BOOK REVIEW – The Memory Watcher by Minka Kent

Published December 31st 2016 by Createspace

The synopsis for this novel instantly intrigued me. Books that have anything to do with social media are my kryptonite and from the description and the reviews I read, I knew it was one I had to read. I was pretty sure this was going to be a book I would really enjoy.

I was right.

“ I found her, it took three years but I found her“ 

The book opens with twenty-five year old, Autumn Carpenter searching online for posts that Daphne McMullen has put up of her daughter, Grace. She looks at every picture and reads every post she can find. For now social media provides access to three-year-old Grace….HER Grace. “She is theirs but she is also mine”.

But it’s not just Grace she’s taken an interest in…

Autumn likes to envision herself as other people, likes the things they like etc. She does her hair like theirs and buys the things they buy. She pictures herself in their homes. But everyone likes to pretend sometimes….

But for Autumn this is more than playing pretend.

Daphne McMullen seems to have it all. But we know that so many things can and do go on behind closed-doors (and computer screens).

Is Daphne’s life really as perfect as it seems?

Then one day Autumn is online as usual, hoping to get her “fix” of Daphne and family when a message pops up.  “No results found”. She searches everywhere but she can’t find Daphne‘s account. Everything is gone. She feels like she can’t breathe.  She doesn’t know what to do.

“My gateway to Grace’s life has come to a screeching halt just like that”

Autumn HAS to find a way to see what is going on in Grace’s life.  What will she do to make that happen?

I really enjoyed this novel. I was totally invested in the lives of the characters, anxious to find out what was going to happen next.

As I mentioned, I love stories that involve social media and the online world played a big part in this novel. But the rest of the story was great too. An intriguing and engaging story about secrets, lies, deception, obsession, and more that I finished in just a few sittings.

This was my first novel from Minka Kent, but I know it won’t be my last.