The World You Thought You Knew
Like many of us, I spent many days in the last year finding escape through literature, and, despite everything else, 2020 brought us a bounty of compelling stories. I've also included a couple that had been sitting on my to-read pile for a couple of years and found they absolutely justified the wait.
Though the settings are vastly different, I discovered an unintentional theme in this list: characters and experiences that challenge perceptions and the known, whether it's here on our Earth or a bit farther afield. There is something deeply satisfying in the crack of realization when suddenly either everything before it makes sense, or you realize that your world has shifted a tiny bit from the reality you occupied just a minute ago.
Everything New York City cop Barry Sutton thinks he remembers about his past is upended when he begins investigating the death of a women with False Memory Syndrome - belief so strong that her life was once something else, she had to end it. He connects with neuroscientist Helena Smith, who believes she knows why these memories are surfacing. The two begin hunting for a way to end the madness and restore the past - before it hunts them down first.