The Man She Married by Alison Stockham

 

The Man She Married by Alison Stockham.

Published 20th January 2025 by Boldwood Books.

From the cover of the book:

How can you fight for a life you can't remember?

One moment I was just living my life, finding my way in the world. The next I woke up in a hospital bed with years of my life missing.

The man by my side – Rob, my husband – looks familiar, but I can't remember marrying him. I can’t remember our life together. Most haunting of all: I can’t remember anything about the last five years.

Rob keeps telling me that everything will be fine, that my memories will return, but something feels... wrong. Why does our flat feel so unfamiliar? Why does he flinch when I ask questions? Why are none of my friends and family in touch?

The more I try to piece my life back together, the more I question everything – even myself. Who is Rob, really? And can I trust him? More importantly, can I trust myself?

A compulsive and obsessive read that will have you saying 'just one more chapter!' Perfect for fans of Before I Go To Sleep and Alice Feeney.

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When Beth wakes up in a hospital bed, she has no idea how she got there. She is even more confused when she finds out that the man tenderly holding her hand claims to be her husband. Five years of Beth's life have vanished in an instant. She does not recognise her husband, Rob, or anything about the life he says they lead. Everything he tells her about their so called happy marriage feels wrong, and she is dubious of the reasons he gives for her having cut contact with her family and friends. Who is this man? Can she trust him? What has happened in the last few years for her to be living a life she surely would not have chosen?

Beth has been involved in a serious car accident, which leaves her with retrograde amnesia that has taken away her memories of the last five years. Everything about the life she seems to be living, starting with the man who says he is her devoted husband, is alien to her. She is frightened and deeply suspicious... and she has every reason to be.

The story opens with the accident, then jumps forward to unfurl from when Beth subsequently regains consciousness, and Stockham makes the absolute best of this unsettling situation. The tension creeps up as years of psychological trauma are stripped away, driven by shocking reveals from the discoveries Beth makes while the increasingly unlikable Rob is absent, and the impact of fragments of memory that randomly return to her. 

Suffice to say you will come to detest that whopping liar Rob, be turning the pages in a frenzy urging Beth to find the means to escape from her terrifying predicament, and be in awe of the way Stockham keeps her cards very close to her chest when it comes to the twist and turns that come at you thick and fast.  

For a gritty story like this, with a shockingly extreme premise, there are pleasingly relatable characters and moments, which I think comes from the clever way Stockham shines a light on the motivations of the characters throughout. I really enjoyed how she explores the fascinating subjects of memory, and trauma based amnesia; and she does an excellent job getting to grips with coercive control, and how its insidious poison can spread until you find yourself isolated from your friends, family, and even your own self.   

I consumed this little gem in one tasty gulp, totally glued to the page from disturbing beginning to extremely satisfying ending. This stunning mash-up of Before I Go to Sleep meets Sleeping with the Enemy is Alison Stockham's best thriller yet!

The Man She Married is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Alison Stockham for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Alison Stockham’s debut novel, The Cuckoo Sister, was a top 10 bestseller and was also longlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize. Her novels The Silent Friend and The New Girl followed and a fourth thriller, The Man She Married, was published January 2025.

From a background in film and television production, working in film dramas and then TV documentary production for the BBC and Channel 4, she then worked as the events coordinator for Cambridge Literary Festival. Now a full time writer, she lives in the city with her husband, their children and their cat, who keeps her company while she works on the next book.