The beginning of this book hooked me, the idea of a woman showing up with no memory, although cliche, was enough to make me want to read more. However, after being absorbed in the first few chapters, the story began to lose its thread for me. I was turned off by the random political agenda and the alternative viewpoints.

Suddenly more and more characters were being introduced along with several convoluted plots. It got to the point where the book stretched its believability wafer thin. When multiple women were supposed to look identical, I couldn't keep up any longer.

Plus, for a thriller, this was not paced well, and I found myself bored through most of the middle section. An intriguing beginning isn't followed through with the novel that follows, unfortunately.

A woman arrives at the house of a young couple. She believes that it's her own home but she is uncertain of anything else--her bag has been stolen, along with her memories. Tom and Laura, the couple, are determined to help her--Tom even gives her a new name "Jemma". When they take her to a doctor, police get involved. Could she be infamous murderer Jemma Huish who once lived in Tom and Laura's house?

I generally like books about amnesia/memory loss and this one has a great start. There are lots of questions: what draws the amnesia victim to the home? Is she really Jemma Huish? She does look a bit like the murderer. Could she be the long lost daughter of Laura's friend instead?

Ultimately, however, the answers to the questions are unsatisfying. The book doesn't sustain the energy of the opening chapter for long. The main characters Tom and "Jemma" are not particularly likeable.

Nevertheless, I would suggest this book to other readers who enjoy thrillers and amnesia plots.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me w/ this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book teetered between a 3/5 and a 3.5/5, I ended up rounding this up to a 4/5 due to the fact I did not guess the ending.

I did not really like the characters, and almost gave up 1/2 way through the story. The book got a little slow for me in the middle, but I decided to keep reading. The story did pick up again towards the end.

I was unable to guess what the twist was, and I was happy with the way the story was wrapped up.
I also did find the story to be original as well.

The multiple twists in this story kept me guessing until the end which made this such a delightful read! It was fun finding out that characters that I thought I understand had so many complex layers. The lotus blossom symbolism was interesting. I can't wait to read more works by this author!

This tale of amnesia and misdirection would be better if it didn’t try so hard. It is just a tad too clever for its own good and the tension suffers as a result. The first half of the story is a full tale unto itself but when the resolution occurs and there is still half a book yet to finish, I didn’t feel excited about the prospect of more thrills to come. I felt uncomfortable about needing to start again with the characters and another plot. I wish I had found any of the characters likable or appealing; they are all a bit sketchy. Ultimately I was ambivalent about the ending and that’s not a good sign. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

This book started strongly, but somewhere along the line became quite convoluted. A women with amnesia shows up in a village at a home she believes is hers ... only it’s not. Who is this stranger? Why does she make the villagers uneasy. With a large cast of characters and an overly ambitious plot, it’s easy to get lost instead of caught up in the story. With different plot lines, it seemed like we had reached a good stopping point with Jemma’s story, but the story gets more complicated from there. A good premise, but not executed as well as it could have been.

Let's just get a few things out of the way first. If you welcome a lost amnesia victim who shows up on your doorstep knowing the floorplan of your home, and your husband decides to call her by a murderer's name - you just may be in trouble! If you text other men in the village about said possible murderer in your home, your marriage just may be in trouble! If you are the amnesia victim who shows up at a house and the husband is super-creepy towards you, and later wants to hide you away - YOU just may be in trouble!!

There is an awful lot going on in The Last Thing She Remembers by J.S. Monroe, sometimes maybe a bit too much. But oh, it is a riveting ride!!! There are multiple mysteries and intrigues at play within the pages of this book, and the author is skillful at keeping the suspense building and building and BUILDING until you want to EXPLODE!!!

I have to say there are lots of twists in this story that send you off into a wide variety of directions. So many interesting stories behind the people in this small village!! Wow! And the scheming involved in the resolution of one of the paths - quite diabolical, I must say.

I rank this as a 3.5 stars. The author certainly holds the reader's attention, no doubt about that. Some of the minor storylines added a busy-ness to the book that was distracting and at times confusing. Writers can write whatever they want and make thing turn out (or not turn out) as they wish, but some of the main story was so convoluted. Intriguing? Yes. Believable? Not so sure. But what an entertaining read!!

Many thanks to NetGalley, J.M. Monroe and Park Row for allowing me to read an ARC of this novel in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions stated here are my own.

Who is the woman who appears at Tony and Laura's house? Would you take her in? Well, they do and Tony names her Jemma- or is that her real name? There are so many possible spoilers in this occasionally completely implausible thriller that it's hard to review. Suffice it to say that no one is who you think they are to start off. It's told from multiple perspectives, which works well in this type of novel and adds to the guessing. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read for fans of the twisty British novel.

The Last Thing She Remembers is an exciting suspense thriller that rockets from character to character, taking the unreliable narrator trope up a notch or two. A woman takes a train to Willshire, an English village, and goes to a house, knocking on the door, claiming she lives there and that she does not remember her name. She really does not remember anything of her life, worse each new day is a clean slate requiring her to keep notes from day to day so she can remind herself what happened.

The homeowners are Tony and Laura. At first Laura is welcoming, but when Tony suggests the stranger looks like a Jemma and the local doctor wonders if she could be Jemma Huish who used to live in that house, Laura wants nothing to do with her. For good reason! Jemma Huish is infamous for repeatedly calling to warn she feared she would kill someone before she slit her roommate’s throat. The antipathy that should have been directed at the mental health system that left her out to dry was instead directed at her and the suggestion this young woman could be her stoked village fears.

Irresponsible police and dire public warnings but the newly minted Jemma on the run, seeking help from Tony whose own fears of hereditary Alzheimers makes him fascinated by memory and memory loss, thus fascinated by Jemma. But is she a murderer? Is she Jemma Huish and if she’s not, why did she come to Willshire? To add to the confusion, another local thinks she might be his daughter, a daughter he never knew he had. Still another local speculates she is a Russian mole.



There is plenty of misdirection in The Last Thing She Remembers and all of it is perfectly fair. Because it is so fair, we perhaps begin to discern the outlines of a scheme at play. Or more accurately, more than one scheme. The plot never stops adding to the tension, propelling the reader forward and compelling us to keep reading without stop. No sleep for you! It all hangs together and people act as you might expect them to act. It was a good, strong mystery. It is weakened however, by too much epilogue, too much wrapping up the loose ends and telling us what happened. The plot was ingenious so long as it was not reviewed in retrospect. Trust us readers to understand the story without tying up everything in a neat package with a epilogue bow on top.

The Last Thing She Remembers will be released May 28th. I received an e-galley for review from the publisher through NetGalley.

I enjoyed the more unique premise of this book. I found the characters to be interesting and the storyline easy to follow. It did not truly pull me in and make me want to sit down to read all day like some tales do, but it was definitely worth the time. Thanks for the opportunity to read this!

Thank you netgalley and Park Row for the free review Copy! I gave this 3.5/5.

The first 50% of the book I was absolutely hooked and couldn’t stop. I wanted to figure out who this mystery woman was that randomly showed up on Tony and Laura’s doorstep. I was so into this book, but once it hit 50% I started getting kind of confused with the constant seahorse/hippocampus reference. I understand why it’s being told and how it’s an important part of Tony’s motives. But I guess that’s what started slowing me down from reading it as quickly. Maybe it was in the way it was explained I had a hard time understanding it even though I saw the connection that it brought to the story line.

Besides that part all in all it was an enjoyable read and I liked it!

This is a book that I fear is going to be grossly underestimated. I have to admit that I haven't seen this book all over social media and hadn't heard of it before the publisher sent me a copy to review. But, I always find that when publishers send me books that I haven't requested, I discover some of my favorite authors so I thank them for that.

The Last Thing She Remembers was such a pleasant surprise. A fast paced, mysterious, twisty thriller that kept me on my toes from start to finish, I thoroughly enjoyed J.S. Monroe's work.

The story begins when a young woman shows up on Tony and Laura's doorstep with no recollection of who she is, where she came from, or why she is there. Tony and Laura take her in and try to help her regain her memory. What follows is a crazy roller coaster ride of stuff that had me guessing all the way until the end. There are quite a few surprises along the way that any thriller-lover would enjoy.

I will say that you kind of have to suspend reality in a few parts of the book because there were a few things that happened that were a tad too coincidental for me to believe. This is definitely not a story that could actually take place, but not many thrillers are.

Bravo to J.S. Monroe on a successful novel. I hope this one gets more publicity and chatter on social media as publication date gets nearer because it is worth the book-reviewing community's attention.

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, J.S. Monroe, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to review.

I was disappointed by this book; the overview got me excited about the plot but it feel short. There were times it was confusing to follow who was Jemma (the real and suspected), the backstory with Tom came so late in the story with no "build up" and seemed like an incomplete story. Overall the plot was farfetched, it felt like there were missing pieces, or could have been told in a different way to seem more complete, and the characters fell short for me.

5 out of 5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Park Row Books for allowing me to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I am a sucker for a good lost memories/amnesia thrillers and this was totally right up my alley. Tony and Laura are going about their normal day when a young woman appears at their door. She has no memory of who she is, of where she is from but she knows she belongs in their house. All she knows is that she got off of a flight from Berlin but she doesn't have her luggage, purse or ID. She can however tell them in detail the layout plan of the house. Just as Tony is about to shut the door in the girt's face she collapses.

After bringing the girl in they feel as if they should look out for her. They bring her in and try and take care of her. Laura decides to call her friend who happens to be a GP. Tony meanwhile gives the girl a name, he decides to call her Jemma with a J. They invite her to stay the night in hopes that she will wake up in the morning and remember who she is. From there the story starts rolling!

It is hard to give this fantastic, twisty novel an in-depth review as I don't want to give away anything and there is so much to this book. Let me just say that this book is a brilliant thriller full of twists and turns. "Jemma" is an intriguing character and will totally have you rooting for her.

If you want a book that will hold your interest, keep you excited to turn the page and that has a character or two for you to root for this is for you. I was blown away!

The action starts right off the bat in this extremely fast paced, whirl wind of a mystery. "I can't remember my own name" is the very first line, muttered by a woman arriving at what she believes to be her home, yet she can see strangers inside who appear to live there. With no other options, as she has no memory, no phone, purse, wallet or identification, she proceeds to knock on the door where she thought she hoped to find solace; and thus begins one crazy hurricane of a story.

Things take off and they do not slow down. From the beginning information is being thrown at you from all angles, from multiple characters, and a little rushed. There isn't as much character and scene building as there is straight forward action - I almost felt like I needed to be taking notes at some points, with how quick and often things were happening. As confusing, and albeit unbelievable, it was at times it made for an absolute page turning reading experience.

I personally feel like there should have been a part I and a part II to this book, because thats how it read. I felt a beginning, middle, and end to parts I and II.. I don't think I would have felt that part I was as rushed if a second half was approaching.. I think the plot/story line to both "parts" were fantastic and like the order the story was written in as a whole.

Part I - Couldn't stop reading, trying to organize all of the information, theories, possibilities, remember character names, edge of seat type suspense..especially if the synopsis draws you in!

Part II- Without being able to elaborate for the sake of spoiling- I really enjoyed the most, in terms of the story line. It was pretty fascinating and unique to most books of this genre; the writing seems to slow down a bit, dig deeper into the characters and into the story as well.

One of the most important factors of a high rated book to me is if I can't put it down. This one I read quickly, .. it definitely has that "can't put down" factor..but I was also pretty annoyed by the assault of information in the first half of the book. I think it will depend on your reading style how you like this one. The story line is great, and it will catch your attention for sure.

When a woman shows up on Tony and Laura’s doorstep, they are at first, concerned. This woman clearly knows the layout of their house, which is a unique old home dating back 100 years. They immediately believe her that she must have lived in the house at some point and try to help her figure out who she is.

That is until Laura walks her to the clinic and discovers who she may be–a woman by the name of Jemma who murdered her best friend ten years before during a similar bought of amnesia. Suddenly, the sweet, harmless 30-something woman with no memory of who she is or where she comes from becomes slightly more threatening.

Monroe spins an intriguing tale with a diverse set of richly drawn characters. He deftly keeps the reader guessing up until the last couple pages of the book. The setting, a small village, just a stop on the train, is also charming and adds a subdued tone to the book.

I would recommend The Last Thing She Remembers to fans of Lisa Jewell and fans of the book, The Chalk Man, it totally reminded me of that one! I enjoyed the book and would have ranked it slightly higher if I didn’t get slightly confused by all the theories and names floating around in the latter part of the book.

I know one thing for sure–I will never look at sea horses the same again. Now you have to read it to figure that one out!

Special thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin for an e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This one releases May 28, 2019. This review will be published on my blog, Women in Trouble Book Blog on May 18, 2019.

This seemed like a fairly confused story to begin with - well for about half of it. Something kept me reading though, and I'm so very glad that I did. An interesting and totally rational story.

Loved it.

The premise sounded really good and I had high hopes. Unfortunately, I found this very slow moving and I had difficulty keeping up with the characters. A woman shows up at a house with no memory, no ID and thinks said house is hers even though a couple is living in it. What follows requires a lot of suspension of belief. I had a lot of "Who does this??" moments. It did get better near the second half,and there is a nice, twisty ending, but honestly I would have not gotten that far had I not received an ARC. I will try something else from this author. Thank you to #NetGalley and Harlequin for the ARC.

I will post my review on other sites on May 28th.

A woman shows up at a house she believes is hers, only to find that someone else is living there. This woman has no money, no memory and no identification. My interest was piqued. Unfortunately there were so many characters it was confusing and jumped about a lot. The storyline was rather drawn out. This book had so much promise but unfortunately this book was not for me. It did not deliver. Saying that I am sure other readers will love this book. Just not for me. Almost three stars.
I would like to thank the author, Harlequin and Netgalley for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

A woman loses her luggage, handbag and all of her identification at the airport. What is worse.... she has no idea what her name is. She arrives at the house she believes she lives in, only to find another family living there. Someone says she looks like a "Jemma with a J" so that is what everyone starts calling her. This is unfortunate since there is someone named Jemma who used to live in the village.... and she murdered her best friend. Now "jemma with a J" must get out of town before she mistakenly gets caught up with the witch hunt.

If that all sounds a bit too confusing, it is because the storyline is. I am not saying it is bad, just a little too confusing. It went too slowly at times for my tastes, but I loved the ending.