The Memory Box

By: Eva Lesko Natiello

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's Summary

What would you do if you googled yourself and uncovered something shocking?

In this gripping psychological thriller, a group of privileged suburban moms amuse themselves by googling everyone in town, digging up dirt to fuel thorny gossip. Caroline Thompson, devoted mother of two, sticks to the moral high ground and attempts to avoid these women. She's relieved to hear her name appears only three times, citing her philanthropy. Despite being grateful that she has nothing to hide, a delayed pang of insecurity prods Caroline to google her maiden name - which none of the others know.

The hits cascade like a tsunami. Caroline's terrified by what she reads. An obituary for her sister, JD? That's absurd. With every click the revelations grow more alarming. They can't be right. She'd know. Caroline is hurled into a state of paranoia, upending her blissful family life, desperate to prove these allegations false before someone discovers they're true.

The disturbing underpinnings of The Memory Box expose a story of deceit, misconceptions, and an obsession with control. With its twists, taut pacing, and psychological tenor, Natiello's pause-resisting suspense cautions: Be careful what you search for.

©2014 Eva Lesko Natiello (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Just couldn't finish it...

I wanted to like this book SO much... I mean, what a cool plot idea: a woman who sees something strange online after Googling herself, which leads to family secrets. The problem was, it was boring. It was clear early on what this "family secret" was, and after listening to very (very) detailed and endless descriptions of this woman's many breakdowns, I just got bored with it. Clearly she wasn't mentally all there, and being inside this woman's head was just... well, annoying. There wasn't much action besides the protagonist gasping, freezing, choking, spinning with dizziness and collapsing over every single thing every single step of the way. I would never act that way. I just didn't like her, and couldn't relate to her. Also, the barely-there husband didn't help the shallowness of the story. Such a bummer, but I gave up after investing nearly 3 hours. I just didn't care to hear the rest it.

Painful listening

I kept listening in the hopes that this book would get better. The only thing tolerable was the Narrater, Casseandra Campbell.

There just be a warning label on this novel- "finishing this Novel may be difficult."

Crazy!

This book was not just good, it was crazy good. I can't go into too much detail because I don't want to give anything away. If you are suffering from Gone Girl withdrawal, clear your schedule for a whole day and read this book.

It really is that good!

Excruciating

Great premise but poorly executed by the author. The main character's thoughts are so descriptively frantic (constantly), it keeps you feeling very anxious and you just want it to be over.

Normally, I would have given up halfway through but I was too curious to see how the author was going to wrap up and explain what she had started. The last part of the book was written much better... it had a small twist I wasn't expecting but it still did not give completely satisfactory answers.

The dialogue between characters was horrible. Names were over-used, almost as if the author did not think the reader would be able to keep up with who was being addressed. After a while, it got to be very annoying. The narrator's voice was pleasant enough but also ended up being very grating when it came to the male voices (especially Andy).

Overall, I felt I wasted a credit on this one.

Worth it

Parts of this story dragged but if you hang in there, the ending makes it worth it. At times it was easy to figure out where this story was going but done in such a way that nothing wS spoiled. I enjoyed the very realistic portrayal of life in the suburbs with everyone caught up in their own little dramas.

Read it for Book Club: Hated it

What disappointed you about The Memory Box?

The pacing of the story. The plot.

Has The Memory Box turned you off from other books in this genre?

no.

What three words best describe Cassandra Campbell’s voice?

Hollow- but I can't honestly say she wasn't just in character for this horrible book.

What character would you cut from The Memory Box?

I would cut the husband.

Any additional comments?

We all agreed that if the friend had discovered the secret and they explored it together, and the second half of the book didn't happen, this would have been a much better story.

Memory Box..sealed with a twist.

I was intrigued by the summary and found myself dragged in by suspense. While there were no chases, gun toting bad guys, or bloody corpses around every corner; I found the building plot delightfully troubling. The ongoing internal monologues , 'repressed memories', and psychopathic deception, all came together and left me wondering how it would all end.

Ugh.

Honestly, Caroline as a main character is a whiny, bizarre caricature of a modern day housewife, which I think housewives all over the country ought be furious about. Her endless chapters about the inward spiral of Caroline's inner monologue is monotonous and even downright annoying at times. I can say the only thing I genuinely liked about this book was that in the end Caroline ended up being a downright sociopath. I liked her as an unapologetic narcissist and murderer better than I ever could have as a scatterbrained hausfrau that constantly bashed the existence of trans fats.

loved it

From beginning to end...great book. Would definitely recommend. Very suspenseful. One that you don't figure out till the end

One of the worst books ever

I downloaded this without looking at any reviews. Big mistake. I would suggest reading some of the one and two star reviews on Amazon, which detail exactly why this book is so very awful. The one thing I would add is that it's even worse on audio because about 9 of the 11 hours are read in an overwrought or hysterical tone.

Very dissapointing

I was not sure how to rate this book. I overall liked the first 90% of the book minus non stop 'Caroline? Caroline!! Caroline!!!' which was annoying and not necessary. The ending (last 10%) however was absolutely dissapointing. I felt cheated. The impression I had the author had no idea how to finish the book and just came up with something, something not good. There were also many holes and gaps in the plot. The narrator was very good though. She made the book, even the ending, bearable.

Absolute Nonsense

This book is diabolical, it made no sense and was a complete waste of listening time. If this is defined as a suspense thriller then the term suspense thriller needs to be redefined.

Interesting and annoying in equal measures

The concept of the story is an interesting one. However there were a few 'holes' in it that were never really explained and the lead character was irritating to say the least. This being said I did need to keep listening which is unusual for me when I don't like a character. So all in all if you don't want examine the facts too closely and can deal a neurotic lead character its not a bad listen.