4 ⭐️

You Must Remember This is a winter mystery/domestic thriller set in Maine! First off, as a native Mainer I loved the setting and thought the coastal vibes were described well. The gothic mansion was atmospheric, the family was dysfunctional, and it kept me on my toes throughout trying to guess the twists. The dual timeline did take me a little bit to get into. The timeline jumps back to the 50s and 60s and was kind of choppy until I started to get more invested in the story. But, I really liked the ending and would definitely recommend to anyone who's looking for a slower-burn thriller

I was so so excited for this because I absolutely loved No One Will Miss Her last year. It was fantastic and one of the biggest twists I’ve ever read.

Not only was I so excited because I loved Rosenfield’s previous work, but this was also described as “a knives out-style whodunnit with a twist of Taylor Jenkins Reid”… two things I love? Sold.

But it wasn’t that to me, and it took me forever to read this book. There are dual timelines which I thought wasn’t necessary, or at least not as often. I understand why they said it was knives out in style, but the mystery wasn’t there for me. I’m also not sure how it has a twist of TJR at all? Which is totally fine! But if I’m thinking that’s what I’m going to get, and it isn’t actually the fact, I’m going to be disappointed.

I did enjoy the setting of this super eerie house, and some of the relationships- like Delphine and her grandmothers.

I was so excited for this, but unfortunately it just didn’t work. But here’s the thing you may read the synopsis and think oh this sounds like something I love and I hope you do!

What a fantastic read to start off the new year!

This is NOT just another domestic suspense thriller about memory loss. Told in alternating timelines between 2014 and 1940-1960, this Gothic tale spans generations of the Caravasios family. With parallels to The Great Gatsby, a Christmas family reunion will expose hidden secrets and someone will not survive.

After a bad break-up with her boyfriend, Delphine moves in with her mother at The Whispers, her family’s decaying ancestral mansion. Attempting to forget her troubles, she visits her grandmother, Mimi, at her nursing home. Mimi suffers from dementia, but Delphine is intrigued by her stories of love and romance. Secretly hoping to find love for herself one day, she develops a new found relationship with Mimi.

Fearing that Mimi might be close to the end of her life, the family reunites for the Christmas holiday at The Whispers.

What comes next is truly bizarre. While I did guess a few twists, I did not see the last one coming!

Rosenfield’s phenomenal character development and outstanding storytelling will compel you to finish this book in one sitting.

You Must Remember This is a book I will DEFINITELY remember!

4/5 stars

Expected publication date: 1/10/23

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow publishing for the ARC of You Will Remember This in exchange for an honest review.

This one was an incredibly slow burn. The writing was delicious and though I don't love Then/Now stories, I did enjoy the weaving of this one. The twist, though, I hated more than anything. The main character was dull and knew it, which doesn't make reading about her any fun. The grandmother was mysterious and the betrayal was something that could be sniffed from a mile away. I wouldn't say go out and buy this book immediately, but if you see it available at your library, you might enjoy venturing into a well-written narrative on your weekend off.

Thanks to William Morrow for granting my wish on NetGalley and sending me the EPUB.

I requested this immediately after seeing the comparison to Knives Out meets Taylor Jenkins Reid because I love both. This was certainly a blend of different genres that played well together but I definitely thought it would be more of a mystery thriller rather than a family drama. While there was a mystery at play, it was extremely downplayed by everything else. The story is centered around the family’s matriarch, Miriam, who is likely spending her last Christmas with the family due to advanced dementia. The prologue opens with Miriam dying on Christmas Day but it is uncertain whether this was due to her dementia or if there is something more sinister at play. There is a lot of animosity in this family and everyone seems to have a motive for wanting Miriam dead. The story also flashes back to Miriam falling in love with the man that would become her husband. Honestly? This book was so sad! But I did enjoy it. I thought the twists were fairly obvious and also recommend not reading the synopsis because it mentions a spoiler. Overall, worth a read if you like a blend of contemporary and historical fiction, family drama, and a bit of mystery with a gothic setting. I recommend and will be checking out Rosenfield’s other books.

Delphine comes back from NYC with her tail between her legs to help her mother at their family estate, The Whispers. Delphine's grandmother, Mimi, is suffering from dementia and what's left of her family all come back home to spend Christmas Eve together. Delphine has found solace in spending time with her grandmother listening to all her old stories, and has also found solace in her grandmother's handsome caregiver Adam. Mimi suffers a tragic accident, but was it an accident? Was it Delphine's uncle who openly despises his mother, her aunt who's looking for her inheritance, or her own mother, exhausted from being the only person caring for their mother?

This is the first time I've read Kat Rosenfield and I will be adding her other novels onto my TBR list. This book was the perfect length and I really enjoyed the writing. Rosenfield found the right balance of suspense and character development. The ending was a tad predictable, but the way Rosenfield slowly peeled back the layers of each character kept me very engaged. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC, I'm rating this a 3.5.

The main characters were well vetted. I just thought that this was going to be more of a thriller and mystery and it was more about a rich family drama.

I think I would have loved this one, had I gone in with the correct assumptions.
I thought this was a thriller, an edge of your seat mystery. I thought I'd be sucked into a story and not want to stop. Instead, this was a slow burn family drama. The mystery doesn't really get going until at about 80% and then it's just a rush to wrap it all up. To compare this with Knives Out, for me, set expectations that I was completely disappointed by.

This is the story of Mimi/Miriam. In one timeline, she's a young women learning about the world. In the other timeline, she's struggling with dementia and being taken home, with her family, for probably her last Christmas with everyone around. It really digs in, giving you a lot of back story about Mimi. But the Now POV is told from her grand daughter, Delphine. There's family drama and heartache as everyone sees Mimi's good and bad days while everyone counts down the days to Christmas.

I didn't find the mystery too compelling. I was quick to note who I thought did it and just waited for it all the play out. I wish I'd gone in to this, knowing it would be an indepth look into Mimi's life and family. I think I would have liked it.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

This was a really interesting book it was like a murder mystery love story. My mother was really old and she was in a nursing home in Bar Harbor. Her caretaker had a pass but you don't realize this until at the end of the Book. The granddaughter named D ELP HINE Comes up to Maine to the old Homestead. Her mother was there as well she was taking care of her until she got too bad and then she had to put her in a nursing home. The mother and dapina didn't really get along. Dapina falls in love with the caretaker from the nursing home. Then Christmas Eve comes they all come to the house. There's a story about how the grandmother was talking about her own life. Her father was a bootlegger and made money that way. Then she fell in love with the boy from Bar Harbor who wasn't part of her upper class bringing. She marries him they love each other but things start to go sour when the last baby is born. Person need to help with the house her name is SHELYDYER. There was a tragic consequences to this as well You will find this out in the end of the book. Your husband was eventually found Dead on his boat. This was explained at the end of the Book why he died. D ELP HINE I Went on with her life It was almost swindle by the caretaker. They talk about the historical fire In bar Harbor in 40. This also plays a very important part in the book. Her children had interesting stories behind their lives as well. No find out why it was like murder mystery in this Booker' As well it also comes together

This was a fun whodunnit. I loved the atmospheric winter setting and the cast of suspects that kept me guessing.

In the end, it wasn’t what I was hoping for, I’m sorry to say.

It seems that others enjoyed this one more than I did, so please check out their reviews as well.

My thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Second back to back with another I wish I had read in one sitting instead of having to break it up into little bite sized moments.

For now one word……….

UnFreakingBeautifullyEmotionallySuspensefullyFlawless

What an absolute treat to have been able to read!! A hell of a way to kick off the new season of reading. Thank you so much to NetGalley, William Morrow and to the author for the opportunity to read this early!! It’s not even 2023 yet and this is definitely a first of 2023 favorites.

Full review to come……will post full review on Goodreads, Amazon and B&N and others

A bit conflicted on this one!

What I liked:
The Whispers: I felt like author Kat Rosenfield really developed the house and grounds as a character itself. I loved the attention to detail that was infused in the setting.

Some characters: Young Miriam is a force and I loved the scenes where you get to see her. Even Richard, who is insufferable yet highly entertaining.

The dual timeline: Getting a peek into the past sprinkled throughout was an engaging way to unravel Miriam's character and backstory.

Where I struggled:
The ramp up: For me, I felt like I powered through the first half of this before I really started to engage.

Delphine: I know she winds up at her grandmother's house because she feels lost, but she just seemed very blah throughout.

I will share that I always go to the synopsis before writing a review and I don't get the Taylor Jenkins Reid reference at all. I also think they reveal way too much! So skip that for sure!

If you like a complicated family and a great setting, this might be a good book for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced copy and the opportunity to share my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I will be withholding my review until Harper gives their Harper Collins union workers a fair contract. Thank you again for the copy.

The Whispers is a gothic family mansion with secret tunnels and passages. It holds many secrets and ghosts that lurk in the corridors in the middle of the night. It’s the perfect place to hold one last family Christmas for Miriam, who has dementia. When Miriam turns up dead, there are many suspects. First, there’s Miriam’s caregiver, Adam. Next, Miriam’s oldest son, Richard, drinks too much and holds a grudge against his mother. There’s also Diane, Miriam’s second child, and her creepy husband that are much more interested in their share of the inheritance than Miriam’s health. Also, Dora, Miriam’s youngest child, is exhausted after taking care of her mother for months. There is also Delphine, Dora’s daughter, who is just trying to hold the family together after she is forced to leave her life in Nork York. Finally, there is Shelly Dyer that left her employment under suspicious circumstances, and her creepy son who keeps visiting the estate in the early hours and knows the secret passages. Everyone has a motive and big secrets that they have kept to themselves.

I love how the past and present events unfold and we learn more about Miriam’s childhood as well as her husband Theo. Miriam’s story was both heartwarming and tragic. I also enjoyed Delphine, Miriam’s granddaughter, and her story. The twists and turns in this story were shocking and kept me reading to find out what would happen next. I highly recommend it to anyone that is looking for a thriller set in a mysterious location! 4/5 stars.

Wow. I can’t believe I waited so long to get to this book. It was INCREDIBLE. The story kept me sucked in the entire time, with the flashbacks being my favorite part, I could read a whole book just based on Miriam’s past. This was the perfect who done it read, and a book that needs to be added to your winter TBR ASAP.

I was up and down with this. Some parts I felt were brilliant, and others i was left unsatisfied.
I really enjoyed the "whodunit" feel. Reminded me of a few mystery movies with the answer always right in front of you.
Unfortunately there seemed to be something missing to make me really get involved. Maybe the style or approach.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Miriam is 85 and has dementia. She's been living in a care home but the family brings her home to the familial estate, The Whispers, for Christmas. She ends up dead and, though it's originally written off as an accident, her granddaughter Delphine is not so sure.

There's a dual timeline in this book - the present with Delphine's POV and the past with Miriam's POV. Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was a bit predictable but still a good story.

Knives Out style? Christmas time? Family turmoil? Maine? Sold!

This was my first opportunity reading Kat Rosenfield and I enjoyed it very much. Maybe a little slow in some spots, but the premise, the plot and the setting were all major selling points for me.
Definitely a worthwhile read.


Thanks to NetGalley, the author and William Morrow for the arc.

The first 150 pages of this book I’d give one star - the last 120 are three. So this will get a two 1/2. Hey, I was an English major.

This is trying so very hard to be Knives Out and it maybe could get there if it didn’t lag on for so long in the beginning. If you stick with it, you’ll find out who murdered whom and why, but you most likely already guessed it early on.

Delphine is the daughter of Dora. Dora has a brother Richard and a sister Diana. Their Mother Miriam is dying and wants to go back to The Whispers (their ginormous mansion on the water) for one last Christmas. Everyone is ready for Miriam to die, including Miriam but we bounce back in time to when Miriam was young. How she met her late husband Theo. And how crazy her Father was. And then there’s Adam, the assistant for the nursing home along to help out with Miriam while she’s there. So everyone just acts like one big happy family until they don’t.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is described as “A Knives Out Style Whodunnit” and that’s basically all I needed to know to want to read it. The story kept me entertained and I did want to see a happy ending for a few of the characters. However, it was very predictable. I was never really shocked or surprised at any of the twists or revealed secrets of the past. It felt like a story that I’ve read time and time again. It’s a reasonably intriguing premise, but it wasn’t anything overly amazing. Decent, not great.