Before I Go to Sleep

A woman wakes each morning next to a man who tells her he is her husband, in a life she cannot remember, because a mysterious trauma years ago left her unable to form new memories: every night her mind wipes clean, and every day she must relearn who she is from scratch. Guided secretly by a doctor, she begins keeping a hidden journal to record what she learns before sleep erases it, and as the entries accumulate she starts to notice troubling inconsistencies in what her husband tells her, until she can no longer be sure whether the man caring for her is protecting her or deceiving her. Watson builds a taut psychological thriller on this premise, using the heroine's daily amnesia to keep both her and the reader disoriented and suspicious, doling out the truth in fragments recovered from her own journal. This suits readers who want a fast, twisty domestic thriller with an unreliable memory at its center and a mounting sense of dread. It fits less well anyone wanting deep characterization or plausible neuroscience, since the book runs on suspense and its premise strains realism. The detail that the heroine must reconstruct her entire identity each day from a secret journal, unsure whom to trust, gives the book its claustrophobic engine. Tense, propulsive, and hard to put down, it rewards readers who love being kept guessing. Those wanting realism may find the premise contrived, but the daily erasure and creeping doubt are exactly what make it so suspenseful.

Best for readers who want to be kept on edge: propulsive, twisty, and hard to put down. The prose is accessible: you can read this quickly and it never asks too much of you. It moves quickly: once you're in, it's hard to stop. Readers who prefer character depth over plot drive may find it thin.