Cover Image: The Other You

The Other You

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Member Reviews

A good read, which kept my attention throughout. I would recommend this as a good holiday reading book. Very enjoyable.

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A very unique plot that drew me in and kept me hooked. Lots of twists to keep you guessing. Can't wait to read more from the author as I loved this one!

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Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in return for an honest review.

The Other You by JS Monroe is a psychological thriller based around the idea of 'doppelgangers'. Kate, a 'super recogniser' someone who never forgets a face, is in an accident which affects her ability to recognise faces. Her loving partner who nursed her back to wellness suddenly looks like a stranger to her. Is she suffering from her injuries still or is all not what it seems.

This book was a wild ride. Every time I thought I knew what was going on, something changed. This was a book I couldn't put down. All of the characters were well written with their own stories and personalities and the sense of dread throughout the book kept me on the edge of my seat!

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes thrillers!

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This book is gripping from the very first page.
There were characters that were distrustful and unlikeable.
I didn’t predict the ending at all. A great read

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Wow, this was an absolutely brilliant read! Nothing is as it seems, and the reader is kept guessing from beginning to end!
Kate is a super recognizer but an accident leaves her with an injury that takes this ability away. She doesn't trust herself anymore. Then she starts doubting her friend, Rob's identity.... this was a thrilling read! Can't wait to read some more by this very talented author.
TB

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Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

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Kate used to be good at recognising people. So good, she worked for the police, identifying criminals in crowds of thousands. But six months ago, a devastating car accident led to a brain injury. Now the woman who never forgot a face can barely recognise herself in the mirror. At least she has Rob. Kate met him just after her accident, and he nursed her back to health in his high-tech modernist house on the Cornish coast. When she's with him, the nightmares of the accident fade, and she feels safe and loved. Until, one day, she looks at Rob anew – and knows, with absolute certainty, that he has been replaced by an impostor. Is she right? Have her old recognition skills returned? Or is it all in her damaged mind?

There has been a real trend in thrillers tackling facial blindness and I for one am all for it. This is slightly different as Kate is a super recogniser or at least she used to be before her accident. As she starts to doubt Rob, have her powers returned or is it all in her mind?

This is such a good read, I loved throwing myself into the plot and following Kate as she begins a potentially terrifying journey into discovering the truth. I will say you need to suspend disbelief for some of this, there are sections that are just so unbelievable however it fitted with the plot and it did make it entertaining. What this read is very good at is leaving you wanting more. I found this incredibly gripping and full of twists and turns that kept spinning the plot on its head. The reader is in the same position as Kate, we do not know if Rob is the same person or not, can you work it out before she does.

I thought the characters were very strong in this. I loved following Kate, learning about her accident and her life since. She proved to be a great character to spend time with. My other favourite was the policeman, Strike, he carried the police investigation aspect very well and again I found him a great character to follow and he also has an interesting personal life to learn about.

'The Other You' is a terrifying, twisting read into doppelgangers and tricks of the mind. I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for an advance copy.

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Master storyteller J.S. Monroe is back with a spine-tingling new chiller that will get under your skin and leave you gasping with shock: The Other You.

Kate never forgot a face. All she needed was to see somebody once for a couple of seconds and she’d commit them to memory. So extraordinary was her skill that she used to help out the police and her talent had helped to put away a huge number of criminals. Kate used to take her skills for facial recognition for granted – until a cruel twist of fate changed her entire life forever. Kate had been in a car accident that had nearly claimed her life and left her with a brain injury. Worse, the woman who never forgot a face now struggles to recognise her own reflection in the mirror. Kate has no memory of the past and her brain injury has left her vulnerable and wholly dependent on others. Luckily for her, she has her partner Rob by her side for whom nothing is too much trouble. Rob is an angel sent from heaven who cares for Kate and looks after her, but is Rob all that he seems? Is he the devoted partner Kate thinks he is? Or is there something far more sinister going on?

Kate and Rob met in rather strange and unusual circumstances. They had met in hospital after Kate had had her accident and the connection between the two of them had been instant. As their feelings for one another had escalated, so had their relationship and pretty soon their friendship and attraction gave way to something far deeper. Rob has helped nurse Kate back to health by taking her to live in his high-tech Modernist house in Cornwall, where Kate had immediately started to feel the benefits of the invigorating sea air and tender loving care Rob had bestowed upon her. On the Cornish coast, Kate’s nightmares fade and she feels safe, loved and protected. But is she? Rob’s obsession with doppelgangers send chills down her spine and his assertion that every human being on earth has a twin somewhere in the world was something she initially found amusing, but which she is finding increasingly disturbing. Is it her mind playing tricks on her? Or should she trust her instincts?

Rob spends the week in London and returns to Cornwall at the weekend. One weekend he comes back and Kate cannot shake off this feeling that the man she is looking at has been replaced by an impostor. Is Kate’s damaged mind conjuring all this paranoia up? Or has Kate let an enemy into her safe space?

Exceptional thrillers is what J.S. Monroe does best and he is on top form with The Other You. Compulsively readable, spine-tingling and totally terrifying, The Other You will make you jump out of your skin, make you lose sleep and keep you reading from sundown to sunset. Once you start reading The Other You, you can forget about doing anything else because you simply will not be able to put it down.

An outstanding thriller full of twists and turns you will not see coming, The Other You is another sensational must-read by J.S. Monroe.

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I loved Forget my name by J S Monroe so I was so happy when I got to read The other you.

The plot is gripping and dark and twisty and kept me guessing right till the end, It left me wanting more.

Kate used to be good at recognising people and worked for the police force, her job was identifying criminals in crowds. But disaster struck which left her with a brain injury after a car accident. Kate can no longer recognise her own self in a mirror let alone a person in a crowd of thousands like she did before the accident.

But Kate has Rob whom she met just after her accident he helped bring her back to health all is well until one day she looks at him and knows, with absolute certainty, that he has been replaced by an impostor. but is she right or is it her mind playing tricks on her.

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I thought that this was a well written psychological thriller that I really enjoyed!

The characters were well developed and I loved the suspense that the author build up as the story progressed. I was hooked when I read the blurb and the story was just as good as I had hoped it would be - I thought that Kate was an excellent character!

The book does start off a little slow but it soon progresses and ramps up the pace and it turned in to a real page turner for me – after a few chapters I was hooked and needed to read on and find out how it would all end.

It is 4.5 stars from me for this one rounded up to 5 stars for Amazon and Goodreads – I really enjoyed the suspense and seeing the different plot lines come together, it was a well written and well planned out story – thoroughly enjoyable!

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Ahhhh I just want to start writing a massive essay about every single thing in this book because it was so good! It’s my first 5 star of the year and I’ve decided this year that I’m not going to be throwing them around very lightly.

This plot is so intricate and complex with lots of little twists and turns which are done so well and they all link up. I can’t even tell you anything about the book, just know that everytime I thought I knew which direction the book was heading in a curve ball was thrown my way! I had to keep updating my partner because I needed to talk to somebody about this and I kept shouting at the book and at one point I think I actually swore.

I went into this book not knowing much, I lightly skimmed the synopsis and knew that it was something I wanted to read, I recommend doing this as it makes the reading experience so much more shocking. I really wish I could tell you more about this but I want you to experience it for yourselves. I actually stayed up until 4am Saturday morning to finish this book as every chapter something would happen and I just couldn’t put it down.

Don’t start reading this book until you have a free schedule and you don’t need sleep!

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Really enjoyed this book thank you. Vibrant, believable, characters and an absorbing plot. I will ensure I look out for this author in the future!

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I’m usually not overly fond of books that immediately slap you in the face with a whole line-up of coincidences and rather unsubtle clues to introduce their often quite farfetched premise. It makes me feel like I’m getting set up on some disastrous blind date where the allegedly handsome young man turns out to be a thrice divorced 70 year old with a gambling habit and a penchant for twirling his wiry moustache. So it was with some trepidation that I entered a story where the main character is a “super-recogniser” (or facial profiler) for the police (who knew such a thing even existed?), who has lost her gift in a tragic accident. She coincidentally lives with a rather creepy (but reportedly handsome) guy whose worst fear is that his life will be stolen by his doppelganger, and who is suddenly acting weird. Hmmm, yes. Totally believable. “Not impossible, though”, said the other little voice in my head. “This is FICTION remember?” Oh yes, suspension of disbelief, my old foe, you got me once again!

Once I allowed myself to go with the flow, however, I found I quite enjoyed the story that unfolded. I certainly learned a lot. There were facts about super-recognisers who never forgot a face (I am on the other end of the spectrum I’m afraid), and the way police use them for spotting faces in surveillance footage. Interesting! Then there also was the fascinating statistics about your odds of having a doppelganger somewhere out there, which led me down a google rabbit hole looking up photos of random strangers who look identical. S.J. Monroe spun quite a tale out of all these little morsels, and I was soon engrossed. Had it not been for whiney Kate, who annoyed me, I would have really loved the way the story played out, blindsiding me several times and still offering a satisfying surprise at the end.

Like in his previous novel, FORGET MY NAME, J.S. Monroe likes to explore the often unrecognised possibilities of our amazing brains, and uses these facts to spin an intricate web. Once again he offers us a long list of characters who may or may not be trustworthy, and it is up to you to figure it all out. After twists and turns galore, I had some of it worked out, but other plot elements came out of nowhere. It’s one of those books where you need to dive in, suspend disbelief, and let yourself be carried away with the flow of the story. I found it entertaining and often fascinating, and will be left wondering if I am the one in 135 people who has a doppelganger out there. Like having a twin. This could be fun! Or not .....

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I quite enjoyed this latest book out from author J.S. Monroe.
You are always guaranteed a great read from this author....
In this novel, we meet Kate who is recovering from a car accident.
Kate worked for the police before her accident, a pretty interesting job too as a facial recognition analyst as such....
She was able to identify people out of huge crowds..
You can imagine this kind of work would be invaluable to the police force in bringing down the crime rate..
While recovering from her accident she wakes up one day to a boyfriend she feels isn't her boyfriend anymore.
Is it possible he has been replaced by his doppelganger?
Her powers of recognising people are not as strong since her accident so she feels she is struggling with who she is, with her painting and also her relationship with boyfriend Rob who she only met around the time of her accident.
Frightening too I'd imagine to think that your boyfriend isn't really your boyfriend...
A stranger living in your home..
I really felt Rob was such a mysterious character and seemed to be living a different life in London, one he was keeping completely from Kate.
I thoroughly enjoyed all of this authors characters...each one quite complex.....
You are in for an engrossing read, one that will have you addled trying to keep up with it....
Well worth taking the time to check this one out though.

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My thanks to Netgalley and Zeus for a copy of The Other You for an honest review.

Having read Find me and Forget my name by J S Monroe and thoroughly enjoying them I couldn’t wait to read this .As were the previous books , this was full of tension and fast paced.
I loved how the story progressed and at times couldn’t put the book down.
A perfect psychological thriller that I have no hesitation in recommending.

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Kate has a skill or, better, a gift. She never forgets a face. Only one percent of the population is able to do that and that makes her very special, but it also puts her in danger. Following a car accident that left her with brain damage, Kate has left her job as “super recognizer” in the police and she is recovering in the beautiful and super-protected house of her millionaire man in Cornwall. Spending her days painting and with only of the company of her dog, Kate looks forward to the weekend when Rob comes to visit from London. However, is Rob the man she fell in love six months earlier or has someone taken his place? And is someone after her?

First of all, I liked the idea of doppelgänger in a thriller. I found it original and very intriguing. Is there really out there someone who likes exactly like me? And can they take my place without anyone noticing? These theme, together with an high-tech house that can be controlled from afar, made for a very chilling thriller.

Kate is a perfect protagonist: the brain injury make her an unreliable narrator: is she paranoid or has Rob been replaced by someone who looks like him? The other narrators are Silas, Kate’s former boss, and Jake, her ex-boyfriend, for whom I felt both sorry, appreciation for his determination, and at times even suspicious.

The plot is intricate and dark and so twisty that I never saw the truth coming. Part psychological thriller, part procedural, The Other You is an exciting thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat!

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Thrilled to be able to review this new release from JS Monroe. As a fan of his previous book, Forget My Name, I couldn’t wait to get stuck in and see what this had it store. I was not disappointed in the slightest, Monroe has completely given us another smash.
I was absolutely engaged from the off, imagining all sorts of possible twists and turns. I was so captivated by the story being told I was getting through the pages in no time at all, which to my own annoyance meant towards the end I had to slow myself right down to ensure I didn’t miss anything and I fully understood it all – I get far too excited for my own good when a book is this exciting!
I’m not going to lie the doppelganger theme is something that I’ve thought about (I’ve been told by so many people I have one they’ve been certain they saw me when I was no where near!) so it was actually quite scary at times. I was on the edge of my seat, certain that this could all quite easily take place. It was so exciting and really got me thinking, I was completely intrigued.
I don’t want to reveal too much about the storyline here as I think it’s best to get the full affect first hand. I enjoyed the narrative being told from the three viewpoints – Kate, Jake and Silas. It is full of red herrings that lead you to thinking one thing, whilst surprising you with something else.
The characters are great, my favourite is Silas and I’d love to see more of him in future books. JS Monroe is a master at creating a tension filled, rollercoaster of a thriller that will have you on edge throughout.
The Other You is an original, gripping thriller that I cannot recommend enough. JS Monroe is definitely going to be one of my go to authors and I look forward to what comes next.

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"Scientists found that there's about a one in 135 chance that a pair of complete doppelgängers exist somewhere in the world. But the likelihood of someone walking around looking identical to you, specifically, in all eight facial features is only one in 1 trillion. Creepy, but not very likely." - Science Alert

In college, friends told me there was a girl that looked exactly like me running around. That they would go up to her and say hi and then realize she wasn't me after the fact. Even when I got my hair cut or changed, it seemed she would too. I never ran into her but I heard it from several people and yes, it was creepy! So yes, I found the premise of this book VERY intriguing. And I've always found the thought of a doppelganger very interesting. Don't you?

While this book is fast paced, it did seem to be a bit long winded towards the end. However, it was all so interesting to see how Kate was questioning everything around her. Is Rob Rob, or is he someone else? Or is it something stemming from the car crash that she had? There are definitely times where you'll need to suspend some reality. I still have questions about how some things could have possibly happened. But I also think that's part of the charm of this read. You just never really know because it's just so far out of what could be... but it COULD be. Get me? Haha.

The plot is complex and the author does do a good job taking it in a different direction than expected. However, I do think it could've been tightened up just a bit. Some things didn't quite add up and the police procedural aspect of it seemed to lack. For all the build up, the ending felt a bit rushed. Besides these points, I did enjoy the read. I found the subject matter fascinating and was intrigued in the other direction it decided to take. My third book by this author and I would definitely read more.

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This is my first time reading a book by this author, but it certainly won't be the last. I found the subject of the book to be fascinating. I honestly couldn't stop reading, I couldn't figure out what was going on. I had not heard of super recognisers before and found Kate to be a likeable if slightly naive and impressionable character.

When she met Rob she was vulnerable, she had just had a major car accident and split up with her long term partner. He seemed like the answer to everything, nursing her back to health and giving her a life she could only dream of. So when she starts to notice little things which are strange her whole life is turned upside down again.

She relies heavily on her best friend who supports her wholeheartedly. She also has another guardian angel in the shape of her ex boyfriend. He still loves her and wants to protect her and make sure she is safe and happy.

J.S. Monroe has written a book that had me gripped throughout, and racing through the pages to find out what was going on. His characters are well written and have a depth to them and each brings something to the story. The Other You is a fascinating, unique and gripping story about a woman's mission to re build her life and discover the truth.

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In my Q&A with J.S. Monroe to mark publication of his previous book, Forget My Name, he revealed “My next thriller is a modern, high-tech take on an old trope: the doppelgänger.” Well, he was as good as his word because The Other You is an incredibly clever blend of the bang up-to-date – drones, facial recognition software, wearable and smart technology – and older superstitions about doppelgängers, doubles and changelings.

Despite being just under five hundred pages long, The Other You zips along at a breathless pace thanks to the short chapters and the fact that events unfold over the course of only a few days. The author is also the master of the punchy final sentence of a chapter or cliff-hanger ending.

The story is told from three points of view, the first of which is Kate herself so the reader witnesses her doubts and uncertainties first hand. I think it’s fair to say the reader may have their suspicions awakened about certain individuals a little earlier than Kate does.

Then there’s Kate’s ex-boyfriend, Jake, a former crime reporter and now not entirely successful author – although he can lay claim to being ‘big in Finland’. I loved the self-deprecating humour as Jake encounters someone who’s read one of his books only to find out they picked it up for 10p in a charity shop. Jake’s never forgotten the happy times he and Kate had together and how one reckless action ended their relationship.

Finally, there’s DI Silas Hart, Kate’s former boss when she worked as a super-recogniser who still feels guilty that his desire to make the unit a success may have pushed Kate beyond her limits and contributed to her accident.

Events unfold in a seemingly never-ending stream of twists and turns including some distinctly dystopian elements before the book reaches its heart-thumping, nail-biting climax.

The Other You is an expertly crafted page-turner that kept this reader guessing right to the end. Touching on issues such as the impact of AI, concerns about infringement of civil liberties and current criminal activity such as county lines gangs and modern slavery, The Other You is a thriller for the modern world. Oh, and by the way, it also proves humankind definitely has no need for a refrigerator that can spontaneously switch itself to ‘diet’ mode.

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