Book Review: The Great Forgetting By James Renner

The Great Forgetting starts off like a traditional mystery novel. A moody man named is forced to reconnect with his past due to his father's worsening dementia. In the process of rehabilitating himself to his old hometown, he is forced to encounter the ghosts of his past including his ex girlfriend who betrayed him by leaving him for his ex best friend. Hi ex best friend has disappeared and is presumed to be dead. When he reunites with his ex girlfriend Sam, they still have the same magic and chemistry. She still has a hold over him. She asks him to help her find out what happened her missing husband. This search leads to amazing discoveries!

The first half of this book is told like a standard mystery book, which is what I thought I was reading. Later the books shifts it's genre from mystery to speculative fiction. We are presented with a scenario in which the world is not what we think it is, and that the history we know is not true. What I liked about this book was the twists and turns and the imagination of the alternative history that was presented. I did struggle with the shift though..from a tone and a story that felt realistic to a world where all the conspiracy theories were real. This is a small complaint though for a book that was thoroughly enjoyable and completely unpredictable.  After reading 'The Great Forgetting,' I definitely wanted to read James Renner's other book, 'The Man of Primrose Lane.'