The Puzzle of You

Written by Leah Mercer

Narrated by Fiona Hardingham

She’s woken up in a life she doesn’t recognize—with a daughter she doesn’t remember.

When Charlotte McKay wakes up in a hospital bed with no memory of how she got there, all she wants is to go back to the perfect London flat she shares with her husband, and the impressive career she’s worked so hard to build. But something’s not right. Her husband David is at her bedside—but so is a three-year-old girl, and she’s calling Charlotte ‘Mummy’…

Charlotte’s first instinct is panic. When—why—did she have a child? What about her promotion, her independence, her romantic weekends with David? She loved being that woman: how can she have turned into the stay-at-home mother she swore she’d never be?

Back at home, she dives into her unfamiliar world, hoping to piece together the mystery of her transformation. But faced with so much that feels foreign and unnatural, will she ever be happy in a life she can’t remember having—or wanting to have?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Nov 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781799748984

Leah Mercer

Leah Mercer was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on the east coast of Canada. Her first ambition was to be a journalist, but after completing a master’s in journalism, she soon realised she preferred anything other than reporting the news. After trying her hand at public relations, teaching and recruitment in various countries around the world, she finally settled in London and returned to writing… fiction, this time. Her first two novels, Who We Were Before and The Man I Thought You Were, were shortlisted at the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association Awards. Leah loves books, running and visiting historic houses with her husband and their son.

Reviews for The Puzzle of You

[bookanonjeff · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Jack Campbell Loves Big Brother. This is a solidly written and told story that is quite a bit infuriating, but I try to be "professional" enough in my reviews to not drop stars because I disagree with the story of a fiction book. And most of the infuriating aspects of the tale are spoilers to discuss anyway and may not (likely won't) be as infuriating to most people to boot. But Mercer does an excellent job of telling her tale, and therefore there is nothing to actually ding here other than the fact that it simply pissed me off. (And if you catch the dual references in the title, that gives you a clue into why I am so pissed off with it - but as I said, actually referencing what makes me so mad is to go into spoiler territory.) So yes, the book is very much recommended in and of itself, even though I personally wanted to throw my damn kindle down in disgust.

[stephkaye-923485 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An allegory on balancing work and motherhood

This novel reads more like an allegory about balancing work and motherhood. The messages are very close to the surface.

[susan0316 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Charlotte and her husband David are living the good life. They are deeply in love, they have a perfect London flat that she has spared no cost to decorate, they can travel when they want to and she has a job that she loves and is very successful at. Their life of just the two of them is perfect. As the novel begins, Charlotte is in a car accident and wakes up in the hospital with David next to her. She is so happy to see him but she wants to get back to their flat and she wants to go back to work. Suddenly she realizes that there is a three year old girl calling her 'Mum". Who is she and where did she come from. Charlotte soon realizes that she has lost 4 years of her life - she doesn't remember getting pregnant or having her daughter...she only knows that she wants her old life back again. The story is told in past and present - Charlotte shows how happy she was in her job and her life in the past while lamenting her current life with a child who wants to play and hug and...be a child. Charlotte and David are estranged so she doesn't have him to help her overcome her memory loss or to show her how to treat a child. Will Charlotte get her memory back or will she have to learn to function in her new life.This is a story about love and marriage, children and working moms who are consumed with guilt, and finding happiness no matter where you are in your life.