Sunday, January 27, 2019

Remember Me

Remember Me by D. E. White
HarperCollins: 2/6/19
eBook review copy; 384 pages
ISBN-13: 9780008322045

Remember Me by D. E. White is a recommended mystery/thriller.

Ava Cole is currently an LAPD detective but she has returned to the small Welsh village where she grew up, after moving there from the USA as a child.  Her ex-husband, Paul, is dying, and she needs to reconnect with her son, Stephen. Ava returned to the states when Stephan was just a toddler, leaving Paul to raise him. Paul married one of their childhood friends, Penny, and the two raised Stephen as their own. One of the reasons Ava left had to do with the death fifteen years ago of her best friend, Ellen Smith. Ava is not sure exactly what happened, but none of them ever said a word about Ellen's death and as far as Ellen's parents and officials know, Ellen ran away from home and disappeared.

Secrets sometimes have a way of being told. The remaining group of friends knows what happened and the cover-up in which they were all complicit. Now Ava has been receiving text messages from an unknown number taunting her, saying in Welsh, phrases like: "Remember me, Ava Cole?" or "How will you remember me, Ava Cole." There is a private detective in town too, looking into Ellen's disappearance all those years ago.
This is a mystery where all of the characters seem suspect, and you have to figure out whodunit. The cast of characters are introduced as Ava reconnects with her previous group of friends. Then, as they are introduced, the reader needs to start evaluating them as suspects based on the information provided in the narrative.

The chapters alternate between Ava's actions and thoughts told in the third person and the first person thoughts of her stalker. This does set up a nice contrast to increase the tension. The characters are well-developed, even though there are many of them between friends and children and acquaintances from the village. It becomes clear that the person is taunting Ava and is going to actively start targeting the group of old friends, but the question of motive remains.

There are two main issues I had to overcome with Remember Me: the rather slow pace of the action and a sense of incredulity that Ava is a detective. First, if I'm yawning while reading any mystery/thriller then it is a sure sign that the pace is a bit too slow. My interest in what happened compelled me to keep reading, but at times it seemed a slog. Secondly, there were several instances early on when I said aloud, "She's a detective?" It is not a good sign if I'm skeptical and questioning the competence of the detective skills of the main character.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins.

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