A very thin line between true crime and author's imagination. A very strange protagonist and more strange story/ies. Unfortunately not for me.

A unique novel that blurs the line between fiction and true crime. The protagonist of this book is an author who moves back to his hometown of Berlin, CT, seeking a fresh start after his divorce. He soon hears about the disappearance of two teen girls from a nearby town, which brings back memories of the twin girls who disappeared from Berlin in the 80s, when he was a teen himself. He becomes obsessed with this case, and decides to write a true crime novel about the disappearance. His writerly intuition is telling him that these cases must be related, and he is determined to find the truth, no matter who gets hurt in the process.

Wow, this was a strange one. I honestly couldn't tell how much of this was based in reality and how much was fiction, which is definitely the author's intent. I couldn't help but dislike the narrator, with his constant disregard for the feelings of others, and all the times he drove while under the influence. Big no, no. But I was hooked by the mystery and couldn't wait for the truth to come out. A memorable read, sure to be enjoyed by fans of true crime and mystery in general.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Say My Name by Joe Clifford is one of those books that has layers that go deeper than originally meets the eye. First off, Joe Clifford writes the book as himself, a writer, though he doesn't name himself as the writer, so first person point of view, a real person, real events from a real town, but then you kind of forget about all that as your pulled into the story. I noticed others wrote that he hinted and referenced his other real books, which I didn't catch, as this is the first book I've read by this author, but definitely has connections that reach deeper than I understood at first glance. It pulls you into an intriguing storyline of two girls who he kind of knew growing up, and after he moved out, grew up, life imploded and left him reeling, he returns back to his hometown only to be caught back up in to the whole mysterious disappearance of two more girls, whose details are scarily similar to the original event, that he can't help himself but get entwined into digging for the truth. As he uncovers new information, he's also being told subtlety and not so subtlety that his search for truth is not wanted. There are many twists and turns that make you think you know what's going on, and then you're left retracing what you know to figure it out. Kept my attention and curiosity and appreciated the creativity of a multi-layered story. Well done, and looking to read more from Mr. Clifford.
*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is my own opinion*

Interesting idea. Written from main character POV. Didn't really connect to character so didn't really cared much what happened. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

I found the writing style to be a little strange and the protagonist even stranger. The cover and description really drew me in, far more thank the storyline itself did.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Having read and enjoyed several of Joe Clifford's previous novels, I was intrigued to read "Say My Name," to see how this book might connect with or expand on the themes of his other work. For me, this is his best book so far, and I look forward to catching up on any I've missed, as well as any new ones that are coming out soon.
I loved this 'true crime' story! Of course the truth of the tale unfolds with the telling, and part of the fun was being a detective along with the narrator. All of the plot twists were surprising and engaging, and the action moved at a satisfying pace.
The blending of the author's real life experiences with a colorful alternate world, that isn't addressed until the last pages, was mysterious and entertaining, especially for anyone who knows the author's early work, and the Lamentation series.
I highly recommend this book to anyone new to the author, as well as those who will recognize the many literary Easter Egg treats scattered throughout.

This was an interesting premise. Set up from the MC’s POV (Main character’s point of view), this is heavily laden with inner monologue about his own life and experiences.

We follow a writer who is being somewhat like an investigator journalist to find out what he can about the disappearances of twin girls back in his hometown when he was younger. The new disappearance of another set of twins in the here and now are eerily similar to the girls from his past childhood and now he wants to figure out the mystery and write all about it.

As our MC starts to uncover details and connections surround the disappearances, he finds himself in precarious positions that could have life threatening consequences. As we unravel the story, we slowly piece together what could be happening but there are some mild twists involved here.

Overall, I would say this is a decent read that kept my interest for the most part. I did find some character flaws for the MC but since that builds on who he is, that seemed to hit the mark. I took off one star for story development as I felt certain things could have been less predictable. Other than that, this was an entertaining read that easily passed the time while I had to wait in lines or in Dr.’s offices.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Say My Name by Joe Clifford took me on an intriguing journey through a true-crime story that might never have happened—or did it? The narrative unfolds through the eyes of the main character, an author who returns to his hometown after a divorce. Determined to delve into the unsolved case of two missing twin girls from his high school days, he ventures into the world of true crime writing.

This book is a rollercoaster of emotions and perspectives, blending the lines between fiction and reality. The author's mind becomes the stage where the story plays out, making it both fast-paced and introspective. While I found myself captivated by the uniqueness of the plot, it was like reading a complex puzzle or a maze of thoughts and rants from the protagonist. The book had me hooked, but the ending left me feeling a mix of emotions—disappointed and confused.

Throughout the story, I was also troubled by the recurring theme of drunk driving, which added an extra layer of frustration and disgust. Although I wanted to love this book, the ending and certain elements left me somewhat unsatisfied. Despite that, I appreciate the opportunity provided by NetGalley to read this advanced eBook in exchange for an honest review. Say My Name offers a thought-provoking and unusual take on the mystery genre, making it a must-read for fans of true crime with a twist of psychological thriller.

From the publisher:
SAY MY NAME is a true crime story about a crime that never happened. 

On the heels of a divorce, a midlist mystery writer returns to his hometown in Central CT and is dragged back into a decades’ old, unsolved case involving former missing classmates to expose the horrific secrets of a quaint, idyllic New England town.

Fusing the modern domestic psychological thriller with popular unsolved mysteries (Girl on the Train meets In Cold Blood), this meta blend of true crime and fiction plays with expectations and perspective before its mind-blowing conclusion. 

Say My Name by Joe Clifford was released June 6th, 2023.

My thoughts: Say My Name by Joe Clifford is a strange book starting with the first line of the synopsis: "a true crime story about a crime that never happened." Things only get stranger with time as we watch the main character on a downward spiral while investigating the disappearance of a set of twins from when he was a youth in central Connecticut.

The story is told from the main character's point of view. He is an unreliable narrator - he spends much of the book drinking heavily and not eating. This leads him to maybe make conclusions he wouldn't have made if he was sober. At least he questions some of them once he sobers up. I thought that the author did a good job of showing how the main character declines with time.

In order to read the book, I had to suspend disbelief early on and read it as a mystery that the main character was investigating. It's not a neat mystery. It reads like a real mystery would with messy investigations, strange conclusions, getting into trouble, and being told to leave things alone. Still, I read on wanting to know what would happen and what kind of conclusion he would draw next.

The ending of the book was a big twist. It wasn't the one I was expecting, which is a good thing. It's nice to be surprised. Still, I felt it was a little off in the way it was explained.

Overall, it's a good book. If you like your mysteries written weirdly, maybe experimentally, then this would be a good book for you. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars for execution. It was different. I didn't really like the narrator. I wasn't fond of the ending, but it was interesting.

I received a copy of the book through Swell Media. This did not affect my opinions.

I have made a vow to stop reading psychological thrillers, they never live up to the hype in my opinion. However, I was asked to read this book and give my honest opinion and I appreciate the opportunity to do so. A writer returns home after a miserable divorce, he is self - destructive, his drinking and self - pity are too much for me right off the bat, this makes the story lag, and instead of suspenseful I found it to be depressing, sorry. Two young girls had gone missing thirty years before, one of them a young girl that the narrator had a crush on, bodies never found, had they run away, or were they dead? This is the premise of the story, now that he has returned, two more young teens have gone missing, is it just like what happened, or isn't it? I gave it a three, I think I will stick to the vow I made myself, stay away from psychological thrillers, they just aren't my cup of tea; it's like watching Alfred Hitchcock movies, ask me which I stream, "The Birds", or "Vertigo"? The answer of course is "The Birds". I think staying with my favorite Genres work best for me, many people who love this Genre will like the twist, but you have to wait a long time to get there.
Thank you #Netgalley
carolintallahassee

The premise of the book might sound somewhat confusing but the way Joe Cliford has narrated the book it all fits together brilliantly.
Say My Name is very intriguing from the start, so it a true crime novel? I'll let you decide.
It's about a writer ( you never do get to know there name, hence the title) that starts writing a true crime novel about the disappearance of two sets of twins that vanish years apart from his hometown .
There are some wonderful red herrings along the way and the ending is brilliantly written.

True crime fiction. Original. Yes. Also thrilling and suspenseful. I felt like it was true and the writing is great. Will read more from author.

To put this in a meme-y way, your Honor, I simply did not vibe with this book. I'm sure that there are plenty of people out there that will like it a lot--just see these other reviews--but I just couldn't connect to it like I wanted. And unfortunately, I can't really put the why into words, except that again, we just didn't vibe.

Promised a position at a local college, a recently divorced mystery writer returns to his home town. Listening to a radio alert regarding two teenage girls missing from a mall triggers memories of a similar situation over thirty years ago. When his position falls through, he chooses to remain in town and write a true crime book around a hometown mystery that remains unsolved. He reconnects with old friends who warn him of the dangers of opening old wounds. He was a teenager himself at the time and date one of th girls who disappeared, but years have passed and memories are sometimes unreliable. His perceptions are also clouded by excessive alcohol and the stress of his divorce. A number of twists and an attack in the author keep the story flowing and an increase in tension, leading to a surprising ending. I had not read this author in the past, but Say My Name has made me a fan.

I like the"is it truth or is it fiction"genre that seems to be popping up with faux-true crime, and have read excellent efforts by Richard Chizmar and Joseph Knox, so was highly intrigued by this premise. While the premise remains an interesting one, Clifford's writing style is not to my personal taste. It meanders quite a bit, and pages and pages and pages go by with nothing happening but the author feeling sorry for himself and making bad/strange choices. This one wasn't a good fit for me - it didn't have the pacing I'd expect of either true crime or crime fiction, and my attention lagged more often than I wanted it to...

True crime or fiction? The concept of this book is intriguing, but the main character’s constant self-pity and at times strange and irritating behavior made him rather unlikable and difficult to relate to. This book just wasn’t for me.

Say My Name begins as a mystery writer returns to his Connecticut hometown. His mind are on two classmates (female twins) who vanished from a local mall in 1985, and he's pondering a recent similar case in which two sisters also disappear. He decides to research the cases.

The narrator (does he have a name?) was clearly a bit of a quirky guy. His first person account is conversational and also a little off-putting.

Is this true crime, is it metafiction, is it a big twist book? Kind of all of the above. I don't think the ending was completely successful, but it was interesting for sure.

This is a very interestingly written novel that is framed as true crime, but is fiction. I quite enjoyed it, and thought it was gripping, and thrilling for sure. I liked the plot, writing, characters.

I thought it was a strongly paced novel that kept my interest all the way through.

I was fascinated with this novel. It reads like a true crime investigation. As others have commented and as the book is described, it is a novel. It is fiction but it does not read like it is. Reading this book was really an interesting and almost disconcerting experience.

I did have trouble liking the hero. I liked the idea of him trying to get a new start on life after so many things had recently happened to him. But he got drunk way too often and checked out of a conversation right when someone was telling him some important information. I am sure his character was deliberately crafted that way, considering the twist at the end. In a sense, this novel is a mystery but also a character study.

The plot was well crafted. It certainly could be predicted that digging into a decades old unsolved crime in a relatively small town would cause trouble. The villain was not expected, but the other people involved did not come as a surprise. There were suitable twists and red herrings that kept me reading as new facts were uncovered.

Perhaps we are left with a creepy question at the end. How much of our life do we create like an author writes a story? This is a good novel for readers who like an unusual spin on a cold case investigation.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book through Swell Media. My comments are an independent and honest review.

Book Review 📚

Say My Name by Joe Clifford 4/5 ⭐

A novel about a writer, who seems to be writing a book based off the disappearance of two 15 year old girls. He had a crush on one of the girls (don't worry he was 15 when they went missing too) which has some sort of connection as to why he's decided to write their story. But, as always, him digging around about the girls' disappearance is creating a bit of a drama! But why? Surely people want to find out what happened to these two girls?

The books keeps you gripped from start to finish and the writing style from the author is phenomenal. Being inside the MC head is somewhat mind blowing when you're reading, but I love the way it adds to the story. There are twists and turns throughout the book which makes it impossible to put down, but the ending! Oh my god the ending. I can promise you, you will not predict it. There was nothing predictable about the story, it was so interesting and yet intense.

Maybe, sometimes, it is best to leave the past in the past! Although there is an underlying "what if" when the MC starts digging - well let's just say it makes for an interesting read!

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for allowing me to read this ARC - this is an HONEST review from my own personal opinion.