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Forgotten
What if you woke up in a strange place and didn’t know who you were?
A woman wakes up in a Thai hospital unaware of how she got there or who she is. The doctor names her Kai, the Thai word for fever.
Unable to recall what led her to end up at the bottom of a cliff, Kai’s only clue to her identity is a diary. Stuck in a foreign land with no memory, she begins to unpick the truth about her past. And she will discover who she and why she is in danger…
This is Kai’s story.
A woman wakes up in a Thai hospital unaware of how she got there or who she is. The doctor names her Kai, the Thai word for fever.
Unable to recall what led her to end up at the bottom of a cliff, Kai’s only clue to her identity is a diary. Stuck in a foreign land with no memory, she begins to unpick the truth about her past. And she will discover who she and why she is in danger…
This is Kai’s story.
- GenresFiction
250 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 29, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
December 2, 2016
When Kai wakes up in hospital with amnesia she doesn't know who she is or where she is. The only information about herself is learnt from she's told by her doctor. In her small collection of belongings she finds a journal in which she had documented her travels across Asia.
Told from different points of view, this novel explores Kai's life prior to the amnesia (travelling across Asia) and her minds gradual recovery afterwards. I liked the mix of past and present and the occasional 3rd POV which is used to increase suspense and tension.
This is a well written novel. The different points of view were always clear and I liked the exploration of Kai's mind, her worries and her suspicions. I had worked out what was going on quite early on, but that didn't lessen my enjoyment of finding out who Kai really was.
A book that won't be forgotten in a hurry.
Told from different points of view, this novel explores Kai's life prior to the amnesia (travelling across Asia) and her minds gradual recovery afterwards. I liked the mix of past and present and the occasional 3rd POV which is used to increase suspense and tension.
This is a well written novel. The different points of view were always clear and I liked the exploration of Kai's mind, her worries and her suspicions. I had worked out what was going on quite early on, but that didn't lessen my enjoyment of finding out who Kai really was.
A book that won't be forgotten in a hurry.
September 11, 2016
Forgotten is the story of a woman who wakes up in a hospital in Thailand with recollection at all of her past. With the help of her neurologist and staff at the hospital she begins to make a start in trying to recollect her life by firstly reading a journal of her travels and working with a psychiatrist to unlock her memories, however, whatever she can't remember she seems to be trying hard to forget, but her past may just be about to creep up on her.
I have read quite a few of these thrillers lately where the character narrating the main story has amnesia but this is the only one I've read about a travel through the Far East, which provided an interesting background and an intriguing angle to this psychological thriller.
An interesting and sinister read.
I have read quite a few of these thrillers lately where the character narrating the main story has amnesia but this is the only one I've read about a travel through the Far East, which provided an interesting background and an intriguing angle to this psychological thriller.
An interesting and sinister read.
June 5, 2016
An interesting premise for a story, however i though the resolution at the end was slightly strange. There were some great threads developed throughout the story however and i would read more from the author
May 1, 2016
This is a great book which I really enjoyed. I wasn't too sure to start with as I'm not a fan of the unreliable narrator and I thought Kai's lost memory may drive me loopy. It didn't though, not in the slightest. This is Heleyne Hammerlsey's debut and I for one will be keeping an eye out for future releases from this talented writer.
Kai wakes up not knowing who she is, where she is, nor what has happened to put her in the hospital. Two of her questions are answered immediately; she's in Chiang Mai, Thailand and it appears she fell down the side of a cliff whilst out hiking. However, all of her identification has gone, along with her memory. She remembers nothing of her past. The nurses name her 'Kai' as they have to call her something!
All Kai has left in the world is her rucksack which thankfully contains her diary. By reading the entries she starts to learn more about her past but it's not all good news. Can her diary help confirm her suspicions and shed any light on her near fatal accident...?
For those that love to read about exotic places in their books, you should buy a copy of Forgotten. The descriptions of the settings (China, Vietnam and Thailand) were so vivid that I could easily picture them in my mind. I love crime novels set in Japan, I may now have to investigate books set in China and Thailand too (if you have any suggestions then please let me know via my blog).
I really liked Kai as a character. After the accident she toughened herself up and wanted to be more confident, even if her memory loss didn't allow her to be. I think I preferred this Kai to the pre-accident Kai. The other character I liked was Ellen, Kai's psychotherapist, and I think it was the 'on-duty' / 'off-duty' approach she took to healing Kai that made me warm to her.
I recommend this compelling debut and will be looking out for future releases from Heleyne Hammersley.
Four out of five stars.
Thanks to Fred at Bloodhound Books for my copy of Forgotten in exchange for an honest review.
Kai wakes up not knowing who she is, where she is, nor what has happened to put her in the hospital. Two of her questions are answered immediately; she's in Chiang Mai, Thailand and it appears she fell down the side of a cliff whilst out hiking. However, all of her identification has gone, along with her memory. She remembers nothing of her past. The nurses name her 'Kai' as they have to call her something!
All Kai has left in the world is her rucksack which thankfully contains her diary. By reading the entries she starts to learn more about her past but it's not all good news. Can her diary help confirm her suspicions and shed any light on her near fatal accident...?
For those that love to read about exotic places in their books, you should buy a copy of Forgotten. The descriptions of the settings (China, Vietnam and Thailand) were so vivid that I could easily picture them in my mind. I love crime novels set in Japan, I may now have to investigate books set in China and Thailand too (if you have any suggestions then please let me know via my blog).
I really liked Kai as a character. After the accident she toughened herself up and wanted to be more confident, even if her memory loss didn't allow her to be. I think I preferred this Kai to the pre-accident Kai. The other character I liked was Ellen, Kai's psychotherapist, and I think it was the 'on-duty' / 'off-duty' approach she took to healing Kai that made me warm to her.
I recommend this compelling debut and will be looking out for future releases from Heleyne Hammersley.
Four out of five stars.
Thanks to Fred at Bloodhound Books for my copy of Forgotten in exchange for an honest review.
August 17, 2016
Forgotten is a a bit of a mixture of a story. It is certainly intriguing, interesting and fascinating but at the same time, since its being advertised as a psychological thriller, for me it was missing the must read sensation, and the the overall climax which you may expect to be thrilling, was to me anti climatic.
However what I absolutely loved was Kai's journal, where she is explaining her travels in the Far East up to the point before she has her accident and develops amnesia. The majority of the story is told through the journal entries, and takes you on a trip through China, Laos and parts of Thailand, visiting temples, and all the while hinting at things in Kai's past that are unsavoury, and the reason for her being on the trip.
There are some chapters that hint at a current threat, but its made fairly obvious to an experienced reader just who the threat is, but I was still curious to see how it would all play out.
Kai though is not the most reliable of narrators in the present tense, due to her amnesia. It is hard to tell exactly what she is genuinely remembering and what she is reading in her journal. The doctors at the hospital try to help, but I just had the sense of mistrust about everything from Kai.
Forgotten was an interesting read, but as I say I feel it was slightly confused as to what sort of book it was. To me it read like a travelogue with the added intrigue of some danger, which I did like, but I kind of would have loved to have a larger sense of danger, and for those chapters to either be more frequent, or expanded.
The ending almost felt a bit rushed, and after a run of books where I have been wishing they were shorter, in this case I would have loved it to have been longer, just so that some of themes could have been developed further.
Thank you so much to Heleyne Hammersley for this review copy. This was my honest opinion.
However what I absolutely loved was Kai's journal, where she is explaining her travels in the Far East up to the point before she has her accident and develops amnesia. The majority of the story is told through the journal entries, and takes you on a trip through China, Laos and parts of Thailand, visiting temples, and all the while hinting at things in Kai's past that are unsavoury, and the reason for her being on the trip.
There are some chapters that hint at a current threat, but its made fairly obvious to an experienced reader just who the threat is, but I was still curious to see how it would all play out.
Kai though is not the most reliable of narrators in the present tense, due to her amnesia. It is hard to tell exactly what she is genuinely remembering and what she is reading in her journal. The doctors at the hospital try to help, but I just had the sense of mistrust about everything from Kai.
Forgotten was an interesting read, but as I say I feel it was slightly confused as to what sort of book it was. To me it read like a travelogue with the added intrigue of some danger, which I did like, but I kind of would have loved to have a larger sense of danger, and for those chapters to either be more frequent, or expanded.
The ending almost felt a bit rushed, and after a run of books where I have been wishing they were shorter, in this case I would have loved it to have been longer, just so that some of themes could have been developed further.
Thank you so much to Heleyne Hammersley for this review copy. This was my honest opinion.
May 1, 2016
Kai finds herself in hospital following an accident causing her to lose her memory. All she has is her trusty journal and a friend, to try and help her find out who she is.
Read this book in one sitting as it was a real page turner and an easy read.
Very enjoyable!
Read this book in one sitting as it was a real page turner and an easy read.
Very enjoyable!
February 17, 2017
Very clever narrative, i found myself liking Kai, the more I read of her. Her journey and journal gave me an insight into an area of the world my brother has travelled previously. This brought the book more to life for me.
The story had good tension.
The story had good tension.
April 6, 2019
The suspense in this book is almost palpable, it took me longer than usual to read because the tension meant that I kept having to leave it for a while. It can sometimes be hard to read something when the reader knows what the protagonist doesn’t and what we don’t actually know, we surmise. For me, the end was no surprise as I had worked things out but the circumstances were such that I knew there was no way out. The author's descriptions of places and situations are detailed without being tiresome and do give an insight into the confusion of a mind which cannot connect with reality and history.
This is another great book from Heleyne Hammersley.
This is another great book from Heleyne Hammersley.
April 5, 2019
Another great book by this author; she’s definitely one of my new favourites! I loved loved loved the richness and detail of the descriptions in this book, really felt like I was there. The story was also interesting and a new idea to me, not read anything like it before. I did guess who was who pretty early on but that didn’t spoil any of the story at all.
February 9, 2021
A woman wakes up in a hospital bed in Thailand with no memory of who she is or how she got there.
An English man reads about her in the local newspaper and calls in to see if she is a friend of his. He then makes her his project to try and help her get her memory back. But he is not who he appears to be.
An enjoyable quick read.
An English man reads about her in the local newspaper and calls in to see if she is a friend of his. He then makes her his project to try and help her get her memory back. But he is not who he appears to be.
An enjoyable quick read.
February 24, 2017
Interesting but somewhat lacking.
I found this book to be an interesting read, and an interesting plot but somehow seemed to be lacking that special something that gets you hooked.
I found this book to be an interesting read, and an interesting plot but somehow seemed to be lacking that special something that gets you hooked.
February 9, 2017
Kai” finds herself in hospital in Chaing Mia having befallen some sort of accident that has left her with no memory of who she is or any of her past life. The belongings she was found with at the bottom of the cliff give her few clues until she begins to read her journal. From this she discovers that she is travelling to escape form something and someone in the past who has hurt her in various ways- but she doesn’t know all of the details as the journal is more about the travel and the effects it is having on the writer. “I feel more confident now being able to have a second beer after dinner without any questions being asked”. “Mark” comes to see Kai as he thought she might be an Australian friend of his. They strike up a friendship of sorts but she is not all sure about him.
This a very well written book and you can’t help but feel empathy for Kai. No past, no passport, no money and no memory. What is a girl to do but try and rediscover herself?
A very enjoyable psychological thriller written with pathos and humour that keeps you page turning wanting to know the outcome and if what you might think is true (I won’t spoil it!).
I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for an open and honest review
This a very well written book and you can’t help but feel empathy for Kai. No past, no passport, no money and no memory. What is a girl to do but try and rediscover herself?
A very enjoyable psychological thriller written with pathos and humour that keeps you page turning wanting to know the outcome and if what you might think is true (I won’t spoil it!).
I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for an open and honest review
May 1, 2016
I would like to thank Betsey at Bloodhound Books and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest and open review.
"Kai" wakes up in hospital with amnesia. Her only clue is a diary.
I really enjoyed this book as it was a totally different genre to what I normally read. My heart went out to "Kai". She's in a foreign land with no idea of who she is or why she's there. Through her diaries she slowly begins to re-discover her past.
The diaries describe the country beautifully and made me want to go there.
I will definitely be recommending this book and look forward to reading more by Ms Hammersley.
"Kai" wakes up in hospital with amnesia. Her only clue is a diary.
I really enjoyed this book as it was a totally different genre to what I normally read. My heart went out to "Kai". She's in a foreign land with no idea of who she is or why she's there. Through her diaries she slowly begins to re-discover her past.
The diaries describe the country beautifully and made me want to go there.
I will definitely be recommending this book and look forward to reading more by Ms Hammersley.
May 24, 2016
Thoroughly enjoyed this exciting thriller. An injured young Western woman is found and taken to hospital. Unfortunately she has no recollection of who she is except for a diary she has no memory of writing. Set against an amazing backdrop of the Far East, Kai (a name given to her by the hospital) slowly recovers her missing identity unaware she's still been pursued by a psychotic killer....
After finishing the novel, I felt a real desire and inspiration to retrace Kai's footsteps by visiting the isolated mountain monasteries and temples, survive bloodcurdling bus journeys down hair-raising mountain sides and enjoy the tourist sights of the countries described. A brilliant read!
After finishing the novel, I felt a real desire and inspiration to retrace Kai's footsteps by visiting the isolated mountain monasteries and temples, survive bloodcurdling bus journeys down hair-raising mountain sides and enjoy the tourist sights of the countries described. A brilliant read!
May 12, 2016
ARC (advance reading copy) from Betsey at Bloodhound books in exchange for an honest review.
Really enjoyed this, a quick read, indeed a real page turner. Believable characters and the author really captured the essence of the Countries mentioned during the story.
All in all a great debut, I do hope there's more to come :-)
Really enjoyed this, a quick read, indeed a real page turner. Believable characters and the author really captured the essence of the Countries mentioned during the story.
All in all a great debut, I do hope there's more to come :-)
June 4, 2016
Wow, loved it. Really enjoyed the diary of her journey through China, Thailand etc, really well written with the background of it being her trying to remember why she landed in hospital with amnesia.
Classy psychological thriller and completely different to anything I've read before.
Classy psychological thriller and completely different to anything I've read before.
June 9, 2016
Boring and predictable!
Very disappointed with this one, the journal entries were a bore to read and I found myself skimming over a lot of it. I also predicted the twist before I was halfway through the book.
Very disappointed with this one, the journal entries were a bore to read and I found myself skimming over a lot of it. I also predicted the twist before I was halfway through the book.
February 17, 2017
I found this too slow for me and couldn't get into it
July 12, 2016
A gripping, psychological thriller about self re-discovery.
Imagine waking up in a hospital bed in a foreign country where you speak a different language to those around you, to find you have completely lost your memory, you have no ID, you can’t remember who you are, why you are there nor even where you come from. Scary huh?
That’s what happens to Kai, though even Kai is a name bestowed on her by the doctor who is treating her in the hospital in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Gradually, with the help of Dr Ekachai she pieces together that she was injured falling from a cliff on a nature trail whilst travelling in Thailand. She has no documents or belongings of any note apart from a handwritten diary which was found in her bag.
She begins to read the travel diary to try and unravel her memories, but although nothing in the journal triggers any familiarity, it soon becomes uneasily clear that she felt very threatened by someone or something from her past, she was travelling to escape her old life but her amnesia has completed this to the extreme and she becomes desperate to know who she really is and why she set off alone on a trek around Asia.
The book alternates between what’s happening now, as she begins to edge towards recovery and the travel diary which reads very authentically about her trip to China, Vietnam and Thailand, this part is obviously based on the authors own experiences and as I enjoy travel I enjoyed reading about these places.
News of her accident makes it into the local papers where the police are also keen to discover Kai’s identity. This leads to a man contacting the hospital saying he thinks he might know her, but when schoolteacher Mark visits, he reveals that she isn’t the fellow teacher he knows after all.
But he’s the first friendly face who speaks her native tongue and Kai warily accepts his gentle overtures of friendship. She also begins to have sessions with a therapist Ellen whom she begins to trust.
But as her diary reveals fears and threats towards her which she can’t recall, the reader is treated to another dark and twisted side to one of the few people close to her, of which she is totally unaware making the reader fear for her safety. As she becomes more desperate to leave the hospital Kai makes an ill-advised decision I found rather difficult to accept, I was going “Oh for heavens sake Kai, are you completely bonkers?” This leads her into deeper danger, the pace increases and events become frantic and terrifying.
Part travel journal part mystery thriller, this is a tense, well plotted, entertaining read by an accomplished new author whose future work I’ll be looking out for.
I received a copy of the e-book in exchange for an unbiased review.
Imagine waking up in a hospital bed in a foreign country where you speak a different language to those around you, to find you have completely lost your memory, you have no ID, you can’t remember who you are, why you are there nor even where you come from. Scary huh?
That’s what happens to Kai, though even Kai is a name bestowed on her by the doctor who is treating her in the hospital in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Gradually, with the help of Dr Ekachai she pieces together that she was injured falling from a cliff on a nature trail whilst travelling in Thailand. She has no documents or belongings of any note apart from a handwritten diary which was found in her bag.
She begins to read the travel diary to try and unravel her memories, but although nothing in the journal triggers any familiarity, it soon becomes uneasily clear that she felt very threatened by someone or something from her past, she was travelling to escape her old life but her amnesia has completed this to the extreme and she becomes desperate to know who she really is and why she set off alone on a trek around Asia.
The book alternates between what’s happening now, as she begins to edge towards recovery and the travel diary which reads very authentically about her trip to China, Vietnam and Thailand, this part is obviously based on the authors own experiences and as I enjoy travel I enjoyed reading about these places.
News of her accident makes it into the local papers where the police are also keen to discover Kai’s identity. This leads to a man contacting the hospital saying he thinks he might know her, but when schoolteacher Mark visits, he reveals that she isn’t the fellow teacher he knows after all.
But he’s the first friendly face who speaks her native tongue and Kai warily accepts his gentle overtures of friendship. She also begins to have sessions with a therapist Ellen whom she begins to trust.
But as her diary reveals fears and threats towards her which she can’t recall, the reader is treated to another dark and twisted side to one of the few people close to her, of which she is totally unaware making the reader fear for her safety. As she becomes more desperate to leave the hospital Kai makes an ill-advised decision I found rather difficult to accept, I was going “Oh for heavens sake Kai, are you completely bonkers?” This leads her into deeper danger, the pace increases and events become frantic and terrifying.
Part travel journal part mystery thriller, this is a tense, well plotted, entertaining read by an accomplished new author whose future work I’ll be looking out for.
I received a copy of the e-book in exchange for an unbiased review.
June 18, 2016
Predictable, uninspired, terrible.
Mundane plot, predictable characters and generally disappointing. Should not be considered a 'thriller or gripping. Very disappointed, not even worth 1 star.
Mundane plot, predictable characters and generally disappointing. Should not be considered a 'thriller or gripping. Very disappointed, not even worth 1 star.
June 26, 2016
I was given an ARC of this title in exchange of an honest review.
I thought this book was very well written. The dialogue increased the pace and the story overall was worth it. It was nice to see another place other than the US or the UK being described. The ending was unexpected.
I thought this book was very well written. The dialogue increased the pace and the story overall was worth it. It was nice to see another place other than the US or the UK being described. The ending was unexpected.
June 29, 2016
Excellent book. Beautifully descriptive, good plotline and first class characterisation. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews