Before I Go to Sleep
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Christine wakes up every morning in an unfamiliar bed with an unfamiliar man.
She looks in the mirror and sees an unfamiliar, middle-aged face. And every morning, the man she has woken up with must explain that he is Ben, he is her husband, she is forty-seven years old, and a terrible accident two decades earlier decimated her ability to form new memories.
But it’s the phone call from a Dr. Nash, a neurologist who claims to be working with Christine without her husband’s knowledge, that directs her to her journal, hidden in the back of her closet. For the past few weeks, Christine has been recording her daily activities -- tearful mornings with Ben, sessions with Dr. Nash, flashes of scenes from her former life -- and rereading past entries, relearning the facts of her life as retold by the husband she is completely dependent upon. As the entries build up, Christine asks many questions. What was life like before the accident? Why did she and Ben never have a child? What has happened to Christine’s best friend? And what exactly was the horrific accident that caused such a profound loss of memory?
Every day, Christine must begin again the reconstruction of her past. And the closer she gets to the truth, the more unbelievable it seems.
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Author Extras
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Critical Praise for
Before I Go to Sleep
"Watson's pitch-perfect writing propels the story to a frenzied climax that will haunt readers long after they've closed the cover on this remarkable book." - Kirkus
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'‘Before I Go To Sleep’ is a tour de force, a haunting tapestry woven from a single woman’s ragged thoughts...' -CrimeSquad.com
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“Imagine drifting off every night knowing that your memories will be wiped away by morning. That’s the fate of Christine Lucas, whose bewildering internal world is rendered with chilling intimacy in this debut literary thriller. . . . You’ll stay up late reading until you know.”
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People (4 stars)
“The summer’s single most suspenseful plot belongs to BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP. . . . pure page-turner.”
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New York Times
“Memories—real, false, and a bit of both—are at the heart of Watson’s haunting, twisted debut…. Watson handles what could have turned into a cheap narrative gimmick brilliantly, building to a chillingly unexpected climax.”
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Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“This mesmerizing, skillfully written debut novel works on multiple levels. It is both an affecting portrait of the profound impact of a debilitating illness and a pulse-pounding thriller whose outcome no one could predict.”
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Booklist (starred review)
“Watson’s debut novel unwinds as a story that is both complicated and compellingly hypnotic. . . . Watson’s pitch–perfect writing propels the story to a frenzied climax that will haunt readers long after they’ve closed the cover on this remarkable book.”
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Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“An intriguingly fresh look at the amnesia-focused psychological thriller. . . . A captivating and highly suspenseful read, populated with believable characters who lead the reader through a taut, well-constructed plot.”
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Library Journal
“An exceptional thriller. It left my nerves jangling for hours after I finished the last page.”
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Dennis Lehane
“Quite simply the best debut novel I have ever read.”
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Tess Gerritsen
“A deft, perceptive exploration of a fascinating neurological condition, and a cracking good thriller.”
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Lionel Shriver
“Brilliant in its pacing, profound in its central question, suspenseful on every page and satisfying in its thriller ending.”
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Anita Shreve
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Before I Go To Sleep
"As I sleep, my mind will erase everything I did today. I will wake up tomorrow as I did this morning. Thinking I’m still a child. Thinking I have a whole lifetime of choice ahead of me. . . ." Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your...
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Before I Go to Sleep
Christine wakes up every morning with an unfamiliar man. She looks in the mirror and sees an unfamiliar, middle-aged face. And every morning, the man she wakes up to must explain that he is Ben, he is her husband, and a terrible accident two decades earlier decimated her ability to form new...
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