Call Me Evie by J.P. Pomare – Book Review

Title: Call Me Evie

Author: J.P. Pomare

Release Date: March 5, 2019

Book Form: ARC

Page Count: 368

Genre: Adult Mystery/Thriller

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Disclaimer: I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review from the publisher.

“In this propulsive, twist-filled, and haunting psychological suspense debut perfect for fans of Sharp Objects and Room, a seventeen-year-old girl struggles to remember the role she played on the night her life changed forever.

For the past two weeks, seventeen-year-old Kate Bennet has lived against her will in an isolated cabin in a remote beach town–brought there by a mysterious man named Bill. Part captor, part benefactor, Bill calls her Evie and tells her he’s hiding her to protect her. That she did something terrible one night back home in Melbourne–something so unspeakable that he had no choice but to take her away. The trouble is, Kate can’t remember the night in question.

The fragments of Kate’s shattered memories of her old life seem happy: good friends, a big house in the suburbs, a devoted boyfriend. Bill says he’ll help her fill in the blanks–but his story isn’t adding up. And as she tries to reconcile the girl she thought she’d been with the devastating consequences Bill claims she’s responsible for, Kate will unearth secrets about herself and those closest to her that could change everything.

A riveting debut novel that fearlessly plumbs the darkest recesses of the mind, Call Me Evie explores the fragility of memory and the potential in all of us to hide the truth, even from ourselves.” – Goodreads

I’ve never reviewed a thriller before, so I feel I need to be careful to keep things a lot more secretive than my usual reviews – because that’s the fun of thrillers, isn’t it? I feel it’s best to go in knowing nothing at all. Don’t worry, I’ll be keeping things completely spoiler-free.

Call Me Evie is the story of a seventeen year old girl being held against her will in a cabin by a mysterious captor. We don’t know why she is being held or who her captor is – all we know is he is supposedly protecting her from something, and she can’t remember what it is, or whether or not he’s telling the truth.

My notes for this review were pretty useless, honestly. I was so wrapped up in the story and the mystery that my notes are almost entirely “why did this happen?” “who is this person?” “what’s going to happen next?” “what does this mean?”. I feel like that’s a good testament to how captivating this story is. I was completely invested, never wanting to put it down. I needed to figure out what the mystery was, and I was having so much fun trying to solve it myself. Needless to say, I was totally wrong and totally swept off my feet by the story.

An interesting theme this book explores is the science of memory. The book brings up topics such as – can memories be manufactured? Can you make someone remember something that never happened by influencing them one way or the other? It was fascinating to read about and made for an exciting mystery.

I felt extremely anxious while reading this story! It surely kept me on my toes, and I love that feeling. I love being so invested in a story that I forget it isn’t real and that I’m not in the main character’s position, and that’s how this book made me feel. I absolutely loved it, and I’m sure any fan of mystery/thrillers will as well.

My Rating: ★★★★★