3⭐️

The book started out interesting and then kind of fell apart as it kept going. It was starting to get less believable the more I kept reading. Also, I had figured out the plot twist way too early on and that took away the shock factor of the reveal. That being said, I was still engaged enough to make it to the end.
Thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Believe Me Now is an engaging thriller told from the alternating viewpoints of Natalie, a SA survivor struggling with PTSD-induced blackouts, and DI Stratton, who is leading the investigation into Natalie's husband who has been accused of the sexual assault and murder of his assistant.

To be honest, I found the storyline a bit predictable, but it didn't deter me from enjoying it. Overall a decent police procedural/thriller.

Plenty of content warnings: SA, infant loss and infertility, infidelity, mentions of physical and drug abuse, suicide.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC.

Check trigger warnings before diving into this book.

This book follows Natalie, who is sexually assaulted by her boss. With the trauma from the incident, Natalie requires her husband’s help with routines. After Ryan is found accused of sexual assault to a co-worker, and the co-worker is found head, Natalie must decide who to trust.

The second POV involves detective Helen Stratton, who is driven to fight for justice due to her own past.

This book is tense and thrilling. Couldn’t recommend enough!

~thank you to Crooked Lane Books & the author for giving me a chance to read and review this book~

For me, this book started out slow and very confusing. Maybe it was the way it was written, I’m not entirely sure, but I almost gave up and stopped reading it because I couldn’t get into it. But I’m so glad I kept reading and stuck with it. Halfway through the book, it started getting really good and I needed to find out the ending. & the plot twist at the end?? I was so sure I had it all figured out. I was so wrong.

I don't believe I've read anything by this author before but trust me when I say this book has made a fan out of me. Like I loved the twists in this as well.

A suspenseful mystery that keeps you guessing.

The story is told from two perspectives. The first is Natalie Campbell who suffers blackouts caused by PTSD following a sexual assault by her boss. And unfortunately for Natalie her trauma resurfaces when her husband is accused of the same crime and his accuser, Alice, is later found dead in the woods near their home. To top it off, Natalie starts receiving threatening notes related to her assault...again.

The second perspective is that of DI Helen Stratton who is working the case. Helen's sister disappeared when she was 16 and the police did nothing to help - Helen won't let that happen to another girl.

The two protagonists have their own distinct 'voices' so the dual perspectives works well.

I will say I guessed the 'villian' and ending fairly early on but there were so many twists and turns I ended up doubting myself and suspecting others along the way. So much so that I was intrigued enough to read this in one day.

I felt the start was a little slow but it did provide good insight into the characters and when it picked up it just kept going!

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC in return for an honest review.

After being sexually assaulted by her boss, Natalie Campbell’s life became a living nightmare. She relied heavily on her husband, Ryan, who set up daily routines for her so that she could cope with her constant blackouts and loss of memory. Then, her husband was accused of sexually assaulting his co-worker.
Despite the seriousness of the accusation and her life being suddenly in turmoil, she believed strongly in her husband’s innocence until Alice Lytton, the young woman who accused him, was found murdered. Was her husband guilty?
Things became more difficult for Natalie when the determined Detective Stratton, with an agenda of her own, began the investigation, strongly determined to bring justice to Lytton and others like her.
Fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat reading, full of twists and turns and an ending you would never expect.

This was a fast-paced, easy read with dual POVs that I really enjoyed. The writing was engaging, and the twists kept me guessing right until the end. There were several moments when I thought I had everything figured out, but I did not see that ending coming!

This was super twisty! I liked the cop/main characters dual POVs. The end was crazy!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

So. Good. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC. This book comes out in June 2025, and let me just tell you now — put it on your TBR.

I loved the split between Natalie’s chapters and Detective Stratton’s, both in first person. It was nice to be able to see both sides of the case: the wife and the police. Think you know whodunit? Think again. There was a SLIGHT time when I thought the killer may have been the killer, but that’s how you know the author did their part. So that when you get to the end, if you reread the book, you can pick up on tiny clues interspersed.

The ending had everything come together well and tied up all loose ends. Highly recommend.

#BelieveMeNow #NetGalley

A twisted tale of betrayal and murder told from two POV.

Natalie, a recluse, a house wife that was assaulted by her boss 10 years prior, suffering from PTSD. The character development is top notch on her, you feel like you are losing your mind along with her during all the twists in this book when her husband is accused of raping his assistant, who is then found murdered.

Helen Stratton, the second POV, is a tough female detective who has been haunted by the disappearance of her sister at 16, driven to fight for justice hoping that if she solves enough cases she’ll gain God’s grace to finally bring her sister home.

Both women become one story when Stratton and her young fast track rookie detective get assigned to investigate the murder of the young assistant.

Evidence is piling up, looking very badly for Natalie’s husband, she is distraught not knowing who to trust, her closest friends are hiding secrets for years making her question everything she has known. This is not going to end as you imagine!

If you like Frieda McFadden, you’ll enjoy this book!

this book was great! It did definitely remind me of a Lisa Jewell book, so I would recommend it to anyone who likes her books. I enjoyed the way the book was tense and thrilling, made you stay on the edge of your seat waiting to find out what was going to happen!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

<i>Believe Me Now</i> is told from the perspectives of Natalie, a woman prone to blackouts/"losing time" due to PTSD, and DI Stratton, a detective who is haunted by the disappearance of her sister when she was growing up. Natalie was the victim of a crime years ago, and triggers relating to the crime or its aftermath tend to cause her to have some lapses in time. She suddenly begins receiving reminders of the prior events, which ramp up the occurrences of her blackouts including finding herself in surprising places when she awakes, and then her supportive and caring husband is accused of the same crime she experienced previously. Natalie begins to question if she truly knows her husband and if she can or should believe his protestations of innocence. Things take a turn for the worse as her husband's accuser is found dead in the woods near their home. Meanwhile, DI Stratton is receiving increasing calls from her aging mother's care home reporting problems that are happening with her mom, and she needs to balance concerns with her mother as well as her own urge to one day find out what happened to her sister while trying to mentor a new squad member and working on solving the murder.

I enjoyed learning the names of different over the counter and prescription medicines found in the UK that we do not have in the States and did a few Google searches while I was reading to learn more about them.

However, I easily predicted how the murder investigation would lead to a different suspect through some overly emphasized clues, and it was also apparent early on who was behind the murder and other events. I honestly kept reading because I was hoping it wouldn't be the obvious person and that there would be some twist I didn't expect, but in the end everything lined up as expected.

I am grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read the ARC.

I LOVED this book and picked it up every chance I got. Natalie's husband is accused of rape and murder. Natalie suffers from blackouts and loses chunks of time, with no idea what she has done during the missing time. This was full of twists and kept me guessing. Right at the end of the book, I started to put the pieces together, but up to that point, I truly had no idea who was guilty and who to feel empathy for. A must read book for sure!

Believe Me Now is a tightly woven and engrossing dual-narrator thriller that had me hooked from start to finish. S. Govett masterfully builds suspense, layering clues thickly throughout the narrative while keeping the reader guessing until the very end. The pacing is spot-on, and every twist feels earned, making the eventual answers all the more satisfying.

What really stood out to me were the characters. Both Natalie Campbell and DI Helen Stratton are deeply flawed yet authentic, with backstories that feel genuine and inform their actions in believable ways. Natalie’s struggles with PTSD and her fight to discern the truth about her husband’s potential guilt kept me emotionally invested. Meanwhile, Helen’s personal connection to missing and vulnerable women added a poignant depth to her determination as a detective.

The story unfolds with precision, and as the pieces came together, I found myself appreciating how well-plotted the book was. The ending delivered a fulfilling sense of closure, which can be rare in thrillers.

If this were to become a series, I’d eagerly pick up the next installment without hesitation. This debut novel is an incredible achievement, and I’m looking forward to seeing more from S. Govett. Fans of Hayley Scrivener and Lisa Jewell will absolutely love this.

4.5 stars. I loved this book. It had me hooked from the beginning. The pacing was great. I actually thought this was very predictable at first and didn’t think there would be any big twists…boy, was I foolish! It had the best twist. And when I look back, it all makes sense. I see it now. This was a very well crafted mystery thriller. A great adult debut. Well done!

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review which is not affiliated with any brand.

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬
Natalie Campbell feels like time is constantly slipping through her fingers. She often wakes up in strange places, with no memory of how she got there. These lapses are linked to her PTSD, which emerged after she was sexually assaulted by her boss, who was later acquitted. Everything shifts when Ryan (Natalie’s husband) faces accusations of the same crime that shattered her life. While Natalie wants to trust in his innocence, her uncertainty deepens when Alice Lytton, the woman who accused him, is discovered dead in the woods near her home. Meanwhile, Detective Inspector Helen Stratton is on her own journey of healing. Her sister disappeared when she was just 16, and the police did nothing to help. Driven to protect other vulnerable girls, she joined the police force. Now, she is resolute in her mission to find the killer and bring justice for both her sister and Alice

𝐌𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
What a rollercoaster this was! Initially, I found it a bit slow, but then the action really kicked in. The narrative flips between two characters: Natalie, a young woman grappling with PTSD blackouts from a past trauma, and Stratton, the detective investigating the case when Natalie's husband is accused of the same crime that caused her issues. This book had me on my toes until the very end. I thought I had the ending figured out, but the reveal was a total shocker! I do wish there had been a bit more buildup regarding the real villain, but all in all, it was a great read. I’d totally recommend it!

Okay, this one was WILD. Govett threw out a ton of red herrings, making me think I had this one figured out. This story alternates between two POVS: Natalie, a young woman suffering PTSD blackouts from a previous event, and Stratton, the detective working on the case when Natalie's husband is accused of the same crime that caused her PTSD. I thought I had the ending mapped out, but it felt like whiplash once I really learned who was behind it! I wish there was a little more foreshadowing/buildup with the true criminal, but overall it was a shocking and enjoyable read. Thanks for the ARC!

A woman wronged and the detective investigating her husband’s suspected crime must work through a chilling and puzzling case! Great read! This book had suspense, intrigue, action, murder, mystery, a great who done it and a few twists and turns. The story was interesting! I definitely recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

This was a strong suspenseful novel, it had that element that I was looking for in this type of book. The characters felt like they belonged in this world and had the tense atmosphere that I was looking for. S. M. Govett has a strong writing style and can't wait for more.