You Will Remember Me by Hannah Mary McKinnon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Thank you to the publisher, Mira Books, for providing me with an ARC of You Will Remember Me in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
The Gist
I had the pleasure of reading McKinnon’s previous book Sister Dear last year, I believe. So, when I found she had a new story ready to hit the shelf I was quite excited to get my hands on a copy.
This is only my second book by McKinnon, but I am starting to sense a theme to her stories, especially the type of atmosphere she likes to create. Don’t worry, I won’t spoil anything. Just be prepared.
I kept thinking back to Emily Brontë’s introductory note to her novel Wuthering Heights, warning the reader that no smile will pass their lips when reading this story.
Yeah, that’s a pretty good summary of McKinnon’s stories.
The Details
You Will Remember Me has an interesting structure. It intrigued me greatly because we jump right into the story. No fluff or prologue-type introduction chapter. There is a continuous flow, without any dragging parts or sections that seem rushed or ignored. It worked.
Another point I found interesting was the author’s decision to tell the story from three different points of view. Yup. Not two, but three. It gave the story a perspective and an angle I haven’t seen much before.
We have these three protagonists who all have their own problems, and we are never quite sure who fully speaks the truth. If they speak it at all. We start to wonder, ponder and begin to put the puzzle pieces together to figure out how this will all end.
I can’t say with complete certainty that I liked any of the characters, but they are dimensional enough to make this story work; to keep my attention; and to feel for them.
This is not an easy task, since I usually need some sort of emotional connection with at least one character to motivate me enough to finish the book.
Just another comment on the writing. Besides it being fast-paced and able to keep the story at a steady pace, the descriptions of the scenery, the setting and the language used did a fantastic job painting vivid images in my imagination while reading the story.
The Verdict
You Will Remember Me wasn’t so much a rollercoaster ride, but a steady unfolding of intrigue and mystery with a great background and enough secrets to keep the reader guessing until the last page.
Overall, I thought it was a perfect summer mystery read and I would definitely recommend it.
