Reviews - Before I Go to Sleep

4.27k reviews for:

Before I Go to Sleep

S.J. Watson

3.74 AVERAGE

teigancollins's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

bthramer's review against another edition

2.0

"There are memories I am better off without. Things better lost forever."

wonceuponatime's review against another edition

4.0

Oh, how to keep someone under your absolute control? You have to mess with their mind. Add a traumatic brain injury, where that person can't remember anything for more than 24 hours (other than basic functions, and events from early childhood), and the victim is certainly in quite a pickle! Is she having a memory, something she created in her own mind or dreams, or remembering something that someone else told her over and over until it seems real? This book kept me engaged -- I wanted to find out for sure what was going on! I kind of felt like the ending was too neat, but that is really my only complaint. A great thriller!

gracelfc66's review against another edition

4.75

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

seawoodwrites's review against another edition

4.0

Creeeeepy. Really paranoia-inducing, particularly in the first 60% or so. It does start to telegraph the ending a bit by 75%, rather like a film, but that's ok...part of you doesn't want to believe it's so awful so you can suspend disbelief (something I find very hard to do and it's a sign of the good writing that that was possible). Actually the most horrifying aspect for me is the reminder that people can and do fall through cracks in the care system. What happens to Christine, whilst unusual in that she's relatively young and has a rare set of circumstances, could certainly happen to someone with dementia or any other memory-chewing disorder who isn't able to have friends and relatives close by. Chilling stuff. If you enjoyed this it's worth reading the biography of amnesiac Clive Wearing, "Forever Today" by Deborah Wearing, one of the books which inspired this novel - you will certainly recognise his condition here and I think it's well dramatised by SJ Watson.

sarahloubooks's review against another edition

3.0

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

This book was fine as mystery thrillers go but to be honest I probably won't remember it in a years time. The suspense was there, but it's always clear to me when men write female characters and I'm not sure this really worked. For a character whose brain supposedly rest in her sleep every night she certainly seemed to settle back into the plot very quickly everyday. I accept the plot needed to keep moving but I just didn't buy it myself.