An Amazon Best Book of the MonthAn Apple Best Book of the MonthA Virginia Living Magazine Pick of Notable books for Autumn“A tale not just of profound misunderstanding but dynastic wealth and dysfunction, of how money and power can warp a community…[A] shocker of a finale.” —New York Times“Wicked and smart. Everything you want in a great thriller.” -Adrian McKinty, New York Times bestselling …
-Adrian McKinty, New York Times bestselling author of The Chain
One secret.
Eight cryptic words.
Lifetimes of ruin.
From New York Times and Internationally bestselling author
Wayland Maynard is just eight years old when he sees his father kill himself, finds a note that reads I am not who you think I am, and is left reeling with grief and shock. Who was his father if not the loving man Wayland knew? Terrified, Wayland keeps the note a secret, but his reasons for being afraid are just beginning.
Eight years later, Wayland makes a shocking discovery and becomes certain the note is the key to unlocking a past his mother and others in his town want to keep buried.
With the help of two friends, Wayland searches for the truth. Together they uncover strange messages scribbled in his father’s old books, a sinister history behind the town’s most powerful family, and a bizarre tragedy possibly linked to Wayland’s birth. Each revelation raises more questions and deepens Wayland’s suspicions of everyone around him. Soon, he’ll regret he ever found the note, trusted his friends, or believed in such a thing as the truth.
I Am Not Who You Think I Am is an ingenious, addictive, and shattering tale of grief, obsession, and fate as eight words lead to lifetimes of ruin.
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A riveting tale of consequences, family, and fate — darkly poetic and deeply felt… Do not miss this.
Eric Rickstad is the rare writer who can wrap a dark, gritty story in smooth, poetic prose.
Wicked and smart. Everything you want in a great thriller. A smart, very well written book with whiplash-inducing twists and turns that I never saw coming. I Am Not Who You Think I Am kept me reading late into the night.
A riveting tale of lies and betrayal. Clear you calendar before you crack the cover – you WON’T be able to put this one down!
—J.D. Barker, NY Times bestselling author of A Caller’s Game
This is one terrific read. The mystery is compelling, the characters complex and relatable and the writing is dark and lyrical. Not to mention I did not see that ending coming! One of those can’t put it down books that leaves you thinking about the characters long after.
I started this one on audio and had a hard time stopping it, I was intrigued and had to find out what was going to happen next. Wayland was 8 when he came home from school early one day only to stumble into the house and find his father committing suicide. At his feet was a note. It read, “I am not who you think I am” and Wayland hid this note from his mother for years even when she asked him if he found anything. Years later when he started having nightmares, he and his friends started to piece together the mystery of his nightmares and the note. What they found was unbelievable.
I Am Not Who You Think I Am is a grim tour-de-force, full of sleight-of-hand twists. Rickstad feints in one direction, then cuts you while you aren’t looking. Dark and unflinching. You’re not getting out of this one unscathed.
Rickstad weaves layer upon layer of psychological mystery — all wrapped up in vivid, elegant prose.
An exceptional read by an exceptional writer.
Eric Rickstad’s I Am Not Who You Think I Am is catchy from the title to the last page. This gothic mystery is a page-turner that I finished quickly. Although the start is a bit slow while the story and characters are set up, the pace quickly ramps up as does the plot tension.
The author’s atmospheric writing immersed me in the small New England town, and the details he included that represented the 1970s to early 1980s were perfect. The characters are each complex, and no one is perfect; they’re all a blend of the good and bad influences that made them who they are. The “whys” for their actions are part of the deep, dark secrets that plague Wayland Maynard. As Wayland digs deeper into the broken memories of his father’s death, his grasp on reality and sanity seem to be questionable. I felt that I was by Wayland’s side, questioning everyone and everything! Increasingly, Wayland feels he has no one he can trust—not his tiny circle of friends and certainly not his family.
The story’s zenith is incredibly tense. The denouement is perfectly twisted and creepy. I loved the unique storyline of I Am Not Who You Think I Am, and I enjoyed being completely surprised by the ending!
This book guys! What a wild ride! You are kept in suspense almost from the very beginning with the tension building and building all the way through until the seriously twisted ending. Wayland’s rapidly growing obsession with finding out the truth had me holding my breath at times.
This was a pretty dark psychological thriller, nothing horrific, just unsettling at times. It was also a really fast read – one of those books that when you’re not reading you’re thinking about when you can read it. The ending really made me sit back and think WHOA! It was a bit ‘out there’ for me, but it still worked well.
Highly recommend!
Thank you Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for the eARC
Wayland has just discovered that his dad might not be dead. But! How can this be! His father shot himself in front of Wayland when Wayland was just 8 years old. This sets him on a course of disaster and despair.
Wayland is a character which tore out my heart. There were times I wanted to reach out and hug him. Then there were times I wanted to pinch his head off. His life is a struggle and there are definitely ways in which he makes it worse.
This is a story you will not soon forget. I have read a couple of Eric Rickstad novels. And they have all been 5 star reads. He hit it out of the park with this one. This is unique, captivating and the intensity it over the top! And the narrator, Steven Weber is fantastic. His portrayal of Wayland could not have been better.
Need an intense family mystery…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
Wayland is only 8 years old when he witnesses his father’s suicide. He finds a note with only 8 words … I AM NOT WHO YOU THINK I AM. Hiding the note, he keeps it from his mother. If his father wasn’t the man he thought he knew, then who was he?
This question haunts Wayland for 8 more years until he finally remembers something from that shocking day …. something that makes him think the man who shot himself in the face may not have been his father at all. His mother won’t listen to him or discuss what happened. Does she know more than she’s willing to share?
Only two of his friends help him search for the truth.
(Book Blurb) With the help of two friends, Wayland searches for the truth. Together they uncover strange messages scribbled in his father’s old books, a sinister history behind the town’s most powerful family, and a bizarre tragedy possibly linked to Wayland’s birth. Each revelation raises more questions and deepens Wayland’s suspicions of everyone around him. Soon, he’ll regret he ever found the note, trusted his friends, or believed in such a thing as the truth.
This is an amazingly riveting tale of love, obsession and of lies and secrets. The story line is edgy, suspenseful from the first page, and maintaining a high level of tension and uncertainty until the unexpected, surprising ending that I never saw coming. I cannot recommend this book enough.
Many thanks to the author / Blackstone Publishing / Netgalley for the digital copy of this Psychological drama. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
WOW. This book had me on the EDGE of my seat the entire time and gave me such anxiety. I loved it. Wayland sees his dad commit suicide at the age of 8, now 17, he’s investigating the death with his friends. He found a note that said “I am not who you think I am.” laying on the floor when his dad shot himself. He has kept the note in his pocket ever since.
As he is investigating, so many crazy things are being uncovered and I honestly had no idea where this story was going. In the end, I didn’t see ANY of it coming. This was just crazy.
The narration was fantastic and really made me feel the level of urgency the main character felt during so much of the book. I am sure that is why my heart was in my throat for most of this book.
I absolutely love Eric Rickstad’s writing and was thrilled to find he was releasing a new book. I am Not Who You Think I Am is an addicting thriller filled with unlikable characters that I couldn’t seem to look away from, and a mystery with twists and turns that I didn’t seem happening.
Wayland witnesses his father kill himself when he’s 8 years old and the only thing he has left of that day is a note that says “I am Not Who You Think I am”. He keeps the note secret until 8 years later when he decides it’s time for him to discover the truth of the note, his memories and what really happened. His actions along the way to discover the truth will forever change his life.
The book took me a little bit to get into. None of the character are really likeable, even our narrator Wayland. I also struggled to not be frustrated with his actions and had to remind myself he was only 16 years old. Teenagers never make the most rational decisions, especially when they are emotionally distraught. However, by the time I was halfway through the book I was just as paranoid as Wayland, just as angry at his so-called friend and held no trust in his mother. So as the rest of the story unfolded, I was just as shocked as he was.
I Am Not Who You Think I Am was wonderfully written, even if at times the circumstances happening on the page were hard to read. Wayland’s story of obsession to learn the truth comes neatly to a close, but that close is nothing short of depressing.
Wayland Maynard witnessed his father kill himself. Over the years he convinced himself that it wasn’t his father. This pursued Wayland to begin researching the note he left behind. With the help of his two closest friends Wayland investigates the death of his father. His inquiry procured danger to him and his friends. With each new revelation more questions came about thus propelling him further into danger. He discovered a deep dark secret from the past destroying everything he believed.
Wayland lives with his mother and sister. Although, his relationship with his mother is strained. His relationship with his sister isn’t any better considering she’s dating an older guy. The family he remembered is gone leaving a darkness within each one of them.
Wayland was a high school and by no means a detective, yet he investigated his fathers suicide like a junior amateur detective without the assistance of police. Even his mother didn’t offer any help.
Author – Eric Rickstad is an international bestselling author. His novels are heralded as intelligent and profound, dark, disturbing, and heartbreaking. In keeping with his preferred theme this one too was both graphic and violent. These actually were some of my favorite scenes. Not too many authors venture into the dark disturbing side of characters.
Narrator – Steven Weber is the solo performer of I Am Not Who You Think I Am. Steven is an American actor where he is best known for his narration of the audiobook version of Steven King’s novel It.
With Steven voicing Wayland’s character in my ears I was compelled to listen to his performance. Steven brought Wayland’s character to life. Some books are served better as an audiobook versus reading. This is one of those books that comes alive under the voice actor talents of Steven.
Steven represents the voice of sixteen year old Wayland with the ideal pitch and sound of a teenage boy on the cusps island manhood.
The story’s told in the third person perspective with Steven Weber once again switching from a sixteen year voice to that of an older man telling the story years later. This was my first audiobook experience by Steven Weber but not my last. I will keep note of his voice talent.
This was an Unabridged audiobook although I listened without the assistance of the ebook. I relied solely on the voice of Steven to bring the words of Eric to life.
I used the Netgalley app to listen to I Am Not Who You Think I Am. Netgalley is new to the audiobook world offering binge-worthy selections by award winning voice actors. It’s an exclusive way to listen to audiobooks. You can stream audiobooks within the app. However, the app must be downloaded to enjoy the audiobooks requested from Netgalley. I enjoyed listening to this audiobook at 2X the speed.
Rick held out until the end to shock his readers with the truth. This was a sad and gory story with scenes being graphic and violent. While I appreciated the closure and the answers the story itself was okay. I did enjoy listening to Steven’s performance without his voice I might not have enjoyed the same. This type of story is best experienced in audiobook format.
I am Not Who You think I Am is a mystery suspense about a teenage boy who starts to suspect his father’s suicide nearly a decade earlier wasn’t exactly as he remembered it.
Wayland Maynard has lived with the memory of his father’s suicide for almost ten years. All he had to remember that day was a note that said “I am not who you think I am” and a few of his father’s library books. When he starts to unravel his memories, his father’s actual identity and his connection to the wealthy and powerful family in their town secrets more than 40 years in the making will be revealed.
Think of Wayland as a Nancy Drew type character if Nancy messed everything up and caused more people to die. He’s a truly frustrating main character that jumps to conclusions and makes completely irrational and dangerous decisions. Near the beginning of the novel there is a lot of disgusting detail about his dog being in heat (the description of the blood and mess are truly revolting) and it added nothing to the story and I could have done without it. It’s also a lot of running through the woods, spying on people and trips to government offices to search for documents. Wayland is a terrible friend and he’s always running away from conversations that could probably clear a lot of misunderstandings up and would have made the body count slightly lower.
I like a gritty and realistic mystery novel but this one was full of misery, misunderstandings and tragedy all around. It lacked any kind of humor or wit and the main character is a loose cannon.
3 stars
These eight words had my imagination reaching for all kinds of scenarios and twists! Each time a new mystery was solved, it lead to more questions. The author did a terrific job of keeping the tension high, and throwing in some wicked twists!
Wayland comes home early from school one day and watches his father commit suicide. Afterward, he finds a note that says “I am not who you think I am”. He keeps the note and doesn’t tell anyone about it until years later when he starts to suspect that the man who killed himself may not have been his father. The event has replayed itself in his head so many times he can’t forget it until he finds some answers.
This is a highly-twisted audiobook that I strongly recommend.
Sincere thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
My Rating: 4.5 ’s
Published: Oct 5, 2021
Audio: 7 hours 55 minutes
Recommend: Yes
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#thriller #mystery
After publication, my reviews can be found at Amazon, Twitter, Instagram, GoodReads, Barnes and Noble, BookBub, NetGalley, and Edelweiss
Eric Rickstad @BlackstoneAudio
Eric Rickstad Wayland Maynard’s life is flipped upside-down one day at the young age of 8. He was sent home sick from school but when he arrives home, something seems off. His father’s truck is in the driveway still running, but he’s nowhere in site. Upon further investigation, he finds his father sitting on his parents bed holding a gun. Just moments later, the gun is fired leaving Wayland standing there in the presence of his now deceased father. A single note lay on the floor stating “I am not who you think I am”. Terrified of what it means as well as what just happened, Wayland takes the note, never telling a soul about it. Years later when he is a teenager, Wayland makes a minor discovery that leads to a turn of events which send his world spiraling into a past full of dark secrets and suspicions, causing him to question the true events of his fathers death. He is convinced that what he thought he saw lay far from the truth. He turns to his mother and an old friend of his fathers for answers but it only leads him to further suspicion that someone is determined to keep him from learning what really happened. With the help of his friends, he is determined to get to the bottom of it once and for all. What is his mother hiding? Will he ever be able to get the answers he so desires?
Thank you Netgalley, Blackstone Publishing-audiobooks and Eric Rickstad for the opportunity to read this amazing book! This book was pretty intense with some great twists and one hell of a mystery. I didn’t see the ending coming at all. The narrator Steven Weber did a pretty good job and seemed to be the perfect match for this book. This book definitely had my attention grabbed from the start, making it hard for me to put it down. I would definitely recommend this book if you’re looking for a good thriller/mystery. I rate this book
How will it affect you if you see your father kill himself when you are 8 years old?
Wayland believes it wasn’t his father that killed himself. Is he correct or is it just wishful thinking. As he gets older he starts to distrust everybody. The people he feels that are lying to him are his mother, his best friend and his girlfriend. It goes from bad to worse. In his obsession he is not to be reasoned with. The complete picture of a teenager angry with the world
Determined to prove his father isn’t dead he digs up some past secrets that maybe better be left in the past.
This is a very suspenseful story that will keep you guessing till the end and I’m sure you will not guess the ending.
On the audio version the Narrator Steven Weber did an excellent job in delivering the story and made it come to its full potential.