Christine awakens every morning in an unfamiliar bed in a room she doesn't recognize beside a man who's a total stranger. And she does not know the woman in the bathroom mirror staring back at her. All around that mirror are photos showing Christine who she is, where she is and that the man in her bed is her husband, Ben, who gently reminds her of the situation they are both coping with daily. A long-ago accident caused Christine to lose the aptitude to remember, so each day is a totally new beginning.

Even though Christine cannot remember Ben, she has to go by what he tells her of her life. That is until she gets a phone call from a Dr. Nash reminding her to read a hidden journal she's been keeping for the past several weeks. A journal Ben knows nothing about. And a doctor Ben does not know she's seeing. As Christine reads of past days in her life, flashes of memories start to come back. Dr. Nash is encouraged, suggesting they are not lost completely; it's just a matter of finding a way to access them. But why has she written "Do Not Trust Ben" on the front page of her journal? And can she really trust what anyone tells her or any of the reflections she believes are memories?

Christine is in for a shock as this complex, intriguing story reaches a devastating climax. Readers will be turning pages as fast as they can to learn the astonishing outcome of this tormented woman's life. Excellent characterization and intricate plot development make this debut by British author S. J. Watson one of the best suspense novels this summer.

Book Summary

Every morning, Christine awakens beside a stranger in an unfamiliar bed. She sees a middle-aged face in the bathroom mirror that she does not recognize. And every morning, the man patiently explains that he is Ben, her husband, that she is 47 years old, and that an accident long ago damaged her ability to remember.

In place of memories Christine has a handful of pictures, a whiteboard in the kitchen and a journal, hidden in a closet. She knows about the journal because Dr. Ed Nash, a neurologist who claims to be treating her without Ben’s knowledge, reminds her about it each day. Inside its pages, the damaged woman has begun meticulously recording her daily events — sessions with Dr. Nash, snippets of information that Ben shares, flashes of her former self that briefly, miraculously appear.

But as the pages accumulate, inconsistencies begin to emerge, raising disturbing questions that Christine is determined to find answers to. And the more she pieces together the shards of her broken life, the closer she gets to the truth...and the more terrifying and deadly it is.