Review--That's Not My Name by Megan Lally

 

She thought she had her life back. She was wrong. It was a mistake to trust him.

Shivering and bruised, a teen wakes up on the side of a dirt road with no memory of how she got there―or who she is. A passing officer takes her to the police station, and not long after, a frantic man arrives. He's been searching for her for hours. He has her school ID, her birth certificate, and even family photos. He is her father. Her name is Mary. Or so he says.

When Lola slammed the car door and stormed off into the night, Drew thought they just needed some time to cool off. Except Lola disappeared, and the sheriff, his friends, and the whole town are convinced Drew murdered his girlfriend. Forget proving his innocence, he needs to find her before it's too late. The longer Lola is missing, the fewer leads there are to follow…and the more danger they both are in.

I picked up Megan Lally’s That’s Not My Name when I was in the mood for a thriller with creepy vibes and this one hit on all the marks! It was downright terrifying and mysterious to boot! This was a read that held me riveted and I devoured in a very short amount of time all things considered! It was purely unputdownable!

The story begins from a teenage girl’s point of view who awakens in a forest with no idea where she is, what had happened to her, and who she even is. She manages to stumble upon a police officer who takes her to the station where not too long after, a man claiming to be her father rushes to her side having looked all over for her.

Meanwhile, we get another point of view, from a teenage boy named Drew who is in hot water when his girlfriend, Lola, has gone missing and he was the last one to see her. The whole town, including the sheriff, thinks he’s behind her disappearance, yet he’s been working tirelessly to try to find her with putting up posters everywhere and aching to do something. We quickly learn he’s riddled with guilt over something that happened the last time he was with Lola. He’s determined to find her regardless and bring her back home and hopefully help clear his name and get everyone in town off his back.

We soon get back to the girl with no memory of who she is and is found by her father at the police station of yet another small town. It’s revealed that she is Mary Boone and she had a car accident while following her father to their cabin in the woods while their house undergoes some renovations. Now, the deputy in charge does do some due diligence and check out the man, Wayne, who claims he is the father of Mary and when all checks out, he leaves her in her father’s care. But, poor Mary, continues to struggle with her memories and piece together what happened to her up to her accident.

This book was quite chilling and a bit telling too if you know what to look for. I can say that I was still taken completely off guard with this book but there was a very sinister vibe happening throughout. I didn’t puzzle together all the whys of what was going on, but some predictions were pretty close! But holy cow, was this book good! You just knew by that cover and blurb that things were creepy and not all that right and as the puzzle pieces were slowly coming together, I was still taken completely by surprise with what transpired!

I can’t remember the last time a book had my heart quite literally racing! As I was reading the last few chapters of this book, just wow. I had chills and could not get my heart to settle! It was intense and quite terrifying when you really think about it! I thought I had this book all figured out, what with one or two things still presenting a mystery to me and yet, I was still completely thrown when all was revealed! It was shocking!

I went through various emotions and feelings with this book! It was quite the rollercoaster of emotions for sure! I was left shaking by the end of it all. We do get a sense of finality with this one with just a hint of wonder, but not anything cliffhanger like. Just the…”what’s next for these characters?” kind of wonder. I felt like this book went very real with the characters and how they would react in this kind of scenario. Sure some things might have been a little out there but fit right at home in a book or movie, lol. But the actual emotional reactions of these characters felt very real. It was a deeply moving kind of read in that way.

If you’re looking for a thriller to truly grip and possibly terrify you and leave you with the child, then I highly recommend Megan Lally’s debut, That’s Not My Name! You will not be disappointed!

 

Overall Rating 5/5 stars