Losing Sleep Over Before I Go to Sleep by SJ Watson

I was looking for a thriller: A tale of mystery and suspense, preferably with a surprise ending. I found this article on Buzzfeed that lists 41 of the most suspenseful books you’ll ever read. Before I Go To Sleep was 2nd on the list. I read the synopsis and knew I had to read this book as I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The synopsis goes something like this:

Christine is 40 years old but she can’t remember the last few years of her life. She remembers her childhood and her teenage years but after that: nothing. She wakes up every morning next to a man that says that he is her husband, Ben. She receives a call from a neurologist, Dr. Nasch that says he is a doctor at a local hospital that is helping her regain her memory. He reminds her about a journal she keeps hidden in the closet. She finds the journal and opens the front cover to find the words: “Don’t trust Ben”.

Intrigued yet?

I’m not going to give too much away but I thoroughly enjoyed Before I Go To Sleep. And by enjoyed I mean I was absolutely terrified and concerned for Christine from beginning to end. The novel is written in a first-person narrative and you get to experience what it would be like not to have any recollection of the previous day or even the last few years. It also means that you have to piece together bits of information of Christine’s life as she does: slowly. Christine has to read her journal every day to catch up with what happened in her life.

I bought the movie-cover edition of the novel, which means that I didn’t get to imagine what the characters would look like but it could have been worse. Imagining Colin Firth as Ben was not terrible. The movie also stars Nicole Kidman as Christine and Mark Strong as Dr. Nasch. I have yet to see the movie, if you have let me know what you thought?

Before I Go To Sleep reminded me of Gone Girl. If you liked Gone Girl, then definitely read Before I Go To Sleep and if you didn’t then read Before I Go To Sleep anyway. It’s a well-written thriller that not only casts a closer look at memory loss and what effect memory has on our relationships but will also have you wondering whether to really trust Ben.