I tried, but I just couldn't get into this book. I made it about 1/4 of the way, then skipped to the end to verify I'd guessed right - I did. I think some will really enjoy this psychological thriller, but it just wasn't a good fit for me.

Thank you to HQ Digital and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

So I’m already a huge fan of this author’s Ruby Baker series, which is written under the name Daisy White, so I jumped at the chance to read Remember Me.

Of late, I’ve been falling out of love with the whole psychological thriller thing but then Remember Me came along to remind me why I love this genre!

I really warmed to Ava, she’s strong, independent but she’s not perfect, making mistakes that she deeply regrets. As a teenager, suffering from post natal depression and stuck in a doomed relationship she abandons her young son to go back to America. She rises through the ranks of the police becoming a detective. Only when her ex husband Paul is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he asks her to return to Wales. She sees this as a chance to reconnect with her son but it brings bad memories of her missing friend Ellen and a trauma she’d rather forget.

Things get much worse when she arrives in Wales, with someone is waging a campaign of intimidation against Ava. Who is out to get her?

This is a lot grittier than I’m used to from this author with a lot darker themes, like toxic relationships, abuse and depression but I absolutely loved it!

I also liked the addition of the threatening and cryptic messages written in Welsh, then translated into English, I don’t know why but I felt it added to that air of menace about them.

I will say it is a little slow burn at the beginning. Also I did have an inkling early on who the baddie of the book might be but with all the secrets and lies, it ended up being a whole lot more complicated than just a simple ‘this person is evil and that’s why the do what they do’.

Overall Remember Me is a dark, gritty, well written psychological thriller with intriguing characters and a gripping story line.

I got this as an ebook through netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have to say overall the mystery of this book kept me intrigued. I was constantly thinking I had figured it out and then another piece of the puzzle would be given and I was back to square one. I liked avas character even though she had absolute shitty taste in friends. I'm still hung up on the ending and whether I liked it or not but overall I'd give this book 🌟🌟🌟🌟

This was D.E. White's debut psychological thriller . I just couldn't get into this book ! There were too many characters and I couldn't keep up with the storyline ! . Thanks to Netgalley and HQ Digital for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review ! #Netgalley #HQDigital #RememberMe

Ava Cole is back in Wales after leaving the country and her young son behind when her best friend disappeared. Now fifteen years later after working in Los Angeles as a detective, she returns after learning her ex-husband is dying of cancer, hoping to reconnect with her son. Ava's return stirs up old feelings about Ellen's disappearance and Ava may now be facing danger.

This book has an interesting premise but starts out very slow with several characters to try to get to know at once. It picks up when the story gets going, but remains fairly slow throughout the book. The long ago mystery and the current one is interesting, but details unfold too slowly. I was interested to see what would happen next, but frustrated that things weren't moving faster. I was surprised at everything that was revealed at the end. There were some really good moments in the book, but with some faster pacing and less characters to keep track of, it could have been a more exciting thriller.

I received this book from NetGalley through the courtesy of HQ Digital. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

"Remember Me" by D. E. White. My first time reading that author.

"If they hid the body, nobody would ever know..."
Over a decade ago, Ellen died in the woods, her friends covered it up. Years later, her parents who still believe she ran away, want answers. They start to wonder if their daughter is even alive and if her friends know something... They hire a PI. Over the years people involved die... Accidents or not?

4 stars.
I really liked it!
Well written, captivating until the end. But I enjoyed the first half of the book better. It was sometimes a little slow after that.

Good characters, intriguing story, between the past and present, more details are revealed in a good pace.

Thank you NetGalley and HQ Digital for the ARC of this book. This is my honest review. All opinions are my own!

Review shared online on NetGalley, Goodreads, Twitter...

I am sorry but I didn’t enjoy this book very much . It started off good but it just drifted along and didn’t hold my interest .

I just couldn't get into this book. I tried to,, I really did, but it just wasn't holding my attention.

In thrillers, I need there to be something that I want to know...something that keeps me reading. Unfortunately, this book told me pretty much everything just at the beginning. And so i lost interest.

So yeah, Remember Me was a super dull read for me.

Remember Me, the debut psychological thriller from D. E. White, certainly has the right title; I'll definitely remember it but for all the wrong reasons I'm afraid. The main issues were too many characters and too many different threads to the story that my way of relaxing turned into such a slog. I am not a fan of writing negative reviews and usually, there are redeeming features to help balance out my critique, but I am hard-pressed to find any here sadly.

The plot concepts were all sound and could've led to an exciting, compelling read, but there were far too many ideas and they didn't all belong in the same book. It was also rather slow in terms of pacing, which didn't exactly help. It indeed had its moments, but they were far and few between and not enough to keep me interested in finding out what happened in the end. The writing was pretty decent, so I hope the authors next book is better than this turned out to be.

Many thanks to HQ Digital for an ARC.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

8 teenagers go into the woods only 7 come out...those 7 keep quiet about what happened

the body has never been found

now years later someone is playing games and those 7 are reunited...are the friendships still there or have things changed

not a bad book

It took me a wee while to get into this book but once I did it was quite fast paced and I found myself doubting all the characters.

Ava is back home after having run away to America 15 years earlier leaving behind her husband and young son. She is now a Detective in LA and has had little to no contact over the years with her friends and family in Wales. That is until she is contacted by her ex-husband to tell her he has terminal cancer and wants her to come back and live up to her responsibilities by meeting her estranged son.

Once she returns to Wales, lots of childhood memories come flooding back including one which she and her friends have kept a secret for many many years. Her best friend Ellen died one night in the woods - it was an accident and they were all high on drugs and alcohol - they decided that they should bury the body and pretend to her parents and the community that Ellen had run away to live her life. Ava catches up with all her old friends but it soon becomes clear something is amiss and someone is trying to warn her off.

A fantastic read - thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

I went into this with an open mind and unfortunately this wasn't my favorite. I can't quite place what it was, this just wasn't my cup of tea.
Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately I couldn't finish Remember Me, the storyline is intriguing but the writing style wasn't my cub of tea. Overall I just felt confused,

***A big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review***

WARNING: Book contains sexual imagery involving both adults and children as well as murder.

It has been quite a while since I have delved into a mystery novel. Though Remember Me by D.E. White didn’t seem to have the hard core murder vibe that I used to love ah-la Mary Higgins Clark, I figured it would possess enough intrigue to make for a fast paced mind binder mystery. I was wrong on all fronts, but wasn’t fully aware how wrong I was until I was deep into the story.

It starts off strong as we meet our MC, Ava Cole, who is an LAPD detective thrust back to her old home town in Wales where 15 years ago she was a part of a murder cover-up, but not just any murder, the murder of her best friend, Ellen Smith. But this isn’t why she is coming back, no she’s here for the son and ex-husband she abandoned two years after the murder occurred. Her ex-husband was of course one of the friends in on the cover-up, but managed to react like a garbage human being when Ava needed to get away from there to forget what had happened. Literally, the price she paid in order to save her mental health was her son. It’s sad, but I get why she left.

GOOD POINT: The story starts out with an intense slow burn. Ava has been receiving text messages since before she left for Wales and they are growing in number and creepiness. This was enough to peak my interest, but I’ll admit that not all the text messages were gems, especially when you look back after the “big reveal,” so while they were enough to keep me reading initially, I felt they ultimately served no purpose to the crux of the story.

So Ava’s ex-husband remarried his high school sweetheart, Penny, who he would have ended up with anyway, but had a fling with Ava that resulted in a child. (Though it’s revealed that that wasn’t even a real reason). Penny right off the bat gives off strong Stepford Wife vibes that made my “She’s the murderer” sense go into overdrive. This wasn’t all to shocking because I am a reader that analyzes everything and reading a mystery novel kind of kicks that habit into overdrive.

The story progresses with Ava trying to make amends with her now adult son (we never really get closure with that story line) while also being tossed back into this old secret pack murder cover-up as well as new murders. Basically, anyone who gets close to discovering the “secret” ends up dead. We also know that it’s someone connected with the original murder because we get numerous chapters from the killer’s POV.

GOOD POINT: I enjoyed the attempt to give us a glimpse into the mind of the killer, but it fell flat for me. What was supposed to be intense and heart pounding, only came off as making the person behind the whole thing seem pointless with no real motivation. We learn that the killer is in “love” with Ava, yet the story stops just short of making it a true crime of passion situation, why? I feel so much more could have been accomplished and your characters would have been more well rounded had this been the course you took.

Aside from the mystery aspect of the book there wasn’t much else that pulled me into it. Ava as a character was badly written in that I doubt an LAPD detective would have done 90% of the bullshit she gets away with. A lot of the “police work” she did in the book rang so false to me, that I would have been willing to believe that Ava wasn’t really a cop at all, let alone a detective. Then the author has her sleep with the one guy who has acted misogynistic to her the entire time? At that point I labeled her as a weak character at best and wouldn’t have missed her.

As far as the other characters, they all fell into the same problem. They were overly dramatic in their personalities that made them seem not human at all. Almost as if they didn’t exist in this world until the book demanded them to. The killer’s motivation was lacking. This was a big disappointment to me as figuring out the who early on, the only thing driving me was the why and the payoff, in my opinion, wasn’t worth it.

The writing was solid though and read easy making the experience smooth in that regard. I think White can spin a decent story, but perhaps needs to tweak a few details and build her characters more so her stories feel more complete.

My feelings are mixed when it comes to recommending this, but I wouldn’t mind checking out her other novels and seeing if her other work might flip that switch.

BAD POINT: Tough Love!

3.5 Out of 5 Stars

Remember Me, the debut psychological thriller by D.E. White, is a fast paced whodunit in the style of Agatha Christie. It pulls the reader in from the start and doesn't let go.

Ava Cole is an LA based detective who has returned to her hometown of Aberdyth, Wales to see her terminally ill ex-husband, and the son that she has not seen since giving him over to the custody of his father. Upon returning, Ava must confront the unresolved demons of her past. Fifteen years earlier, her friend Ellen was murdered and the case remains unsolved. Is the killer one of the eight members of Ava's old gang? Suspicions mount as Ava confronts each of the surviving members about events long ago buried. Adding to the mystety, a private investigator working the case turns up dead. The killer remains at large.

The voice of the unknown killer is interwoven throughout the plot, giving clues about his or her identity, and thereby pulling the reader into a sinister game. I was kept guessing until the end and, for me, that is the very best kind of mystery. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a clever, well-crafted psychological thriller.

Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ Digital for this ARC.

Remember Me by D.E. White is a contemporary psychological thriller that will draw you in from the start and keep you glued until the final page.
It is a story of truth and lies. Lies told to cover up truths but can you separate the real from the lie?
Friendships are complicated affairs. Some begun in childhood last until adulthood. Some are bound together by lies that spiral out of control.
Past crimes link to present day. As the clock starts ticking, can you guess the perpetrator?
The voice of the criminal appears regularly throughout the book. Do you know who it is?
Snow and bad weather all add to the atmosphere. A landscape altered by snow mirrors confused minds.
I really enjoyed Remember Me. Not only was it gripping with a cleverly constructed plotline but I was as confused as the lead character – just who could be trusted? Even when I ruled characters out, I ruled them back in again! Only when I had exhausted all suspects did the penny finally drop for me!
Cleverly done and very chilling.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

DE"s Remember Me was a mixed bag. Intriguing at times but a little predictable. The past comes back to haunt Ava when she returns to her home town to reconnect with her son. Now a respectable detective she played her part in a serious crime when she was a child. Someone wants to expose her. I had the offender figured out. Worth a read.

Remember Me by D. E. White is a recommended mystery/thriller.

Ava Cole is currently an LAPD detective but she has returned to the small Welsh village where she grew up, after moving there from the USA as a child. Her ex-husband, Paul, is dying, and she needs to reconnect with her son, Stephen. Ava returned to the states when Stephan was just a toddler, leaving Paul to raise him. Paul married one of their childhood friends, Penny, and the two raised Stephen as their own. One of the reasons Ava left had to do with the death fifteen years ago of her best friend, Ellen Smith. Ava is not sure exactly what happened, but none of them ever said a word about Ellen's death and as far as Ellen's parents and officials know, Ellen ran away from home and disappeared.

Secrets sometimes have a way of being told. The remaining group of friends knows what happened and the cover-up in which they were all complicit. Now Ava has been receiving text messages from an unknown number taunting her, saying in Welsh, phrases like: "Remember me, Ava Cole?" or "How will you remember me, Ava Cole." There is a private detective in town too, looking into Ellen's disappearance all those years ago.

This is a mystery where all of the characters seem suspect, and you have to figure out whodunit. The cast of characters are introduced as Ava reconnects with her previous group of friends. Then, as they are introduced, the reader needs to start evaluating them as suspects based on the information provided in the narrative.

The chapters alternate between Ava's actions and thoughts told in the third person and the first person thoughts of her stalker. This does set up a nice contrast to increase the tension. The characters are well-developed, even though there are many of them between friends and children and acquaintances from the village. It becomes clear that the person is taunting Ava and is going to actively start targeting the group of old friends, but the question of motive remains.

There are two main issues I had to overcome with Remember Me: the rather slow pace of the action and a sense of incredulity that Ava is a detective. First, if I'm yawning while reading any mystery/thriller then it is a sure sign that the pace is a bit too slow. My interest in what happened compelled me to keep reading, but at times it seemed a slog. Secondly, there were several instances early on when I said aloud, "She's a detective?" It is not a good sign if I'm skeptical and questioning the competence of the detective skills of the main character.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins.

http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2019/01/remember-me.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2691486944
https://www.librarything.com/work/22544689/reviews/164977380
https://twitter.com/SheTreadsSoftly/status/1089602531569881095

This was a great book, Ava returns to her childhood village in Wales following the news that her ex-husband is terminally ill. She’s now a detective in LA, but the vast majority of her friends are still in the village.
They’re harbouring a secret from heir teenage years, they covered up the death of Ellen, one of their group.
What transpires next is a story of hidden memories and secrets. Could it be that one of the remaining 7 actually killed Ellen?
Kept me guessing all the way through

Thank you to HQ Digital for an eARC via NetGalley of D.E. White’s ‘Remember Me’, a psychological thriller set in Wales. It is published on 6th February.

After fifteen years Ava Cole returns to the Welsh village where her best friend Ellen went missing when they were teenagers. However, Ava and the six others who were there that night know what actually happened and it’s a secret that continues to haunt her.

Ava has been summoned from Los Angeles by her ex-husband, who is terminally ill, to discuss their son. Even before she arrives Ava receives threatening text messages from an unknown party and things progressively get worse.

Some chapters are written from the viewpoint of the baddie and more than suggests that they are seriously disturbed and involved in some very twisted activities.

I have to say that I was rather distracted during the first half by inconsistencies with the timeline. While the publicity material states that Ellen disappeared fifteen years ago that doesn’t work given other details. At just over halfway DI Miles is responding to Ava’s account of events. This interaction makes it clear that after that fateful night Ava had time to get pregnant, marry and then left Wales when her son was two. So more like nineteen years if my math is right. Of course, as I am reading an ARC this might be adjusted before publication and a personal quibble.

However, this was not my only issue. Ava is supposed to now be a hot shot LAPD detective but sometimes I was so frustrated by her behaviour. Maybe it was due to her being too emotionally involved.

Even though there were times when I was eagerly swiping the pages to find out what happened next, I found the overall pacing a bit hit and miss. Also, I didn’t really connect with Ava or most of the other characters. The exception was D.I. Sophie Miles, who had the patience of a saint seeking answers to this cold case and the unfolding events in the present.

Certainly this was an okay read and had its moments but I didn’t feel it lived up to its potential. Thus, I have given it 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.