#BookReview :: Everything She Forgot by Lisa Ballantyne

Everything She Forgot by Lisa Ballantyne

Book Tour: September 14 - October 17, 2015

Book Details:

Genre: Suspense
Published by: William Morrow Paperbacks
Publication Date: October 6, 2015
Number of Pages: 432
ISBN: 0062391488 (13: 978-0062391483)

Driving home, Margaret Holloway is rear-ended and trapped in the wreckage of her car. Just as she begins to panic, a stranger pulls her free and disappears. Though she escapes with minor injuries, Margaret feels that something's wrong. Flashbacks to the crash are dredging up lost associations from her childhood. And somehow, Margaret knows that it's got something to do with the man who saved her life. As Margaret uncovers a mystery with chilling implications for her family and her very identity, Everything She Forgot winds through a riveting dual narrative and asks the question: How far would you go to hide the truth-from yourself?

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Critical Praise:
“Ballantyne’s effortless prose took me across the Atlantic and didn’t let me return until its surprising and satisfying conclusion. A tight story that comes full circle and keeps you reading.” — Bryan Reardon, author of Finding Jake

My Review:

Margaret Holloway seemed to have a normal life – worrying about normal things while driving back home. But getting rear-ended and being part of a pile and then miraculously saved from it, changed her life forever. While she did walk out of the pile up with the help of a stranger, something changes within her and she starts remembering things from her past. Taking the story back to 1985, we are taken for a ride within the plot… 

It is really difficult to write this review without divulging any spoilers. So let me just get to the points about what I liked and what I did not enjoy as much in the story.

First off, the plot of the story was quite interesting. I did find it to be engaging and quite well plotted. However, after all the hype that surrounded this book, I did feel a bit let down. The mystery part was so easy to guess and did not feel like a mystery at all. What I picked up as a mystery / thriller, turned out to be more of a drama. The author writes her stories well. There is no doubt about that. The language is light and easy to get into and the languid pace set up the stage for the drama to take place. The story is presented through multiple points of views and that complements the plot well. The characterization on the other hand would get full marks from me. I enjoyed reading about and getting to know each and every character in the book. Margaret is the kind of protagonist a reader automatically wants to know more about. She keeps you curious and engrossed in her story.

The selling points of the book however are the issues that it covers. They are all quite serious and needs to be talked about and spread awareness about. Interestingly, I have often felt strongly about the nature vs nurture subject and as such the book really had my attention.


To round it up, I did not that the book was as good as I heard about it… But a good book nonetheless. You will not regret picking it up.

Author Bio:
Lisa Ballantyne was born in Armadale, West Lothian, Scotland and studied English Literature at University of St Andrews. She lived and worked in China for many years and started writing seriously while she was there. Before being published, Lisa was short-listed for the Dundee International Book Prize. Her debut novel, The Guilty One was translated into over 25 languages, long-listed for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and short-listed for an Edgar Allan Poe Award. The Guilty One was also the Autumn 2012 Richard and Judy Book-club Winner. She lives in Glasgow.


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