Blackout

by Stephen Edger

Tom Hunter wakes in hospital with no memory of how he got there. When a grizzled detective bursts into his room and cuffs him to the bed, he learns that five years have passed, and he’s now wanted for murder. His business is gone, his wife has divorced him and has sole custody of a daughter he has no memory of.

He can't be the killer they're describing. But as he starts to uncover the truth of the last five years, he can’t escape the evidence pointing at him as a killer. He needs to understand what he has forgotten, but more importantly why he has forgotten it; his and the lives of those he loves depends on it.

On the run and desperate to remember the truth, Tom is in a race against time to prove his innocence or accept the monster he has become. He's about to realise that some things are better left forgotten...

Amnesia, lies, trust, and corruption:

376 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2017

About the author

Stephen Edger is the Amazon bestselling author of psychological and crime thrillers, including Little Girl Gone, Snatched, and the Kate Matthews series. Born in the north-east of England, he now lives in Southampton where most of his stories are set, allowing him to use his insider knowledge to deliver realistic and unsettling suspense on every page. 

With books published by Harper Collins, Bookouture, and Endeavour Media, you wouldn’t believe that writing is still only a hobby for Stephen. A hobby that has seen him write more than twenty novels in the last decade, whilst balancing a full-time job with a young family. 

Away from writing, Stephen loves to read anything that will keep him awake at night. He’s also a passionate advocate for contemporary cinema and binge-watching the latest offerings from streaming services. He is married with a son and a daughter, and two dogs. Stephen is a member of the International Thriller Writers (ITW) Association, the Crime Writers Association (CWA), and loves to engage with his readers on his Facebook author page and Twitter. 

If you have a question for him, he can be reached at: 
www.facebook.com/AuthorStephenEdger
www.twitter.com/StepheEdger
www.stephenedger.com

Reviews

[Sue Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nowhere to hide by Stephen Edger.
Tom hunter wakes up in a hospital bed with no memory before 2012. It's noelle 2017. He has a wife and a child. Now he's wanted for murder. He needs to find a way to get his memory back.
OMG. This was a fantastic read with brilliant characters. I loved the story. I really felt for tom. Was rooting for him all the way through. 5*. Tbc on fb.

[Asimah Akhtar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom Hunter wakes up in hospital not remembering the last five years of his life. The reader is then taken on a journey, in order to help him remember. However, the person described as Tom is not the one he remembers.

A fast paced thriller that had me gripped from the beginning. I felt I had a love-hate relationship with Tom. I liked the person he was now as he seemed to be good, however the last five years he was a brutal person who had no regard for anyone's feelings. A very interesting gripping read.

[Fiona Hanrahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! A good old fashioned crime romp with loads of gangland characters and a plot involving a missing diamond belonging to a head honcho from the Turkish mafia!! The central character is Tom Hunter who has no idea who he is and has lost 5 years of his life. The plot is well paced with layer upon layer building up to a showdown. Happy to give this 4 stars!!

[Justine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stephen Edger has done it again. When offered the chance to read one of his books I jump at it. They're always such good storylines. The character builds ups are great and I can't put them down. Really highly recommend this and his other books.

[Lexi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly readable with a good plot, a wide variety of characters and a wonderfully confused main character. Ok so it's not entirely believable (even the characters admit this at one point!) and I did have an inkling of the twist, but I still stayed up late to finish it.

[Lorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book…. My first Stephen Edger…. Definitely not my last….

[Nicola Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Throughly enjoyed this book. An inspired plot line which keeps you enthralled. Who am I? What happened? How did I end up there? Who are they? All questions the protagonist asks of himself over the course of what must have been an extremely unsettling period of time. It’s a tangled web and it is revealed layer by puzzling layer.

[Elaine Emmerick · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHAT A 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ OPENING LINE!!

OMG! What an emotional and thrilling story! It's about a man, Tom Hunter, who wakes up in the hospital. He's not sure why he's there except that the last thing he remembers is falling off a ladder at home in 2012. To make matters worse, he's told it's 2017! He has no memory of those lost years. But he soon discovers that he's a big-time criminal. His wife, Rachel, tells him he walked out on her and their daughter, Charlotte. Tom has no memory of his daughter. Tom begins a journey of trying to piece together the last five years of his life. He comes face-to-face with the crimes he's committed. Can he move forward with his life?

Stephen has created a multi-dimensional character in Tom Hunter. The "Tom" he knows would never do the things the "new" Tom has done. His feelings are raw and with great emotion: his anguish, pain, fear and regret. The story grabs you from the first page to the final page! It's a thrilling and fast-paced story!

I hope (and look forward to) a sequel! I throughly enjoy read "Blackout"! This is a story that will definitely stay with me long after reading it!!

[Helen Frost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant, narrowly missed a five star rating from me.
A seriously fast paced, high adrenaline dive into the criminal underworld, complete with undercover cops, rival gangs and double crossing and survival of the fittest.
Coupled with this is the added mystery of our main character who wakes up in hospital with the last five years of his life completely missing from his memory but it seems those five years were pretty extraordinary and eventful.
He has to quickly and carefully catch up on those missing pieces just in order to survive but some of he answers he finds are pretty shocking and he starts to doubt his own morals and prior actions.
I loved the main character and was with him every step of the way through all the twists and turns, of which there were plenty. I’d love to read the next part of his story so hoping there might be a follow up. A definite recommend from me.

[kelly freaney · Rating 5 out of 5]

One thing you can always guarantee with a Stephen Edger book is a brilliant read and this was no different. Tom hunter has woke up from an accident but the memory of the last 5 years is gone, and so has his wife, daughter and life he thought he had. Now it seems he's a murderer as well. The plot has plenty of twists and leaves you feeling uncomfortable that you really love Tom when he could be the crazed villain everyone tells him he is. Look forward to the next one

[Emma Langford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom Hunter awakens in the hospital not remembering the past 5 years of his life. The last thing he remembers is falling off a ladder 5 years earlier. What has happened in that time to make Tom the person he is today? An interesting read which kept my attention throughout.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast paced thriller with well developed characters. This book kept me engaged right from the beginning with the amnesia part of the book and kept me wanting to read as to see if anything is remembered throughout the story. I voluntarily reviewed an advance readers copy of this book.

[Bradd Chambers · Rating 4 out of 5]

What would you do if you woke up and couldn’t remember the past 5 years? Not only that, but to find out you’re a wanted criminal? This head-mess of a book has you questioning everyone’s motive. Can’t wait to read more from this author

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I enjoyed the book , I felt at tomes it's was farfetched . But after all that it was still enjoyable

[Yvette Salmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. A good crime book. Good story lines and like how the characters are described. Stephen Edger doesn’t disappoint, always find his books good don’t want to put it down.

[Lynn Mccarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tom Hunter wakes in hospital and doesn't remember the last 5 years of his life.
This book is a fast read that grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go till the end.
A great thriller.

[Heather Cairns · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so good. It was so fast paced I couldn’t keep up! I couldn’t put it down and didn’t want to work! So so good!

[Kamini Mehta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise but I had trouble connecting with Tom. He was confused but the feelings seemed muted. It was certainly a complex plot that kept me reading.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book very good. It kept reminding me of a good action movie. I kept picturing Tom as Jason Statham. This was a great thriller, and an excellent page turner of a book.

[GUS · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book but not as much as the other one I read by this author so hence the 3 stars.

A man’s memory of the past 5 years have been erased with no recollection of how he went from a suburban husband with a wife and daughter to a killer and part of a syndicate of sorts.

Slowly pieces start to come back to him and he has to do everything he can to stay alive with people coming at him from all directions.

My 8th book of the year, like wtf is going on here. Only 7 more to go to reach my 2022 reading total.

With family day long weekend coming up next week I think I can have my 9th book done.

[Bridget McKeown · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast paced thriller that kept me guessing to the end.

[B. Fleetwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast read that grabs the reader from the start, we go on a chase with Tom Hunter to find out what happened to him and why he has woken up in hospital with no memory of the last 5 years, and why he is now wanted for murder.
Discovering he has been part of a dodgy criminal underworld, clearly at odds with his former character, has our main protagonist trying to piece together the puzzle and rationalise how it could have happened.
I found myself wishing for more explanation as to how he had undergone such a dramatic change in circumstances and felt that the story focussed more on the 'how', rather than the 'why'. However, I liked Edger's writing style, the dialogue flowed and a host of cameo characters kept the story moving apace, even if a number were a little stereotypical.
An enjoyable read, this is an action-packed, 'James Bond-style' tale I would recommend to others.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tom Hunter wakes up in hospital with no memory of the past 5 years and no knowledge about why he is wanted for murder. He is soon "broken out " of hospital and police custody and propelled into a shady underworld that he apparently has belonged to for a while, yet has no recollection of.

I enjoyed this. It was fast paced and well written but I preferred other books by this author compared to this one.

[Joanna Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

throughly enjoyable book, fast paced with a likeable main character Tom. at times the storyline felt a little far fetched but it felt that the book got away with this especially with its nod towards this fact so it did not ruin any of the magic of the book for me. very readable

[Cal · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable and fast paced thriller that keeps you guessing throughout. Very different to the kind of book I usually read, 'Better Left Forgotten' has a protagonist that isn't always easy to like, but one that I did feel sympathy for as he tries to understand how his life has come to change and unravel as much as it has over the last five years.

A book that's full of twists and turns that take you on a rollercoaster of a ride, never pausing for breath until the very last page.

Thank you to TBC for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. A very good 3.5 star read.

[Lianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I highly enjoyed rearing this book. It was fast paced and easy to read.,the characters were well written . The story was slightly unbelievable at times and I could guess the twist coming but didn't deter my reading. I would certainly recommend reading it. I look forward to reading more from Stephen Edgar

[Mel Burns · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poor Tom. At the beginning I was thinking he is still in the coma, the alternative life is a dream surely. I couldn't put it down until I found out what was to come. A must read defo

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

This book is powered by a very cool premise. A guy wakes up after years in a coma. He doesn’t remember how he got there. Only that he was a good person. He doesn’t remember that for 5 years he was a very, very bad person. And with his hand cuffed to a hospital bed railing, he’s desperate to remember the missing five years.

I could feel his palpable sense of panic from the first sentence of the book to the end. The story was fast-paced, and the drama poignantly conveyed.

Early on we find out that he had a fall and the doctors weren’t sure of the damage done to his brain. And the bad behavior started after that. But will the brain trauma prove to be the underlying cause of the personality change? Even if this could be proven, will it ever get him out of the hot water he’s gotten into? The title doesn’t exactly bode well for option number one.

Recommended for thriller readers who enjoy the first person p.o.v. with the hero/anti-hero in the hot seat.

[Laura Furuta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better Left Forgotten
By: Stephen Edger
5 out of 5 stars

The story Better Left Forgotten by Stephen Edger is a psychological thriller. This is the story of Tom Hunter. He has woken up and the last thing he remembers happened five years ago. He then attempts to put the missing pieces of his memory back together. Along the way, he finds that he is a key figure in a gangland organization. Stunned and now on the run, Tom must find the missing pieces before both himself and those he loves are harmed.

This is not the first book I have read by the author however if I had to choose this one would be my favorite. The storyline is chilling and the number of twists and turns had me stunned. I had to tell myself to breathe as you get so entangled with both the story and the characters you keep asking yourself “What will happen next?” Tom Hunter is a character that you can empathize with. You feel the pain that he is going through as he tries to learn the truth about himself. While he doesn’t want to believe that he would every commit murder there seems to be evidence of him doing so. The book is told from his POV. Tom also has a daughter that adores him and he would do anything to protect her. Read this book to find out the truth of just who Tom Hunter really is.