Remembering That Night

Remembering That Night By Stephanie Doyle

Greg Chalmers is a human lie detector.  Confident in his theory about the physiology of lying, he walked away from his psychology practice after he was proven fallible by one of his patients.  Afterward, his life spiraled out of control, causing him to lose his much the rest of his life to the darkness that consumed him.  A year after hitting rock bottom he knows what his weaknesses are and has surrounded himself by the people who have his back.  Then he is called in to consult on an hysterical amnesia case after a beautiful woman is picked up on the side of the road, covered in blood.  Can he keep a professional mindset when all evidence point to her guilt, but all of his instincts are tell him she is not lying?

The first memory Eliza Dunning has is being picked up by a police officer on the side of a highway covered in blood.  She doesn't remember her name, where she is from, or how she came to be where she was in the state she was in.  Desperate to unravel her own story she turns to Greg, the only person willing to believe that she truly doesn't remember anything.  As bits of her memory start to surface, and her identity is revealed, she becomes to focus of a murder investigation.  The problem is, though the facts say guilty, her gut says not.  Can she keep Greg on her side long enough for her to remember what really happened?

What this story lacks in actual romance, it makes up for in suspense and drama.  Typically, I am not enamored with or sucked into crime dramas, but this one had a great set-up.  Neither characters' story was divulged all at once, so the readers feels like two mysteries are unraveling at the same time.  It does get a little frustrating that both characters have a hard time accepting help.  Whereas, in the second book of the series the characters' independence helped build them up, this time the trait actually tears them down.  It is very painful to watch, yet you get drawn in and feel you have to.

As far as the supporting characters go, in a complete reversal to all of my previous reviews for this series, Chuck and Elaine are not a strong point in this book.  Chuck is far from likable and Elaine comes off as immature and whiny.  Their romance is believable, but lacks the yearning undertones that make a romance worthwhile.  Hopefully, by the time their story is told in full we will learn something that makes the book worth reading.

Overall, the story is well written; the characters are well fleshed; the scenarios are fantastical, yet grounded in reality.  Normally this would be a formula for a 5-star book.  Yet the supporting characters drag this one down.

Ratings:

(1=unacceptable, 2=poor, 3=acceptable, 4=good, 5=excellent)

Continuity/Flow – 5

Sex – 4 

Language – 3 

Storyline – 4

Overall – 4