Memory Box by Eva Lesko Natiello.

Book Review by Cari Mayhew.

This thriller/mystery was recommended to me by the Goodreads app, and now having read the book, I would definitely use Goodreads recommendations again!  I loved Memory Box.

Caroline, mother of two, decides to Google herself and is shocked to discover that her twin sister died 6 years ago. At first she doesn’t believe it, but then she rings her sister’s college and it’s confirmed. It later transpires that Caroline’s sister had a daughter born the same year as Caroline’s twins. Then Google brings up that Caroline had a hysterectomy several years before her twins were born.

Caroline tries to piece the truth together, with several clues popping up agonisingly slowly one by one, frequently making Caroline understandably absolutely hysterical. She becomes her own worst enemy and seems to use every possible opportunity to turn disaster into chaos – her every action becomes a hazard.

Deep into the book, a new finding sets her over the edge and she has a complete nervous breakdown, and just when she thinks she has it all figured out, her psychiatrist tells her there’s more.

When the full truth is finally revealed, the author moves swiftly to a chilling Part Two.  If you can tolerate the whirlwind that is Part 1, I’m sure you’ll love the book as much as I did when you get to Part Two, where the action continues!

Some aspects of the book would be considered unrealistic by most – how could she forget so much?  And why is she so reluctant to discuss the revelations with her husband?  This does get addressed toward the end of the book however.  I enjoyed the author’s style of writing, such as the emphatic descriptions, and minor character inclusions.