I Know My Name

Written by C.J. Cooke

Narrated by Stephanie Racine

A woman with no name. A wild, abandoned island. A family desperate for answers. A debut thriller like no other.

I Know My Name

On a small Greek island, a woman comes ashore with no memory of who she is, where she's from, or how she came to be shipwrecked there. Worse, she has no way of leaving. As she's nursed back to health by the island's only inhabitants, four friends on an annual retreat, she detects tensions between the group that suggest not all is quite as it seems. Her new acquaintances each appear to be hiding something–something that may relate to the mystery of her identity.

Meanwhile, in a pretty suburb on the outskirts of London, Eloise, the mother of a newborn and a toddler, vanishes into thin air. Her husband, Lochlan, is desperate to find her–but as the police look into the disappearance, it becomes clear that Lochlan and Eloise's marriage was not the perfect union it appeared.

As Lochlan races to discover his wife's whereabouts, Eloise enacts an investigation of her own. What both discover will place lives at risk and upend everything they thought they knew about their marriage, their past, and what lies in store for the future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hachette Audio
• Release date: Jan 16, 2018
• ISBN: 9781478976899

C.J. Cooke

C.J. Cooke is an acclaimed, award-winning poet, novelist and academic with numerous other publications as Carolyn Jess-Cooke. Her work has been published in twenty-three languages to date. Born in Belfast, C.J. has a PhD in Literature from Queen’s University, Belfast, and is currently Reader in Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow, where she researches creative writing interventions for mental health. C.J. Cooke lives in Glasgow with her husband and four children.

Reviews for I Know My Name

[runner56_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was actually a book I mistakenly downloaded but I must confess I really enjoyed. We are introduced to a woman suffering some form of acute amnesia who appears to be living on a Greek Island called Kommeno. How did this woman arrive there? Who are the mysterious residents of the island who seem to want to help....or do they? Back in the UK Lochlan Shelley is at a business meeting in Scotland when he receives an urgent call from a neighbour who informs him that his wife Eloise is missing. Is there a connection between these two events? To say much more about the happenings that unfold would destroy what is an excellent and clever piece of writing. The reader is slowly drawn in as CJ Cooke gradually reveals the secrets that are hidden in the minds of the two main protagonists. What is at the centre of this novel is only really disclosed in the final chapters and I certainly did not anticipate how the threads and clues would be bound together, and indeed how the author is very well placed to write such a powerful piece of prose. It makes me wonder if we really know the thoughts and secrets that are hidden in the minds of those we hold nearest and dearest. Many thanks to the good people of netgalley and the publisher Harper for a gratis copy in exchange for an honest review.

[janjanfreeman · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Washed up on shore with nothing but scrapes and bruises only to discover that the island is as deserted as her memory. The main character is rescued by 4 other people who happen to be on the vacant island for a writer's retreat. As she struggles to remember anything about herself, even her own name, she also struggles to survive as not everyone on the island is as helpful as they initially seemed.The story does get very deep as well as jump around a lot from past to present as well as between characters. Mostly between Eloise and Lochlan, her husband who is desperate to find her-alive. Although a time or two it moves into Gerda's, Eloise's grandmother's, narrative. Once I read past the first two-thirds of the book, then it became very hard to put down as everything begins to come together quickly. The last 10% or so is very detail heavy and focused on mental illness which I appreciated, however, it is a big change in tone of the story as it begins to feel more like a lecture on mental illness rather than a work of fiction. On the other hand, it does wrap up the story in a warm manner.My favorite character was Max. He seemed to portray the polar opposite of what Eloise's childhood was as well as the "red rope" that tethered Eloise to her own self. He was so pure, so hopeful, so precious. The only thing that I felt took away from the story was the red herring that brought forward a side of Lochlan that wasn't really necessary. It was almost a red herring and a half as it is in regards to two side characters that I felt were pretty weak.I would recommend this book for readers who enjoy psychological thrillers. I would also recommend this book for readers who are fascinated by mental illness.Conversely, I would not recommend this book for readers who my be sensitive or triggered by: mental illness, drug abuse, sexual abuse, child abuse, sexual abuse to children, rape, violence, self-harm, parental abandonment, cyber invasions of privacy, and infidelity.Please note: An electronic copy of this book was generously provided by the publisher via Netgalley for free in exchange for an honest review.

[jenn88-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A woman has washed up on Komméno Island in Greece. She's alone and doesn't remember anything, not even her name. Lucky for her there's a small group of people who have rescued her and will take care of her for the time being. Meanwhile, back in London, Eloïse Shelley has left her toddler and her three-month-old baby by themselves and has vanished into thin air. Her husband, Lochlan, can see that nothing has been taken from their home and his wife hasn't taken her money, passport or her car. There's no sign of foul play. So what exactly is going on? Where is his wife?This sounded so good. I was very excited to win a copy through a contest on Twitter - thank you Harper Collins Canada! But this book turned out to be a disappointing read for me. I found it extremely boring. The author goes back and forth from Komméno Island to London and both storylines were missing that spark that made me want to rush through the pages so I can find out what happened to Eloïse. The characters fell flat. I found it hard to pick the book back up after setting it down and could only get through a few pages at a time. There was a huge convenient part towards the end that just had me like 'ugh, what are the chances of that actually happening?' However I did like the setting of Komméno Island. It's deserted now, but had once been a nice tourist attraction with shops and a big hotel and a ferry coming back and forth from the big island of Crete. I'm glad I got the chance to read this because it was a book I desperately wanted to read, I'm just sorry I couldn't give it a better review.