The Memory Thief

The Memory Thief

Emily Colin

Genre: Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads):  Reminiscent of On Mystic Lake by Kristin Hannah, readers will adore Emily Colin’s unique and beautifully written debut novel, where one man’s promise to return drives an exquisitely passionate, unforgettable tale of love lost and found.

When Madeleine Kimble’s husband Aiden dies in a mountain climbing accident, Maddie can only think of his earnest promise to return to her and their young son. Aiden’s best friend J.C. feels great remorse over his inability to save him, but J.C.’s grief is also seasoned with the guilt of loving Maddie through the years. Meanwhile, across the country another young man wakes up in a hospital and finds that his memories have been wiped clean, and replaced with haunting dreams of a beautiful woman and a five year old boy whom he feels driven to find. What Nicholas Sullivan discovers upon his journey is utterly unexpected—and it will change all of their lives, especially Maddie’s.

Review: Perhaps I just wasn't in the right mood to read this book, but I found it somewhat slow and a little bizarre. SPOILER ALERT: The synopsis states that Nicholas has "haunting dreams", but in reality, he is basically possessed by Aiden following Aiden's death, which leads to some unbelievable situations.  Although I'm not normally interested in books about supernatural events, I might have enjoyed the novelty of this situation if it wasn't for the unrealistic and unlikeable behavior of the main characters.  I sympathized with Maddie's feelings towards J.C., since I thought he was a much better person than Aiden, but her behavior on the night of Aiden's funeral was just wrong and caused me to lose respect for her as a character.

Rating: 3 stars