Title: Forget Me Not
Author: Vicki Hinze
Publisher: WaterBrook Press
Publication Date: March 16, 2010
Paperback: 342 pages
ISBN: 978-1601422057
Genre: Fiction, Suspense

and 1/2

From the Publisher:
A mother who cannot face her future.
THEIR ELUSIVE ENEMIES TOOK EVERYTHING. NOW THEY WANT MORE.

Crossroads Crisis Center owner Benjamin Brandt was a content man—in his faith, his work, and his family. Then in a flash, everything he loved was snatched away. His wife and son were murdered, and grief-stricken Ben lost faith. Determination to find their killers keeps him going, but after three years of dead ends and torment, his hope is dying too. Why had he survived? He’d failed to protect his family.

Now, a mysterious woman appears at Crossroads seeking answers and help—a victim who eerily resembles Ben’s deceased wife, Susan. A woman robbed of her identity, her life, of everything except her faith—and Susan’s necklace.

The connections between the two women mount, exceeding coincidence, and to keep the truth hidden, someone is willing to kill. Finding out who and why turns Ben and the mystery woman’s situation from dangerous to deadly. Their only hope for survival is to work together, trust each other, and face whatever they discover head on, no matter how painful. But will that be enough to save their lives and heal their tattered hearts?

My Review:

When a prologue has the ability to command the reader’s full attention and leave the reader no choice but to continue reading the novel without a single pause, that is usually the mark of a well-written novel and Forget Me Not by Vicki Hinze is indeed that sort of novel. The beginning of the novel is quite a mystery; the reader is introduced to all the key players and a fair amount of unknowns. A woman is being warned that NINA is after her and she must once again vanish, but before she could, she was carjacked and left for dead in the woods. A nearby resident to the woods, Clyde Parker, saw headlights and decided to investigate as he stumbles upon this woman who has no recollection of who she is, but does have a card on her for Crossroads, a local crisis center with the name Susan written on the back. She further learns she is in Seagrove, Florida, which terrifies her and she does not know why. She convinces Clyde to take her to the local Crossroads Crisis Center rather than the local hospital where she sees a portrait of a woman, her exact likeness, named Susan Brandt. She is elated until she notices this woman has been declared deceased for 3 years. Benjamin Brandt, the owner of the Crossroads Crisis Center has been reluctantly called in. Since his wife Susan and son Christopher we murdered 3 years ago, he has been rather reluctant to be involved and unfortunately in the last three years many have claimed to know who murdered his family or have claimed to be Susan, all for monetary gain. When he discovers this mysterious woman is wearing his deceased wife’s necklace, Benjamin becomes even more enraged. Peggy Crane, the head of the crisis center and also Susan Brandt’s best friend is able to calm Benjamin down and the center comes up with a solution to keep the mystery woman safe until they can either discover her identity or her memory returns. Meanwhile, Gregory Chessman, who is believed to be an upstanding philanthropist and above suspicion is a murderer and is looking for this woman through an extensive network of contacts. Why is he after this woman? Who is she and why are two of Gregory’s men trying to set him up? Forget Me Not is a brilliant suspense thriller that will keep the reader turning the pages, trying to solve the web of secrets and untangle the crosses and double crosses. Hinze weaves in a Christian influence, which is not at all peachy, but rather adds a delightful characteristic to the mystery woman, giving her a self assured confidence about who she is, even if she cannot recall her name or anything about her life. Forget Me Not is the first novel in the Crossroads Crisis Center series and I anxiously await the second in the series. I would recommend this novel to any reader looking for an excellent mystery/suspense thriller.

About the Author:

Vicki Hinze is an award-winning author of twenty-three novels, three nonfiction books, and hundreds of articles. Selected for Who’s Who in America in 2004 as a writer and educator, Hinze is active in Romance Writers of America and serves as a Vice President on the International Thriller Writers Board of Directors. Vicki lives in Florida with her artist husband, a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel. Visit www.vickihinze.com to learn more about Vicki’s books, blogs, and writing programs.

I received a complimentary copy of Forget Me Not by Vicki Hinze from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.