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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
readernath's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
bmaciejkow's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
beverleyleeauthor's review against another edition
5.0
It's been a while since I read a twisty supernatural thriller and this genre-bending story had me turning the pages quickly to find out what happened next.
Harvey Anderson is a peace loving street performer, catapulted into a situation where a girl he can't remember puts him on the radar of a particularly nasty group of thugs, led by 'The Spider.' All that is left in his head is one tattered memory, and with this shred Harvey has two choices, one of which will put his life (and the lives of those he loves) in danger.
Imagine a book that is the love child of Joe Hill and Dean Koontz, and you have this. The characters were all incredibly well developed and the writing style so fluid it's very easy to be swept along.
There are brutal scenes. There are touching scenes. But all are handled exceptionally well. There's a care here, a writer who understands his story and the humanity within it. Pick this one up, you won't be disappointed.
Many thanks to Titan Books for the review copy and for putting this author on my radar.
Harvey Anderson is a peace loving street performer, catapulted into a situation where a girl he can't remember puts him on the radar of a particularly nasty group of thugs, led by 'The Spider.' All that is left in his head is one tattered memory, and with this shred Harvey has two choices, one of which will put his life (and the lives of those he loves) in danger.
Imagine a book that is the love child of Joe Hill and Dean Koontz, and you have this. The characters were all incredibly well developed and the writing style so fluid it's very easy to be swept along.
There are brutal scenes. There are touching scenes. But all are handled exceptionally well. There's a care here, a writer who understands his story and the humanity within it. Pick this one up, you won't be disappointed.
Many thanks to Titan Books for the review copy and for putting this author on my radar.
sjgomzi's review against another edition
5.0
I’m not going to say much, because the less you know the better when going into this book. What I am going to say is go online or run to your nearest book seller and find this book and read it. Go. Enjoy! And you can thank me later. 😉