Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson

I wanted to read this book years ago. I remember going into my local bookshop about a dozen or so times and each time I'd pick it up, consider buying it before ultimately walking out again. To be honest, I completely forgot about it after that until I saw the movie trailer. It looked so good that I decided to go see it, making a vow to read the book first of course.

God I loved this book. So much so that I stayed up an extra two hours until 4 am just to finish reading it. Before I Go to Sleep tells the story of a woman who loses all her memories each night while she sleeps and so wakes up with no idea who she is. Fortunately her husband is there to tell her everything only she discovers that she's been seeing a therapist behind his back and keeping a diary which slowly reveals some startling secrets...

As a Psychology student, I was all prepared to hate this book. I'm used to the media taking liberties with Psychology but thankfully I was pleasantly surprised. Okay granted, some artistic license is taken with the way Christine's amnesia works but on the whole, it was reasonably accurate. Also I am so glad  that [HIGHLIGHT TEXT FOR SPOILERS] the therapist was not evil. That happens far too often in fiction and it just sends a bad message.

There's not really much else I can say to be honest. I did see the ending coming but only because I basically guessed every possible ending and the book was very good at creating doubt and disguising what was actually going to happen. All I can say is read it yourself. If you're looking for a good thriller that focuses very much on the characters and creating tension, you won't be disappointed.

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