An exciting fast paced thriller about a woman who ends up kidnapped by a mad man who thinks they are linked by their shared past and her husband who has secrets lurking.
A definite page turned! I finished this in one sitting.
* I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

This book was enjoyable, but a bit far fetched in some parts. It was an interesting storyline with a good twist towards the end. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.

This should have been a short story. It was long and somewhat boring.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC

Ellie and Neil are on the cusp of bringing life and love back into their marriage when a deranged man kidnaps them both and demands that Ellie remember him by saying his name. This sets off a host of memories and unforeseen events that will either strengthen their marriage or tear it apart for good.

Do they and their marriage have what it takes to survive?

The first half of this book was slow and vacillated from present to past tense. I was beginning to feel as though this was not the book for me. There are amazing moments of suspense and anticipation but they were fleeting. I would have loved for these moments to have continued to keep up the momentum and eeriness.

For me, most of Ellie’s past reflections and memories slowed down the pace as they had nothing to do with the issue at hand and seemed random/unimportant to the plot. For me, it took away from the mystery and suspense of the novel as it brought nothing extra. A lot of other people, other places other things going on that detract and takeaway from the pace and the overall feel of the story.

But, the second half of the book did a 180. I felt the passion, the dread and excitement. <b>I was invigorated</b>. The pages flew by with a twist I didn’t see coming. I felt for this couple and maybe, and this is a little twisted, for the antagonist as well. <i>Shudder!</i>

I really enjoyed the peek into Clive’s back story.

Told in multiple POV we get to see many a side in this eerie and suspenseful novel.

I received an ARC via NetGalley of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I read a lot of mysteries and thrillers so I might be a little picky, but I found this just the tiniest bit stilted or contrived. Seemed predictable and I didn't particularly care about the characters.

I enjoyed this one. It had a unique premise, but somehow it didn’t come off as completely ridiculous. Ellie and Neil are kidnapped by a neighbor that is supposedly a stranger. However, he gives Ellie 3 chances to correctly say his name. With each failure, her husband, Neil, suffers. Ellie has to think back to all of the men in her past to try to figure this out. In the meantime, she also learns her marriage isn’t what it seems.

This book has a very good premise but it’s written very poorly . I don’t think I have ever struggled as much to finish a book, even when I was 90% dine I put it aside because I was so uninterested and unattached to the characters. It was cliched and hackneyed.
I’m sorry but this should be put on the LTS ( life’s too short) pile.
I apologize this is so harsh but I really am annoyed I wasted any time on this.
Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

I started this book as soon as the arc was approved and just right away I discovered the writing wasn’t for me. The premise was so good and promising but I just couldn’t get past the story’s tone and had to shelf it.

A common factor of the human existence is the way we are each formed and motivated by certain striking experiences we have during our lives. Those experiences are different for each of us in their details, but they are the same in that these events, these experiences, stand out bold and vivid in our minds. They inspire us to change, for good or ill. They tell us what is important to us, and what we must keep from our lives. This truth is something that unites us all.



If we should find out, years after a formative event, that our understanding of what happened was inherently flawed in some way, we are shocked. That shock becomes an entirely new formative event wherein we must re-evaluate everything we thought we knew about ourselves, our lifestyles, our friends, our family. All of our choices are thrown into question, and we wonder if we made the right ones at any point along the way.



Those who are strong enough to face the shock and navigate the subsequent journey honestly - even admitting their own wrongdoings - can come out stronger and better than they've ever been. Doing so is not always so easy as a choice, though.



For Ellie, who has always been motivated by a deep bond with her older sister Bethany, finding out that someone dear to her has caused her sister irreparable harm is more than just a shock. It's a betrayal, and one that has shaken the entire foundation of her life. How can she trust this person ever again? That alone would be enough to traumatize a person, but Ellie must face this new information on the back of finding out about her husband's affair, finding out she has a stalker as she listens to the man torture her husband, and being kidnapped. To say that she is traumatized is a massive understatement.



This stalker insists to Ellie that they have a deep connection in their past. She must remember him. He's been a vital part of her existence, surely? They're soulmates! To give her incentive to remember his name, he threatens her husband with every wrong guess. But he's not going to let this game go on forever. She'll only have three chances. Three wrong guesses, and Neil will pay with his life.



At this point in the story, I'm strongly reminded of Rumpelstiltskin. A very, very twisted Rumpelstiltskin, to be sure, but the classic tale, all the same.



Throughout her experiences, Ellie chooses again and again to face the reality of her situation. What she is going through is horrific, and as much as she wants to pretend it's not happening, she doesn't. She never stops fighting, looking for a way out, and thinking about everything that matters to her. I was in awe of her throughout the book, because of her fighting spirit.



Sometimes, we readers get the sense that a character is basically superhuman. They may not have special powers, but their abilities and endurance far exceed that of a normal human. It can be hard to relate to a character like that, though it is easy to admire them. With Ellie, nothing that she does comes across as superhuman, just strong and determined. She reads like many real people I've ever met - willing to do extraordinary things for the sake of her family. She is so easy to relate to, by the end of the book, I felt like I was right there with her on the journey. When she cried, I cried. When she struggled, my heart raced with hers.



The stalker is essentially the complete opposite of Ellie. He is dark, terrifying, and totally unbalanced. As the story unfolds, the reader becomes acquainted with the traumas that this man has experienced in his life - the background story that many villains get in books and which oftentimes causes the reader to feel some sympathy for him/her. Or, if not sympathy, at least some understanding. This time? No. Not even a smidgen of empathy or understanding. This is a bad, bad guy. I have rarely, if ever, encountered such a despicable creature in a book. He was...awe-inspiring in his level of evil and madness.



Erin Ruddy is an author of exceptional skill, bringing to life such light and dark characters in one book. Every single page was read through with lightning speed, and the ending was everything I could ever have wanted it to be.

A suspenseful thriller with a final twist that made me sit up in shock! It’s told in several perspectives which I did find took away some of the suspense as I had to keep refocusing my mind to the new narrative but the storyline was so riveting, and fast paced that I managed to adapt. A great read for psychological suspense lovers.

YES now this is what I am talking about!! Honestly I did not want to put this novel down.. seriously the story line is so amazing and literally sucks you in. At least I felt like that because it truly grabbed my attention from the very beginning. Go ahead and read this one!

Ellie and her husband are kidnapped by a man who claims to be someone from her past, and if she can't tell him who he is, he will kill the husband. She figures out who he is pretty early on (about a third of the way through the book), and the rest of the book is her trying to get away and her husband and the police trying to find her, which was a bit of a disappointment. It started off really good, but I wasn't that into it after she figured out who he was. ***vague potential spoiler(s)*** I also thought it was weird that Bethany was mentioned so much, the reason for which was more clear at the end, but it seemed obvious that there was somehow going to be something tying Bethany into the present day scenario, although I had no idea what and didn't see that part of the end coming. I was suspicious of Neil's past but again couldn't see how it would tie in to the end until it did. So that part was a surprise.

Overall 3 stars, I guess.

I loved the premise of this story butbthid one just didn't hook my interest. I don't think it was for me.

***Thank you to NetGalley and Dundurn Press for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Expected release date June 6, 2020.***

2.5 - 3 stars

I loved the premise of the story, but had problems with just enjoying the story. Maybe it was the changing POVs throughout the story, or perhaps the over-obsessiveness of the main protagonist, or any number of minor things that just didn’t add up for me. I just couldn’t connect with any of the characters, no matter what was happening at any given time.

4.5 stars - Tell Me My Name by Erin Ruddy is a shocking tale of obsession. Ellie and Neil are a regular couple. Their two kids are at summer camp for two weeks and they have days of alone time planned at their new home. Time to get back into the groove of each other and hopefully fall in love again.

But their good time is wrecked by violence. A shadowy man from Ellie's past has never forgotten how much he wants her. He has crafted himself into her seemingly perfect man. He is incredulous when Ellie doesn't recognize him.

He gives Ellie three chances to say his name. Then he will know they are meant to be together and he will let her husband live. Miss and her husband is harmed, get it wrong too many times and her husband dies.

As Ellie grapples with this man she doesn't remember she takes a mental journey back through her past. Who did she meet that never forget her? Did they date? Did she hurt him?

Tell Me My Name is a thriller with the prerequisite twists. I really enjoyed the book even if I had to suspend belief in coincidences and circumstances more than once.

A pretty good read. The pacing was decent but mild... there were A LOT of reveals packed into the very very end of the book.

A domestic thriller set in rural Ontario featuring a husband and wife who must struggle with their relationship after a deranged man from their past kidnaps them. This book is fast paced page turner. All the while, the characters' emotions are explored. A great read for thriller fans!

Thank you NetGalley for and advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Thank you Net Galley for the advance copy of this book. I like this book, it was a bit different than other thrillers I have read. I liked how the author tied everything together at the end, I honestly was surprised with a few twists. With that being said, I didn't care much for how quickly the author would jump from on perspective to another with no warning. One minute I'm reading from the victim's perspective then her husband, with no kind of break or anything to let you know. It did seem to get a bit long in some areas but overall it was a good book. I would be very interested to read more from this author.

I thought this was a good book. It kept me hooked with all the twists and turns. There was only one part that I didn't care for, and that was the revelation at the end. It just seemed like too much of a coincidence.

The story seems a bit fantastical. I enjoyed the story and how fast paced it was that at some points I wondered how the author was going to maintain the momentum.

I didn't expect the twist at the end and it kind of threw me. An okay read if you're bored.