lauranisbet's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
david_agranoff's review against another edition
5.0
This is the second novel by Rio Youers that I have read and as much as I liked the first one Westlake Soul it had been five years since I read the last one. Westlake soul was a very slow burn deeply spiritual novel. It was not a easy-breezy read, that I really enjoyed but it was one that I only suggested to fans of very serious horror literature. Not that it didn't have fun and like hearted moments, because it did. That said the tone was deep and introspective.
The Forgotten Girl is very different from that. It is absolutely Rio Youers but this feels like the arthouse film director who makes an excellent popcorn blockbuster. The serious horror lit fans will like this and I believe the mainstream readers looking for a thriller for their flight in the airport bookstore will too. At times it doesn't feel like it could possibly be the same others and then there are moments that it is clear. Youers was always a talented writer he has reached a new level here.
Some novels feel effortless, the pages turn fast and easy and before you know know it have read 60 or 70 pages read in a sitting and with great ease you feel the story flow over you. I know that is the ideal, but I think novels like that are rare. I still enjoy books that require dedication, but it nice when a book breezes by feeling effortless.Sarah Pinborough, David Morrell and Robert McCammon are examples of authors who make very easily readable books. The prose and narrative have a McCammon like flow that helps this book fly.
This is one hell of a novel. The publisher seems to be marketing it as a thriller and that is true the book is also very much A science fiction horror novel. The story is about Harvey Anderson a street musician is suddenly attacked by thugs who want to know about his girlfirend, that oddly Harvey has no memory of. The thugs are sure they were a couple and Harvey must know where she is. The problem he doesn't remember her at all.
Mystery is one best served cold so I nervous to tell you more plot but Sally the woman in question was in his life. The thugs have pictures, people around he remember her, and the couple were happy long time friends. The mystery of why Harvey doesn't remember her sets of journey that takes Harvey cross country. The story is very clearly influenced by and modernizing classics like Stephen King's Firestarter and the John Farris Classic The Fury. If you read those novels you understand we are talking about psychic conspiracy road trip thrillers. The strength of this novel is less about the plot and more the characters. Not just Harvey and Sally but thankfully the romance between the main characters was believable. Youers had a interesting challenge having the main character in love with a woman he couldn't remember and it was really interesting to watch him fall in love while solving the mystery and recovering lost memory. Some of the most interesting aspects of the writing and story structure came in these moments. Youers used the romance effectiely to tell the story build characters and ratchet the suspense cutting half a dozen carrots with one knife.
For that reason the novel works as fun story but if writers and storytellers unpack what is going on there is a deeper level happening at the same time. Dominic Lang is a vicious villain whose motivations and arc take him to a almost mythic status instantly, think Khan in Star Trek. That level of well rounded bad guy helps lift the novel as well. He also adds a political connection expands the scope.
Some of the best moments of character for Harvey come in the moments with his father. Harvey's father seems like a crazy person but he in a sense humanizes Harvey better than anything else in the novel. He is a minor but great character who adds weight to the novel as a whole. Excellent example of a character who is not in the whole story but adds so much.
The Forgotten Girl is a next level step for Rio Youers. It was a excellent reading experience and I think we'll be talking about it again come best of the year time.
The Forgotten Girl is very different from that. It is absolutely Rio Youers but this feels like the arthouse film director who makes an excellent popcorn blockbuster. The serious horror lit fans will like this and I believe the mainstream readers looking for a thriller for their flight in the airport bookstore will too. At times it doesn't feel like it could possibly be the same others and then there are moments that it is clear. Youers was always a talented writer he has reached a new level here.
Some novels feel effortless, the pages turn fast and easy and before you know know it have read 60 or 70 pages read in a sitting and with great ease you feel the story flow over you. I know that is the ideal, but I think novels like that are rare. I still enjoy books that require dedication, but it nice when a book breezes by feeling effortless.Sarah Pinborough, David Morrell and Robert McCammon are examples of authors who make very easily readable books. The prose and narrative have a McCammon like flow that helps this book fly.
This is one hell of a novel. The publisher seems to be marketing it as a thriller and that is true the book is also very much A science fiction horror novel. The story is about Harvey Anderson a street musician is suddenly attacked by thugs who want to know about his girlfirend, that oddly Harvey has no memory of. The thugs are sure they were a couple and Harvey must know where she is. The problem he doesn't remember her at all.
Mystery is one best served cold so I nervous to tell you more plot but Sally the woman in question was in his life. The thugs have pictures, people around he remember her, and the couple were happy long time friends. The mystery of why Harvey doesn't remember her sets of journey that takes Harvey cross country. The story is very clearly influenced by and modernizing classics like Stephen King's Firestarter and the John Farris Classic The Fury. If you read those novels you understand we are talking about psychic conspiracy road trip thrillers. The strength of this novel is less about the plot and more the characters. Not just Harvey and Sally but thankfully the romance between the main characters was believable. Youers had a interesting challenge having the main character in love with a woman he couldn't remember and it was really interesting to watch him fall in love while solving the mystery and recovering lost memory. Some of the most interesting aspects of the writing and story structure came in these moments. Youers used the romance effectiely to tell the story build characters and ratchet the suspense cutting half a dozen carrots with one knife.
For that reason the novel works as fun story but if writers and storytellers unpack what is going on there is a deeper level happening at the same time. Dominic Lang is a vicious villain whose motivations and arc take him to a almost mythic status instantly, think Khan in Star Trek. That level of well rounded bad guy helps lift the novel as well. He also adds a political connection expands the scope.
Some of the best moments of character for Harvey come in the moments with his father. Harvey's father seems like a crazy person but he in a sense humanizes Harvey better than anything else in the novel. He is a minor but great character who adds weight to the novel as a whole. Excellent example of a character who is not in the whole story but adds so much.
The Forgotten Girl is a next level step for Rio Youers. It was a excellent reading experience and I think we'll be talking about it again come best of the year time.
pbanditp's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars -Harvey is being beaten by thugs to get info about a girl named Sally that he doesn’t know. A girl who, apparently, he has lived with for 5 years. A girl who everyone else seems to remember and thought they were a good couple. A girl with a special ability and a dark past. The past has caught up to Sally and someone wants to destroy her for what she has done.
The Forgotten Girl was an interesting and unique story with some fun and some evil characters that pull you through this thriller. Lots of things happened that I didn’t see coming because I was too interested in what was going on to try to figure anything else out.
The Forgotten Girl was an interesting and unique story with some fun and some evil characters that pull you through this thriller. Lots of things happened that I didn’t see coming because I was too interested in what was going on to try to figure anything else out.
b_sparks's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
myweereads's review against another edition
4.0
The Forgotten Girl by Rio Youers is about Harvey Anderson, a street performer who enjoys his peaceful life, but everything is turned upside down when he is abducted and beaten by a group of thugs who have spent nine years searching for Harvey's girlfriend, Sally. There's only one problem: Sally is gone and Harvey has no memory of her. His girlfriend has the unique ability to selectively erase a person's memories, and finding the forgotten girl comes at quite a cost?
This book was a fast, jam packed, supernatural thriller which I couldn’t put down. The plot, characters and insane ending perfectly come together to bring an unimaginable novel.
I was lucky to be able to take part in the author Q&A. After reading the first couple of chapters I was very curious about the inspiration behind the book.
Q.When reading it is very apparent the deep connections between the characters, in particular I found the father and son relationship strangely endearing. When writing them, where or whom did you draw your inspiration from?
A.I was charmed by the idea of presenting two very different characters, who throughout the narrative come to understand they have many things in common. Harvey Anderson—our hero—is an everyman. He could be your brother, your cousin, your best pal. He’s someone you know. His father, on the other hand, is eccentric and mostly unapproachable. Bringing these two together, and having them discover their common ground—chiefly the unassailable, but unspoken, love they have for one another—was a challenge, but one I relished.
I’m not sure what, if anything, inspired this relationship. Sometimes characters just weave themselves from the yarn of your imagination. They breathe, almost perfectly formed, onto the page. The relationships they form are equally natural. It doesn’t always work out this way, but when it does, it’s like magic.
Huge thanks to Titan Books for sending me a copy which I highly recommend and to Rio Youers for taking the time to give some insight into the creation of this novel.
This book was a fast, jam packed, supernatural thriller which I couldn’t put down. The plot, characters and insane ending perfectly come together to bring an unimaginable novel.
I was lucky to be able to take part in the author Q&A. After reading the first couple of chapters I was very curious about the inspiration behind the book.
Q.When reading it is very apparent the deep connections between the characters, in particular I found the father and son relationship strangely endearing. When writing them, where or whom did you draw your inspiration from?
A.I was charmed by the idea of presenting two very different characters, who throughout the narrative come to understand they have many things in common. Harvey Anderson—our hero—is an everyman. He could be your brother, your cousin, your best pal. He’s someone you know. His father, on the other hand, is eccentric and mostly unapproachable. Bringing these two together, and having them discover their common ground—chiefly the unassailable, but unspoken, love they have for one another—was a challenge, but one I relished.
I’m not sure what, if anything, inspired this relationship. Sometimes characters just weave themselves from the yarn of your imagination. They breathe, almost perfectly formed, onto the page. The relationships they form are equally natural. It doesn’t always work out this way, but when it does, it’s like magic.
Huge thanks to Titan Books for sending me a copy which I highly recommend and to Rio Youers for taking the time to give some insight into the creation of this novel.
notaleaf's review against another edition
3.0
I was surprised by this book! It’s like a supernatural thriller and it kept me guessing. There were a few characters I just didn’t care for, but, this one kept me interested and had me asking questions! 3.5/5.
vondav's review against another edition
5.0
Harvey has a carefree life, spends his time playing his guitar, busking around Green Ridge. Then one morning he wakes up to go about his day and gets abducted. What did they want, they wanted Sally? But without any memory of Sally, is his life in danger.
Harvey was a gentle soul, and as he hunts for clues on the mystery girl, you learn so much about his upbringing. He was determined to get to the truth and even when the odds were against him, he never backed down.
Written from Harvey’s POV, you are taken on a mystery. At the start of the book you know as much about Sally as Harvey and as he finds out more information, so do you, giving you the feeling that you are on the journey with him. Whilst the relationship between him and his dad Gordon started off strained, as they spend more time together you can see that Harvey admired him. Gordon, a Vietnam Vet was injured on a tour of duty and whilst he was a bit eccentric, he loved his son and helped him throughout his search.
From the opening scenes where Harvey was being tortured for information, I knew I was in for a compelling read. This book brought out so many emotions, whether it was Harvey fighting for his life or receiving shocking news, I was committed to the story. The supernatural element of the story involving psychic ability made this story more than a regular mystery. Reading about the Spider” He crawled into my mind” ”He was inside me, scurrying along my memories and dreams” As I was reading these scenes, they felt so sinister, and you could imagine the creepy sensation having someone go through your mind looking for clues.
This was a story that I was rooting for the good guy, and a story that gave me a book hangover, whilst I read into the night. I didn’t want real life to interrupt my reading. This is a new to me author and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I will look out for more from this author.
Harvey was a gentle soul, and as he hunts for clues on the mystery girl, you learn so much about his upbringing. He was determined to get to the truth and even when the odds were against him, he never backed down.
Written from Harvey’s POV, you are taken on a mystery. At the start of the book you know as much about Sally as Harvey and as he finds out more information, so do you, giving you the feeling that you are on the journey with him. Whilst the relationship between him and his dad Gordon started off strained, as they spend more time together you can see that Harvey admired him. Gordon, a Vietnam Vet was injured on a tour of duty and whilst he was a bit eccentric, he loved his son and helped him throughout his search.
From the opening scenes where Harvey was being tortured for information, I knew I was in for a compelling read. This book brought out so many emotions, whether it was Harvey fighting for his life or receiving shocking news, I was committed to the story. The supernatural element of the story involving psychic ability made this story more than a regular mystery. Reading about the Spider” He crawled into my mind” ”He was inside me, scurrying along my memories and dreams” As I was reading these scenes, they felt so sinister, and you could imagine the creepy sensation having someone go through your mind looking for clues.
This was a story that I was rooting for the good guy, and a story that gave me a book hangover, whilst I read into the night. I didn’t want real life to interrupt my reading. This is a new to me author and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I will look out for more from this author.
thosedarkpages's review against another edition
3.0
Keywords and phrases to describe this read:
• Intriguing
• Slow-burner
• Original
• Missing that WOW factor
• Intriguing
• Slow-burner
• Original
• Missing that WOW factor
mikaelasheaf's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
heatherrose_'s review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0