Two Months

by Gail Schimmel

From the bestselling author of The Park and The Accident comes a new domestic thriller that will keep you turning the pages until the very end. When Erica wakes up to discover that she can't remember two months of her life, she wants to know what she’s missed. She soon realises that she’s lost more than two months. She’s lost her job and her friends. And her husband won’t tell her why. As Erica starts to put together the clues and pieces, a picture emerges of what has happened. A picture that is fatally flawed.

Unknown Binding

About the author

GAIL SCHIMMEL has been writing stories since she could put pen to paper. By day she is a qualified attorney, and the CEO of the South African Advertising Regulatory Board. But she still makes sure that to write!

In South Africa, Gail published a children’s book, Claude & Millie, in 2007, under her married name Gail van Onselen. Her first
adult novel, Marriage Vows, was published in 2008, by Kwela Books. Whatever Happened to the Cowley Twins? was published by Kwela in June 2013. The Park, was published by Pan Macmillan in 2017 and The Accident in 2019 (The Accident was released internationally as The Aftermath in 2021). Two Month was published in South Africa in 2020.
Gail is also half of the writer Katie Gayle.
Gail's newest book - Never Tell A Lie - will be available internationally on 30 November 2021.
Gail lives in Johannesburg with her husband, two children, two naughty dogs and one very very old cat.

Reviews

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I devoured this book in a day because I couldn’t wait to see what had happened to Erica’s memory. An excellent thriller and a glimpse into how bullying at school can affect someone’s self-esteem into adulthood. Highly recommended.

[Georgina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gail Schimmel's books always offer that winning combination of pacy action, short, readable chapters and great characters to drive the narrative forward, that makes them inhalable. Be warned, though, you might find yourself choking at the end of this one...
Erica wakes up to find two months of her life missing, and her husband acting extremely strangely. Naturally, she wants to piece it all back together, but the pieces just don't seem to fit. This was a great lockdown read that kept my mind entirely focused on the story (rather than at the world falling apart outside my window). It was over too soon.

[Kate Sidley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Schoolteacher Erica wakes up and finds she can't remember the last two months of her life. She sets out to discover the details of the recent - and more distant - past. A pacy, readable thriller, in three time framed - Now, Then and Before. Interesting themes around memory, jealous and bullying.

[Andy – And The Plot Thickens · Rating 5 out of 5]

'What?', I say eventually. 'What is it? Did we have an accident?'...
'Yes', he says, coming over and sitting down again. He takes my hand. 'That's exactly what happened. We had an accident. Yesterday. It wasn't serious. You... bumped your head. Not too badly, but they said I should watch you. That's why I was watching you...'
'I don't remember that,' I say, feeling my head.
'No, you don't seem to.' He pauses, as if wondering what to say next. 'Today is actually the twenty-first of April. It's a Saturday. You've lost about two months.'

When Erica wakes up one morning to find she doesn't remember the past two months of her life, she's freaked out. Even more so when she discovers that during that time she's lost the teaching job she loves so much, as well as all her friends.

And why is her beloved husband, Kenneth, so secretive? Why won't he tell her what happened? Did she really have an accident? If so, why is the evidence so sketchy? Erica decides to investigate on her own, without telling Kenneth, whom she begins to mistrust.

This psychological thriller is deliciously sinister and creepy. It jumps back and forth in time, revealing some of what happened in the months preceding Erica's memory loss, while tracing her inquiries in the present. And it had the most delicious twist that I only saw coming about two pages before it happened (and I pride myself on spotting twists). Utterly compelling.

[Chantelle Goodwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit predictable but an enjoyable read

[Gwynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do love Gail Schimmel, she write engaging books about ordinary people, and, the bonus is that they are set in South Africa.

This is a story that starts with Erica having lost memory of the the last 2 months of her life. She starts to want to find out what happened to cause this and why she can’t remember. Typically she does everything she is told not to and starts to draw her own conclusions based on her interpretation of things.

There is a parallel back story which gives context to the situation she finds herself in, involving awful malicious bullying at High school, particularly in her Matric year.

I am not going to do a spoiler but will say I do prefer a more solid conclusion.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent local SA fiction. Clear a day, because when you start, you are hooked from Page 1.
Erica wakes up and has forgotten the last two months of her life, not too bad, except that these two months were filled with bullying, almost getting fired and being taken back to childhood trauma. As she tries to piece together what has happened, you switch between the present and the past. As soon as you think you know what will happen next, it hits you with another twist. You're never quite sure what to expect, up to the final twist, reminiscent of Gillian Flynn.

[Lindsay MacGregor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Erica wakes up to discover that she has no memory of the last two months. She soon realises that she has lost her job and her friends but her husband is reluctant to tell her why. I felt that the storyline of the wife who has lost her memory of past events has been done before so don't feel that this is original. The story is also riddled with inconsistencies and parts of the puzzle are missing. After finishing the book, I felt that the author did not manage to answer all my questions.

[Sipho Lukhele · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing! A rollercoaster of emotions and unbelievable ending, the best I have ever read which, strange enough, reminded me the Red ink one, by Angela Makholwa, who wrote a blurb for this book. There is really not much to say without spoiling the book, except that people are evil sometimes. Highly recommended!

[Talitha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Schimmel’s The Park and was excited to read Two Months. It did not disappoint! It is fast paced and one is kept wondering right to the end! I love that it is set in SA and that the areas and characters are familiar to me. Highly recommend.

[Simone Cameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit of a slow start and repetitive, but I thoroughly enjoyed this, even if I found some of the plots a bit predictable. I thought the ending was perfect..... Usually I like a book neatly wrapped up, but I just enjoyed how deliciously twisted this one ended up being.

[Terry Mackenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely riveting story with plenty of twists and turns. The characters are so well developed that you feel as if you know them. I want to know what happens next.

[Lauren Berkowitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different from her other books. A good read.

[Jenny Krige · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved it

[Valerie Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending was a bit disappointing but very readable

[Janet Gericke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read a book by Gail Schimmel that I haven't enjoyed. Two Months is no different. Devoured in 2 nights it kept me captivated to the twist at the end.

[Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a bad book but not my favourite of hers. Felt a bit childish. Liked the build-up but not the ending.

[LizBetweenTheLines · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alternating timelines are one literary tool that I ALWAYS grapple with at the beginning of a book, but I completely understand its importance in driving the plot here. Gail is still Top2👌🏾

[Jeanette Verster · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn’t enjoy this at all. The going backwards and forwards in time was annoying and didn’t allow the book to flow