DON'T Forget this!

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HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Grip lit. Domestic suspense. Suburban noir. Psychological suspense. Readers are devouring it! (Luckily for me….)  Twisty plots, relatable (if vulnerable) characters, deception, manipulation, gaslighting—no one can be trusted. Well, it’s my favorite kind of book. (Luckily for me…)

And one of my current favorite favorite books was written by a favorite favorite author, the brilliant Jessica Strawser. I truly don’t know how she does it—writer, editor, mom, wife and all around amazing woman.

It’s called Forget You Know Me, and it begins with a video chat. Think about that. What might the other person see happening in your life—that they’re not supposed to see? I ask you—is that a brilliant idea or what?

Jessica’s on book tour of course, but she and I chatted before her whirlwind began. But she’ll pop in today of course, and maybe we can get her to tell the story of the person who emailed her about her hair.

HANK: Welcome, Jessica! I completely LOVED the opening premise. (In fact, let me admit, I was grumpy with myself for not having thought of it.)  Plus it was so realistic and so plausible—did something like that really happen to you?

JESSICA STRAWSER: When the idea for this book came to me, it was ONLY that opening scene (and not from real life, thank goodness, but from the mysterious ether of my overactive imagination). Typically my stories grow from a central question or theme I've been mulling over for a long time—years—and I then debate where exactly the pages should begin. It was quite different to start from such a vivid picture, from such a specific point at time, so much so that I resisted at first. But the idea grabbed me and would not let go, I think because of exactly the lure you mentioned: 10 different writers could start with that scene and write 10 very different stories of what happens next. And I'd like to read them all.

HANK: Oh, that's a great idea. (Should we edit an anthology, hmmm?) (Seriously.) (It's a good idea.) (In our spare time.) I know we don't want any spoilers, but tell us a bit about your book!

JESSICA STRAWSER: Yes! Look for the sequel, No Seriously Really Forget You Know Me This Time, just as soon as we uncover this mysterious “spare time” of which you speak!

The story opens when two long-distance best friends, Molly and Liza, are trying to reconnect over a video chat, and the webcam captures a heart-stopping moment no one was meant to see. Liza jumps into action, willing to do anything to help her friend—but is hurt when Molly’s response is icy, raising more questions than answers. 

Through the alternating perspectives of Liza, Molly, and Molly’s husband, Daniel, we’ll soon learn the secrets that have been driving them all apart. But whose confessions hold the answer to what really happened that night? And—at the heart of it all—when a friendship or a marriage gets this close to the brink, can anything pull it back?

HANK: Because Jessica is being modest,  and so you can know a bit more about the story, here’s what it says in the promo materials:

In the next “masterful” (Publishers Weekly) novel from "the gifted Jessica Strawser" (Adriana Trigiani)--a video call between friends captures a shocking incident no one was supposed to see.

The secrets it exposes threaten to change their lives forever.

Molly and Liza have always been enviably close. Even after Molly married Daniel, the couple considered Liza an honorary family member. But after Liza moved away, things grew more strained than anyone wanted to admit―in the friendship and the marriage.

When Daniel goes away on business, Molly and Liza plan to reconnect with a nice long video chat after the kids are in bed. But then Molly leaves the room to check on a crying child.

What Liza sees next will change everything.

Only one thing is certain: Molly needs her. Liza drives all night to be at Molly’s side―but when she arrives, the reception is icy, leaving Liza baffled and hurt. She knows there’s no denying what she saw.

Or is there?

In disbelief that their friendship could really be over, Liza is unaware she’s about to have a near miss of her own.

And Molly, refusing to deal with what’s happened, won’t turn to Daniel, either.

But none of them can go on pretending. Not after this.

Forget You Know Me is a “twisty, emotionally complex, powder keg of a tale” (bestselling author Emily Carpenter) about the wounds of people who’ve grown apart. Best friends, separated by miles. Spouses, hardened by neglect. A mother, isolated by pain.

One moment will change things for them all.

HANK:  Ooh, right? Jessica, there's a thread of "best friends" in the book--how much do you think "best friends" matter in our lives, and why was that interesting to you? Adult friendships are so—complicated.

JESSICA STRAWSER:  I’m reaching a stage of middle life, I suppose, where I find myself observing how drastically friendships can change over time—sometimes through nothing more than circumstance—but also how important they are, in spite of the fact that we sometimes give them a backseat to spouses and children and the general busy-ness of life.

I’ve written about close friends in all of my novels—I like to think of characters in terms of their relationships, and friendships are particularly interesting because they can be so influential but also so malleable. 

In this one I wanted to follow not just friends but also spouses who have a lot of history, a lot of love, but aside from that haven’t been very honest with each other, or themselves, about what’s going on in their minds—enough that they’ve broken the tight seal of that bond.

I know a lot of people grappling with that sort of gray area, wondering whether they can reverse a relationship that’s falling apart. It was fun to give these characters something that forces them to stop brushing things under the rug and confront each other, for better or worse.

HANK:   Not giving it away--but did you know the ending before you started? How do you want your readers to feel?

JESSICA STRAWSER: I knew the very basic ending but not how I would get there, or—key in this particular novel—what it would feel like when I did. I’m always leery to say how I want readers to feel (it’s up to them, not me!). But I do like stories that leave me thinking about them hours and days after I’ve turned the last page, so it’s always a compliment to hear I’ve achieved that.

HANK: So, Reds and readers, are you as enthralled with this kind of book as I am? I love that these conflict happen to real people, in real situations, that the stories are riveting and chilling—but entirely  plausible. How well do we know the people around us?

Do you read domestic suspense? (Or what do you call it?) Tell us your favorites—it’d be great to have some reading suggestions!

And a copy of FORGET YOU KNOW ME to one lucky commenter!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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Jessica Strawser (jessicastrawser.com) is editor-at-large at Writer’s Digest, where she was editorial director for nearly a decade. She’s the author of the book club favorites Almost Missed You and Not That I Could Tell, a 2018 Book of the Month selection and Barnes & Noble Best New Fiction pick. Her third novel, Forget You Know Me, is out this week from St. Martin’s Press. She has written for The New York Times Modern Love, Publishers Weekly and other fine venues, and is a popular speaker at writing conferences. She lives with her husband and two children in Cincinnati, where she is currently serving as the 2019 Writer-in-Residence for the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. Connect with her on Twitter @jessicastrawser, Facebook @jessicastrawserauthor and Instagram at @jessicastrawserauthor.