to be creative and of course, Strawser is talented, but I was not engaged by this novel. The plot was slow moving and the novel itself was one of those “daily life” stories, where we hear about what Liza and Molly ate for breakfast or spent their day, instead of focusing on the mysterious stranger and its implications.
Liza was a wonderful character, and I thoroughly rooted for her the entire way and although I was not a huge fan of Molly at first, she grew on me as I began to understand her motivations and flaws. The fact that this novel did not have many characters was a huge draw, as the plot was not difficult to follow.
The friendship between Liza and Molly was the basis of the book. How the two met, how they have grown apart in recent years, and the drastic events that bring them together now. “Know Me” speaks to the realities of an adult female friendship, torn apart by relationships and distance, and the challenge it takes from both parties to maintain its importance. This aspect of the plot is obviously relatable, and the challenges are depicted honestly and openly, showing both parties as being mutually responsible for the slow drift of the friendship.
I would’ve preferred more action and drama, as opposed to daily life adult struggles <i>(I get enough of that in my own daily adult life) </i> but the novel itself was entertaining, and Strawser is definitely a top notch writer. More mystery and suspense and this novel would’ve been my exact cup of tea, but fans of women’s fiction will eat up this novel. I can’t help but read Strawser’s works, as I am always wowed by her writing chops, but I do look forward to a little more excitement in her next one.

Jessica Strawser is a wonderful writer; as I was reading this book, I often marveled at how well her prose read. Each passage and each scene was interesting and a pleasure to read. The premise of this book--that a woman sees an intruder entering her friend's house while they are talking on Skype and the friend had briefly stepped away--was also excellent.

And yet, all of this didn't come together for me and I found that the book failed to live up to its promise. I felt there were way too many little plot lines, too many unlikable characters, and too many loose ends in the disappointing ending. This book took me way too long to read--I found it didn't keep my interest for long so I often put it down, and then I was often reluctant to pick it up again. I'm not sure I would have finished it if I hadn't felt obligated to write a review.

I loved Jessica Strawser's first book and liked her second, but I see in rereading my review of the second that I made the same comment about the book not really keeping my interest. I still think she is an enormously talented writer and really want to get back to loving her books, but this one fell short.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this book.

Thanks for the opportunity to read this. Jessica Strawser is one of my favorite characters although this book was not my favorite. I will continue to look for her books in the future but I probably wouldn’t recommend this one.

I picked up this book because I like the way Jessica Strawser writes, and really enjoyed her last novel, Not That I Could Tell. If you enjoyed that thriller you will also enjoy this one. However this is not a thriller and that was part of my disappointment because that is what I was expecting. If you go into this understanding this isn't a thriller, but rather more about secrets, friendships, and relationships you may enjoy it more. I wish I had known this going it.

I am a fan of Jessica Strawser's writing so I was very excited to read this book. I was totally hooked with the beginning with the computer incident and the fire...and that held me for a while but I admit that parts in the middle of the book dragged a bit.
The way this book was promoted, I thought it would be more full of suspense. I expected more to come out of the fire and the computer incident so I was kinda let down. I think the character development and the writing, in general, was incredibly strong - as all her books are. But I was thinking this book was going to be more "on the edge of my seat" aside from the first few chapters. I enjoyed the book but felt it was more fiction than suspense but I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

I absolutely loved "Almost Missed You" and was excited to read this book. I enjoyed it but it was not my favorite. The book turned into something completely different than I thought it would be. There was so much going on with each character, it was never just one problem. The ending was just OK for me. After everything that happened- all the lies, trust issues and money problems- everything was just forgiven and it all works out. I thought it was going to revolve more around the masked man in Molly's house. That part was extremely scary and I thought awful thing were going to happen.

Liza and Molly are catching up over the computer when Liza sees something very scary. While Molly is putting her daughter back to bed, Liza sees a masked intruder come into the house. The police are called and Molly pretty much brushes it under the rug like nothing happened. Liza escapes not being killed in a fire and moves home and can't stop worrying about near-death experiences. Daniel is having problems at work and at home with Molly. Molly has so many issues it's hard to keep track and she is much never happy.

I enjoyed the story and writing style. I wasn't a fan of the characters. They made so many bad choices. Molly was the worst (followed closely by Daniel) and I had no sympathy for her, even with all the physical pain she dealing with. I would not like her as a friend. It was horrible how she treated Liza when she showed up at her house. Liza drove hours through the night to check on her friend and Molly was simply awful. My favorite characters ended up being Henry and Rick and then probably Liza. Luke's reaction to Liza's baby gift was over the top especially since Steph loved it. I thought the book was going to be about the masked man Liza witnessed but that pretty much got sidestepped to deal with all the other problems concerning Daniel, Liza and Molly. That was the scene that drew me into the book and held my attention. What ever happened to Molly's debt collectors? With all the harassing and threats, I thought something big would happen. I was convinced all those electronic candles Liza had in her apartment was going to be the cause of the fire.

I did enjoy the book and recommend it, especially if you are fans of Jessica Strawser's previous books. I can't wait to read her next book.

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and the author, Jessica Strawser, for a free electronic ARC of this novel.

In Jessica Strawser's first two novels, and now her third, there’s something so “human” about her writing. While I pray nothing resembling her storylines happen to be, I see the plausibility in them -- and that makes this story (and her others) so addicting. I flew through this book, eager to see how the characters would reconcile their fears, doubts, and hopes. Domestic suspense at it's finest!

As friends tend to do, Molly and Liza have drifted apart throughout the years since they are in different cities. When they decide to catch up on video chat while Molly's husband is away and Liza witnesses an intruder while Molly is out of the room the lies begin anew and the past starts to catch up with both Molly and her husband Daniel. As Liza struggles with Molly's rejection after she drives all night to check on her from the intrusion she comes home flabbergasted, especially once she learns that Molly hasn't even confided in her husband about the intrusion at all.
I really expected a lot more of a suspenseful, thriller type novel so I was a little disappointed that it was fairly slow paced and lot more dramatic but it was still a good story.

At first a gripping thriller, the novel is centered on domestic relationships and mundane lives.
Liza finally has time to have a virtual girls night. When her friend Molly goes to check on the kids, Liza sees someone enter the house through the webcam. Lizza calls the police but ends up being brushed off by Molly. What is going? And why did Liza's home burn down the same night?
While the above is the premise is exciting, the book isn't. It's a domestic story that I might have enjoyed more if I hadn't thought it was a thriller. I also didn't like Molly which is weird because I have chronic illness and pain and usually have great empathy. But I just wanted to call her an idiot and tell her to get off her high horse.
I was the most interested in Liza story and how one deals with trauma and how to feel safe again. She also has some family drama that really gives you feels but overall it's overloaded on so many people and their issues.
If you enjoy the domestic tales, I think you would enjoy this book. But if you are looking for a good psychological thriller, skip this book.

Very very different for me. ZI am a thriller person and this is half thriller and half marriage and friendship, fear courage and all the others parts that go into a full relationship. I would have appreciated a faster pace but overall it was a good and different read.

Domestic suspense.. Honest character study about two best friends who have grown apart but are thrust back together in this appealing mystery. Plenty of twists, turns and emotion in this story of love, redemption and friendship.

A mediocre psychological thriller, with a plot more convoluted than pleasingly twisty. Entertaining but unremarkable.

Molly and Liza have always been close in a way that people envy. Even after Molly married Daniel, both considered Liza an honorary member of their family. But after Liza moved away, things grew more strained than anyone wanted to admit—in the friendship and the marriage.
When Daniel goes away on business, Molly and Liza plan to reconnect with a nice long video chat over wine after the kids are in bed. But when Molly leaves the room to check on a crying child, a man in a mask enters, throwing Liza into a panic—then her screen goes black.
When Liza finally reaches Molly, her reply is icy and terse, insisting everything is fine. Liza is still convinced something is wrong, that her friend is in danger. But after an all-night drive to help her ends in a brutal confrontation, Liza is sure their friendship is over—completely unaware that she’s about to have a near miss of her own. And Molly, refusing to deal with what’s happened, won’t turn to Daniel, either.

But none of them can go on pretending. Not after this.
Forget You Know Me exposes the wounds of people who’ve grown apart, against their will. Best friends, separated by miles. Spouses, hardened by neglect. A mother, isolated by pain. The man in the mask will change things for them all.
But who was he?
And will he be back?

I thought this book was going to be a strong thriller. It’s a good premise, but it’s unoriginal and already been done on the book market.

Sounds like this book is an exploration of an author’s first book.

Seemed fluffy and needed more of a twist and more of a turn for me to consider this a thriller. At best, it’s a luke warm mystery-thriller.

Ending was tied up, neatly, but the middle sagged. This needs a good turn around. Will it be successful? Maybe if the average reader doesn’t look at thrillers often, but it will not do well if readers want a better packed thriller.

What secrets can tear friendships apart? What secrets can tear marriages apart? Add in the lies and you have a formula for disaster. And how does Daniel fit in to all of this? Will Molly and Liza’s friendship survive? And who was that masked man? Lots of questions to answer after reading this recommended novel. It will keep you engaged. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.