Review :: Forgotten by Catherine McKenzie

Last Wednesday night, May 9th, I went to a local library to hear local author Catherine McKenzie do a reading from her new book, Forgotten (ebook) which was released on May 1st, 2012.

I've met  Catherine a few times before at event/readings for both her previous novels, Spin and Arranged.

Here is a snippet of Catherine reading in her latest novel, Forgotten.

I recently finished reading Forgotten myself. I absolutely LOVED this book. I couldn't put it down. I read it in a couple of days, which for me, is an accomplishment, with 3 kids ages 5 and younger. I was able to get lost into the book from page one, wanting to know what happened next, and how everything plays out. Forgotten is by far, my favorite novel by Catherine. It's faced paced, flows very nicely, so you can read it with ease. This is the first novel I've read in a while that I didn't predict how it would end. I usually can, about half way through the book, give an accurate guess on how it would end. While I had some ideas of what I'd like to happen, the story played out quite nicely, and it wasn't 100% predictable, which I like. This is the first novel that Catherine, a lawyer herself, has introduced a character who is a lawyer as well. This made main character Emma Tupper's character to be credible. I love that besides the stories that take place in Africa, when Emma returns back home, Catherine does not give away where "home" is, and lets the reader imagine where Emma could be living. I also enjoyed that what Emma went through, could happen to anyone, and it wasn't unrealistic at all. I give this novel a 5 star rating and recommend it to anyone looking for a great read.

From Catherine's Website :: Emma Tupper, a young lawyer with a bright future, sets out on a journey after her mother’s death: to Africa, a place her mother always wanted to visit. But her mother’s dying gift has unexpected consequences. Emma falls ill during the trip and is just recovering when a massive earthquake hits, turning her one-month vacation into a six-month ordeal.

When Emma returns home, she’s shocked to find that her friends and colleagues believed she was dead, that her apartment has been rented to a stranger and that her life has gone on without her. Can Emma pick up where she left off? Should she? As Emma struggles to recreate her old life, everyone around her thinks she should change: her job, her relationships, and even herself. But does she really want to sacrifice everything she’s working so hard to gain?