Everything She Forgot audiobook

Margaret Holloway is 35, a deputy head teacher at a nearby academy, a wife, a mother, and a mentor to a young student who is struggling to pull himself up from his family’s low beginnings. She has a full life but her memory has a large gap. She can’t seem to remember much from the age of 7 and earlier. That begins to change after she is in a major highway pileup, and is pulled from her about-to-go-boom wreck by a mysterious scarred man. There is something about him that is disturbing. The lost time begins seeping back into her consciousness, sparking her to begin opening doors to her long hidden past.Big George McLaughlin is a gentle giant of a man with the misfortune of having been born to a physically brutal and criminally inclined Glaswegian family, with little tolerance for his more tender inclinations. When teenage George gets the girl he loves pregnant, he wants to do the right thing. Her parents would rather not have her form an alliance with such an infamous family. George gets to hold his new baby for only a moment, before the mother and child move to the farthest reaches of the country. But it is long enough for him to fall in love with their wee lassie, too. Kathleen Henderson is desperate. Her daughter has been abducted by some strange man, and the police seem to be making no progress in finding her. She is terrified that her daughter has run afoul of a serial child killer at large in Scotland. Angus Campbell is a journalist with a heart several sizes too small, an inflated sense of his merits, an extreme and hypocritical attachment to what he sees as moral rectitude, and a streak of cruelty that he applies liberally to his wife and daughter. Through dogged research he believes he knows what has become of the missing girl and goes about trying to locate her, convinced that this heroic undertaking will gain him the national notice he merits. For a person of diminutive stature, he somehow manages to look down his nose at practically everyone. The story moves back and forth between today, 2013, in which Margaret struggles to recall her past and identify her mystery savior, and 1985, when George took Molly, the latter being when most of the action takes place.Lisa Ballantyne - from her siteLisa Ballantyne has a penchant for focusing on the difficulties children experience in families. This was central to her wonderful first novel, The Guilty One, an Edgar Award nominee, which paralleled the lives of a possibly sociopathic young boy accused of murder with his attorney, a man whose childhood had been extremely challenging. Family ties come in for a close look in Everything She Forgot as well. Of course you might want to look away, as some of these families are the kind where the best thing you could do, were you a member, would be to flee, as early and as far as possible. George’s father was a sadistic brute. Angus treats his wife and daughter with none of the tenderness he reserves for his favorite cow. But the ties that bind are still there. And even though George has not seen his daughter since she was piping hot, he feels an undeniable connection. So when chance presents him with an opportunity, he grabs it, follows his heart to the highlands and goes a-questing. Maybe this time, his lost love will agree to marry him. Maybe this time he can be a proper father to his daughter.Things do not go as planned and George winds up abducting his child and becoming the object of a nation-wide manhunt. If you get the impression there is a strong journey of self-discovery motif here it bears knowing that the title of the UK release of this book was Redemption Road. The journey itself goes, literally, from one end of the UK to the other, from John o’Groats at the northeasternmost point of the Scottish mainland to Land’s End at the southwestern tip of Cornwall, a distance of well over eight hundred miles, allowing the travelers time to get to know one other. (No, George doesn’t walk)Can George slay his familial dragons? Can he ever be a father to his lost child? Is it even possible that his daughter will acknowledge, let alone accept him? Will the police catch him? Will Angus? Will Molly be returned to her mother? There are some elements in Everything She Forgot that you may or may not want to remember. First is the degree of Margaret’s amnesia. It seemed to me to extend well beyond the psychologically damaging event that generated her particular manifestation of PTSD. Second, there is an adult character who is unable to read or write. Not some feral person raised by a colony of Orkney voles, but someone who abandoned school as a teen. I suppose it is possible for someone to attend classes into adolescence and still find the funny curved markings on paper indecipherable, but it struck me as a bit of a stretch. While on their journey of mutual discovery George and Molly find shelter when an ex-girlfriend of George’s just happens be ok with him crashing at her flat while she is out of town. But then there are many who cling to a belief in a local lake loch beastie of note, so who am I to gainsay a bit of credulity-stretching? Finally, there are two events in the book that involve harm to animals by the beastly. They are appropriate in their illustration of the characters’ character. But be forewarned, in case this sort of thing is a deal-breaker for you. There are larger themes permeating the novel. Is DNA destiny? Where does nature leave off and nurture take over? The core of this tale, though, is George and Molly’s coming and growing together. George is an engaging sort, with a heart far bigger than his circumstances would have predicted. You will want him to come to a good end, somehow. Molly is a spunky kid and you won’t want anything bad to happen to her. Her biological father may come from a household of career criminals, but she can feel that there is good in him, that he truly cares for her. Lisa Ballantyne’s sophomore effort offers a journey worth taking. Once you meet and spend some road time with George and Molly you won’t forget them.Publication - 10/06/2015This review – 10/02/2015 - re-posted October 2019=============================EXTRA STUFFLinks to the author’s personal, Twitter and FB pages

I have a lot to say about this book because for the first half I did not like it that much and by the time I got to the ending I liked it a lot. It's a story about a woman who is in a car collision and trapped in her car and a man comes along, breaks the window and pulls her out of the car, after which the car explodes on fire. Then the woman becomes obsessed with finding out who this man is and realizes that he is someone from her youth. She has memories in her mind of being kidnapped as a child. Then we go back to the story and find out what happened to her. There is a lot of cruelty in this story. There is a newspaper journalist named Angus who is a horrible human being. He is on the trail of finding out what happened to her. He is cruel man who uses religion to get away with doing mean things. For example he lets his cow die because he doesn't believe in working on Sunday and cow is in distress. He is physicallyl and mentally cruel to his wife and children. Then another main character is abused by his family and the nuns at his catholic school because he is left handed and they all want him to be right handed. But by the end of the story there is a good ending to all this, so I ended up enjoying thr story.

This is a very good mystery novel about family and forgiveness, courage and commitment. The main character Margaret Holloway is involved in a car crash during her adult life that sets off the start of remembering memories lost from her childhood. Her childhood has massive holes of forgotten memories and she is desperate to rediscover them and piece together her lost past. After the car crash she was rescued by a mysterious stranger who risked his own life to save her and Margaret feels that this may be more than a fortunate incident.Margaret escapes with minor injuries but is left with a nagging doubt that something is not right. With her emotions running high she is now experiencing flashbacks from both the crash and her lost childhood. She has a feeling that the memories she lost were lost by choice and now she wants to discover the truth from her past.Good story and well written. Maybe a little predictable but nevertheless a decent read.

Redemption Road psychological novel told at a steady pace, one where the past meets the present in a book that provides much food for thought as well as a cracking good story.Margaret Holloway holds a managerial position in a secondary school, driven and committed when she leaves the school one December evening she is caught up in a horrific multi-vehicle pile-up on the motorway near her home in Loughton. Margaret is rescued by a mystery man but she soon becomes obsessed not with the accident but the man who saved her life and her childhood. Margaret’s childhood is a mystery, not least to herself as she is unable to remember a period of it culminating in a stay in hospital.In the past we move to the highlands of Scotland where we meet journalist Angus who is desperate for his big scoop which he sees syndicated by the nationals across the land however he is reduced to writing about mundane local matters instead. Well that is until seven-year-old Moll is abducted on her way to school. Seizing his chance Angus visits her parents, Kathleen and John where he thinks he has found a detail that is worth closer investigation.Big George starts his tale from Thurso near John O’Groats in 1985 and despite never having made it to that part of the world the descriptions made me feel that I had, a touch only emphasised by the authentic details of the time, excerpts of songs, the need to use coins to telephone anyone and cars in need of constant repair quickly transported me to that age.With each chapter alternating between the three narrators their respective beliefs and characters are revealed in layers, a touch that I particularly like. With both men in need of redemption the ultimate question is will they find it? The downside of the alternate narratives is that as the story progresses it is easy to predict the next part, I didn’t mind being caught up in the drama but for those looking for a thrilling read with twists and turns, this isn’t the book for you. It is a much quieter type of read but for me it was utterly compelling as I needed to know exactly how all the strands were resolved. Having said that as Big George is part of the gangland scene in Glasgow and Angus is a misogynistic religious fanatic there are scenes which are violent; this may be a story about family secrets but some of them aren’t pretty!I chose this book after having thoroughly enjoyed The Guilty One by Lisa Ballantyne for the perception of the underlying issues the story was about, this one was equally satisfying for the same reasons. I like books where the characters are multi-faceted and this one entirely fits that bill as the motivations in respect of the character’s actions are slowly revealed. This is a book which on reflection has far more going on than may first be apparent.I’d like to thank the Little Brown Book Group for allowing me to read a copy ahead of the paperback publication date of 16 July 2015 in return for my honest opinion.

This was described as a thriller which initially drew me to this book but having just finished it I would say it is more of a family drama exploring relationships and the way the past challenges our memories and the people we become.It starts with Margaret Holloway having a car accident on a snowy day. Although many cars are involved, she is rescued by a scarred stranger who saves her from being burnt to death and then disappears. The accident seems to set off something within Margaret, the smells from the fire and the appearance of the man combine to make her question a time in her life she struggles to remember. The story is told in chapters alternating between Margaret and Big George from Glasgow with others told by Angus, a reporter. Although I found it easy to guess what the "mystery" was it was a beautiful journey and I found my favourite parts to be the ones told by George, about his upbringing and family life. The descriptions of his relationship with Moll were very emotional and heartfelt.I have to say that this book wasn't the thriller I was expecting but the journey the writer took me on more than made up for that and I will certainly be reading The Guilty One now as well.I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Lisa Ballantyne seems to like writing in two timelines, but this makes her books more of a challenge for readers. In her new book, the current day follows Margaret Holloway, a teacher and mother of two, who nearly dies in a horrible pile-up on a British motorway when her gas tank is ruptured, only to be saved by a disfigured mystery man. Eventually, she finds him in a medically-induced coma at a local hospital and feels compelled to thank him for his kindness as she herself begins to come unglued, remembering things from her childhood. The other story is about the youngest brother of a Glasgow crime family (Big George McLaughlin), who desperately wants out, is deeply in love with Kathleen, and is rejected as a father when she gets pregnant. When he finally happens upon some money (illegally, of course), George goes to see her and their 7-year old daughter, Moll. By an unfortunate set of circumstances, George kidnaps Moll and goes on the lam. The two stories are brought together cleverly. The novel starts slowly, especially the storyline about the angry, devout writer Angus Campbell, but gains substantial momentum as events unfold.

After Margaret is involved in a crash and a mysterious stranger saves her from her burning car, she begins to experience the feeling that there are gaps in her childhood memories. On finding a box of old newspaper clippings and a diary in her parents attic, she starts to piece together a traumatic event from her past.An extremely readable book, 'Redemption Road' takes you on an emotional journey with engaging characters and a good use of the dual timeline style, which helped add depth to the story. I found the flashbacks to the main event in her childhood especially well written, and really enjoyed the journey to reach the conclusion of the mystery. A lovely descriptive but flowing writing style that will make me reach for another of Lisa Ballantyne's books.*Thank you to the publishers for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

I really enjoy Lisa Ballantyne books.

One of the best things about being a book blogger is that every so often I am sent a book to review which wouldn't be a book I would typically pick up in the local bookshop. When I was sent Redemption Road it didn't shout out to me not because it has an awful cover or anything it just didn't appeal to me and yet when I opened the book just to have a little read of the first chapter before I knew it I was over half way through this book before I looked up!Margaret Holloway finds herself trapped in her car after she has a fatal crash, unable to get out and with the smell of petrol getting stronger she fears for her life until a man who has horrendous scaring over his face and body comes to her aid and smashes her window and drags her out minutes before the car explodes. As Margaret turns to thank him the strange man mysterious man who had saved her is walking away. The crash has opened up questions for Margaret and she is determined to find the answers.This was such a flawless read that had me captivated the whole way through. The pace of the book doesn't falter the whole way through and there is a constant tense feel to the book which left no safe place to put the book down.Each of the characters were extremely well developed from Margaret who we instantly fear for at the start of the book to little Moll who was such a brave and intelligent little girl, to George who was such a complex character, he had such a big heart and yet there is a stigma attached to him which makes him fearful to others. George was by far my favourite character in this book and I was confused about my feelings for him during the book because I felt as though I should despise this man and yet I couldn't help but feel for him as I know his actions were not malicious. The character of Angus really freaked me out, I found him to be quite a disturbing character.The book is told in two time frames 1985 and 2013, I preferred reading about the events in 1985 but it was the events told in 2013 which wound the story together. I had an idea of what the connection was going to be and I was correct but this really didn't ruin the book for me as there were still little things revealed as we went along. I loved watching the relationship between Moll and George progress and I was really hoping for a happy ending for them both.The ending of this book tied everything up perfectly and I have to confess to the lump that appeared in my throat, which is a great sign of a great read and having to leave great characters behind.I highly recommend this book and this will be one that I am sure when I come to do my top 10 reads at the end of the year will still be on my mind as a strong contender. I found myself totally compelled by this storyline I now can't wait to go and grab a copy of her previous book The Guilty One.

3.5 starsI loved the premise of this story and had high hopes for it. I've heard of Ballantyne before but hadn't read her. The story didn't grab me right away, I put it down several times and almost gave up, but it slowly lured me in until I couldn't put it down."Everything She Forgot" is told primarily from four POVs in two different time periods: Margaret Holloway in 2013, Kathleen Henderson in 1985, Big George in 1985, and Angus Campbell in 1985. There are also a few chapters from two secondary characters, Richard McLaughlin in 1985, and Tam Driscoll in 1985. The story felt disjointed at first and the threads initially seemed unrelated but as I kept reading the pieces began to come together and I was hooked. Full of twists and turns and people who shouldn't have been likable but were and a few who were utterly worthless human beings, the story looked at love, family, duty, memory, sacrifice, and the choices we make.The story is a less a mystery and more a treatise on family, the one we're born into and the one we make for ourselves. Is blood thicker than water? Can the choices we make be undone? There are always consequences, sometimes painful ones; how do we decide which ones we can accept? how do we cope with them? The end was not what was I expecting and I was a little disappointed actually, it seemed too pat. "Everything She Forgot" was a mix of surprises and predictability, with people I cared strongly about. It started out slow but built up steam and while it wasn't a great novel, it was a thought provoking one. Some quotes: She still remembered him walking into the room and kissing her, and how time and stopped and stretched out, so that now was an elongated sweetness, like soft toffee pulled. He had taken her into adulthood. He had taught her about herself. They had taught each other how to love. John ... John was wonderful, and Kathleen was grateful. But George, George, Georgie Boy, he was still special in her heart. She could only whisper his name to herself, it was such an admission. It was as if he had whittled out a little place for himself, etching the detail of their young, intense love. It was memorable because it had been unfinished. It had not been destroyed, but had merely ended.

Margaret Holloway seemed to have a normal life – worrying about normal things while driving back home. But getting rear-ended and being part of a pile and then miraculously saved from it, changed her life forever. While she did walk out of the pile up with the help of a stranger, something changes within her and she starts remembering things from her past. Taking the story back to 1985, we are taken for a ride within the plot… It is really difficult to write this review without divulging any spoilers. So let me just get to the points about what I liked and what I did not enjoy as much in the story.First off, the plot of the story was quite interesting. I did find it to be engaging and quite well plotted. However, after all the hype that surrounded this book, I did feel a bit let down. The mystery part was so easy to guess and did not feel like a mystery at all. What I picked up as a mystery / thriller, turned out to be more of a drama. The author writes her stories well. There is no doubt about that. The language is light and easy to get into and the languid pace set up the stage for the drama to take place. The story is presented through multiple points of views and that complements the plot well. The characterization on the other hand would get full marks from me. I enjoyed reading about and getting to know each and every character in the book. Margaret is the kind of protagonist a reader automatically wants to know more about. She keeps you curious and engrossed in her story.The selling points of the book however are the issues that it covers. They are all quite serious and needs to be talked about and spread awareness about. Interestingly, I have often felt strongly about the nature vs nurture subject and as such the book really had my attention.To round it up, I did not that the book was as good as I heard about it… But a good book nonetheless. You will not regret picking it up.

Redemption Road (though my version was called 'Everything She Forgot') was not exactly what I had expected - a psychological thriller - but rather a slow burn type of mystery. It took me a while to finish this book, because it wasn't really a fast-paced page turner for me. Still, I found the characters very intriguing, particularly that of George, whose story I found to be truly memorable. Ballantyne has a nice way with language and the plot, though jumping around between times and POVs, never felt jarring or abrupt. It flowed well and though I suspected the ending, I found it satisfying and a little tragic, too. Overall, definitely a worthwhile read!Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com

Summary from Goodreads:"They’re calling it the worst pile-up in London history. Driving home, Margaret Holloway has her mind elsewhere—on a troubled student, her daughter’s acting class, the next day’s meeting—when she’s rear-ended and trapped in the wreckage. Just as she begins to panic, a disfigured stranger pulls her from the car just seconds before it’s engulfed in flames. Then he simply disappears.Though she escapes with minor injuries, Margaret feels that something’s wrong. She’s having trouble concentrating. Her emotions are running wild. More than that, flashbacks to the crash are also dredging up lost associations from her childhood, fragments of events that were wiped from her memory. Whatever happened, she didn’t merely forget—she chose to forget. And somehow, Margaret knows deep down that it’s got something to do with the man who saved her life.As Margaret uncovers a mystery with chilling implications for her family and her very identity, Everything She Forgot winds through a riveting dual narrative and asks the question: How far would you go to hide the truth—from yourself…?"My Thoughts:This was an unexpected read for me but in a good way. I went into reading this book expecting a thriller but instead it was more of a story about family, the choices we make, and the consequences of those decisions. This wasn't an easy read for me...there were times that I wanted to set it down just because I wasn't sure that I wanted to know what was going to happen next. That is a mark of a good book for me. When an author is able to create a level of tension that makes the reader uncomfortable without overdoing it. I knew that things weren't going to end well just based off of the decisions that the main characters were making. It made the tone of the book seem even darker and more ominous which added to that level of discomfort that I was feeling. It was intense but it was also so compulsively readable that even when I wasn't sure that I wanted to be reading I couldn't set it down. I just needed to see what would happen next and how it would all end.One of the things that really helped this book to not become too dark for me at least was the fact that there were multiple storylines going on. One focused on the present and Margaret as she dealt with the after effects from almost dying in a car crash. A different storyline focused on the past..but whose past and what it meant was a mystery until the very end. The author effortlessly tied these two storylines together so easily that I never was able to decide which one I preferred more as sometimes happens in books like this. The ending of this book held a few surprises while there were other parts that I had figured out. Really it tied everything together nicely and made the last one hundred pages so intense that I didn't even try to stop reading. I couldn't get this book of my mind for a few day afterwards because I had become so attached to the characters. I cannot wait to read more by this author!Overall I really enjoyed this one even though it ended up being way darker than I expected. I loved that the author was able to pull me into this book so completely and in such a way that I had to remind myself that this was fiction. That these weren't real characters and these events actually hadn't happened. I just cannot emphasize enough how intense this reading experience was for me! I will definitely be reading more by this author. Recommended but with the warning that this wasn't always an easy read to stomach. Definitely dark but good!Bottom Line: One of those books that I won't be forgetting about any time soon!Disclosure: I received a copy of this thanks to the publisher as part of a PICT Book Blog Tour. My thanks!

Margaret Holloway nearly dies in a car accident but is rescued by Maxwell Brown, a mysterious man with burn scars, who puts his own life at risk to save her. As a result of the accident, Margaret suffers from PTSD and starts remembering a traumatic event from her childhood. Flashback to 1985, where Big George is seeking to escape the criminal lifestyle imposed on him by his gangland family. He wants to get back with his first love, Kathleen, and their daughter, Moll, but in a bizarre twist of events, he ends up kidnapping Moll instead. When small-time journalist, Angus Campbell, gets wind of this story, a chase ensues as he sets out to solve the mystery of Molly's abduction and get noticed by the big newspapers.The story is told from the multiple viewpoints of the people involved. In the past: kidnapper George; Moll's mother, Kathleen; Angus, the reporter; and George's friend, Tam. In the present, school teacher Margaret tells her story as she struggles to remember what happened to her as a child and why she is drawn to the mysterious Maxwell. The different viewpoints stimulate interest and allow the author to tell the story from a variety of angles. Further flashbacks interspersed in George's story help explain why he is who he is and help the reader identify with, and even sympathize with, him. The author skillfully manipulates our feelings for two completely opposite men; we are drawn to George, the supposed villain who makes bad choices for all the right reasons, and we feel revulsion for Angus, a supposedly good man who beats his wife and lets his beloved cow suffer because he will not work on the Sabbath.The book covers a range of confronting topics, such as PTSD, child abduction, adult illiteracy, nature versus nurture, and redemption. We are left to ponder that bad things happen for a reason. While tragic, what happened to Margaret as a child shapes her into the woman she becomes, a teacher with a special leaning toward illiterate teenagers. As for George, we hope he finally found his peace.More a personal account of Margaret's and George's journeys than a suspense thriller, this is nevertheless a deeply satisfying read.I received this book in return for an honest review.Full blog post: http://booksdirectonline.blogspot.com...

In 2013 Margaret is involved in a serious car accident. She thinks her time is up, as she realises her car is about to explode, until a stranger smashes her window and drags her out to safety before disappearing. She needs to know who saved her life and finds him in hospital in a coma. His name is Maxwell. She doesn't know him, but is strangely drawn to him and can't understand why. He has no other visitors, no family, no friends. Why did he risk his life to save her?In 1985, 7 year old Moll is abducted by her biological father, George. He only wants to know her. He was devastated when her Mother refused to marry him and moved away, marrying someone else who was bringing up his daughter as his own. He didn't intend to abduct her, but things got out of hand and he just wanted to spend some time with her. Moll's Mum and Dad were going out of their mind with worry though, trying not to assume the worst as police link her disappearance to other girls who had been taken, assaulted and murdered.I liked how this book moved between 1985 & 2013 and how the stories come together towards the end. I liked how the relationship between Moll and George developed over just a few days, once Moll realised who he was and that he meant her no harm. I could almost feel her mother's pain though, left at home worrying about what might be happening to her. A parent's worst nightmare!Overall, a great read in my opinion. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for my advance kindle copy.

I really don't agree with the "edge-of-your-seat writing" comment on the blurb because the suspense is really more of an in the past, viewed through flashback type. That Margaret's life changes after her car accident isn't surprising, it's the memories she recovers that are. The other two plotlines follow George, a rather gormless Scot from a family that ruled its town via thuggery and threats, and Angus, a reporter looking to find George and the girl he's abducted. There's no real surprise when the stories merge in the present, hence the loss of the star. The brutality of George's family and his search for "someone who loves him" and Angus' towards his wife and children, but great love for his cow (seriously. his cow.) are, I think, supposed to have some greater significance than they do. If the publisher would stop promoting this as suspense/thriller/mystery and more of a recovered memory/family saga, there will be fewer disappointed readers because the story is good, it's just not in that genre.ARC provided by publisher.