Claire Allan - Forget Me Not

Published by AVON

A Division of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Publishers 2019

Copyright © Claire Allan 2019

Cover design © Claire Ward, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2019

Cover photographs © Karina Vegas/ Arcangel (shoes and background), Shutterstock.com (knife and flowers)

Claire Allan asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780008321918

Ebook Edition © May 2019 ISBN: 9780008321925

Version: 2019-04-26

‘Amazing. I read it in one go.’

Marian Keyes

‘Utterly addictive! Literally couldn’t put it down all day! Compulsive, twisty, tense. And LOVED the ending.’

Claire Douglas

‘A powerful and emotional psychological thriller that will keep you guessing and leave you breathless.’

C.L. Taylor

‘SUCH a good read! It made me feel so uncomfortable, but I still kept gobbling up the pages.’

Lisa Hall

‘ Her Name Was Rose is one heck of a read! It’s a psychological thriller with a heart; it’s taut, emotionally challenging and, unlike so many thrillers, each twist and turn is here because it deserves to be and not for the sake of it.’

John Marrs

‘An exciting debut that I couldn’t put down, Her Name Was Rose got under my skin in a way I wasn’t expecting. An intriguing and menacing page turner.’

Mel Sherratt

‘The depth of characterisation and its fast pace is what makes Her Name Was Rose stand out as a thriller. It had me hooked until the end.’

Elisabeth Carpenter

‘A tight and twisted tale with a set of seriously complex characters – kept me guessing right ’til the end. This is going to be one of 2018’s smash hits.’

Cat Hogan

‘All I can say is wow! Such a great concept, expertly delivered to keep you turning the pages. This book toys with the reader until the last page. Trust me, this will be THE book of 2018!’

Caroline Finnerty

‘A brilliantly paced, intriguingly plotted and thoroughly enjoyable story. One of the best psych thrillers I’ve read this year.’

Liz Nugent

‘I devoured it in a couple of days. Claire Allan managed to maintain an unsettling sense of unease that started at the very beginning and didn’t let up at all.’

Elle Croft

‘A superior psychological thriller with an intriguing set-up, a flawed heroine and some great twists. Recommended!’

Mark Edwards

‘Claire Allan’s transition into crime writing is seamless. Her Name Was Rose brings all the emotional heft and depth of characterisation her readers would expect, but with a taut, menacing plot line. A compulsively thrilling read from start to finish.’

Brian McGilloway

‘Mesmerizing to the point of complete distraction. I was totally engrossed in this book.’

Amanda Robson

‘I loved it. The plot is twisty and the issues being dealt with here are big scale but told beautifully through Emily. Her envy and confusion is so real as to be palpable and of course, all too relatable. Creepy and weepy.’

Niki Mackay

‘Claire’s thrillers are twisty like tornadoes.’

Liz Nugent

‘Fantastic, fluid and engaging, a 2019 hit!’

Jo Spain

‘A brilliant and hooky read.’

Fionnuala Kearney

‘A first-rate psychological thriller. Emotional and twisty, with excellent characterisation.’

Patricia Gibney

For Julie-Anne, Vicki & Fionnuala

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Praise for Claire Allan

Dedication

Prologue

Wednesday, 6 June

Chapter One: Elizabeth

Chapter Two: Rachel

Chapter Three: Elizabeth

Chapter Four: Rachel

Chapter Five: Rachel

Chapter Six: Elizabeth

Chapter Seven: Rachel

Thursday, 7 June

Chapter Eight: Rachel

Chapter Nine: Elizabeth

Chapter Ten: Rachel

Friday, 8 June

Chapter Eleven: Rachel

Chapter Twelve: Elizabeth

Chapter Thirteen: Rachel

Chapter Fourteen: Rachel

Saturday, 9 June

Chapter Fifteen: Elizabeth

Chapter Sixteen: Rachel

Chapter Seventeen: Rachel

Chapter Eighteen: Elizabeth

Chapter Nineteen: Rachel

Chapter Twenty: Rachel

Chapter Twenty-One: Elizabeth

Chapter Twenty-Two: Rachel

Chapter Twenty-Three: Rachel

Sunday, 10 June

Chapter Twenty-Four: Elizabeth

Chapter Twenty-Five: Rachel

Monday, 11 June

Chapter Twenty-Six: ‘Warn them’

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Rachel

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Elizabeth

Tuesday, 12 June

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Rachel

Chapter Thirty: Rachel

Chapter Thirty-One: Elizabeth

Chapter Thirty-Two: Rachel

Chapter Thirty-Three: Rachel

Chapter Thirty-Four: Rachel

Chapter Thirty-Five: Elizabeth

Chapter Thirty-Six: Rachel

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Elizabeth

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Rachel

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Elizabeth

Wednesday, 13 June

Chapter Forty: Rachel

Chapter Forty-One: Rachel

Chapter Forty-Two: Rachel

Chapter Forty-Three: Elizabeth

Chapter Forty-Four: Rachel

Chapter Forty-Five: Rachel

Thursday, 14 June

Chapter Forty-Six: Rachel

Chapter Forty-Seven: Elizabeth

Chapter Forty-Eight: Rachel

Chapter Forty-Nine: Elizabeth

Chapter Fifty: Rachel

Chapter Fifty-One: Elizabeth

Chapter Fifty-Two: Rachel

Chapter Fifty-Three: Rachel

Chapter Fifty-Four: Elizabeth

Saturday, 16 June

Chapter Fifty-Five: Rachel

Wednesday, 20 June

Epilogue: Rachel

Acknowledgements

Keep Reading …

About the Author

Also by Claire Allan

About the Publisher

I disappeared on a Wednesday afternoon, in June, right in the middle of the heatwave. I was there one minute and the next I was gone. You might think it hard to disappear in broad daylight. To be visible and then, just seconds later, to be invisible. To have a life, and then moments later to have lost it. It wasn’t hard at all.