Bestseller Winn Scotch (The Department of Lost & Found) sparkles in her captivating fourth novel. Nell Slattery, one of only two survivors of a jet crash, wakes up in a hospital in rural Iowa with complete amnesia, surrounded by family and friends. As they present her with pieces of her past, a question arises: who can she trust? Everyone in her life—husband Peter, mother Indira, best friend Samantha, younger sister Rory—wants her to recover, but they are all also determined to rewrite history for their own benefit. Music, which Nell learns was once a passion of hers, helps the past emerge somewhat, as does the other crash survivor and an opportunistic journalist. But as half-truths begin to explode around Nell like land mines, she comes to understand that she can only rely on—or completely trust—herself. Winn Scotch vividly illustrates the confusion, frustration, and anger of not being able to remember or trust. She particularly shines in creating secondary characters—especially Rory and Anderson—flawed but engaging. Readers will love Nell and won’t be able to put the book down until they know how much of her past she wants to bring into her future. Agent: Elizabeth Weed, Weed Literary. (Apr.)

"Funny, poignant, and absorbing."

-J. Courtney Sullivan, author of Maine and Commencement

"I can't remember becoming so engrossed in a novel so quickly or feeling so satisfied at the end."

-Elin Hilderbrand, author of The Island

"From the first pages I was hooked. Nell is a heroine you will cheer for; and long remember after finishing the book!"

-Lauren Weisberger, author of The Devil Wears Prada

Nell Slattery, one of only two survivors of an airplane crash, wakes up with amnesia from a coma. She does not remember who she is, let alone recognize her mother, sister, or husband. As Nell attempts to regain her memory, she must rely on her family for the details of her life but soon becomes frustrated when she senses they are holding back. During this process, Nell also becomes obsessed with her father, an artist with emotional problems who disappeared from her life when she was 13. The suspense builds as Nell, using the playlist of her favorite songs that her sister made for her, begins to recall her life before the accident. VERDICT Readers who appreciate women's fiction that investigates serious themes, such as Marian Keyes's novels, will enjoy Scotch's (Time of My Life) fine novel. Reading groups will find much to discuss as well. [See Prepub Alert, 10/9/11.]—Kristen Stewart, Brazoria Cty. Lib. Syst., Pearland, TX

Young woman who survives a devastating plane crash with her body intact—and her memory wiped clean—struggles to piece together her complicated past. Waking up in an Iowa hospital surrounded by beeping machines and people she does not know, Nell Slattery soon discovers she is a very lucky girl. She was found, along with hunky young actor Anderson Carroll, still strapped to her seat in a rural field where a passenger jet went down. She and Anderson were the only two to live. The daughter of the famous and reclusive painter Francis Slattery, Nell is told that she has a husband, Peter, and runs a Manhattan gallery with her pretty younger sister, Rory. She remembers nothing. It emerges that she and Peter were briefly separated after he had a one-nightstand with a co-worker, and she and Rory were not speaking before her fateful flight. Still, under the well-meaning ministrations of her new-agey mom, Nell returns to New York (and Peter) while ignoring the sinking feeling that she isn't hearing the whole story. Back home she is dismayed to learn from various sources that she was previously a buttoned-up control freak with a wardrobe full of neutral colors. That is a far cry from the "fabulous" person she was hoping for. She was also a promising musician, who gave it all up after her father abandoned the family in her teens. Her father's shadow looms large over Nell, and finding out more about him is part of the reason she allows a reality TV show to tell her story, against everyone's better judgment. That makes sense, since it turns out that everyone in Nell's inner circle has something to hide, and it is up to her to find the truth on her own. So she enlists Anderson, who has been self-medicating his post-crash PTSD with supermodels and booze, on a road trip to a small town that just might be the key to everything—if she can only remember where it is. Scotch (Time of My Life, 2009, etc.) crafts a plausible story, complete with a capable and prickly protagonist, that doesn't resort to any movie-of-the-week amnesia clichés. A dry-eyed modern take on healing and forgiveness.