This book did not have the effect on me that I think it was supposed to. It's presented as a thriller but I wasn't thrilled at all. Usually with thrillers I find myself unable to put them down, this was not the case with this book, in fact I found it hard to continue because I just wasn't bothered about the ending. I found some of the language made me cringe and was unrealistic along with some of the characters actions. I thought the depiction of Emily-Jane was purely that of an older woman describing a young girl without actually talking to one in real life to find out what they were like. This made the parts of the book that were in Emily-Janes voice unbelievable. The descriptions of the business were confusing and overly descriptive to the point it didn't help to have them there. On a purely personal level I did not like the inclusion of the covid-19 pandemic having occurred. I like fiction to provide an alternate vision and frankly I just don't want to have the very real awful pandemic brought up when I'm reading a fictional story. More than anything I thought a lot of it was predictable and not thrilling in the slightest because I didn't care about the characters or what was happening to any real extent.

Remember My Name is a compelling, gripping novel filled with surprises. The characters in the novel are a mixture of likeable and unlikeable. I was drawn to Brioni O’Brien who is a fabulous character. Her job and knowledge are fascinating and her thoroughness and loyalty are both excellent traits. Main character Cressida wasn’t what I expected at all, which was a pleasant surprise. She shocked me with her to-do attitude. Two strong female characters who I enjoyed following! Sam Blake has a real way with words and I was glued to the writing right from the start. The pace was fairly fast and I definitely had a burning desire to power through the novel to find out what was happening. The integration of references to covid and the lockdowns make the story feel very relevant. The talk of ‘last year’, the impact(s) on businesses, being cooped up together in the house, are all still relevant and in the forefront of our memories. I felt added an extra element of realism to the world I found myself reading of, whilst also not being too overwhelming given the current situation. The constant developments kept me engaged and layer upon layer of intrigue was consistently being added to the plot. The novel definitely keeps you on your toes and you never know what to expect when you turn the page!

"If she'd turned off her phone, instead of listening in, perhaps no one would have died..." is a strong opening line which introduces us to speech therapist Cressida Howard, who hires security expert Brioni O'Brien to investigate Laurence (Cressida's entrepreneurial husband) and his suspected infidelity with a woman called Nina. However, instead of a speedy and financially rewarding divorce for Cressida, Brioni uncovers more than simple infidelity as someone comes after the women in Laurence's life. The narrative perspective shifts to a different character in each chapter, which helps to keep you entrenched in the story; there's also detailed description to add depth to the protagonists on the page and the backdrop of a wintry Ireland is a fitting setting for a novel that promises to take a chilling turn when Brioni goes further into her investigation...

I was a huge fan of Sam Blake’s debut novel, Little Bones, but have found her output ever since rather underwhelming and whilst Remember My Name is basically a solid crime novel, it requires a real stretch of the imagination to classify it as a thriller. Cressida Howard has spent more than half her life with husband, Laurence, who started out in his family hotel business and has since gone on to make millions as founder and CEO of Ferryman (a one-stop platform for lifestyle choices). Despite having previously suspected him of infidelity it is only when she overhears his end of the conversation with a woman called Nina that she hires cyber security whizz, Brioni O’Brien, to gather hard evidence to ensure she gets her fair share in a divorce. The synopsis makes clear that Laurence is up to a whole lot more than simple infidelity and is involved with some dangerous people and underhand tactics including blackmailing his co-founder’s into voting in favour of a tie up with a disreputable American mobile operator. Brioni has barely digested the blackmail revelation let alone gathered evidence of infidelity when Laurence is hit by a series of personal attacks targeting both the women close to him and the Ferryman share price. Brioni’s Met detective brother-in-law has the (unlikely) ability to access the information of the investigating Gardaí and helpfully relay the findings. The narrative is largely split between the perspectives of Brioni and Cressida with occasional interludes from Cressida’s seventeen-year-old daughter, Emily-Jane, whose brief appearances hint tantalisingly at a feisty crusader on a mission of her own. Whilst Brioni has an abundance of personality, Cressida’s is negligible and this did nothing to encourage me to care about her fate. If she had shown a fraction of the spunk of the all too briefly glimpsed Emily-Jane then I suspect I would have been far more invested in the outcome. The book covers nearly four hundred pages and within fifty pages it is established that Laurence lacks any sort of loyalty and is willing to do almost anything in his pursuit of wealth. The reader bears witness to the blackmail attempt and knowing this made quite a lot of what the two women unravel pretty obvious from very early on with Sam Blake joining all of the dots for readers instead of trusting them with the obvious and self-explanatory (which almost all of the reveals are). I’m no detective but found the lack of smoke and mirrors made what was going on fairly transparent from the off. There is also a great deal of filler material as well as extraneous details on the character of Brioni which slows the pace and I found the book too laboured, over-long and wildly far-fetched to be anything other than a mediocre read.

When Brioni O’Brien agreed to help Cressida Howard find evidence that her husband was cheating on her, she had no idea what she was signing up to. Laurence Howard is the CEO of lifestyle conglomerate Ferryman, and if what Brioni has discovered is correct, he is also quite the ladies’ man as well as a deeply unscrupulous businessman. With blackmail, data selling, blackmail and possibly murder all coming to light, Cressida and Brioni have their hands full trying to untangle the web of lies and deception. This is not the most revolutionary murder mystery/thriller of the decade. However, having said that, I found it to be a solid story, very compelling and surprisingly fun. There are a surprising amount of threads which all come together quite nicely in the end. I started to get worried halfway through that it wouldn't all work and that there were just too many mini storylines, however I felt that by the end the story as a whole really did create one big picture. I enjoyed the setting a fair amount, Laurence’s tangles work / social life was very interesting and the rural setting of Brioni’s cabin was lovely. The contrast of city and country add a nice element to the story. I think that if you like quick thrillers, this is an enjoyable story. There are exciting elements, fun twists and interesting implications. Sam Blake has a good way of writing the world we know in a reasonably familiar way without being boring. Not my top read of the year (or month) but I did enjoy this, and would read more from Sam Blake in the future. I would recommend this to those who enjoyed the Dark Room, fans of Megan Miranda and Kate Atkinson.