Before I Go To Sleep - Softcover

Based upon a deceptively simple premise, Watson's debut novel unwinds as a story that is both complicated and compellingly hypnotic. . . Watson writes in the first person, from the perspective of a woman, and the voice is surprisingly spot-on. The angst is unimaginable but palpable in this suspenseful story of a woman who can take nothing for granted. 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 Reviews (starred review)

A brilliant, nasty noir. It drags you down into deep, dark and disturbing waters. It entertains while touching on complex questions of the meaning of identity and memory. . . . One can't help but be impressed by Watson's skill. This British writer's attention to detail and empathy are impressive. . . . Having read the book once I was compelled to read it again, enjoying the special pleasure of noting clues missed or misinterpreted the first time. Certain books are so good that they remind you of the vast pleasures good writers can give you if you re willing to pay them attention. If you can stand the chill, BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP is a delicious summer treat. --Los Angeles Times

An exceptional thriller. It left my nerves jangling for hours after I finished the last page. --Dennis Lehane

A gripping psychological thriller in the vein of Shutter Island and the film Memento, an amnesiac attempts to reconstruct her past by keeping a journal and discovers the dangerous inconsistencies in the stories of her husband and her secret doctor.

Christine wakes up every morning in a strange bed with a strange 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, 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. Ed Nash, a neurologist who claims to be working with Christine in his office across London without her husband's knowledge, that directs her to a notebook, 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 has become completely dependent upon. As the entries build up, inconsistencies in Ben's account jump off the page. What was life like before the accident? Do they 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.