Synopsis
A woman dives into her husband’s memories to uncover a decades-old feud threatening reality itself in this staggering technothriller from the bestselling author of Ascension.
Maggie Webb has lived the last decade caring for elderly husband, Stanley, as memory loss gradually erases all the beautiful moments they created together. It’s the loneliest she’s ever felt in her life.
When a mysterious stranger named Hassan appears at her door, he reveals a shocking truth: Stanley isn’t losing his memories. Someone is actively removing them to hide a long-buried secret from coming to light. If Maggie does what she’s told, she can reverse it. She can get her husband back.
Led by Hassan and his technological marvels, Maggie breaks into her husband’s mind, probing the depths of his past in an effort to save him. The deeper she dives, the more she unravels a mystery spanning continents and centuries, each layer more complex than the last.
But Hassan cannot be trusted. Not just memories are disappearing, but pieces of reality itself. If Maggie cannot find out what Stanley did all those years ago, and what Hassan is after now, she risks far more than her husband’s life. The very course of human history hangs in the balance.
Review
This book was a total cover grab based on the U.K. cover. I loved it at first sight and despite not wanting to judge a book by its cover, I happily accepted a review copy from the author. Little did I know how much I would love this book.
When I first started Dissolution, I was a little skeptical though. I found the narrative setup a little lacking and forced. Thankfully the story that was told through that POV and the second narrator, which showed us scenes from the past, kept me very interested. I also found the thought process of the first narrator very compelling. I enjoyed her little detours, rants, and memories that weren’t always exactly what she was supposed to be talking about. It made her feel so real to me.
There were some other small details throughout that I found a little questionable, but—just like the narrative setup I originally disliked—these all converged in a really satisfying ending. It felt like every detail (those I loved and those I didn’t) had a specific purpose that slowly led us to the conclusion. I fully expected to be reading multiple books at the same time as this one (ADHD brain!), but this one crept its way into my daily thoughts even when I wasn’t reading and I just could not start another one. It hooked me so thoroughly with its consistent build-up and I reached the finale breathless for the conclusion. It took right until the very last couple of pages to completely resolve. I was really worried that it wouldn’t feel as satisfying as the climb to get there, but it did not disappoint! What a clever and fitting ending!
When I had first read the description of the book, I’d been worried it might get a little too dark for me. Despite my exploration of horror this year, I still approach each thriller and horror book with caution. That wasn’t necessary with this one though. I never really got that worried while reading the book itself. Rather, what unsettled me instead snuck up on me really slowly, which were the implications of the book. It started quite innocently with its second POV. I don’t usually like most coming-of-age stories, but this one managed to stay interesting to me the whole time with its carefully chosen scenes and its swift timeline. While I don’t usually like that kind of rush through someone’s story either, here the scenes always felt important and emotionally impactful. At times, it was quite heart-breaking. At the same time it was compelling and addictive. I couldn’t look away, even when it started to feel like tragedy was approaching. It was satisfying to guess some of the reveals but also be surprised by others.
I sometimes got lost in my own thoughts about the tech that was discovered and used in the book. That’s what my worried brain got quite stuck on at times. If that technology really was part of our world, that would be terrifying. It was incredibly interesting though to follow the story woven around memories and how they could be used. I’m not sure why I thought I could read a book about memory though and not have my feelings hurt. Hehehe.
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