Product Description

Christine wakes up every morning in an unfamiliar bed with an unfamiliar man.

She looks in the mirror and sees an unfamiliar, middle-aged face. And every morning, the man she has woken up with must explain that he is Ben, he is her husband, she is forty-seven years old, and a terrible accident two decades earlier decimated her ability to form new memories.

But it's the phone call from a Dr. Nash, a neurologist who claims to be working with Christine without her husband's knowledge, that directs her to her journal, hidden in the back of her closet. For the past few weeks, Christine has been recording her daily activities -- tearful mornings with Ben, sessions with Dr. Nash, flashes of scenes from her former life -- and rereading past entries, relearning the facts of her life as retold by the husband she is completely dependent upon. As the entries build up, Christine asks many questions. What was life like before the accident? Why did she and Ben never have a child? What has happened to Christine's best friend? And what exactly was the horrific accident that caused such a profound loss of memory?

Every day, Christine must begin again the reconstruction of her past. And the closer she gets to the truth, the more unbelievable it seems.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9 in Books
• Published on: 2011-06-06
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Review
“Well, my diary tells me that I've just spent the last few hours on a flight to San Francisco, but I have no memory of that because I spent all of those hours obsessively reading Before I Go To Sleep. Oh my God! I loved it! So high-concept, so ambitious and so structurally brilliant. It's so rare to read a thriller that's perfect in every detail, but this one definitely qualifies!” --Sophie Hannah

“A deft, perceptive exploration of a fascinating neurological condition, and a cracking good thriller.” --Lionel Shriver

“A truly amazing debut. The central character, Christine, is beautifully drawn. It’s hard to imagine a more compelling, believable and sympathetic portrayal of a damaged human being. I loved it from start to finish.” --Mo Hayder

"Combining the psychological screw-tightening of Patricia Highsmith with the high concept of Memento, S.J. Watson's Before I Go to Sleep is an amnesia thriller you won't soon forget." --Andrew Pyper, author of Lost Girls and The Guardians

“Though it has the texture of a quiet, domestic novel . . . Before I Go to Sleep has emerged as one of the most hotly anticipated thrillers of the summer.” --Wall Street Journal

"An exceptional thriller. It left my nerves jangling for hours after I finished the last page." --Dennis Lehane

“It's a terrific first novel—well-written, genuinely unsettling and psychologically very plausible. Thrillers seldom come much better than this. Loved it, read it in one.” --Joanne Harris

“A deeply unsettling debut that asks the most terrifying question - what do you have left when you lose yourself?” --Val McDermid

“Brilliant in its pacing, profound in its central question, suspenseful on every page and satisfying in its thriller ending.” --Anita Shreve

“A spellbinding... excellent debut.” --The Globe and Mail

"Gripping." --The Winnipeg Free Press

"A chilling debut thriller." --The Ottawa Citizen

About the Author
S. J. WATSON was born and educated in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the National Health Service for a number of years. Before I Go to Sleep, his first novel, has been sold in thirty-one countries and has also been optioned for film by Ridley Scott.