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I Remember You
From New York Times bestselling author Brian Freeman comes a gripping psychological thriller about a woman haunted by terrifying memories—of someone else’s life.
On the Fourth of July, Hallie Evers dies at a rooftop party in Las Vegas.
Hours later, she wakes up in the hospital, disoriented but alive. Why can’t she find the doctor who revived her? Why does her head feel crowded and loud? Why do her memories feel both foreign and familiar? Her self-doubt spirals into crippling paranoia.
Hallie knows that mental illness runs in her family—her mother suffered from delusions that led to an early death. But now even Hallie’s dreams are fraught with details that seem like more than imagination—vivid images of a city she remembers but has never visited in her life. As she embarks on a cross-country search for answers, Hallie catches glimpses of what feel like another person’s memories. It’s a dark, horrifying, tragic vision…of someone else’s murder.
But is any of it real?
On the Fourth of July, Hallie Evers dies at a rooftop party in Las Vegas.
Hours later, she wakes up in the hospital, disoriented but alive. Why can’t she find the doctor who revived her? Why does her head feel crowded and loud? Why do her memories feel both foreign and familiar? Her self-doubt spirals into crippling paranoia.
Hallie knows that mental illness runs in her family—her mother suffered from delusions that led to an early death. But now even Hallie’s dreams are fraught with details that seem like more than imagination—vivid images of a city she remembers but has never visited in her life. As she embarks on a cross-country search for answers, Hallie catches glimpses of what feel like another person’s memories. It’s a dark, horrifying, tragic vision…of someone else’s murder.
But is any of it real?
384 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 9, 2022
889 people are currently reading
5360 people want to read
About the author
Brian Freeman
61 books3,092 followersBrian Freeman is a New York Times bestselling author of psychological thrillers, including the Jonathan Stride and Frost Easton series. His books have been sold in 46 countries and 22 languages. He is widely acclaimed for his "you are there" settings and his complex, engaging characters and twist-filled plots. Brian was also selected as the official author to continue Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne series, and his novel THE BOURNE EVOLUTION was named one of the Best Mysteries and Thrillers of 2020 by Kirkus.
Brian's seventh novel SPILLED BLOOD won the award for Best Hardcover Novel in the annual Thriller Awards given out by the International Thriller Writers organization, and his fifth novel THE BURYING PLACE was a finalist for the same award. His novel THE DEEP, DEEP SNOW was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original.
His debut thriller, IMMORAL, won the Macavity Award for Best First Novel and was a nominee for the Edgar, Dagger, Anthony, and Barry Awards. IMMORAL was named an International Book of the Month, a distinction shared with authors such as Harlan Coben and Lisa Unger.
All of Brian's books are also available in audiobook editions. His novels THE BONE HOUSE and SEASON OF FEAR were both finalists for Best Audiobook of the Year in Thriller/Suspense.
For more information on Brian's books, visit his web site at bfreemanbooks.com or find him on Facebook at facebook.com/bfreemanfans or Twitter and Instagram (@bfreemanbooks).
Brian's seventh novel SPILLED BLOOD won the award for Best Hardcover Novel in the annual Thriller Awards given out by the International Thriller Writers organization, and his fifth novel THE BURYING PLACE was a finalist for the same award. His novel THE DEEP, DEEP SNOW was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original.
His debut thriller, IMMORAL, won the Macavity Award for Best First Novel and was a nominee for the Edgar, Dagger, Anthony, and Barry Awards. IMMORAL was named an International Book of the Month, a distinction shared with authors such as Harlan Coben and Lisa Unger.
All of Brian's books are also available in audiobook editions. His novels THE BONE HOUSE and SEASON OF FEAR were both finalists for Best Audiobook of the Year in Thriller/Suspense.
For more information on Brian's books, visit his web site at bfreemanbooks.com or find him on Facebook at facebook.com/bfreemanfans or Twitter and Instagram (@bfreemanbooks).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 386 reviews
August 9, 2022
Talk about having a bad day!🤦♀️
July 4th should have been a day to celebrate! But poor Hallie has nothing to cheer about. Let’s see…first, she was fired from her job. And just to tie a pretty bow on this perfectly horrid day, her boyfriend just left her for her roommate. Great, now she’s homeless and lonely!
Presently attending a Las Vegas rooftop event, Hallie heart suddenly stops. Literally!
But what is this?! Maybe her luck is changing. After all, if you’re going to have a cardiac event make sure to do it at a convention of medical personnel. Hallie has been quickly revived with a portable device! Well that was handy!
While Hallie recovers she realizes she isn’t alone in her thoughts. Someone else’s memories are now becoming hers.
This was an extremely clever storyline that bordered on the sci-fi side. But mostly, it was a full-tilt thrill ride as Hallie tries to decider the memories while running for her life!
It’s been years since I’d picked up a book from this author. Now I’m looking forward to see what he conjures up next!
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer
July 4th should have been a day to celebrate! But poor Hallie has nothing to cheer about. Let’s see…first, she was fired from her job. And just to tie a pretty bow on this perfectly horrid day, her boyfriend just left her for her roommate. Great, now she’s homeless and lonely!
Presently attending a Las Vegas rooftop event, Hallie heart suddenly stops. Literally!
But what is this?! Maybe her luck is changing. After all, if you’re going to have a cardiac event make sure to do it at a convention of medical personnel. Hallie has been quickly revived with a portable device! Well that was handy!
While Hallie recovers she realizes she isn’t alone in her thoughts. Someone else’s memories are now becoming hers.
This was an extremely clever storyline that bordered on the sci-fi side. But mostly, it was a full-tilt thrill ride as Hallie tries to decider the memories while running for her life!
It’s been years since I’d picked up a book from this author. Now I’m looking forward to see what he conjures up next!
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer
August 18, 2022
Hallie sure is an interesting character!
Things go upside down in aNew York Las Vegas minute when she dies during a rooftop medical convention!
Dr. Reed to the rescue though, no worries! He is armored with his handy defibrillator (never leaves home without it).
Hallie wakes up in the hospital in a very strange headspace. She realizes she needs to make some life changes. She has suffered some mental instability, struggled with drug use and drinks a little too much sometimes. She is intelligent though and knows how to work hard and efficiently. No one is going to pull the cover over her eyes if she can help it!
This story has an intriguing sci fi edge to it, a "mysteries of the brain" narrative that comes with plenty of questions. Hallie is a bit paranoid, having weird and creepy twilight zone dreams. I was wondering if Hallie was a guinea pig? Just what did they do to her?! And who are they?!
Pacing is a little off at times and we do have the finale confession that isn't my favorite, but still a clever and enjoyable ride full of ups and downs!
Thanks to Netgalley for my arc. OUT August 9, 2022
Things go upside down in a
Dr. Reed to the rescue though, no worries! He is armored with his handy defibrillator (never leaves home without it).
Hallie wakes up in the hospital in a very strange headspace. She realizes she needs to make some life changes. She has suffered some mental instability, struggled with drug use and drinks a little too much sometimes. She is intelligent though and knows how to work hard and efficiently. No one is going to pull the cover over her eyes if she can help it!
This story has an intriguing sci fi edge to it, a "mysteries of the brain" narrative that comes with plenty of questions. Hallie is a bit paranoid, having weird and creepy twilight zone dreams. I was wondering if Hallie was a guinea pig? Just what did they do to her?! And who are they?!
Pacing is a little off at times and we do have the finale confession that isn't my favorite, but still a clever and enjoyable ride full of ups and downs!
Thanks to Netgalley for my arc. OUT August 9, 2022
June 8, 2024
Hallie Evers is a young woman with some serious problems. She’s been seeing a psychiatrist in an attempt to deal with a catastrophic event in her past, an event so traumatising that it’s caused her to attempt to take her own life. Then, recently, something else, at a 4th July party she collapsed, and her heart stopped. Only the intervention of a doctor who was attending the same event saved her – he managed to get her heart started with the help of a mobile defibrillator. But now she’s feeling strange, her mind ‘crowded’, where are things going to go from here?
This book pretty much fits neatly into two halves, the before and the after. I won’t attempt to explain that. It’ll become abundantly clear to anyone who reads the book. In the first half, Hallie wrestles with her issues, and we get to know her. We also glean a little more information concerning her past, though some events are still pretty murky. It all bumps along in a fairly loose narrative, with Hallie coming across as smart and sharp – I really got to like her. Then things change, and the second half of the story is tighter, the pace faster, the author pointing us in multiple directions. The puzzle starts to unwrap itself, but things could still end numerous ways.
For me, the transition somewhat upset the flow, I preferred the early part and would have been happy to read a tale that had fewer trap doors and was a little less convoluted. But that’s just a personal preference. This is certainly a clever mystery that asks the reader to take a leap of faith on a pivotal issue. But it rewards those that go with it by serving up a story that threatens to get in your head to the extent you involuntarily play games with it well before it all reaches a dramatic climax.
My thanks to Thomas & Mercer for providing a copy of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
This book pretty much fits neatly into two halves, the before and the after. I won’t attempt to explain that. It’ll become abundantly clear to anyone who reads the book. In the first half, Hallie wrestles with her issues, and we get to know her. We also glean a little more information concerning her past, though some events are still pretty murky. It all bumps along in a fairly loose narrative, with Hallie coming across as smart and sharp – I really got to like her. Then things change, and the second half of the story is tighter, the pace faster, the author pointing us in multiple directions. The puzzle starts to unwrap itself, but things could still end numerous ways.
For me, the transition somewhat upset the flow, I preferred the early part and would have been happy to read a tale that had fewer trap doors and was a little less convoluted. But that’s just a personal preference. This is certainly a clever mystery that asks the reader to take a leap of faith on a pivotal issue. But it rewards those that go with it by serving up a story that threatens to get in your head to the extent you involuntarily play games with it well before it all reaches a dramatic climax.
My thanks to Thomas & Mercer for providing a copy of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
July 14, 2022
4.5 stars.
I’m on a roll, that’s two books in a row where the author has departed from their usual style with great success. Freeman writes crime thrillers, many of which I’ve enjoyed but this book is a psychological thriller/sci-fi story and it was really well done!
Hallie Evers is a late 20s young woman who is having the worst 4th July ever. she got sacked from her job (again), her boyfriend dumped her which means she has nowhere to live as the reason he dumped her is her flat mate. So when she goes to the party on the rooftop of a Las Vegas hotel for the MedX convention (Hallie writes promotional material for medical device companies) she goes a little overboard with the drinks. To top it off she does 4 lines of coke (why the heck not) and staggers back to the party where she promptly dies of a heart attack. Luckily the party is packed with doctors and she is resuscitated by Dr Reed Smith with a mobile defibrillator and swept off to hospital. That’s when things get really weird for Hallie!
When Hallie comes to her head feels “crowded”. She has strange snatches of memories that are not familiar. This concerns her greatly because her mother suffered severe mental illness and Hallie wonders if it will come for her too. At a job interview she gets transfixed by the photos on the office wall. They are all of Boston. She has never been to Boston yet she knows all the places in the photos, she knows the lobster at Salties is the best.
In an effort to find answers she goes to Boston and starts to follow the trail that these strange memories are leading her along. It seems like there is another person inside her head. But the worrying thing is she often sees her hands covered in blood, her dead sister lying at her feet. Only Hallie doesn’t have a sister. Will this quest lead her to answers? Does she really want to know? Or is she doomed to madness like her mother?
I thought Hallie was really gutsy following this obscure trail of someone else’s memories, not knowing where it would lead. She was likeable and quirky with a fair amount of snark! Many of the other characters were unreliable narrators and you didn’t know who could be trusted. The story was tautly plotted with good pacing throughout. I really enjoyed this rather unique story. Many thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.
I’m on a roll, that’s two books in a row where the author has departed from their usual style with great success. Freeman writes crime thrillers, many of which I’ve enjoyed but this book is a psychological thriller/sci-fi story and it was really well done!
Hallie Evers is a late 20s young woman who is having the worst 4th July ever. she got sacked from her job (again), her boyfriend dumped her which means she has nowhere to live as the reason he dumped her is her flat mate. So when she goes to the party on the rooftop of a Las Vegas hotel for the MedX convention (Hallie writes promotional material for medical device companies) she goes a little overboard with the drinks. To top it off she does 4 lines of coke (why the heck not) and staggers back to the party where she promptly dies of a heart attack. Luckily the party is packed with doctors and she is resuscitated by Dr Reed Smith with a mobile defibrillator and swept off to hospital. That’s when things get really weird for Hallie!
When Hallie comes to her head feels “crowded”. She has strange snatches of memories that are not familiar. This concerns her greatly because her mother suffered severe mental illness and Hallie wonders if it will come for her too. At a job interview she gets transfixed by the photos on the office wall. They are all of Boston. She has never been to Boston yet she knows all the places in the photos, she knows the lobster at Salties is the best.
In an effort to find answers she goes to Boston and starts to follow the trail that these strange memories are leading her along. It seems like there is another person inside her head. But the worrying thing is she often sees her hands covered in blood, her dead sister lying at her feet. Only Hallie doesn’t have a sister. Will this quest lead her to answers? Does she really want to know? Or is she doomed to madness like her mother?
I thought Hallie was really gutsy following this obscure trail of someone else’s memories, not knowing where it would lead. She was likeable and quirky with a fair amount of snark! Many of the other characters were unreliable narrators and you didn’t know who could be trusted. The story was tautly plotted with good pacing throughout. I really enjoyed this rather unique story. Many thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.
July 31, 2022
I Know You Remember by Brian Freeman
“Just because you’re paranoid, does not mean they’re not out to get you.” – Kurt Cobain
Hallie Evers is having a bad July 4. She’s been fired – again. She writes promotional material for medical device companies, and unfortunately, she is not always tactful when she opens her mouth. This has cost her jobs in the past, and now, another one. Oh, and her boyfriend broke up with her. He was sleeping with her best friend/roommate, so now, in addition to being jobless, she is also, minus a boyfriend, her best friend, and is homeless. But, no worries. She goes to a party hosted by one of the medical companies, and, well, she wakes up many hours later in the hospital to learn that she died. Huh?
Not only is she bewildered and disoriented, but she begins having strange memories and dreams. It’s as if she has someone else in her head. Now she’s getting worried. Her mother had mental illness, and Hallie herself has a troubled past with elusive memories. Suddenly, she seems to have memories of someone else’s life, not her own. What is going on?
I loved this book! It’s billed as a psychological thriller, which it definitely is. There are people spying on Hallie and trying to kill her, aren’t there? Why? The answers may lie all the way across the country in a city where she’s never been before. Or has she? Brian Freeman has devised a plot that seems a lot like science fiction, but with a terrific mystery, buried secrets, and heart-stopping danger. Hallie is looking over her shoulder at every corner; even when she meets people who explain to her what’s going on, she doesn’t know if she can trust them. The thoughts and feelings inside her that make her feel like someone else seem to be leading her away from herself – but how will this end?
I was fully engaged in this story, and I did not expect the twist near the end. Five fabulous stars for Freeman’s I Remember You !
I received a digital copy of I Remember You courtesy of NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and the author in exchange for my honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.
“Just because you’re paranoid, does not mean they’re not out to get you.” – Kurt Cobain
Hallie Evers is having a bad July 4. She’s been fired – again. She writes promotional material for medical device companies, and unfortunately, she is not always tactful when she opens her mouth. This has cost her jobs in the past, and now, another one. Oh, and her boyfriend broke up with her. He was sleeping with her best friend/roommate, so now, in addition to being jobless, she is also, minus a boyfriend, her best friend, and is homeless. But, no worries. She goes to a party hosted by one of the medical companies, and, well, she wakes up many hours later in the hospital to learn that she died. Huh?
Not only is she bewildered and disoriented, but she begins having strange memories and dreams. It’s as if she has someone else in her head. Now she’s getting worried. Her mother had mental illness, and Hallie herself has a troubled past with elusive memories. Suddenly, she seems to have memories of someone else’s life, not her own. What is going on?
I loved this book! It’s billed as a psychological thriller, which it definitely is. There are people spying on Hallie and trying to kill her, aren’t there? Why? The answers may lie all the way across the country in a city where she’s never been before. Or has she? Brian Freeman has devised a plot that seems a lot like science fiction, but with a terrific mystery, buried secrets, and heart-stopping danger. Hallie is looking over her shoulder at every corner; even when she meets people who explain to her what’s going on, she doesn’t know if she can trust them. The thoughts and feelings inside her that make her feel like someone else seem to be leading her away from herself – but how will this end?
I was fully engaged in this story, and I did not expect the twist near the end. Five fabulous stars for Freeman’s I Remember You !
I received a digital copy of I Remember You courtesy of NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and the author in exchange for my honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.
September 13, 2022
My library's mistake produced a pretty good end result when I received the book with the right title...but the wrong author. I've read Brian Freeman's books before so rather than returning it, I kept it and read it. Glad that I did. For Hallie Evers it was the worst fourth of July imaginable. It's not every day that your boss fires you, your boyfriend texts a break-up and informs you that he's going to date your roommate, oh...and did I mention that you are pronounced dead? This is only the beginning for Hallie. She has memories that are clearly NOT hers and after being released from the hospital that she doesn't remember ever being taken to, by a doctor that she's never seen or met before but obviously knows her, she boards a plane for Boston, a city that she feels she has to return to but knows she has NEVER been anywhere near. Once there she will meet a sister that she remembers vividly but also remembers that she is an only child. This nightmare is not finished with her by any means. A pair of assailants nearly kidnap her before they’re run off, and Todd Kivel, a private eye who appears out of nowhere to rescue her, gets killed for his trouble. Clearly Hallie’s being tracked by some unknown someone who is plotting a deeper game. I did almost figure it out...but not all of it. Just when you think that the "Big Reveal" has arrived...you're wrong. It's only the beginning to a new set of mysteries. The question remains are these or are they not the worst, most confusing dreams ever ...and whose dreams, are they? This book was without a doubt one of the best "mistakes" I ever read.
August 18, 2022
I Remember You is a page turning thriller that grabs you from the start and doesn't let go until the end!
Hallie Evers life is a mess. What could go wrong, does go wrong! On the evening of July 4th, while at a rooftop party in Las Vegas, Hallie dies. She is quickly revived and begins remembering things she can't explain. Intriguing twists and turns reveal she is seeing someone else's memories which expose a gruesome murder.
You can always count on author Brian Freeman to deliver a fast-paced, captivating and creative mystery/thriller story. His "Jonathan Stride" series is among my favourites.
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
Hallie Evers life is a mess. What could go wrong, does go wrong! On the evening of July 4th, while at a rooftop party in Las Vegas, Hallie dies. She is quickly revived and begins remembering things she can't explain. Intriguing twists and turns reveal she is seeing someone else's memories which expose a gruesome murder.
You can always count on author Brian Freeman to deliver a fast-paced, captivating and creative mystery/thriller story. His "Jonathan Stride" series is among my favourites.
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
October 4, 2022
Fun enough to keep going yet not enough umph to leave much of an impression. Yummy popcorn tho, yo. If you have a free day it'll do you right.
3 Buttered and Salted Stars
3 Buttered and Salted Stars
August 14, 2022
Welp.
Look. I am a fan of Brian Freeman. He's a really talented author. I've enjoyed his Stride Series, The Bolton Series, the Frost Series. The standalones. The more recent duololy. Even though it's not really my genre, I've even enjoyed most of the work he's done in the Bourne Series. He's an author I keep track of and I look forward to his book releases. So, I've been looking forward to this one for a while now. I'll buy his next book too. But this one? It was an absolute dud.
I typically like to try to point out the good things about a book, even if I don't care for it. I like to try to be fair and balanced when I write a review. I'm struggling to find anything nice to say about this book though.
Freeman writes this book in the first person from the perspective of a late twenty something woman who serves as this book's protagonist. She's not necessarily a likable character to begin the book. Freeman doesn't really give us any connection to her. The inciting event/crossing the threshold moment of this book is how the book begins. So right away we're dealing with her in a surreal circumstance and there's nothing to anchor the reader to her. She's not someone we care about who something has happened to, the entirety of her is this person who something has happened to and it's an issue that never gets fixed. The protagonist has to do more than be a vehicle for the story. This protagonist, "Hallie" does not.
It's further a problem that I'm not sure Freeman writes 20-something woman character in an authentic way. At one point, he writes, "She had enough tattoos to give a marine a run for his money, plus multiple lip rings." That is not the perspective of a 20-something girl. They don't equate tattoos to the military. That's Freeman's (and mine) generation. When a twenty-something sees someone who is tatted up they think, nice sleeves, ugly sleeves, great art, shitty art, but they don't think it's out of the ordinary, they don't think it's out of place and they might use the tats to describe someone but it's not an oddity to them. That's just one example. This character never really feels authentic, which is why, perhaps, there is this difficulty connecting to her. She never feels authentic.
So, we have an inauthentic protagonist and we add to that a plot that requires a great deal of suspension of disbelief. It's hard to deal with both of those things together. A well-drawn character who the reader connects with can help the reader get to that place necessary to suspend disbelief. An inauthentic character is a barrier to it. Put them together and they actively work against each other.
This book also has a terrible pace. I'm sure the above has something to do with it. There's certainly action in this book. Things happen that should be exciting and should technically move the needle on the pace-meter, but I could never emerge myself in this book enough to where those events did their job. This book was an easy one to put down and a difficult one to pick back up. I read it over the course of 3 days. But they were 3 weekend days where reading was the main thing that I did. It's a 325 page book. For as much time as I spend on those days reading, I should have finished it in two. I continually allowed myself to be distracted and to look for distraction though. I spent more time playing Words With Friends with this book in my hand than I did actually reading at times. It was a slog.
Freeman usually comes through with great endings. It's one of his trademarks. Not this time. The end was just as bad as everything else in the book. I saw the twist from a mile away. And granted--I know there's going to be a twist in his books so I am looking for it, but this just felt so obvious. It was a train on a track that was never going to get derailed. So when it happened, there wasn't really any excitement to it. Add to that the deus ex machina device to conclude the climax and it was almost hard to believe that Freeman wrote this book. It was a hack job.
It's just not good. I wish it was but it's not. I wish I could recommend it but even if you're a fellow fan of his works, I need to warn you off from this one. This isn't just not his best work, it is clearly and unquestionably his worst. It's a 1.5 star book that I'm rounding up because I admire him as a writer and enjoy all of his other books, but this one was just bad. Skip it.
Look. I am a fan of Brian Freeman. He's a really talented author. I've enjoyed his Stride Series, The Bolton Series, the Frost Series. The standalones. The more recent duololy. Even though it's not really my genre, I've even enjoyed most of the work he's done in the Bourne Series. He's an author I keep track of and I look forward to his book releases. So, I've been looking forward to this one for a while now. I'll buy his next book too. But this one? It was an absolute dud.
I typically like to try to point out the good things about a book, even if I don't care for it. I like to try to be fair and balanced when I write a review. I'm struggling to find anything nice to say about this book though.
Freeman writes this book in the first person from the perspective of a late twenty something woman who serves as this book's protagonist. She's not necessarily a likable character to begin the book. Freeman doesn't really give us any connection to her. The inciting event/crossing the threshold moment of this book is how the book begins. So right away we're dealing with her in a surreal circumstance and there's nothing to anchor the reader to her. She's not someone we care about who something has happened to, the entirety of her is this person who something has happened to and it's an issue that never gets fixed. The protagonist has to do more than be a vehicle for the story. This protagonist, "Hallie" does not.
It's further a problem that I'm not sure Freeman writes 20-something woman character in an authentic way. At one point, he writes, "She had enough tattoos to give a marine a run for his money, plus multiple lip rings." That is not the perspective of a 20-something girl. They don't equate tattoos to the military. That's Freeman's (and mine) generation. When a twenty-something sees someone who is tatted up they think, nice sleeves, ugly sleeves, great art, shitty art, but they don't think it's out of the ordinary, they don't think it's out of place and they might use the tats to describe someone but it's not an oddity to them. That's just one example. This character never really feels authentic, which is why, perhaps, there is this difficulty connecting to her. She never feels authentic.
So, we have an inauthentic protagonist and we add to that a plot that requires a great deal of suspension of disbelief. It's hard to deal with both of those things together. A well-drawn character who the reader connects with can help the reader get to that place necessary to suspend disbelief. An inauthentic character is a barrier to it. Put them together and they actively work against each other.
This book also has a terrible pace. I'm sure the above has something to do with it. There's certainly action in this book. Things happen that should be exciting and should technically move the needle on the pace-meter, but I could never emerge myself in this book enough to where those events did their job. This book was an easy one to put down and a difficult one to pick back up. I read it over the course of 3 days. But they were 3 weekend days where reading was the main thing that I did. It's a 325 page book. For as much time as I spend on those days reading, I should have finished it in two. I continually allowed myself to be distracted and to look for distraction though. I spent more time playing Words With Friends with this book in my hand than I did actually reading at times. It was a slog.
Freeman usually comes through with great endings. It's one of his trademarks. Not this time. The end was just as bad as everything else in the book. I saw the twist from a mile away. And granted--I know there's going to be a twist in his books so I am looking for it, but this just felt so obvious. It was a train on a track that was never going to get derailed. So when it happened, there wasn't really any excitement to it. Add to that the deus ex machina device to conclude the climax and it was almost hard to believe that Freeman wrote this book. It was a hack job.
It's just not good. I wish it was but it's not. I wish I could recommend it but even if you're a fellow fan of his works, I need to warn you off from this one. This isn't just not his best work, it is clearly and unquestionably his worst. It's a 1.5 star book that I'm rounding up because I admire him as a writer and enjoy all of his other books, but this one was just bad. Skip it.
July 16, 2022
Another great book by Brian Freeman. Suspenseful from beginning to end. Didn’t want to put it down to go to work! Really enjoy reading his books.
August 17, 2022
“I woke up with a dead woman’s memories in my head. Ever since then, people have been trying to kill me.”
I Remember You is the fourth stand-alone novel by best-selling American author, Brian Freeman. When twenty-nine-year-old Hallie Evers wakes up in a Las Vegas hospital bed, she’s surprised to be alive. After all, with an existing heart condition and a habit of purging, she knew that a bump of coke on top of being legless drunk was probably a bad idea.
But cut the girl some slack: she’d just lost her job (again), been dumped by her boyfriend (by text) for the roommate she thought was her best friend: “I was jobless, moneyless, friendless, sexless, and homeless” all on the same day, the Fourth of July. Just her luck, it was at a MedX cocktail party, and a certain Dr Reed Smith had an AED, and bingo, dead Hallie alive again.
Only, it seems crowded in her head. And awful nightmares: blood on her hands, her dead sister on the grass (she doesn’t have a sister!), a bloody golf club, a statue of Poseidon. They become waking dreams, and Hallie is convinced her mind is accommodating another’s thoughts and feelings.
And is she being watched, followed? Or has she inherited her mother’s paranoia? But then people start dying around her… and trying to kill her!
Her inexplicable familiarity with Boston (she’s never been) and a few other details she has put together have her pointing her car towards the east coast, determined to track down Reed Smith and find out exactly what happened. Maybe that will explain why people are after her.
When she does find out, there’s a murder from a decade earlier that the person in her head seems to be pushing her to learn the truth about. And the more questions she asks, the more people seem to have had a motive to commit murder.
Freeman gives the reader a cleverly plotted tale with plenty of red herrings and distractions to keep the reader guessing right up to the dramatic nail-biting climax. Not a lot of suspension of disbelief is needed for the speculative aspect of this crime thriller, and even the most astute reader is unlikely to pick the perpetrator.
Freeman conveys his setting with consummate ease and there are some interesting and clever turns of dialogue between Hallie and those who know about her “passenger”, and even a unique sort of love triangle. This one is unputdownable!
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer.
I Remember You is the fourth stand-alone novel by best-selling American author, Brian Freeman. When twenty-nine-year-old Hallie Evers wakes up in a Las Vegas hospital bed, she’s surprised to be alive. After all, with an existing heart condition and a habit of purging, she knew that a bump of coke on top of being legless drunk was probably a bad idea.
But cut the girl some slack: she’d just lost her job (again), been dumped by her boyfriend (by text) for the roommate she thought was her best friend: “I was jobless, moneyless, friendless, sexless, and homeless” all on the same day, the Fourth of July. Just her luck, it was at a MedX cocktail party, and a certain Dr Reed Smith had an AED, and bingo, dead Hallie alive again.
Only, it seems crowded in her head. And awful nightmares: blood on her hands, her dead sister on the grass (she doesn’t have a sister!), a bloody golf club, a statue of Poseidon. They become waking dreams, and Hallie is convinced her mind is accommodating another’s thoughts and feelings.
And is she being watched, followed? Or has she inherited her mother’s paranoia? But then people start dying around her… and trying to kill her!
Her inexplicable familiarity with Boston (she’s never been) and a few other details she has put together have her pointing her car towards the east coast, determined to track down Reed Smith and find out exactly what happened. Maybe that will explain why people are after her.
When she does find out, there’s a murder from a decade earlier that the person in her head seems to be pushing her to learn the truth about. And the more questions she asks, the more people seem to have had a motive to commit murder.
Freeman gives the reader a cleverly plotted tale with plenty of red herrings and distractions to keep the reader guessing right up to the dramatic nail-biting climax. Not a lot of suspension of disbelief is needed for the speculative aspect of this crime thriller, and even the most astute reader is unlikely to pick the perpetrator.
Freeman conveys his setting with consummate ease and there are some interesting and clever turns of dialogue between Hallie and those who know about her “passenger”, and even a unique sort of love triangle. This one is unputdownable!
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer.
August 5, 2022
This is unlike any other book I’ve read and I found myself not being able to put it down. Meet Hallie who actually dies but is revived by a doctor and lots of weird things happen after that and I could not wait to find out what was happening next. I don’t want to give anything away! Some triggers in this book are: suicide, bulimia, abuse, and mental illness. It’s action packed till the end. And the twist at the end I literally could not believe it! My jaw dropped wide open!!!! Wow!!!! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this release in exchange for my honest review.
October 29, 2022
I'm new to this author but will be checking him out more after reading this. I'm not usually a sci-fi person but I really loved this. Granted it's not just sci-fi but it was a really good read.
We've all had bad patches in life but Hallie really has a bad day or two. A lot made me laugh.
Highly recommend. It's a great read.
We've all had bad patches in life but Hallie really has a bad day or two. A lot made me laugh.
Highly recommend. It's a great read.
August 10, 2022
Happy Release Day!!!
No author tells a better story than Brian Freeman for me. Another interesting story that took some time to settle into but quickly became a fast page turner. I had the perp pegged for this one but the reveal was still very suspenseful.
This author has really shown his creative talent over the past few years with writing multiple books per year that include unique plots, Jason Bourne, and Jonathan Stride.
Quality and Quantity - a great duo!
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity in exchange for an honest review.
No author tells a better story than Brian Freeman for me. Another interesting story that took some time to settle into but quickly became a fast page turner. I had the perp pegged for this one but the reveal was still very suspenseful.
This author has really shown his creative talent over the past few years with writing multiple books per year that include unique plots, Jason Bourne, and Jonathan Stride.
Quality and Quantity - a great duo!
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity in exchange for an honest review.
August 6, 2023
DNF. Freeman has not done it again. Or in a sense, he has. Here is another stand-alone novel with a supernatural aspect: the troubled main character, temporarily dead of a cocaine-induced heart failure, is revived only to have somebody else’s memories. I quit about 20% in as I perceived the character would not delve into her problem, would not try to figure out who had been killed and why bad guys were after her, and would generally be annoying and tedious for another 300 pages before some supernatural solution arrived. From other reviews, I believe this to be correct. As I said in a previous review, Freeman’s knack for creating suicidal, distressed characters works well when the emotional problems inform understanding of murders seemingly committed without motive, but work poorly (at least for me) when the emotional distress is incidental to a magical, other-worldly intrusion that neither I nor the characters believe.
June 25, 2022
What Was This Original Flummery! 😳😯🤯😳
Holy snickerdoodles! Okay this was one wild ride of a thriller with the most unique aspect to it. Talk about a real deal psychological thriller! I love it when you aren't even sure if you can trust the main character. You just have no idea what's to come and you can try to guess but you can't. The suspense is so thick, you'd need a chain saw to hack through it. I can't believe how much I liked this!
Mყ 𝐒ყɴ𝐨ρѕιѕ: It's the 4th of July and Hallie has had the day from hell. She decides to attend a party with big wigs of the medical field in Las Vegas. Surely things can't get any worse! That is, until she dies. Waking up in a hospital after a heart attack, she realizes she doesn't feel like herself at all. Her head feels too full, she's remembering people & places she's never been or seen & the nightmares she has feel like actual memories she's never had. So is Hallie just becoming crazy like her mother did, trying to follow and uncover the memories; or is there actually substance to these visions she's having of someone else?
The twists, turns & deception unveiled was continuous and keeping you on the edge of your seat was Freeman's forte. I will say, I did see some of the ending coming towards the finish, but I assure you that did not take away from the book at all nor how it was delivered! It was like ordering the chef's rib dish specialty, but being given the best steak of your life instead... for free! Absolutely wonderful twists & turns. A real genius for a thriller.
🔴 Trigger Warning: Self Harm & Drug Use At Beginning Of Book
Thank you to NetGalley & Thomas & Mercer for this ARC.
Release Date: August 9, 2022
𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭: 4 / 5 Beach Waves! 🌊
Holy snickerdoodles! Okay this was one wild ride of a thriller with the most unique aspect to it. Talk about a real deal psychological thriller! I love it when you aren't even sure if you can trust the main character. You just have no idea what's to come and you can try to guess but you can't. The suspense is so thick, you'd need a chain saw to hack through it. I can't believe how much I liked this!
Mყ 𝐒ყɴ𝐨ρѕιѕ: It's the 4th of July and Hallie has had the day from hell. She decides to attend a party with big wigs of the medical field in Las Vegas. Surely things can't get any worse! That is, until she dies. Waking up in a hospital after a heart attack, she realizes she doesn't feel like herself at all. Her head feels too full, she's remembering people & places she's never been or seen & the nightmares she has feel like actual memories she's never had. So is Hallie just becoming crazy like her mother did, trying to follow and uncover the memories; or is there actually substance to these visions she's having of someone else?
The twists, turns & deception unveiled was continuous and keeping you on the edge of your seat was Freeman's forte. I will say, I did see some of the ending coming towards the finish, but I assure you that did not take away from the book at all nor how it was delivered! It was like ordering the chef's rib dish specialty, but being given the best steak of your life instead... for free! Absolutely wonderful twists & turns. A real genius for a thriller.
🔴 Trigger Warning: Self Harm & Drug Use At Beginning Of Book
Thank you to NetGalley & Thomas & Mercer for this ARC.
Release Date: August 9, 2022
𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭: 4 / 5 Beach Waves! 🌊
April 5, 2022
I really enjoyed Freeman’s Infinite. It stood out well above the usual thriller noise. So I remembered the name and made sure to look out for his future releases and when this came to Netgalley, I requested it right away.
And sure enough, Freeman does a good job again. Throwing in a slight science fiction premise (or more like an advanced science premise) really elevates what otherwise would have been yet another all-in-the-family sort of tale of love and revenge.
The book begins on a 4th of July. Some people wave flags and some people get wasted…and so people die. The protagonist is of the latter variety, She tops off a series of sh*tty life events with some booze and some coke and dies. Once she’s revived, she finds she is no longer alone in her mind. There’s another conscience, another person, another set of memories.
So she crosses the country from Vegas to the East Coast and begins to put her allegedly genius level IQ to the test by trying to sort out what’s going on with her.
She meets man after man who desire her…or the woman inside her. And woman after woman who have murkier intentions.
And yes, in some respects it is a very prototypical thriller, meaning that, for instance, all the women are model-gorgeous…and only one of them is actually a model.
Also, here’s a small thing…recently a hyperwoke millennial pal of mine told me that it is now considered racism when African-American characters’ skin is compared to food in writing. Is that true? Cause if so, the author is certainly guilty. Every single dark-skinned character is described as something delicious. Mocha or chocolate. I mean, seriously. Is it offensive or fetishizing or just plain descriptive? Weigh in in the comments below, please. The inquiring minds want to know.
Anyway, back to the book…the book is fun. Fun enough to rise above its clichés and fun enough to twist what might have bene a pretty plain plot into something genuinely unpredictable so that the prerequisite plot twist in the end is actually mostly a surprise.
I enjoyed reading it and it went by very quickly for all its bulk. Great pacing, great dynamics, great energy. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
And sure enough, Freeman does a good job again. Throwing in a slight science fiction premise (or more like an advanced science premise) really elevates what otherwise would have been yet another all-in-the-family sort of tale of love and revenge.
The book begins on a 4th of July. Some people wave flags and some people get wasted…and so people die. The protagonist is of the latter variety, She tops off a series of sh*tty life events with some booze and some coke and dies. Once she’s revived, she finds she is no longer alone in her mind. There’s another conscience, another person, another set of memories.
So she crosses the country from Vegas to the East Coast and begins to put her allegedly genius level IQ to the test by trying to sort out what’s going on with her.
She meets man after man who desire her…or the woman inside her. And woman after woman who have murkier intentions.
And yes, in some respects it is a very prototypical thriller, meaning that, for instance, all the women are model-gorgeous…and only one of them is actually a model.
Also, here’s a small thing…recently a hyperwoke millennial pal of mine told me that it is now considered racism when African-American characters’ skin is compared to food in writing. Is that true? Cause if so, the author is certainly guilty. Every single dark-skinned character is described as something delicious. Mocha or chocolate. I mean, seriously. Is it offensive or fetishizing or just plain descriptive? Weigh in in the comments below, please. The inquiring minds want to know.
Anyway, back to the book…the book is fun. Fun enough to rise above its clichés and fun enough to twist what might have bene a pretty plain plot into something genuinely unpredictable so that the prerequisite plot twist in the end is actually mostly a surprise.
I enjoyed reading it and it went by very quickly for all its bulk. Great pacing, great dynamics, great energy. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
March 12, 2023
This is another unusual mind manipulation story, starting out in Las Vegas and the implanted memories compel her to the East Coast so she can determine what is her memories and what are the implanted ones.
Well written, mildly plausible. An enjoyable read.
I bought the audio book.
Well written, mildly plausible. An enjoyable read.
I bought the audio book.
August 7, 2022
(Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for a honest review)
Publication date: 09 August 2022
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Thoughts
2.5 ⭐
This is my first book from this author and I chose this book for the blurb. It sounded like an interesting thriller, I usually do not go for books that has forgotten/recalled memories but made an exception for this.
I did not have a good first impression of Hallie because of how fast she decided to give up. She didn’t keep up to the description of her by the author. I thought she was quite messy and quick to jump into making decisions. Somehow I didn’t like her throughout the book.
I did like the minor twists in the book, the antagonist was easy to spot but the method was not easy to decipher. This book also had some sci-fi aspects in it which kept the book interesting. The side characters made this book worth reading till the end.
Publication date: 09 August 2022
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Thoughts
2.5 ⭐
This is my first book from this author and I chose this book for the blurb. It sounded like an interesting thriller, I usually do not go for books that has forgotten/recalled memories but made an exception for this.
I did not have a good first impression of Hallie because of how fast she decided to give up. She didn’t keep up to the description of her by the author. I thought she was quite messy and quick to jump into making decisions. Somehow I didn’t like her throughout the book.
I did like the minor twists in the book, the antagonist was easy to spot but the method was not easy to decipher. This book also had some sci-fi aspects in it which kept the book interesting. The side characters made this book worth reading till the end.
September 3, 2022
I ran out of Audible credits, and this title was available on Kindle Unlimited with free narration. So I grabbed a copy. I wasn't expecting much, but, to my pleasant surprise, I Remember You is an excellent sci-fi thriller.
Hallie Evers experiences the worst Fourth of July- losing her job, boyfriend, and home. On top of that, she dies. Temporarily, that is. When she wakes up, she starts experiencing vivid memories, detailed recollections of places she had never visited, and snippets of a murder scene.
There are a few big reveals, all leading to an exciting climax. I Rember You is well-paced, filled with action, personal stakes, and layered familial dramas. Kudos to the narrator for doing a great job of making Hallie's voice so engaging.
Hallie Evers experiences the worst Fourth of July- losing her job, boyfriend, and home. On top of that, she dies. Temporarily, that is. When she wakes up, she starts experiencing vivid memories, detailed recollections of places she had never visited, and snippets of a murder scene.
There are a few big reveals, all leading to an exciting climax. I Rember You is well-paced, filled with action, personal stakes, and layered familial dramas. Kudos to the narrator for doing a great job of making Hallie's voice so engaging.
April 16, 2024
I like this author. He writes creative stories, and he knows how to keep the pace rolling. I don't mind settling into one of his books.
This one was a Sci-fi/Thriller. A young woman has her life completely turned upside down, when she dies and is brought back to life. I liked the fact that she was by no means perfect, nor were all the other characters. They were flawed and that made them perfect.
At times this felt a little long but overall, it was entertaining. So, 4 stars.
This one was a Sci-fi/Thriller. A young woman has her life completely turned upside down, when she dies and is brought back to life. I liked the fact that she was by no means perfect, nor were all the other characters. They were flawed and that made them perfect.
At times this felt a little long but overall, it was entertaining. So, 4 stars.
August 27, 2022
I am a huge Brian Freeman fan, but this one fell flat for me. I could not connect with the main character, and she was down right unlikeable. And the whole transference of memories thing, was hard to believe. I'm eagerly awaiting Johnathon Stride's return though!
February 13, 2024
Short and simple: I love everything about Freeman’s writing.
The characters are complex and memorable. The plot is unique and believable. The story is dark and gritty, but also full of thought-provoking, poignant moments.
This book is the absolute opposite of predictable. I didn’t see any of it coming.
The characters are complex and memorable. The plot is unique and believable. The story is dark and gritty, but also full of thought-provoking, poignant moments.
This book is the absolute opposite of predictable. I didn’t see any of it coming.
May 5, 2025
Den var helt okej! Cool plot och story, den hade verkligen potential men faller lite platt och var lite rörig.
November 9, 2022
2.5 stars
Brian Freeman knows how to write stories that are out there, like an episode from Twilight Zone.
Hallie is a super intelligent girl that one night in Vegas, after over-dosing on drugs and alcohol combined with her bulimic problems, has a heart failure and dies... at least for a few minutes until a doctor that was around saves her. But here is where things get tricky, the defibrillator used to save her was a new technology one and due to this, she finds herself in the middle of a situation where people are following her and try to kill her.
The parts that didn't work out for me: for a super intelligent girl, she sure makes some very stupid decisions. Plus, this high moral standards are hard to buy (someone offers her a huge amount of money that she refuses, although she had nowhere to sleep and no money to eat).
The book is way too long and despite all the action, nothing really really important happens till the end. Some things are beyond predictable so that was a bit frustrating too.
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book!
Brian Freeman knows how to write stories that are out there, like an episode from Twilight Zone.
Hallie is a super intelligent girl that one night in Vegas, after over-dosing on drugs and alcohol combined with her bulimic problems, has a heart failure and dies... at least for a few minutes until a doctor that was around saves her. But here is where things get tricky, the defibrillator used to save her was a new technology one and due to this, she finds herself in the middle of a situation where people are following her and try to kill her.
The parts that didn't work out for me: for a super intelligent girl, she sure makes some very stupid decisions. Plus, this high moral standards are hard to buy (someone offers her a huge amount of money that she refuses, although she had nowhere to sleep and no money to eat).
The book is way too long and despite all the action, nothing really really important happens till the end. Some things are beyond predictable so that was a bit frustrating too.
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book!
August 14, 2022
I'm speechless now after finishing this story. I think the author has such a great gift in writing a story so unbelievable but also one that touches so deeply. And intrigued the heck out of me.
Crazy scientists, women that live the other ones past and so much suspense and some gruesome scenes.
I honestly didn't know who to believe or even what to believe in the beginning. It really led me to think that this is actually a schizophrenic character that just makes up her whole story. But slowly, all the pieces of this intricate puzzle fell into place.
The suspenseful moments kept building up, and that ending was really satisfying for me. I still have unanswered questions about Savannah and Skye and about Haley and her past.
I would recommend this story to any twisted thrillers lovers.
🆓📖Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy through NetGalley
Crazy scientists, women that live the other ones past and so much suspense and some gruesome scenes.
I honestly didn't know who to believe or even what to believe in the beginning. It really led me to think that this is actually a schizophrenic character that just makes up her whole story. But slowly, all the pieces of this intricate puzzle fell into place.
The suspenseful moments kept building up, and that ending was really satisfying for me. I still have unanswered questions about Savannah and Skye and about Haley and her past.
I would recommend this story to any twisted thrillers lovers.
🆓📖Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy through NetGalley
August 13, 2022
“Two souls with but a single thought…” – John Keats
That quote from the famous poet Keats opens this brilliant mind-puzzler of a novel from author Brian Freeman, I REMEMBER YOU, and is a nice omen for things to come within the often nightmarishly devious narrative.
Our narrator and protagonist, perhaps a very unreliable narrator at that, is Hallie Evers. She is having a particularly bad 4th of July. She got fired from her job in the morning, told by her headhunter that she was pretty much unemployable because of her undiplomatic demeanor, was dumped by her boyfriend of two years via a brief text, found out he had been sleeping with her best friend/roommate, and lost her apartment. Her score for Independence Day was that she is now: jobless, moneyless, friendless, sexless, and homeless.
Just when you think things couldn’t get any worse, her heart went into atrial fibrillation that evening and at the age of twenty-nine, Hallie Evers had been declared dead. Thankfully, there was a Doctor at the rooftop Las Vegas party where her heart incident took place who knew enough to stabilize her to get her to the hospital where she was revived and brought back to life. However, Hallie was not the same and the nightmarish dreams she began to suffer from following this incident seemed all too real, almost like they belonged to a different person and a different life.
As her body and mind were both recovering from this trauma the dreams continued and carried with them certain dark themes such as a figure that resembled the ocean God Poseidon. She even awoke from one ultra-realistic dream with her hands covered in blood. Hallie began seeing her therapist Tori regularly, as her family had a history of serious mental illness, to try and decipher what was going on with her. Tori wants Hallie to talk about her sister who she claims she had mentioned had been murdered. Hallie is caught completely off guard by this and states that she has no recollection of stating that and that she has no sister.
In another strange incident, Hallie has a discussion with someone where she fully describes the city of Boston. She later recognizes that she has never visited Boston. Hallie realizes the answer to her problems may exist on the East Coast and decides to travel to Boston to see if anything rings true for her. Along the way there, she continues with the hyper-real dark dreams that now feature a female character she believes to be her sister. Another mystery she seeks to solve is finding the Doctor who saved her life in Las Vegas when she ‘died,’ a Dr. Reed Smith from Johns Hopkins. She is shocked when she gets there to find no Doctor by that name exists.
Once she arrives in Boston, Hallie is somehow drawn to a company named Hyppolex and its’ young CEO Tyler Reyes. She intends to meet him in person and confront him to get some answers, even if they are answers she doesn’t like. While in Boston she also finds other characters who play into her personal fantasy/dream life meets waking life, including a woman named Skye Selden-Reyes who she feels a strange kinship with. Beyond that, she meets a man from MIT named Andrew Edam who turns out to be the man she knew by the name of Dr. Reed Smith. Hallie knows that something ties Tyler Reyes, Skey Selden-Reyes, and Andrew Edam together, but what?
There are so many more questions than answers that emerge as a result of Hallie’s bizarre journey. Does she indeed have a sister and did she murder her? With her families past history of mental illness can the reader believe a single thing Hallie Evers has told us to this point? She does indeed show evidence of being the ideal unreliable narrator, which makes things so much fun and keeps readers off balance throughout this novel. I REMEMBER YOU is unlike anything I have read to date from Brian Freeman and he has turned into a true trickster in this one. The continued journey of Hallie Evers is so clever and diabolical that I fear revealing anything more lest I give away something juicy, so I shan’t. Just enjoy this truly unpredictable journey straight through to the end and discover what is a dream and what is reality.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
That quote from the famous poet Keats opens this brilliant mind-puzzler of a novel from author Brian Freeman, I REMEMBER YOU, and is a nice omen for things to come within the often nightmarishly devious narrative.
Our narrator and protagonist, perhaps a very unreliable narrator at that, is Hallie Evers. She is having a particularly bad 4th of July. She got fired from her job in the morning, told by her headhunter that she was pretty much unemployable because of her undiplomatic demeanor, was dumped by her boyfriend of two years via a brief text, found out he had been sleeping with her best friend/roommate, and lost her apartment. Her score for Independence Day was that she is now: jobless, moneyless, friendless, sexless, and homeless.
Just when you think things couldn’t get any worse, her heart went into atrial fibrillation that evening and at the age of twenty-nine, Hallie Evers had been declared dead. Thankfully, there was a Doctor at the rooftop Las Vegas party where her heart incident took place who knew enough to stabilize her to get her to the hospital where she was revived and brought back to life. However, Hallie was not the same and the nightmarish dreams she began to suffer from following this incident seemed all too real, almost like they belonged to a different person and a different life.
As her body and mind were both recovering from this trauma the dreams continued and carried with them certain dark themes such as a figure that resembled the ocean God Poseidon. She even awoke from one ultra-realistic dream with her hands covered in blood. Hallie began seeing her therapist Tori regularly, as her family had a history of serious mental illness, to try and decipher what was going on with her. Tori wants Hallie to talk about her sister who she claims she had mentioned had been murdered. Hallie is caught completely off guard by this and states that she has no recollection of stating that and that she has no sister.
In another strange incident, Hallie has a discussion with someone where she fully describes the city of Boston. She later recognizes that she has never visited Boston. Hallie realizes the answer to her problems may exist on the East Coast and decides to travel to Boston to see if anything rings true for her. Along the way there, she continues with the hyper-real dark dreams that now feature a female character she believes to be her sister. Another mystery she seeks to solve is finding the Doctor who saved her life in Las Vegas when she ‘died,’ a Dr. Reed Smith from Johns Hopkins. She is shocked when she gets there to find no Doctor by that name exists.
Once she arrives in Boston, Hallie is somehow drawn to a company named Hyppolex and its’ young CEO Tyler Reyes. She intends to meet him in person and confront him to get some answers, even if they are answers she doesn’t like. While in Boston she also finds other characters who play into her personal fantasy/dream life meets waking life, including a woman named Skye Selden-Reyes who she feels a strange kinship with. Beyond that, she meets a man from MIT named Andrew Edam who turns out to be the man she knew by the name of Dr. Reed Smith. Hallie knows that something ties Tyler Reyes, Skey Selden-Reyes, and Andrew Edam together, but what?
There are so many more questions than answers that emerge as a result of Hallie’s bizarre journey. Does she indeed have a sister and did she murder her? With her families past history of mental illness can the reader believe a single thing Hallie Evers has told us to this point? She does indeed show evidence of being the ideal unreliable narrator, which makes things so much fun and keeps readers off balance throughout this novel. I REMEMBER YOU is unlike anything I have read to date from Brian Freeman and he has turned into a true trickster in this one. The continued journey of Hallie Evers is so clever and diabolical that I fear revealing anything more lest I give away something juicy, so I shan’t. Just enjoy this truly unpredictable journey straight through to the end and discover what is a dream and what is reality.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
October 26, 2022
3/5 ⭐️
This was semi interesting? But it fell flat for me.
This was semi interesting? But it fell flat for me.
July 1, 2022
I just kept the pages turning fast and furious on this one! This was a wild ride! And not only was it a fun, suspenseful crazy book - best of all, it was something a little different!
One the 4th of July Hallie decides to attend a party with big wigs of the medical field in Las Vegas - where she dies! Then she wakes up in . a hospital and realizes she doesn't feel like herself at all. Her head feels too full, She's remembering people & places she's never been or seen and she wonders if she is going crazy. Or is there actually something else going on?
There were some twists and turns that I didn't see coming. And I loved that I didn't know if Hallie was crazy or not. In the second half of the book, I pretty much had things figured out - but I had to keep turning the pages to see if I was right.
This is a strong 4 stars. It is almost 5, but I didn't quite get that WOW!. It was more of a little wow... But this is a for sure recommendation for you to read.
I want to thank the author #BrianFreeman the publisher and #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my review. See for yourself!
One the 4th of July Hallie decides to attend a party with big wigs of the medical field in Las Vegas - where she dies! Then she wakes up in . a hospital and realizes she doesn't feel like herself at all. Her head feels too full, She's remembering people & places she's never been or seen and she wonders if she is going crazy. Or is there actually something else going on?
There were some twists and turns that I didn't see coming. And I loved that I didn't know if Hallie was crazy or not. In the second half of the book, I pretty much had things figured out - but I had to keep turning the pages to see if I was right.
This is a strong 4 stars. It is almost 5, but I didn't quite get that WOW!. It was more of a little wow... But this is a for sure recommendation for you to read.
I want to thank the author #BrianFreeman the publisher and #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my review. See for yourself!
June 19, 2022
I Remember You is a fast paced stand alone thriller by Brian Freeman. Hallie is in her late 20’s, living in Las Vegas, working as a marketing writer for medical device companies. She has a bit of a rough life and has burned bridges with some of her previous employers and is currently unemployed. While attending a medical conference at a casino on the Las Vegas strip, she suffers a medical emergency and her heart stops. When she awakens in the hospital she has memories that are not hers. She is dreaming and remembering someone else’s life. She keeps seeing a murdered woman. What is going on? And she tries to return to normal and sort out what’s going on, she realizes she’s being followed. Once an attempt is made on her life, she flees Las Vegas trying to figure out whose memories she has in her head.
This was such a great story! It’s part thriller, part murder mystery, part techno thriller. Little by little Hallie’s past is revealed and the past of whomever she has in her head. This was such an original story and I really enjoyed the plot twists. Definitely check this book out, you will not be disappointed. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
This was such a great story! It’s part thriller, part murder mystery, part techno thriller. Little by little Hallie’s past is revealed and the past of whomever she has in her head. This was such an original story and I really enjoyed the plot twists. Definitely check this book out, you will not be disappointed. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
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