Intellectual and Incredible

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I received a free copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Steve is an ordinary man who wakes up in hospital after an accident. Suffering amnesia, he doesn't remember his wife, his son or his business.

This was such a wonderfully written novel, I couldn't stop listening. It was so interwoven that even at the end I was asking myself questions about the plot. It was easy to get caught up in Steve's confusion and to completely immerse yourself in the novel. Part of that must be attributed to the brilliant narrator, Timothy McKean, who really made Steve feel like a flesh and blood person. Every emotion was brilliantly portrayed and amazingly crafted.

I loved the psychological twist running through this book, and at times I did start to question whether Steve was really suffering from brain damage, especially after he started seeing his father. The explanation for this was so sweet and made me love this book even more.

The love triangle between Hayley and Lisa threw me a bit. I thought from the beginning that Steve was married to Hayley and Lisa had used the accident as a way of slipping herself into his life. Well kind of and not really at the same time. Lisa and Tyler I found rather interesting. Given the ending, I'm not entirely sure why the plot is as it is, but I'm willing to give it another listen to try and understand. Tyler also confused me throughout the novel because he never acted like a son to Steve, and given the ending, I do now understand, but it was a major question that I kept asking throughout the novel.

Overall, this book was amazing. Absolutely worth a listen.

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On the edge of your seat.....

I'm not going to give you a synopsis of the story, other reviewers have that if you want it.
All I'll say is I was hooked by the end of chapter one & couldn't find enough time in my diary as I would have liked to listen to this all day!
Did lots of second guessing as I'd read the 'that wasn't what I was expecting' reviews but none of my ideas where correct.
Simply put I loved it!

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I Wasn't Expecting That!

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Poor Steve Lewis, he seems to be an ordinary bloke with an ordinary family living an ordinary life. Then, after what appears to be a minor fall in his kitchen, his memory is wiped out. Waking up in the hospital with his loving wife by his side, I was kind of flummoxed as to where the mystery element of this story was hiding. And then it starts; who's mad? Is it Steve, Lisa, his mother? What's going on with Tyler? Are Steve's friends in on it? Plus his office staff? A million different ideas were whirling around in my head. Steve was a Russian spy? His father was a Russian spy? Brain-washing? A long con? I was stumped. When the final reveal came, I can tell you I definitely wasn't expecting that! Had me completely fooled. Right up until the final words everything and anything is possible. If you want a psychological thriller/mystery/scary story then this is for you. I'd never have guessed the end in a million years.Timothy McKean was an outstanding narrator and added another layer of enjoyment to what is a thoroughly clever and intriguing story. I highly recommend this book

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Clever mystery engaging right from the cover

What a great little tale this is. Right from the cover I was intrigued and the first chapter just had me guessing. From then on you learn a little more and you think you have the answers but no. Very nice build up to the answer in this mystery horror. One or two small tropes or scenes riffed on from other works but otherwise entertaining. Well written, I had a real sense of the unease and unknowing the protagonist felt.
The audio was well narrated, with a clear emotive voice, which kept up with the pace of this quick story.
I would recommend and looking forward to further work from this author.

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"A curse is a crutch indeed."

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This is a beautifully crafted psychological thriller which also sends tendrils into the horror genre, so powerfully is it written. It is very difficult to say much about the storyline itself without revealing aspects which need to be approached in the way they are presented as the twists are both subtle and sudden, but the basic premise is of a man waking into awareness that he is in an hospital bed. He has been in a coma and realises that he remembers nothing of his recent life, not even the beautiful blonde woman who has been sitting by his bedside throughout the days he has been unconscious. Everything is totally unfamiliar and he has no recollection, either, of the child, their son. So he leaves the hospital, still trying to piece together the fragments of his life, to continue his recovery with two people who are, essentially, strangers to him.

All is told in the first person from the patient's point of view and, with him, the listener lives through his frustrations and terrors, guilt and uncertainties, and the tendrils of memories which manage to inveigle their way into his head. As he slowly realises that there is something strange occuring, he doubts himself, his sanity and even his wife.

The success of this book is, perhaps, even more dependent on the narrator's interpretation than many others since it is, essentially, an introspective monologue. And Timothy McKeen's performance is superb. His pacing is perfect, his emotion reactions restrained but just as one would expect this man to behave. Through the combination of author and reader, the world as seen in it's fractured parts are made alive and real to the listener and patient alike. Mr.McKeen is Steve Lewis. And we, the listeners, are there inside him, too.

This book is pure magic. Enjoy!

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What a story...

Loved it, best first person Psychological Thriller I have heard with an ending I didn't see coming definitely 5 stars.

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