The Girl Who Couldn't See Faces

Great story about the fear of stalking combined with face blindness. How much worse would stalking be if you couldn't identify the stalker? Good subplots on domestic violence and family secrets.

I finished this in one night! Couldn’t put it down. This is sure to be one of my top 2023 reads for sure. Would recommend!

The Girl Who Couldn't See Faces
A gripping domestic thriller
by C. J. Bowden

This was a VERY Good domestic thriller!! The family secrets and so much of a wild ride ! I was into this one from start to finish. Not many want me to skip life to stand and read, even as I cook. LOVE this one.

4/5 stars! The premise of this book is one of the most unique I have heard in a long time. Face blindness is a disorder I've read about in school but have never seen featured in a fictional book before. There is such a huge psychological factor at play with this disorder and that made for a phenomenal thriller angle. It was a little creepy toward the end, but this just made for a better conflict resolution.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

this was such a great domestic thriller, it had what I was looking for from the genre. The characters felt like real people and that they belonged in this story. I enjoyed what C. J. Bowden wrote and thought it worked overall. Overall I can't wait to read more from C. J. Bowden.

"Alfie teases me about it all the time. He calls me The Girl Who Can’t See Faces, like I’m a character in some sort of moral fable, who you just know is heading for a sticky end. I keep having to explain to him that yes, I can see faces, and no, it’s not like there’s a pixelated blur where the face should be, it’s just that I can’t recognise faces. But he doesn’t get it. Or maybe he just pretends he doesn’t."

I was drawn in by the title, and I liked the unusual condition in which the main character had difficulty identifying people by their faces. The story was engaging, well paced, and well written, Her difficulty recognizing people made her a compelling victim. This bothered me, I worried about her. I was rooting for her. The ending wasn't as strong as I would've liked, simply because the battle in which she had to choose who was the good guy and bad guy didn't seem plausible but didn't detract too much from my overall enjoyment of the book. I would be propose that there be some content warnings in regards to victims of sexual assault so they are aware of this prior to reading the story.

The girl who couldn’t see faces was a unique story being that Phoebe couldn’t remember faces. I found that even though phoebe couldn’t remember faces she was a nurse and lived a somewhat normal life. The story moves pretty quick with a build up of who’s who and who might be out to get phoebe. I’d love to read some more books by C.J. Bowden

"The Girl Who Couldn't See Faces" ticked a lot of boxes for me. It's an usual and original premise - what do you do if you're trying to escape an abusive ex when you can't recognise his (or anyone else's) face? It's a quick and compulsive read and the author does a great job emphasising just how vunerable the main character is because of her face blindness. At times I found the main character a little sappy and the plot was a little predictable but that didn't hinder my enjoyment of the book. I would definitely read another book by this author.

It's great for fans of thrillers and fast reads. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank net galley and the publisher for this ARC copy.

I've heard of the condition of being unable to recognize faces but finally began to understand in context how debilitating this condition could be. After breaking up with her toxic and controlling boyfriend, our main character is led through a confusing maze of uncertainty and we could truly feel her helplessness.

The little snippets into the antagonists mind were brilliant, leaving us not totally blind bit still speculating to a good extent. It was perfect for building the tension and it worked really well.

The characters were interesting, the subplot of her relationship with her family and the slow unraveling if the truth teases our perception of the reality we had known through the characters eyes.

Brilliantly written, definitely worth a read.

Where to even begin with this book? The premise of a main character being hartases by her bonkers x boyfriend is one that has been done a million times. But then you throw in the fact that the main character has a diagnosis of prosopagnosia, which is when someone is not able to recognize familiar faces, and that just makes this novel stand out completely and raises the stakes of this nail biting novel. I truly could not read this book fast enough. It was sooo good!!! The awful ex boyfriend is incredibly manipulative, to the point where as the reader, you aren’t sure if what you are reading is truth or not. The author made sure to include many details, but not so much to where you were drowning in unnecessary details. I also enjoyed the family drama side of the story. It explained a lot about the main character and why she was the way she was and why she allowed herself to be treated so terribly. I truly enjoyed this book and eagerly await more books from this author. I will say that there may be some triggers in this book for some readers; including domestic abuse, stalking, harassment, and sexual assault. I am truly grateful to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this ARC.

The Girl Who Couldn't See Faces is a fascinating domestic thriller. I never knew that prosopagnosia (face blindness) was a real thing. Imagine not knowing if the people you meet are friends or strangers everyday of your life. This is so much worse than I know that person but can't come up with their name.

Phoebe was born with this condition; she mostly looks at the people she knows with a blank look on her face because she struggles to decide whether she knows them or not. Her big sister Suzi stays with their mother after the parents' divorce and Phoebe with their father. Each suffered in different ways growing up and as a result have issues with relationships and each other.

Phoebe works in A&E and sees many new faces each day which does not impact her very much. But her colleagues, friend and other people are another story. Phoebe has a boyfriend, Alfie, and doesn’t recognize him. Alfie plays mind games with her and in general make her life more difficult. After she is assaulted, she breaks up with Alfie. Alfie doesn't take this very well and is determined to get what he wants and will stop at nothing until he gets it.

Phoebe meets Tom and then Robbie and likes them both. But at one point she wonders if Alfie is pretending to be Tom or Robbie, or both.

This plot is fascinating, and I just couldn't put it down. I can't even imagine having to learn how to live with this. But this adds an interesting twist in this domestic thriller. The characters are not totally likeable but after learning what they each kept secret from each other they become a little more likeable. This story escalated with every chapter. The ending really is a surprise to Phoebe and the readers are rewarded with an exciting finish.

Great page turning thriller. I was hooked from the very beginning. There were some predicable bits but nothing I couldn't speed read through.

Phoebe was born with face blindness, the ability to not recognise people and who they are.

Her boyfriend Alfie who was so nice before had turned on her. Phoebe left him and when she meets Tom and Robbie, she's happy trying to decide between the two. Until someone says how do you know its not Alfie playing around?

Is Tom and Robbie Alfie? Will Phoebe be able to stop living in fear?

A great boom with a unique story line. I couldn't put the book down.

A fab read.

Such an interesting twist - how do you catch a stalker when you can’t “see” their face? This condition and the way the author wrote about it was fascinating and added an extra layer of complexity, taking the book beyond the thriller genre and into almost a social commentary. Really found myself on the edge of my seat as I watched the protagonist grapple with her condition and circumstances.

The Girl Who Couldn’t See Faces by C.J. Bowden
5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️s

What an amazing edge-of-my-seat thriller this book was! A 30 year old single nurse living in the middle of London; working long, tiering shifts can be a tough life. Add to that her two roommates don’t particularly like her, even tease her, and definitely don’t like her boyfriend, who they consider a loser, sponging off of Phoebe’s generosity. Add to that a very estranged relationship with her only relatives, an older sister and an alcoholic Dad. And finally, add to that a case of prosopagnosia, “face-blindness”; a disorder with which she was born. She can see faces, but not recognize the face belongs to her boyfriend Alfie or her sister Suzi or a complete stranger!

Phoebe’s life quickly goes from bad to worse when her relationship turns south, her roommates give her room to someone else, her sister berates her and bullies her, and she experiences sexual abuse. But she can’t go to the police. She doesn’t know what her assailant looks like.

Things just spiral from there and you have to hold on to the edge of your seat for the rest of this crazy psychological thriller!

I haven’t read a thriller like this one ever before and definitely not one that kept me guessing and staying up all night to read in a very long time! If you need a great thriller, this is it!! 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️s from me!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, C.J. Bowden, and BooksGoSocial for this special Advanced Readers’s Copy.

Great read. Didn't want to put this down. Brilliantly written from beginning to end. I really enjoyed this and found myself absorbed in reading.

The title and cover design intrigued me.

This was a good psychological thriller. It messed with my head, in fact, my palms were clammy while I was reading it.

I liked the protagonist and the way she talked to the reader. By contrast, the antagonist made me feel disgusted, but this was something that motivated me to keep reading, because I wanted to find out what became of this character.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

Domestic thrillers have been my most-read genre this year. Because of that, I'm pretty picky with the tropes that I enjoy. When I first picked it up, I was expecting another stalker story and I wasn't too excited. But the author, C.J. Bowden, threw in a twist that I didn't know was going to add so much to the plotline. The female protagonist, Phoebe, suffers from face blindness; she can see faces just fine, but she does not recognize them. How much more gripping a stalker tale becomes when the victim can't recognize the stalker! Throw in a boyfriend suspected of cheating, and decades-old family secrets and you've got a really engaging and unique domestic thriller certainly worth the read.

The Girl Who Couldn't See Faces by C.J. Bowden is an unforgettable psychological thriller. He drew me into his world from the very beginning. I felt very sorry for the main character, who suffered from a terrible disease. Phoebe doesn't recognize faces. This disease is called Prosopagnosia. I've never heard of it.
Thanks to the author and her character, I now know how hard it is to live with this disease. Despite everything, our heroine manages somehow. She is a nurse at the hospital. She has a guy named Alfie. He treats her very badly. What will happen when she wants to break up with him? Will he let her go so easily? He has a plan. You don't know how cruel. Will our heroine's older sister help her in times of need?
I couldn't stop reading. I found here good action, interesting plot, twists and a surprising ending. If you like reading strong psychological thrillers, I recommend "The Girl Who Couldn't See Faces".
I am satisfied with this book.

I love a well written psychological thriller, and this did not disappoint. The story is well written and clearly well researched, the condition is interesting and heartbreaking all at once. If you’re looking for a new page turner, this is the one!

I quite enjoyed this one, another thriller that kept me awake wanting (needing) to know how it would end. The unfolding of the story was well done and the pace was just right.

The premise was interesting and it didn't disappoint.

Phoebe is a nurse in England who cannot recognize faces. When a woman confronts her saying Phoebe's boyfriend is her boyfriend, she goes to his flat to investigate. She gets sexually assaulted and is pretty sure by Alfie, so she breaks up with him.
He uses her face blindness and disguises his voice to stalk her. This book has some scary moments, but is quite predictable throughout. I wish Phoebe would have took better care of herself and found a way to cope, as otherwise she's living a life of paranoia. 4 stars for not being all that scary. I received a free copy from NetGalley for my honest review.

This book was so good and much more thought provoking than I thought it would be. Imagine being stalked which would be bad enough but now imagine being stalked when you have the inability to see faces. Terrifying and I couldn't put it down.

I loved this book! I did wonder if this is a real issue? It had so much tension in all the way to the end, where it was a very happy ending.

Like nothing that I have read before. She can't see faces so when she is brutally attacked she goes to her sister and feels safe. Her boyfriend is still out there and is playing mind games. So well written and you don't know what to expect.