Book Title: You Must Remember this
Author: Kat Rosenfield
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: January 10, 2023
My Rating: 3 stars
A Knives Out - Gothic Mystery style whodunit.
On Christmas Eve eighty-five year-old Miriam Caravasio’s crosses the frozen lake which is something she has does countless times on her seaside estate on Maine’s Mount Desert Island; only this time she falls to her death.
Story is told from the POV of Delphine – Miriam’s granddaughter in the present and Miriam in the past.
Story reveals family secrets, long ago love affair, icy death, and a rich family gone bad: while trying to solve what happened to Miriam- was her death an accident or something more sinister?
I found gran Miriam interesting but story was not the big Wow I was expecting. This was good - 3 Stars but not Great-4 stars

Want to thank NetGalley and William Morrow for granted me the pleasure of reading this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for January 10, 2023

This was a solid mystery, that I never saw the ending coming! Told in two timelines and two POVs really made the mystery that much more layered and enjoyable. This was a great who-dun-it mystery that any reader would love.

The opening chapter really captures your attention and makes you want to keep reading. It was a slower build in the beginning but it gained momentum at around 40%. Even though it was a slower start overall I loved this book. The ending will leave your jaw on the floor.

***** Many thanks to William Marrow and Company, Kat Rosenfield, and NetGalley for the #gifted copy as it was provided to me in turn for my honest opinion.

My review will be posted on Instagram (thriller_book_sisters) closer to the pub date.

I love stories — especially mysteries — that center around complicated family dynamics. Based on the description, I thought You Must Remember This would be exactly the kind of book I can't put down, but halfway through, I had no idea what kind of story it was trying to be.

I assumed the story would start with Mimi's death; instead, the entire first half of the book is just the family arguing before even getting to that point. Interspersed are flashbacks to Mimi's childhood, which feel like an entirely different book. In the present-day narrative, there are references to creepy things happening, but it's not clear if they're supposed to be setting up the foundation for a thriller or just point out how unsettled the family is.

Unfortunately, there just wasn't enough incentive for me to keep reading, but hopefully this will be a better fit for someone else.

You Must Rememberer This, by Kat Rosenfield.
All aroun I would give this a 4 star rating. The plot had some problems, going over the same things and people too many times. However it held my attention all the way through wanting to know more about who was responsible for what. It was a very accurate description of the illness Mimi had, and the toll it took on some. And I mean some as the author emphasized. I would recommend this Gothic Mystery to anyone. Kept my attention for sure! Kudos to Kat Rosenfield! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5 rounded to 4

Delphine’s wealthy grandmother, Miriam, steps onto the ice one Christmas Eve night never to emerge from the snow-packed shore.

Told from Delphine in the present and Miriam in the past, the story delves into family secrets, dysfunction, and trust while weaving in the mystery of Miriam’s death—was it an accident or something more sinister?

I thoroughly enjoyed No One Will Miss Her and love this author’s voice and characterizations. I was looking forward to this one with anticipation, however, this story wasn’t as strong for me. It felt more women’s fiction than mystery/suspense and lagged in places. I found myself skipping large potions of text to get to the meatier parts. I’d still recommend and look forward to this author’s future works.

Wow! So excited to read this gothic tale on the Knives Out mystery style! The mysterious demise of a matriarch sends all around her into a tailspin of suspicion with some very creepy vibes permeating the atmosphere! An amazing read all around.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for this advance copy. While I really enjoyed Rosenfield’s previous novel, No One Will Miss Her, this one didn’t quite live up to my expectations. The writing itself was just as wonderful as I remembered, but the plot of this book lacked originality. I felt like I was just rereading something I had already read. I would still recommend this to readers who enjoyed Daisy Darker or The Death of Mrs Westaway and wanted more of the same. I think Rosenfield is a talented author and I especially enjoyed the timely holiday setting in this book.

This was an entertaining family drama that evolved into a gothic murder mystery. I really enjoyed the setting and the characters. This book had more depth than most typical mystery/thrillers. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so good! If you liked the movie Knives Out you’ll love this. I love whodunnits and this one was awesome. It kept me guessing till the very end and the ending shocked me.

On the evening of Christmas Eve, 85 year old Miriam wanders onto the frozen lake behind her mansion. She suffers from dementia and she doesn’t hear when the ice cracks beneath her until it’s too late. No one really knows what happened. The entire family was at the mansion to celebrate what they thought would be Miriam’s last Christmas.

Everyone in the family has secrets and start pointing fingers at each other, especially after they find out Miriam’s granddaughter was left $20 million and the other family members barely got anything. What really happened to Miriam that night?

You Must Remember This is available January 10, 2023.

Thank you to @netgalley and @williammorrow for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow, and Kat Rosenfield for the advanced copy of You Must Remember This in exchange for my honest review.

This book is definitely a case of "it's not you, it's me." I tend to gravitate toward books that are very plot driven and fast-paced, which was definitely the case with Rosenfield's first novel. With this one, however, I was about 30% in and nothing had really even happened. I was just curious enough about the ending, so I skipped to the last few chapters. For that reason, I don't feel it's fair of me to review this book outside of NetGalley, so I will not be cross-posting my review to Goodreads, Amazon, etc.

I certainly didn't see the ending coming, with the exception of one detail. Rosenfield is undoubtedly a talented writer and is proving herself a force to be reckoned with!

You Must Remember This will be on US bookshelves January 10!

Thank you Netgalley & William Morrow for an eARC of You Must Remember This prior to January’s pub day! I loved Kat’s novel No One Will Miss Her, so as soon as I saw her coming out with a new book I had to RUN to click request. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to read this early and provide my honest feedback.

I typically provide a synopsis for a book, but in this case I recommend going into this one blind so that you are more shocked by what happens rather than waiting for it! Either way, you can’t lose. This novel is extremely atmospheric and takes place around the Christmas holidays in a snowy seaside estate in Maine, making it a perfect fall or winter read.

This one’s a mix of a gothic mystery whodunit and a love story of the past - Which I found myself absolutely LOVING. Even though I figured out a small bit of the ending, let me say it truly was a small bit. This book is packed with punches and I absolutely loved the ending. Go into this one knowing that it’s a slow burn before getting to the whodunit piece, but it’s built up with background story and information on the characters all the while delivering on a CREEPY feeling that will not leave you until the very end (or even later, when you’re still thinking about this book while trying to fall asleep).

Rosenfield is a master of delivering an atmospheric read that will have you wanting to go back and read a book again from the start, wondering what clues you missed the first time around.

A matriarch with a failing mind, a grand old house packed with secrets, a family struggling to get their lives on track. Kat Rosenfield weaves all three into an irresistible modern-day mystery with a hint of gothic flare. YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS sweeps readers from Miriam Caravasios's past life into granddaughter Delphine's chaotic present, doling out twists along the way with a veteran thriller writer's gossamer touch. I savored this novel's atmosphere and clean prose, but it's the characters that will stay with me, along with an ending that left me breathless.

At a family Christmas gathering in a seaside manor, the elderly matriarch wanders out onto the ice to her death - but was she pursuing a ghost from the past or lured by someone present?

The setting helps make this dual timeline domestic thriller especially effective. The manor’s secret hiding places add to the creepy atmosphere and provide clues to the mysteries of both past and present. There are several vivid dramatic scenes, such as the walk out onto the frozen reach and the real-life fire of 1947 that destroyed much of Bar Harbor.

The comparison to Knives Out fits the family dynamic but not so much the style of the whodunit. I didn't find any of the revelations to be particularly shocking, but I enjoyed the storytelling and the connections that were made between the timelines. Recommended for those who like atmospheric family dramas.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

Delphine and her mother move back to The Whispers to be near their ailing grandmother and mother, Miriam aka Mimi. Miriam suffers from dementia and this Christmas is most likely her last. The Whispers is a large mansion on the water that Miriam grew up in as a child and then later raised her own kids in. For the holiday season Delphine's aunt and two uncles fly out to spend Christmas with them as well. This family is full of disfunction and we quickly learn not everyone was as enamored with Miram like Delphine was.

This story is told in alternating timelines. In one we see current day told from Delphine's perspective, and in the other we see Miriam as she grows up and falls in love with her husband Theo.

The house is full of hidden passages and stairwes that Miriam knows well and used to her advantage as a child playing hide and seek. Now that she has dementia she still plays these games on her family but she gets lost and confused often and they spend hours searching for her. Miriam makes many odd comments that honestly gave me the chills but Delphine just chalked it up to dementia.

One morning Miriam disappears again and there is no urgency. No time for her games. But this time is different. This time tragedy strikes.

So what happened? Was it a tragic accident? Did someone murder her?

I thought this was a great mystery novel even though I knew the twist from the very beginning. It still creeped me out and I found the characters extremely realistic, even if not likeable. Great for fans of a "whodunit" storyline.

A great plot, but the book seemed unbelievably bleak and sad the whole way through with many of the characters unlikable.

This story had some great pieces:

Spooky house ✔️
Family secrets ✔️
Unreliable narrator ✔️
Then/now timeline ✔️

And I can’t get enough of books set in Maine right now!! Bar Harbor? YES PLEASE!! 😍😍

The problem was that I guessed the culprit very early on, so there wasn’t much shock value or mystery involved. I think this is going to be the case for a lot of readers, so if you’re looking for a really thrilling read, this might not be the one.

I do enjoy this author’s writing and will happily read her next book! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy!

Outlier Alert! A mystery/suspense that left a little something to be desired.

Oh, how I wanted to like this one! The atmosphere surrounding The Whispers drew me in like a moth to a flame. Having grown up in the woods of Connecticut, New England winters are something I’m quite familiar with. I could imagine the setting of Bar Harbor perfectly and was all in!

As I started reading, however, I had to suspend disbelief. Delphine (“Del”) and her mother move back to The Whispers to be near their dear Mimi (aka Miriam) who lives at nearby Willowcrest. Mimi has dementia and this Christmas just might be her last. Del visits Mimi every day and loves listening to her stories.

This Christmas, Mimi comes back to The Whispers to stay, along with her personal caretaker, Adam. The rest of the family including Del’s aunts and uncles make the trip. All are hoping it’ll be worth their while.

Unfortunately, tragedy strikes, leaving the family mourning the loss of their dear Mimi.

Was it an accident or something more?

For a family with a slew of secrets, let me just say that it wasn’t all that hard to figure out.

I guessed the who and the what, at the very beginning and simply couldn’t suspend my disbelief. The ending was wholly predictable and the book was an extremely slow burn.

This was a buddy read with Kaceey. Both of us had high expectations after reading Kat Rosenfield’s last book and were left disappointed.
2.5 stars

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the arc.

Pub date: 1/10/23
Genre; thriller
One sentence summary: When wealthy matriarch Miriam dies, her family members are the number one suspects, and it's up to granddaughter Delphine to unravel the truth.

I enjoyed this one a lot - it kept me guessing until the end. Miriam's story unfolds in two timelines - present day and when she met her first love many years ago. I think this would be a good thriller for winter given the icy setting and Gothic vibes. I read it in two sittings.

Thank you to William Morrow for providing a NetGalley ARC in exchange for an honest review.

You Must Remember This was an entertaining mystery and I liked Rosenfield’s writing style. I was quickly drawn into the family drama and loved the setting on the island of Bar Harbor, Maine in an old mansion named Whispers. The story has two timelines and the present is narrated by Delphine, the granddaughter and the past by Mimi, the grandmother. My favorite parts were Mimi’s memories, I felt as though I was reading Mimi’s diary and got a good sense of not just her story but her true emotions which is what made the story standout for me.

I’m rating as 4 stars, I really liked it. Yes, I’ve read this type of storyline many times before and the outcome was for the most part predictable but it’s the rawness of the story, the dysfunctional family, the old mansion that is more of a burdensome weight than a beautiful home, the love story that is not quite the happily ever after and how memories are perceived differently by each of us.

ARC was provided by William Morrow and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Pub Date: Jan 10 2023

You Must Remember This has everything I love in a book; alternating POV, giant creepy mansion, dysfunctional family, and a relatable protagonist. Comparisons to Knives Out are easy but inaccurate outside of said creepy mansion and Miriam's death. The alternating chapters between Delphine and Miriam are a dual story from the past to the present, leaving little clues along the way leading to an ending that was heartbreaking and ultimately satisfying.