By: Miranda Rijks
ISBN: 9781837560332
Publisher: Inkubator Books
Publication Date: 10/26/2022
Format: e-book
My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)
Five years ago, Helen lost her husband. Now she may lose her life.
Five years ago, Helen’s husband Paul went missing while skiing in the Swiss Alps. His body was never found, but he is presumed dead because no-one could have survived a night on that freezing mountainside.
It took Helen a long time to get over her loss, but now she has pulled her life back together – she is an acclaimed interior designer in a loving relationship with a new man.
Even better, Helen has just been offered her dream project, renovating a luxurious chalet in an idyllic location. There’s only one catch – it’s right next to the resort where Paul went missing.
She decides to take the job anyway, convincing herself that a visit to the scene of her great tragedy will actually be good for her, that it will give her a chance to lay old demons to rest.
But soon after she arrives, she makes an utterly shocking discovery and finds herself caught up in a nightmarish web of treachery and deceit where nothing is as it seems.
Only one thing is certain – the mountains want to claim another body…
Forget Me Not – the stunning psychological thriller from the best-selling author of The Visitors, Deserve to Die, I Want You Gone
My Review
Powerhouse Miranda Rijks returns following The Insomniac with her latest twisty psychological thriller —FORGET ME NOT. One woman gets caught up in a web of deceit, lies, and dark secrets in this deadly riveting cat-and-mouse game of suspense and murder.
Atmospheric and gripping with unexpected twists— a cracking mystery!
Set in the picturesque Canton of Valaris in Switzerland in ski season, the Prologue features a young woman (Noemie) skiing with her mom.
She appears a much more experience skier than her mum and advances way ahead. Then out of nowhere, another skier runs into her, leaving her for dead. The other skier never stops. A hit and run.
Told from POV Helen Now/Then and Paul Now/Then. Six years earlier and now.
Helen and Paul were married. They seemed happy; however, Paul began having an affair early in their marriage. He hid this from Helen. He was a chef and always used his work as an excuse.
Helen Sellers, an interior designer, is pretty much the family's breadwinner. She is a lovely person, and now she suspects she is pregnant. However, Paul acts strange and never wants to have a conversation. He is furious about the possibility of her being pregnant.
Then: They are on holiday in the Swiss Alps in Lanviere at a cheap hotel, and Paul tends to go off skiing without her. Their marriage is strained, and Helen does not know why unless he is afraid of being a dad and the responsibility.
Helen informs him she is indeed pregnant after the test. He storms out to go skiing and never returns. After an investigation, she is told no body was found and was in an area off-piste, which is very dangerous.
Before this, word had gotten out about the young girl who lost her life on the slopes (the one that someone ran into and did not stop). Since Paul was out skiing, Helen wondered if he was the guilty party.
NOW: Six years later, she is happy, has a daughter Emily and dating Andrew, a wonderful man who loves Emily as his daughter. They have purchased a home together and look forward to the date they can marry.
Unfortunately, they cannot get married until seven years are up due to the legal system having to wait since it has been six years since Paul went missing to declare him legally dead.
Helen is self-employed as a designer, and all is going well with their little family. Helen receives a request to design a swiss app chalet for a very wealthy client; however, located in the same area that holds nightmares for her. The same town where her husband went missing. She swore she would never return.
She talks it over with Andrew, and they decide it would be a good opportunity and her dream job, but they will be apart during this time.
She heads to the resort area of Carviez in Switzerland and meets the architect and client. She is staying in a run-down cabin/chalet they put her in that is not luxurious but comfortable. She sets out to get this job started and completed so she can return home. She also meets the older couple next door. (more mystery here)
The village is delightful, with extensive slopes, a skier's paradise. But the event that changed her life she cannot forget.
She is back and forth from home to the Alps, and things get complex on the job with many setbacks and problems. She also thinks she sees Paul at an event. Someone that walks and looks exactly like him. Is she seeing things, or could he be alive and living here?
Due to the design project having issues, she decides to bring her daughter, Emily, with her on the next trip and puts her in a daycare group, which she seems to enjoy. Andrew visits on the weekend.
Helen gets spooked when Emily starts talking about a nice strange man and then a teddy bear gift. Helen is afraid it is Paul. Then strange things start happening at the job site. Who is trying to sabotage her? She could have been killed and wound up getting her foot/leg injured.
She pulls her daughter out of daycare and hires a teen babysitter to stay at her place. Can she trust her? When Emily goes missing, Helen is afraid for her daughter, and who could be the kidnapper, Paul or someone else? Is there something more sinister going on?
What has Paul been doing all this time if he is indeed alive?
In a race against time, Helen must save her daughter and finds herself in the middle of a revenge plot (more than one). In a place, she feels unsafe, and now she must save her daughter and herself. She wants more than anything to escape this place and return to her safe life with Andrew and Emily.
WOW, you can count on Rijks to always create vivid settings and descriptions. The Swiss Alps are stunning and being a commercial international interior designer myself for many years working with many top resorts, hotels, and architects worldwide, plus I love skiing —so I was in heaven with FORGET ME NOT!
Pulse-pounding and utterly captivating, with an unpredictable plot and perfect pacing.
I always learn something from Miranda's books and enjoy her inspiration behind the book and her author's notes.
FORGET ME NOT is a unique and clever thriller that keeps you guessing until the end, and there is always a final jaw-dropping twist. You do not get to read too many books set in the Swiss Alps, so this was a rare treat! I read this one in one sitting, and quite challenging to put down.
This fast-paced, compulsive thriller features dual timelines and multiple POVs, and the setting is both atmospheric and idyllic. I disliked Orla and Paul and loved Helen and Andrew.
Highly recommend. I am slowly making my way through her backlist between all the new ARCS on my TBR list. Also, my October reading list keeps expanding, but when you discover a Miranda Rijks book is coming out at the last minute, you drop everything and add it.
Special thanks to #InkubatorBooks and #NetGalley for a gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Oct 26, 2022
MY REVIEWS
📚 BOOKS
THE CONCIERGE (2022)
FORGET ME NOT (2022)
THE INSOMNIAC (2022) Top Books of 2022
🔉 AUDIOBOOKS
THE SECOND WIFE (2022)
WHAT SHE KNEW (2022)
THE NEW NEIGHBOUR (2022)
THE VISITORS (2022)
THE ARRANGEMENT (2022)
DESERVE TO DIE (2022)
About the Author
I write psychological thrillers - many of which have been Kindle bestsellers. If you'd like to receive free short stories, info on my writing and be the first to know about upcoming releases, you can sign up to my newsletter at https://mirandarijks.substack.com.
Before becoming a fiction writer, I helped newbie entrepreneurs turn their ideas into successful businesses. In 2015, I was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma, a rare bone cancer, and everything changed.
I live in Sussex, England with my husband, musician daughter and black Labradors. When I'm not writing, I'm dreaming about living in a chalet on a Swiss mountain, obsessively knitting and painting on my iPad. My books include: The Visitors, The Arrangement, The New Neighbour, The Second Wife, The Only Child, What She Knew, The Influencer, Roses Are Red, You Are Mine, Deserve To Die, I Want You Gone, Fatal Fortune, Fatal Flowers and Fatal Finale.
Find out more at www.mirandarijks.com and sign up to my newsletter at https://mirandarijks.substack.com. Thank you for reading my books!
