A roller-coaster domestic thriller for fans of Ruth Ware and Shari Lapena featuring a rustic cottage retreat, a suspicious new neighbour, a violent kidnapping, and a wife who learns her husband isn’t telling her the whole truth. Ellie and Neil Patterson are eager to enjoy some quality time at their new cottage. It’s the first time in ten years they’ve been alone … or are they? When a … or are they?
When a friendly encounter leads to their violent kidnapping, they awaken to a living nightmare. Insisting he is Ellie’s soulmate, the kidnapper gives her three chances to say his name. If she guesses wrong, it’s Neil who will suffer the consequences. This propels Ellie into a desperate trip down memory lane to dredge up the dubious men of her past.
Only after discovering the man’s true identity and sacrificing her own safety to save Neil does Ellie finally learn the truth — that everything she thinks she knows about her husband and their decade-long love story is a lie.
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Tell Me My Name by Erin Ruddy is a book that I picked up on a whim when I saw it at the library, and BOY am I happy I did! This was a completely crazy and wild ride, and it was filled with basically nonstop action. For that reason, I listened to it in one sitting, and it was utterly unputdownable! The suspense is also nonstop, and I had no idea what was going on or what would happen until the very moment it was revealed. There are definitely some graphic and disturbing parts, so this isn’t for the faint of heart, but after reading as much Karin Slaughter as I have, it didn’t faze me. The story is told through a series of flashbacks as well as present-day, and the mix of the two really helped keep the mystery of what was going on alive. The creep factor was high as well, and this would be an excellent book to read in the spooky months if you want something quick and engaging.
I was really impressed with the audiobook as well which is narrated by Teri Schnaubelt. Schnaubelt is a new-to-me narrator, but I thought she did such a great job and I would be all for listening to her narrate again. This book moves fast so you don’t really need the audiobook to keep you engaged, but it still does thanks to Schnaubelt. Tell Me My Name kept me on the edge of my seat every single moment I was listening to it and it is an excellent book to go into as blind as possible. I’m honestly surprised by the low average on Goodreads because I didn’t have many complaints with this one. This is super dark and twisty, and the end was fantastic so if you are in the mood for something fast-paced this is for you. All I can say now is that I need more of this author in my life and I hope she writes a bunch more books after this nail-biting debut.
Definitely had one too many twists, and a villain that was ridiculously over the top.
I loved this book! Great writing and great twists and turns. What a mind~
A little predictable but still good
Great story and so original! Great writing also! I loved this book!
This is a new author to me and this is a must read book for everyone. It is a total page turner with some twisted and demented characters! Just my kind of reading! Thank you Erin for writing such a great book!
This audiobook is a debut domestic thriller that is remarkably suspenseful and twisty! The final twist is so random, it’s a real shocker. It was a great way to pass some time while I was doing some dreaded house painting.
A good portion of the book takes place after Ellie and her husband—Neil—are violently kidnapped by someone from Ellie’s past. This person, posing as their neighbor Jake, explains that he is someone from her past, who she has a strong connection to and should remember.
”You see, I have a little game in mind for the three of us. Hey, don’t look so worried, I promise it’ll be fun. You just have to follow my rules. Rule Number One: no screaming. Rule Number Two: no flailing, no fighting, no trying to escape. And finally, Rule Number Three, the most important one of all …” He paused and stroked her hair. “It’s easy. All you have to do … is tell me my name.”
He gives her three chances. Wrong guesses will have grim consequences for her husband. And if her final attempt isn’t successful, Neil will die.
The narration was great and I stayed on the edge of my seat (actually ladder) throughout the entire book! And the twist at the end was one of the best I’ve read in some time. Excellent debut!
Thank you to Edelweiss, Erin Ruddy and Dundurn for this free digital ARC, in exchange for my honest opinion!
My Rating: 4 ’s
Published: October 27th 2020 by Dundurn
Pages: 344
Recommend: Yes
@ehruddy @dundurnpress @NetGalley
#TellMeMyName #Edelweiss+ #DundurnPress #DomesticThriller #DebutThriller #MustRead #NoRulesJustThrills #InExchangeForReview #JustFinished
I don’t know where to start in describing this book. It has a terrifying blurb that has me instantly one clicking but to my horror the blurb content only really covered the first quarter of the book. From there it was a twisted, convoluted mess that was intriguing and maddening. I wanted to grab the characters and make them do what I said instead of the stupid things they were doing. I figure making me care enough about the characters earns a star unto itself. This one is twisted and dark and you’ll want to stay up late reading.
Ok, new author for me and the book was recommended through a group I belong to. I have never read Erin’s books before and was wondering what kind of adventure I would find….
Oh, this adventure was truly scary. All families have pasts and many start before you even meet your mate but this one was full of twists and turns and total surprises.
Ellie and Neil have a wonderful life with two children and a dog. They both have productive lives and in an effort to have some quality family time they buy a cottage in a small town. This is where everything starts being strange.
This is a book that you will not put down once you start reading it so give yourself a day when you won’t be interrupted. I read it in one day and one night because I could not go to sleep until I knew the ending of the story and by the way it basically has two endings. You think it is over and then yep we have to go through more before the end.
Enjoy the book I am going to be looking for other books by this author.
A vacation that was long overdue and needed for Neil and Ellie turned into a nightmare.
They were on their second honeymoon in their newly bought home when their neighbor Clive appeared, tied up Ellie, tortured Neil, and then kidnapped Ellie.
Clive had thought about Ellie since he had seen her twenty-five years ago, and now that he was out of prison he wanted to play a game to see if she would remember him. It wasn’t a child’s game, though, but a deadly game.
TELL ME MY NAME continues with a police search for Clive and gruesome, upsetting and sometimes crude scenes and comments.
The brutal things the criminal did as the book continued were hard to imagine and difficult to read.
Because of the gruesome scenes I almost stopped reading, but I’m glad I didn’t.
This book for me is classified as a psychological thriller.
All in all despite the squeamish scenes, it is a good read with a surprise ending. 4/5
This book was given to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an. honest review.
This book has more twists and turns in it than the mighty Mississippi! Tell Me My Name is a mind boggling psychological thriller that some may not be able to wrap their mind around; others will devour it. You best be prepared to read this one straight through from beginning to end. Enjoy!
I received an ARC from NetGalley and this is my voluntary and honest review.
This is my first by this author. I really enjoyed it and will read more of her work.
This book starts out with Ellie and Neil headed to their new home after dropping their two children off at camp. Now they can begin a couple of weeks being alone and getting back to knowing each other again. A kind of honeymoon for them. Little do they know what is about to happen. Their world is going to be turned upside down and things will never the quite the same again. Things will come out that they don’t want each other to know. At least for Neil. Although Ellie knows one of Neil’s dirty little secrets. I tried to feel bad for him for that one but I just couldn’t. Cheating is cheating no matter the reason.
I loved the story here. I was wondering from other reviews what Ellie’s sister’s stories would have to do with this one but fully understand after reading the whole book. Laura, Ellie’s older sister is a model. Suppose to be a world famous runway model in fact. That being said, I didn’t find her life to go with what I know of runway models. She was basically a drunk and strung out on drugs and different men almost every night. Her life was a constant party. A model has to look nice. Be pretty and ultra skinny. A person who parties like Laura can not possibly stay fresh faced and concentrate on a job like that when she’s doing so much partying. I didn’t find that part believable. Also she meets a man during a photo shoot with her two sisters and gives up her partying life like it’s no problem at all. I didn’t find that believable either. Though I did think her and Abeer were perfect for each other later in the book when they are mentioned again. I was glad Laura got her life together and found happiness. All that partying was because of the sister, Bethany, who they lost years before. From what I read Bethany would not have wanted Laura to do that to herself at all.
Bethany was a very outgoing and athletic young girl. She was in great shape and could do anything she set her mind to. She played all kinds of sports. She was basically killed in a head on wreck. The woman driving and her daughter, Bethany’s best friend, were killed and Bethany left in such a shape she had no quality of life. Brain damaged and severed spinal cord. After three years of that she died. Ellie survived so much because of hearing what Bethany said to her. How to not ever give up. Keep on trying until you achieve what you need.
In my opinion both of these sisters played a big part in this story in some sense or the other. One who gave Ellie a place to live when she started a job and needed a place. One who was in Ellie’s head when she was going through such a horrific thing at the hands of a madman. Both played out great in this story.
Neil was Ellie’s husband and the love of her life. He had a one night stand several months prior to what happens and was living with that guilt. While I am totally against affairs, I felt bad for Neil. But I felt more sympathy toward Ellie when she found out. Neil did it and he should have felt bad. I understand that he loves Ellie and would do anything for her, but he was not going through what Ellie was. Neil did not give up though. He would have moved mountains if he could have to find Ellie and bring her back home safe and sound. He was a decent man who made a mistake.
Clive on the other hand was a crazy man. He was obsessed with Ellie and wanted her. He would do anything and I do mean anything, to have her. He had plotted for a while to do what he did. He had obsessed over her for twelve years or longer. He was a deranged man but I did feel sorry for him too. His life was set on a collision course at a very young age. As the child of a woman who was a drunk and a tramp. A very abusive mother to Clive. He thought the things she did was her way of loving him. The name calling and the hitting were things he thought were normal. A normal part of life and they were for him. Shows that a child can be trained at a very early ago to grow up to be evil. The things that a parent does shapes children. It sure did for Clive. In that way my heart broke for him. While I did think he should have to pay for the things he did, it was sad that it happened at all.
The detective in this story was a bit aggravating at times but she was also good at her job. She had a way of talking that made me laugh at times. The one thing that I didn’t find real was that she decided they should stop at a motel and sleep when they were on their way to possibly find Ellie and Clive. I mean they were only like I think about half an hour away. Though even that was a very necessary stop. It was the beginning of the end of Ellie’s nightmare. Almost.
Thank you to #NetGalley, #ErinRuddy, #DundurnPress for this arc. This is my review in my own words.
4/5 stars and I do recommend this book. It’s very good.
Once you start you won’t be able to stop reading this twisty tale.
Ellie and Neil drop off their two kids at camp, and then look forward to spending some alone time at their new cottage. Their marriage has been a little rocky lately and this is an attempt to get back to the loving relationship they once had.
The neighbors don’t seem too friendly …. Ellie finds herself abducted, hands bound, and gagged. He insists that Ellie is his soulmate … she was supposed to be with him … not Neil.
He wants to play a deadly game. He will give her 3 chances to say his name. One wrong guess…and Neil loses a toe. Second wrong guess and he loses a finger. Third wrong guess ..and Neil dies.
Ellis is thrust into a desperate trip down memory lane to remember all the men she has known … much to her regret.
BOOK BLURB — Only after discovering the man’s true identity and sacrificing her own safety to save Neil does Ellie finally learn the truth — that everything she thinks she knows about her husband and their decade-long love story is a lie.
This debut novel seems to have it all — a tightly woven, suspenseful plot, characters that are deftly drawn …warts and all , and a walk through a psychopath’s mind. Ellie is a strong character … a woman facing her fears and doing what it takes to save herself and her family. This is an author to watch!
Many thanks to the author / Dundurn Press/ Netgalley / Edelweiss for the digital copy of this Psychological Thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
Tell Me My Name by Erin Ruddy
Told in three parts this is a story that drew me in, kept me guessing and had me scratching my head from time to time. The first part introduced Neil and Ellie Paterson in their new summer cottage for the first time without children there and time to reconnect. Then suddenly that idyllic time was turned into a nightmare. Part II brings the end of the time in the new cottage neighborhood with a chase to catch up with an unhinged kidnapper and his kidnappee. Part three has the kidnapper still on the loose and people trying to get back to normal only to have another nightmare to deal with before the book can conclude. The backstories of the three main characters: kidnapper, Neil and Ellie are revealed throughout the story and there are twists and turns aplenty.
At times I felt the story seemed a bit more TV drama than a book or perhaps an illustrated book, in some ways, than a serious thriller. Why? I am not sure…perhaps it was the way the characters were presented or the way the scenes unfolded. Or it might have been the ineptness of the policewoman in charge of the case. It could have been the almost cozy mystery feel of the person trying to beat the police to finding the kidnapper. There were a few other instances where I wondered about how easily a child was influenced or a relationship turned upside down. The ending left me scratching my head.
My takeaway is that the story well written and plotted, there was plenty of drama and intensity, and the author will grow as she continues to write. I would read another of her books in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dundurn for the ARC – This is my honest review.
3 Stars
Wow what a crazy ride this read took us on. This was the perfect amount of creepiness for me. Altho I do love a good scary read, this was not it, but still very good. I think this could definitely be made into a good scary movie, who doesn’t love a scary movie that starts off in a creepy cabin?
This is my first book by this author, and it definitely won’t be the last
Ellie wakes up she finds him looming over her. He demands, “Tell Me My Name”! She has three chances and if she gets it wrong? Well, first her husband loses a toe, then a finger, and then he dies…
I pulled for the main character(s) and just loved the pure crazy of our antagonist. This was a tight, quick read that was difficult to set down!
To be totally transparent, this one is not getting rave reviews on NetGalley but I quite enjoyed it!
Thank you to Erin Ruddy, Dundurn Press and NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!