“I do not remember my name.” The book Forget My Name starts with this sentence. A person’s name plays a significant role in their life. Therefore, forgetting one’s own name is the same as losing a significant page of one’s life. Forget My Name tells the story of an amnesiac who cannot recall any information about herself, not even her name. This psychological mystery thriller tells an unexpected story about a woman who attempts to reconnect to her missing life.

J. S. Monroe, the author of Forget My Name and more, is actually a pseudonym for Jon Stock, who has written a number of spy novels. Working as a journalist and an author, Stock contributed regularly to BBC Radio 4 and as a journalist for The Telegraph in the United Kingdom (UK). Furthermore, he worked as a columnist in Asian countries such as India. His experience in various cultures and situations is reflected in the backgrounds of his uncommon characters that capture the attention of readers.

The story in Forget My Name is delivered from a first-person point of view of a woman who cannot recall any facts about herself, including her name. She finally remembers where her house is, but upon returning, she finds that there is a married couple, Tony and Laura, living there. The couple takes care of this lost woman and decides to temporarily call her Emma. However, when they take her to a community health center for a check- up, the doctor suspects Emma to be a known psychopathic serial killer named Emma Hewitt and warns Laura about his suspicions via text message.

Monroe’s — or Stock’s — books have been highly praised for their impressive background settings and rapid plot developments, which often involve dramatic reversals. Likewise, Forget My Name includes an impressive background setting. While amnesia is mostly associated with seniors in reality, the author chose to inflict amnesia on his comparatively young fictional character. The thorough connection between amnesia and hippocampus, where memory resides, intensifies the entire story.

As the story rapidly develops, the gravity of each sentence increases considerably. The concisely and carefully written sentences cause readers to contemplate their meaning. In other words, the writing style urges readers to infer the truth behind the story with hints. Additionally, each sentence is packed with subtle psychological descriptions, such as those about Laura's fear, which comes from her suspicion about Emma’s identity, and Emma's anxiety, which comes from her being conscious of Laura's fear of her.

Moreover, the title of each chapter represents the time that has passed since the main character lost her memory — “The first day,” “The second day,” “The third day,” “The fourth day,” and “One month after.” With the temporally titled chapters, readers will more keenly feel characters' psychological changes with the passage of time.

With a distinctive background setting and an interesting variation on the subject of amnesia, the story follows Emma’s experience while she searches for her missing life. Tracking Emma’s journey, readers may find themselves exhilarated with the thrill of the story and its unexpected reversals.

Book Information

Title: Forget My Name

Author: J. S. Monroe

Publisher: Head of Zeus

Publication Year: 2018

Pages: 416