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S. J. Watson

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Before I Go To Sleep: The no. 1 bestselling Richard & Judy Book Club thriller Kindle Edition

by S J Watson (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

36,017 ratings

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Discover the haunting and deeply chilling debut thriller which has now sold more than six million copies worldwide.

Memories define us.

So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love - all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story.

Welcome to Christine's life.
______________

PRAISE FOR BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP:
'A cracking good thriller' Lionel Shriver
'Thrillers seldom come much better than this. Loved it' Joanne Harris
'So high-concept, so ambitious and so structurally brilliant' Sophie Hannah
'A deeply unsettling debut that asks the most terrifying question - what do you have left when you lose yourself?' Val McDermid
'I loved it from start to finish' Mo Hayder
'Brilliant in its pacing, profound in its central question, suspenseful on every page' Anita Shreve
'Quite simply the best debut novel I've ever read' Tess Gerritsen

From the Publisher

Final Cut the phenomenal new thriller from S J Watson is out now

Product description

Review

"A taut and terrifying novel, with a grip of steel."--Woman & Home

"Before I Go To Sleep is an astounding piece of work... a tour de force, a haunting tapestry woven from a single woman’s ragged thoughts, desperate to make sense of the past she constantly forgets... This is writing of the highest calibre."--Chris Simmons, crimesquad.com

"An unsettling, compulsive thriller...A truly gripping read."--Marie Claire

"Spectacular."--She

"S J Watson's debut doesn't put a foot wrong... brilliantly simple... Unforgettable."--Financial Times Weekend

"It's exceptionally accomplished...The structure is so dazzling it almost distracts you from the quality of the writing."--Guardian

From the Inside Flap

'As I sleep, my mind will erase everything I did today. I will wake up tomorrow as I did this morning. Thinking I'm still a child. Thinking I have a whole lifetime of choice ahead of me...' Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love - all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story. Welcome to Christine's life.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B004TSXUWY
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Transworld Digital
Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
Publication date ‏ : ‎ 28 April 2011
Edition ‏ : ‎ Media tie-in
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2.7 MB
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 369 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780552164139
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1409045113
Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: 41,254 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 1,215 in Psychological Fiction (Books)
- 1,377 in Psychological Fiction (Kindle Store)
- 1,727 in Women Sleuths (Books)

Customer reviews:
36,017 ratings

About the author

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S. J. Watson

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S J WATSON’s first novel, Before I Go To Sleep, became a phenomenal international success and has now sold over 6,000,000 copies worldwide. It won the Crime Writers’ Association Award for Best Debut Novel and the Galaxy National Book Award for Crime Thriller of the Year and has been translated into more than 40 languages.

The film of the book, starring Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth and Mark Strong, and directed by Rowan Joffe, was released in September 2014.

S J Watson’s second novel, Second Life, a psychological thriller, was published to acclaim in 2015.

His new novel, Final Cut, is out now.

Subscribe to the S J Watson YouTube channel: youtube.com/user/sjwatsonbooks?sub_confirmation=1

Be the first to hear about exclusive news, books & events from S J Watson. Sign up to the mailing list: https://sjwatson.substack.com/about

If you’re an aspiring writer or someone who is looking to take the next step in their creative writing journey, come and join me and a community of like-minded wordsmiths at The Writers’ Lodge.

o Discover foolproof writing techniques

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o Learn how to submit your novel to an agent

Access to The Writer’s Lodge is £4.49 a month and you’ll get unrivalled support at every stage of the writing process.

Sign up to the mailing list: https://sjwatson.substack.com/p/welcome-to-s-j-watson-and-the-writers?s=w

Official Website: sjwatson-books.com

Twitter: twitter.com/SJ_Watson

Insta: instagram.com/SJ_Watson

Facebook: facebook.com/S.J.Watson.Writer

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36,017 global ratings

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Customers find this book to be a majestic first novel with a terrific psychological thriller that draws readers in from the very beginning. The writing is easy to read, and customers describe it as thought-provoking with an interesting concept. The pacing receives mixed reactions - while some find it beautifully paced, others say it moves too slowly. Customers disagree on the character development, with some finding them convincing while others consider them poorly drawn.

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Readability Twists and turns Pacing Thought provoking Enthralling Pace Believable characters Difficulty to put down

2,528 customers mention ‘Readability’2,258 positive270 negative

Customers find the book highly readable, describing it as an amazing and majestic first novel that makes for a good holiday read.

"...But who can she trust? Before I go to Sleep is a very powerful first novel, a psychological thriller that keeps the reader guessing to..." Read more

"...It's very much an interactive book, allowing you to form your own theories as more information is presented, putting you very much in the shoes of..." Read more

"...I must admit the novel is a real page turner and not being able to put it down until the last page was relieved of its duty...." Read more

"...It's a debut novel, and a good one, though I wonder how much inspiration was taken not merely from 50 First Dates but the 2000 Christopher Nolan..." Read more

1,918 customers mention ‘Twists and turns’1,536 positive382 negative

Customers enjoy the book's twists and turns, describing it as a psychological thriller with suspenseful plot developments that really draw readers into the story.

"...Before I go to Sleep is a very powerful first novel, a psychological thriller that keeps the reader guessing to the end...." Read more

"...Stopping me giving this 5 stars were two things: 1. The ending was good but I felt rather cheesy - I won't include any spoilers but the..." Read more

"...I was sold on it by its intriguing premise...." Read more

"...The bottom line is, I loved it. It gripped me, build up a tension over the first 220 pages and then spiralled into a fantastic thriller with twists..." Read more

734 customers mention ‘Pacing’520 positive214 negative

Customers appreciate the book's pacing, finding it well-written and easy to read, with one customer noting its interesting layout.

"...S J Watson gave us a beautifully written piece with exceptional settings and a simple idea which is transformed into a heart hammering..." Read more

"...For me, this is a well-written and unpredictable read...." Read more

"...1. The ending was good but I felt rather cheesy - I won't include any spoilers but the happy ending is somewhat sickly and not entirely believable,..." Read more

"...The layout of the book was really interesting it started as a general narrative of Christine dealing with what was going on since she's woken up...." Read more

592 customers mention ‘Thought provoking’511 positive81 negative

Customers find the book thought-provoking and compelling, appreciating its interesting concept and great premise.

"...The characters are convincing and plausible. The book engages the reader totally. I read this as a book-club read or I might have missed it...." Read more

"...I liked this book, I thought it was clever, but I didn't think it was amazing. 7/10" Read more

"...The premise is such a good one and so extraordinary that frankly, no matter what you did with the plot, it was going to be good anyway!..." Read more

"...be a great novel for a book club, because there's just so much potential for discussion - in fact, there are a set of questions at the end of the..." Read more

175 customers mention ‘Enthralling’154 positive21 negative

Customers find the book enthralling, noting it grabs attention from the first couple of pages and keeps readers hooked until the last word.

"...The characters are convincing and plausible. The book engages the reader totally. I read this as a book-club read or I might have missed it...." Read more

"...The novel was fresh and exciting, a page turner - but ......." Read more

"...to happen (which is why I've not given it 5 stars) but it was still captivating that you wanted to read on regardless...." Read more

"...The book certainly grips your attention from the beginning and as a reader I found myself wondering whether Ben was as good and kind as he appeared,..." Read more

210 customers mention ‘Pace’102 positive108 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's pace, with some finding it beautifully paced and quick to read, while others describe it as slow and rushed.

"...I can highly recommend this book, the plot line is fast but engaging and I can assure you that after finishing this book the story will remain in..." Read more

"...It contributes quite heavily towards the slower pace of the novel, because Christine repeats herself so much, particularly earlier on...." Read more

"...; perhaps he's right, and Christine is able to read the journal increasingly quickly, skimming over certain sections that she's become..." Read more

"...The reason I didn't give 5 stars is because the first part is a bit slow and uneventful, and it makes for a bit of a dull read, especially as there..." Read more

201 customers mention ‘Believable characters’133 positive68 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the characters in the book, with some finding them convincing while others describe them as poorly drawn and limited in number.

"...The characters are convincing and plausible. The book engages the reader totally. I read this as a book-club read or I might have missed it...." Read more

"...It leads to a (only slight) lack of empathy with the character, a kind of `yeah yeah we know this already'...." Read more

"...the editing is good, the Kindle conversion is fine, and the characters are interesting if not 100% believable all of the time...." Read more

"...It is a psychological thriller starring a protagonist with a broken psyche...." Read more

179 customers mention ‘Difficulty to put down’116 positive63 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's readability, with some finding it impossible to put down while others mention it can be difficult to follow at times.

"...because I usually don't get into books that easily, but this one made it quite easy and in the end I had to read the last 150 pages until late at..." Read more

"...The final chapter feels simplistic, far too convenient and is delivered through pretty hackneyed exposition by a couple of main characters - several..." Read more

"...But I found it neither tedious nor repetitive...." Read more

"...the amnesia and the affects... A very easy read, enjoyable, uncomplicated and I have to say it was obvious that this is a first book...." Read more

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Before I Go To Sleep by S J Watson
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 May 2014
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Book Review: Before I Go To Sleep

By S J Watson

Christine awakens in a strange room beside a man she does not recognise. She has no idea how she got there. Even worse, when she goes to the bathroom she believes she is in her twenties until she sees her forty-seven year old self in the mirror.
Photographs show her with the man she has slept beside. He assures her he is her husband, Ben, he loves her and he will take care of her. But, he explains, due to an accident she has lost the ability to remember things for more than a few hours. She can retain information over a day but as soon as she goes to sleep at night her memories are lost, every day starts like this one!
Christine discovers that she has been seeing a doctor without Ben's knowledge. He believes he can help her but Ben insists that it is pointless and cruel to put her through more and more tests and constantly raise false hopes. Dr Nash suggests that she start a journal in which she can record what she learns each day so that she can bring herself up to date by reading it each morning instead of starting each day from scratch. He phones her after her husband goes to work to tell her to get it from its hiding place and read it.
Contradictions start to become apparent. What Ben tells her one day is not necessarily what the journal tells her he has said on another! Christine is confused and desperate to find out the truth about her 'accident' and her life since. But who can she trust?

Before I go to Sleep is a very powerful first novel, a psychological thriller that keeps the reader guessing to the end. The creation of the atmosphere, of fear and vulnerability experienced by Christine is extremely successful. The characters are convincing and plausible. The book engages the reader totally.
I read this as a book-club read or I might have missed it. I was not sure I liked the sound of it but I was so wrong. Brilliant!

Sue Almond

May 2014

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kindler
A Compelling and Original Thriller
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 October 2012
Verified Purchase
First off, this is a really, really good story. The format and premise of this book make it compulsive reading. I read it in one shot, simply because I couldn't put it down. I had to know what happened next, and keep piecing together the parts of the puzzle, eventually arriving at the conclusion (which I did not foresee in any way - a rarity). It's very much an interactive book, allowing you to form your own theories as more information is presented, putting you very much in the shoes of the protagonist, Christine.

I thoroughly enjoyed it - the concept is great, the writing is good, the editing is good, the Kindle conversion is fine, and the characters are interesting if not 100% believable all of the time.

Stopping me giving this 5 stars were two things:

1. The ending was good but I felt rather cheesy - I won't include any spoilers but the happy ending is somewhat sickly and not entirely believable, and the characters just ending up in that place out of the blue felt a bit forced. I was glad it had a happy ending, though I feel it could have been executed a little better and more realistically. Toward the end I was hoping for more of a clever twist that didn't happen, given the herrings of a possible red or maybe unintentional hue that were dropped in, which didn't advance the plot and had no bearing on anything.

2. The acknowledgements and 'About The Author' sections at the end of the book did ruin it a bit for me, if I'm honest. I ended the book on a high, immediately turned the page and found that the whole concept had been taken from a real person, Clive Wearing, whose memory loss caused them to live each day anew. I normally love turning the last page to find that a gripping story was based on real life events and I don't see any harm in taking a real life story of an unusual case of memory loss and using it as a base for fiction. But after looking up that real person, even just reading the description of his wife's book and the short Wikipedia entry about him was enough to see that several of the little details in this book were blatantly stolen directly from Clive Wearing's story. Minor details, characterisation - essentially unimportant things that SJ Watson didn't need to steal, and that it was his job to create and craft rather than transcribe. The author's note states that 'events in Before I Go To Sleep' are entirely fictitious' but they're not. Some examples: card playing in the psychiatric facility; the partner of the amnesiac leaving them to date other people then returning; the amnesiac being a peaceful person who becomes occasionally violent; there being no facilities suited to the sufferer; the spouse campaining to get them into a new facility; Christine is a writer and Clive was a musician, both 'creative' talents. One entire segment was stolen almost directly from the Wearings' story - Clive was encouraged to record his thoughts in a diary and page after page is filled with entries similar to the following:
8:31 AM: Now I am really, completely awake.
9:06 AM: Now I am perfectly, overwhelmingly awake.
9:34 AM: Now I am superlatively, actually awake.

As taken from Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson:
8:15am, read the first entry. I have woken up. Ben is here. Directly underneath I had written, 8:17am. Ignore that last entry. It was written by someone else, and underneath that, 8:20 I am awake NOW. Before I was not. 9:45 I have just woken up FO RTHE VERY FIRST TIME. 10:07 NOW I am definitely awake. All these entries are a lie. I am awake NOW.

I also read the About the Author part and saw that the author is from Birmingham, which explained an entirely random and seemingly pointless reference to a character in the book living in Birmingham. It seems to me that SJ Watson tried to put a little too much real life into the book, and may have gotten away with it if he hadn't told us about it right afterwards. I'm not sure why this put such a downer on it for me, but it did.

It remains a great premise for a novel though, and I did enjoy it. It was a definite page-turner and certainly raises questions about how we perceive and remember things, and how our character is shaped by things we experience.

I am definitely interested to see the film which is in the planning, primarily for the structural questions raised and how actors will represent the people around Christine, particularly the man she lives with, in a way that allows for viewer interpretation and differing interpretations. A lot of the appeal of this story involves unravelling perceptions and wondering how much of what you're told and what you see can be trusted.

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Evelyne N.
le journal d'une amnésique : captivant !
Reviewed in France on 4 July 2011
Verified Purchase

Ce premier roman d'un auteur anglais est une belle réussite : impossible de lâcher sa lecture d'un bout à l'autre de ses 366 pages.

C'est l'histoire d'une femme qui raconte à la première personne l'expérience terrifiante qui lui tombe dessus un beau matin au réveil : elle ne reconnaît pas son environnement ni l'homme endormi à ses côtés et s'étonne pas tant d'avoir suivi un inconnu chez lui que de réaliser qu'il est nettement plus âgé qu'elle et en plus marié... Mais le cauchemar commence vraiment quand elle se découvre elle-même dans le miroir sous les traits d'une femme mature alors qu'elle s'imagine avoir 20 ans. Incrédule et terrifiée elle apprend qu'elle a 47 ans, que l'homme à ses côtés est son mari Ben, et qu'elle souffre d'une forme rare d'amnésie.

Sa pathologie a été déclenchée par un traumatisme lorsqu'elle avait 29 ans et depuis ce temps-là, tous les matins sa mémoire a été effacée et elle ne se souvient plus de rien, hormis des bribes de son enfance. C'est l'homme qui partage son quotidien qui doit patiemment la rassurer chaque matin et lui expliquer sa situation. Un autre homme, un médecin neuropsychologue, va aussi se manifester pour lui venir en aide, dans des circonstances assez mystérieuses, lui recommandant entre autres de noter le contenu de ses journées avec sa quête pour reconstituer l'histoire de sa vie sur un journal qui va constituer la substance principale du récit.

Il y a un suspense subtil qui est distillé tout au long de ce récit qui se dévore comme un page-turner, l'auteur excelle à semer le doute sur chacun des personnages. En plus d'être écrit dans un Anglais simple et accessible à un angliciste moyen, c'est un livre qui génère des émotions et des réflexions profondes, avec de magnifiques passages - sur la mémoire bien sûr mais surtout des questionnements sur la vérité et les mensonges.

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Ana
Gets reeeaaaally good at the second half
Reviewed in Mexico on 6 January 2021
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The book is a bit boring at the first chapters, but I just can’t simply put a book down after I started and kept reading ...at the second half it gets really interesting and gooood!

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otavio
Excelente!
Reviewed in Brazil on 10 November 2014
Verified Purchase
Ainda estou lendo, porém já no final. Livro com uma história bem amarrada e uma trama que conquista minuto a minuto.
Indico!

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Hardik Trika
Must read if you're into thriller
Reviewed in India on 3 April 2025
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Absolutely amazing, every page is worth reading

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Dorompa
過去20年のスリラー物の中でも最高傑作
Reviewed in Japan on 21 March 2013
Verified Purchase
私は過去20年近く数多くのFiction/Nonfiction共に読んできましたが、その中でもこの作品は絶品と言えます。90年代前半だったと思いますが、デビュー当時のJohn GrishamやPatricia Cornwellの作品も"Gripping"であり"Page turner"と思ったのを記憶していますが、この作品の完成度はこれらのはるか上をいっているように感じました。400ページの作品を数日で読了できる程の"Page turner"であり、私は完全に時間も忘れて作品にのめり込みました。最後の最後まで、誰を信じて良いのかわからないという状況に追い込まれる主人公Christine。彼女のちょっとした火遊びから、彼女の人生のみならず、周りの人々の人生も変えてしまうというのは、Fictionの物語の中にあるものだけではなく、実際の人生においてもあり得ることではないでしょうか。だからこそ、映画化も決定したのだと思います。それから、SJ Watsonが病院に勤務している人物であるからこそ、にじみ出てくる臨場感が感じられる作品です。本の最後にも記載がある通り、Fictionではあるが何人かの記憶喪失患者とその家族の話が大きなヒント(Inspiration)になったと、彼は記しています。どちらかというとアメリカの作家に慣れている洋書ミステリーファンは多いと思いますが、本書には英国独特の言い回しや表現はあまりなく、英国に行ったことがないと想像出来ないような表現／描写も含まれていません。多少のアメリカ作家では使用しないであろう単語は見受けられるものの、全体的には抵抗感無く読めると思いますし、SJ Watsonは決して難しい言い回しはせずに、わかりやすい状況描写、感情表現で物語を進めます。これから洋書ミステリーに挑戦、または最近傑作に出会っていない、という人には絶対的に自信をもって推薦できる作品です。再びこのような作品に出会えることができるか、私はこれからの洋書選定の方が心配です。

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Before I Go To Sleep: The no. 1 bestselling Richard & Judy Book Club thriller Kindle Edition

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5.0 out of 5 stars Before I Go To Sleep by S J Watson

4.0 out of 5 stars A Compelling and Original Thriller

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars le journal d'une amnésique : captivant !

5.0 out of 5 stars Gets reeeaaaally good at the second half

5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente!

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read if you're into thriller

5.0 out of 5 stars 過去20年のスリラー物の中でも最高傑作

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Before I Go To Sleep by S J Watson

A Compelling and Original Thriller

le journal d'une amnésique : captivant !

Gets reeeaaaally good at the second half

Excelente!

Must read if you're into thriller

過去20年のスリラー物の中でも最高傑作