If you’ve been around here for a while, you probably already know that I love Freida McFadden. She may actually be my favorite author at this point. Her books are just so easy to read, and I mean that in the best possible way. They pull me in quickly, keep me guessing, and usually have me saying, “Okay, just one more chapter” until I’ve read way more than I planned.
I also love picking up a Freida book after I’ve finished something heavier. Her books are the perfect palate cleanser when I want something fast-paced, twisty, and entertaining without having to work too hard for it.
Do You Remember? by Freida McFadden definitely checked those boxes for me. The whole premise immediately had me wondering who Tess could trust and, maybe more importantly, whether we could trust anything Tess believed herself.
Tess Strebel can’t recognize her own face.
She can’t recognize her home. Her bedroom is unfamiliar. And she can’t remember the handsome stranger lying next to her in bed. A stranger who claims he’s her husband.
Tess reads a letter in her own handwriting, composed during a rare lucid day, explaining her life as it now exists: She was in a terrible car accident one year ago. Every morning, she wakes up unable to remember most of the last decade. Including her own wedding.
Tess has no choice but to accept her new life and hope her memory will return. After all, why should she doubt the letter she wrote to herself? Or the kind man from the wedding photos on her dresser who seems to genuinely care about her well-being?
And then Tess receives a text message on her phone. One that changes everything:
“Don’t trust the man who calls himself your husband.”
My Thoughts on Do You Remember?
First of all, can you imagine waking up every single morning and basically having to start your life over?
Tess has lost most of the last 10 years of her memories, so every morning she wakes up thinking about the life she remembers. And that life includes her fiancé, Harry.
Except Harry isn’t her fiancé anymore.
Instead, she wakes up next to Graham, a man she doesn’t recognize who tells her that he is her husband.
As awful as the situation is for Tess, I also really felt for Graham. Imagine waking up every morning next to your wife and having to explain to her, all over again, who you are. She doesn’t remember your relationship, your wedding, or the life you’ve built together. Some days are better than others, but we go through nearly a week of watching Tess wake up confused and scared, trying to piece together a life she doesn’t remember.
And then things start getting even stranger.
Tess begins finding notes and messages, including warnings written on her own skin. Suddenly, she has to wonder whether the people around her are actually trying to help her or whether someone is deliberately keeping her in the dark.
And of course, because this is Freida McFadden, I started questioning everyone.
Can we believe Graham?
Is Camila actually a good person?
What about Harry? Is her ex-fiancé trying to interfere with her life, or is there more to that story?
And can we even trust Tess when Tess can’t trust her own memory?
That was probably my favorite part of the book. You’re experiencing everything through someone who has no idea what happened yesterday, which makes it almost impossible to know which clues actually matter.
And Then Comes the Freida Twist…
Spoiler warning: I’m going to hint at the ending here, so skip this section if you haven’t read it yet!
I had a feeling part of the ending was going to go the way it did. There were definitely things that made me suspicious, and I was pretty proud of myself for thinking I had figured Freida out.
But, of course, I hadn’t.
Because just when you think you know what is happening, Freida throws in another major twist that changes the way you look at Tess’s situation.
We discover that Tess’s health isn’t exactly what she has been led to believe, and Graham’s inability to let go has played a much bigger role in her life than she realizes. I won’t spell out every detail because this is one of those books where discovering what is really happening is half the fun.
I’ll just say that the ending definitely gave me that classic Freida McFadden moment of, “Wait…WHAT?”
And that is exactly why I keep reading her books.
Final Thoughts
Do You Remember? was another quick, twisty Freida McFadden read for me. I loved the premise, especially the idea that Tess has to wake up every morning and figure out who she can trust without being able to rely on her own memories.
Was it completely believable? Maybe not. But honestly, that isn’t really what I’m looking for when I pick up a Freida book. I want something entertaining. I want short chapters. I want to question everybody. And I definitely want a twist that makes me rethink what I just read.
This one delivered.
If you love psychological thrillers with unreliable narrators, questionable husbands, missing memories, and plenty of “who can I actually trust?” moments, Do You Remember? is definitely worth adding to your list.
And if you’re already a Freida McFadden fan like me, you probably don’t need much convincing anyway.