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Adult Book of the Month

Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson
Published by Doubleday in 2011

Memories define us.
So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep?
Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love - all forgotten overnight.
And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story.
Welcome to Christine's life.

After surviving what she believes was a car crash, Christine developed a form of amnesia which causes all of her memories to be erased whenever she goes to sleep. She wakes up each morning unable to remember any details of her life and relies on her husband Ben to tell her who she is.

Encouraged by her neurologist to keep a secret journal to record what Ben tells her each day, she realizes that Ben has concealed certain key facts from her. Why? Is he trying to protect her or has he something to hide? And is Dr Nash’s therapy working and is he being completely honest with her? As she attempts to piece together the events of her past, she uncovers some terrifying truths that force her to question everyone and everything around her.

Before I Go to Sleep is a tense psychological thriller set in a very ordinary domestic situation. And it is the sheer ordinariness of it all that makes this story so scary. If we lost our memory, how would we know who to trust? This novel will keep readers guessing until the final sentence.

The film version of Before I Go to Sleep, starring Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth opened in Irish cinemas on September 5.

Before I Go To Sleep has become a phenomenal international success, it has now sold over 4 million copies in over 40 languages around the world. It is a New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller, and won both the Crime Writers' Association Award for Best Debut Novel and the Galaxy National Book Award for Crime Thriller of the Year.

S J Watson was born in the English Midlands and lives in London. Before I Go to Sleep is his first novel. His new novel, Second Life, will be published in February 2015.

‘The summer’s single most suspenseful plot belongs to BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP. . . . pure page-turner.’ New York Times

Before I Go to Sleep is an enjoyable and impressive first novel. Like the best of its thematic predecessors, it is also an affecting moral allegory: don't forget your loved ones. Or else.’ The Independent