Uncover Who Are You? Edited By Elizabeth Forbes Categorized In Printable Format

thanks to Cutting Edge Press for my copy of this book, this is in exchange for an honest review,

I don't normally go for books with military themes but this one seemed to jump out at me, I noticed that it also had great reviews by people I really trust in the blogging community, Well I can say they were not wrong, It was gripping right from the first page, I know when a five star book is in the making as I stay up late reading it, I love my sleep and usually nothing comes between me and sleep, but Who Are You did.
Yes I feel tired now, but it was worth it, Explosive from start to finish and totally mind blowingly dark,

If you are fainthearted do NOT read this book, it is gritty and realistic and at times a little uncomfortable, There are some disturbing moments and I did have to put the book down a give myself a moment before I could carry on.
I think this is why it was five, Elizabeth Forbes does not hold back, This makes the book very realistic and also has a way of playing with your emotions,

At times I really hated the main character Alex, but on the flipside sometimes I felt a glimmer of pity, Circumstances throughout his life have totally destroyed him, The same for Juliet she has her problems too, Flawed characters are so interesting because they are multidimensional, it does make for interesting reading,


I really did rate this book so I have gone and bought Nearest Thing to Crazy which is the other book Elizabeth has written.
I can't wait to see how this one compares,

Things I liked about this book:
It was realistic, I've never had experience of PTSD before and this was very enlightening to the effects it can have on not just the person but the family too.


Things I disliked about this book:
I wish it was longer! I received a copy of this book through THE Book Club in return for my honest review.

Wow! This is a dense and intense read that is both gripping and uncomfortable, It investigates the unnerving topics of PTSD Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and domestic violence,
Alex and Juliet are living a seemingly idyllic life with their adorable son Ben, in an affluent London community, After many years of being posted away from home as part of an elite regiment of the British Army, including a tour in Afghanistan, Alex has agreed to settle down to suburban life.
Juliet is thrilled no more moving every couple of years, no more instability and finally a home of their own,
But the Alex who has returned to her is not the same as the man who left, He is severely damaged, and is battling the constraints of normal life, Hes a dangerous man: physically violent, emotionally manipulative and always one step ahead of whoever he considers to be the enemy unfortunately his biggest perceived threat is Juliet, his wife.

I found Alex as a character is unlikeable, I tried to feel sorry for him, as he seems to be a product of

many things over which he has little control, but in the end I just couldnt like him.
We learn that Alexs PTSD is not purely from his experiences in battle, but goes much further back to what he endured as a child.
Juliet too has a bit of a rocky history but has learned how she has worked hard at leaving it behind her to become the adult she is today.

The story construction is brilliant, giving us the perspective from both Alexs and Juliets points of view, yet still leaving us wondering where the truth really lies.
Its a valuable lesson in caution on the use of online chatrooms where Juliet finds herself spending more and more time as she finds support and advice there, and how we represent ourselves to others when we have anonymity to protect what wed prefer others not to know.

Forbes highly detailed descriptions of PTSD and its symptoms and reactions are an outstanding testimony to her obviously penetrating research into the topic.
What made the book even more compelling for me were her notes at the end, where she talks about her son and how she experiences dealing with him being in the Army, including her pride in him and the work he does.

I highly recommend this book, definitely not as light reading, but as a powerful look into the workings of a disturbed mind the characters, NOT the writersand how external influences may impact a person and all who are close to them.

This is a very dark, disturbing read which took me a lot to get through, It details the way PTSD affects someone in extreme detail, which is why it is such a dark story,

At various points while reading I felt my emotions shift from feeling sorry for each of the main characters, As I read I could honestly see faults on both sides, Yes I understand that the main fault lies with the father as it is he who is suffering from PTSD, But at times the attitude of the mother really grated on me,

The one thing I will say is outstanding is the way the author gets inside the mind of the PTSD victim, detailing his thoughts and feelings in a way I would consider to be a true account of what it must be like to be suffering in the way he is.
The jumble of emotions inside him is scary, and for the author to bring that out as well as she did is to be commended.


If I'm totally honest I wouldn't say I 'enjoyed' this read as such, However I am very glad I did read it, hats off to the author for writing such a detailed story, This was a clever and well written book, It is insightful into what can happen when a person returns from war and is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, It really is an eye opener, However, having read the other book by Lizzie Forbes, The Nearest Thing to Crazy, I was spoilt, I felt it was just not in the same league, It took a while to get into the plot and when it did, I felt I knew what was going to happen, A little twist at the end which I didn't expect though, Was still a great book to read and would recommend it, Post Traumatic Stress disorder is at the heart of this disturbing novel which rips away the veneer which all too often shrouds this distressing condition in secrecy and silence.
Alex has been an elite career soldier, who is now attempting albeit unsuccessfully, to make a new career as a security advisor, Meanwhile, his wife Juliet and small son Ben are learning to adjust to life with Alex back at home with them, On the surface, all should be well, but Alexs increasingly volatile and often brutal behaviour is set to spiral out of control and neither Juliet nor Ben can escape his mood swings.


This is a tight and well constructed psychological suspense story which grabs you by the scruff of the neck and wallops you into hanging onto every word.
Its a dangerous and vicious look at just how two individuals, who are both irrevocably damaged, can wreak havoc, and as their despicable behaviour reverberates throughout their personal lives there is little to choose between them in the unlikeabilty stakes.
I felt like I should have liked Juliet more than I did, and believe me, I truly sympathised with her plight, but she also knew just how to wind Alex up so that he snapped, and then, of course, theres Alex with his smooth talking charm, whose total disregard for what is right and proper really cranked up the menace.
Overall, there is much to both like and dislike about both Juliet and Alex as neither of them appears to be truly honest, but what really strikes a chord is the plaintive voice of five year old Ben, whose vulnerability in the face of his parents worst excesses is heartbreaking.


Its a long time since I read a story in which I was viscerally and emotionally involved with the characters to such an extent that I really couldnt put the book down but Who Are You really does get underneath your skin, so much so, I breathed a sigh of relief when the book was done and I couldnt be upset any further.

I normally read all my books withindays but this one took meweeks to complete because the first third I found very slow.
I can understand why the author may have done that, It was to build the various characters, However, I felt it may have been better to have the first third told in flashbacks, The naivety of Juliet was frustrating at times, not a clever woman at all, I was also not sure about all the bad language!

I have given this abecause although it is not my sort of book I learned a thing or two about a subject I would not otherwise have known about.
I think reading fiction should not just be about entertainment but you have to go away having learned something as well and this just did that.


I was given a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review through The Book Club, .