A couple of weeks ago Aussie author, Paula Vince, won the Fiction: Religious Fiction category of the 2011 American International Book Awards with her novel titled, Picking Up the Pieces. It's an exciting time for Paula and I congratulate her on her award which will no doubt lead to a re-release of this terrific novel.
Best Forgotten by Paula Vince
Her latest book, Best Forgotten, has recently been released and is a book not to be missed.
Protagonist, Courtney Lockwood, gets amnesia when he is hit by a car. When he returns home from hospital he is confused and unsure of whether he liked the person he was before he got amnesia. When he finds out his best friend, Joel Connell, mysteriously disappears he's concerned his friend, Jasmin, and he may have had something to do with with their friend's death, but he can't think how he might have been involved in the incident.
Courtney's girlfriend, Jasmin, doesn't want to talk about their relationship before the accident and she does everything to remind him they aren't to discuss their relationship before amnesia. His parents have divorced but he wants to re-connect with who he used to be, but as he reconnects with the people who mean so much to him the mystery of Joel's death escalates until Courtney's and Jasmin's lives are threatened by a person Courtney least suspects.
Amnesia is a very difficult theme to write about. Paula Vince has skillfully kept her reader engaged with the characters in the story by adding mystery that rushes the reader along to the end.
In the beginning, I felt the pacing was a little slow and Jasmin's character wasn't as well-rounded as I liked for such a major character, but I'm glad I continued because once Courtney began to get his memory back, the pace picked up and had me wanting more. The ending left me feeling good and satisfied the right people got what they had coming to them.
Take time out to read Best Forgotten. It's a great read where you can lose yourself for a few hours.
Paula Vince's blog can be found at http://appleleafbooks.com/pages/paulas-blog.php