Customer Reviews

That's Not My Name

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

THAT'S NOT MY NAME starts off with a bang...a child is kidnapped. Move forward 15 or so years and another woman is taken from a convenience store. Connected? And if so..how? Navarro introduces to us Jesse Waite, who in a fit of despair and obsession, takes another man's wife thinking she is his own wife, who has been missing the past three months. Jesse then locks Nola in his house and explains to her, through pictures and half-remembered memories, that Nola is really Stacey, Jesse's wife of 4 years. Navarro weaves an interesting scenario and gives out clues throughout the narrative as to what is really going on here.

The author has a tough road ahead, trying to convince the reader that this really could and can happen. The scent of reality permeates this story and is hard to believe this wasn't motivated by a real life occurence. The characters are completely three dimensional, their motivations realistic and the dialogue crisp. We are introduced to a dedicated cop, Nola's husband and a host of whacked out relatives of Stacey's. These people help push along the story and never let it drag on.

The last 1/4 of this novel has such an astonishing number of revelations, some that I figured out but others that were just shocking. Navarro has written a mystery/suspense novel that will keep you guessing long into the night. Get comfortable when you start this one, you will be there for a long, fulfilling ride with a talented writer who delivers in a big way.

In That's Not My Name, Jesse Waite, believing that his wife has died a sudden death after loosing a baby, wanders into a carnival and suddenly spots a young woman who "is" his wife. He follows her for days and finally approaches her pulling her into his car to take her home where she belongs. He thinks her name is Stacey Waite; she thinks her name is Nola Elidad. Nola's husband of three months is distraught over her disappearance, but knows very little about her when he tries to tell the police about his new wife. It begins to look like story about a multiple personality when Nola/Stacey's memories begin to surface;however, a surprise development of another actual person turns the book into a real suspense that is hard to put down until the last detail surfaces.

This is one of those books where you keep promising yourself "just one more chapter" before you go to bed. Suddenly, it's two in the morning and you've just-one-more-chaptered until you've finished the book! It's that good!

This story is fast-paced, full of detail and has a healthy dose of reality. I especially liked the italicized flashbacks interwoven throughout the story, which both gave clues to what was happening and filled us in on background.

Usually, you can guess the twist in suspense novels, which takes some of the fun out of them. Although I did guess one twist part way through the book, the ending took me totally by surprise! I cannot recommend this book highly enough!

"That's Not My Name" had me wondering what was "real" and what was a character's desperate fantasy until the astonishing resolution. Adding to the impact of this excellent novel is the frightening possibility that the events described could occur in real life. Ms. Navarro makes what happened to Nola, Jesse and the other richly penned characters in this book entirely believable. The events that shape the character's lives are well thought out and hauntingly portrayed. Typical of Ms. Navarro's work, "That's Not My Name" is filled with great characterizations -- it seems as if any of these people could be my neighbors, friends or relatives, acting in very believable ways when placed in extraordinary circumstances. The plot was most original and exceedingly well executed. Yvonne Navarro once again does a great job of tying up what would otherwise be loose ends with a superb attention to detail. Pick up "That's Not My Name" and be prepared not to set it down until you finish it!

Don't start this book if you want to sleep. It's not just that the story will go round and round in your head (there's not a single character, "good" or "bad" guy, who you'll want to see lose), but it simply demands that you keep reading.

Engrossing is an apt description.

Yvonne Navarro weaves a tale that could take place here and now, to someone you know. A kidnapper. A woman, kidnapped. A husband. The kidnapper: his wife, dead for less than a year, is alive in the grocery store? The woman: if she's not his wife, why does she have no memory going back more than four months? And why do his pictures look just like her? The husband: he doesn't even have a picture of his wife of three months, and knows nothing of her history.

I was so worried, reading this book, that there was no way she could end it and make me happy on all accounts. And yet she did it, and extremely well...and everything fit perfectly in the logic and story. I mean, I hate when an author puts something into a story at the end to make everything work. In this case, all the pieces are there. Everything fits, perfectly, once Yvonne Navarro gives you the key.

So, like I said, don't start this book if you want to sleep. But if you're willing to give up some time to read, then this is likely the most intriguing and engaging book you'll read this year.

One minute Nola Elidad is enjoying herself as a newleywed, the next minute she is literally stolen by a man who claims she is his wife. The author skillfully develops the relationship between Nola and her kind captor. You will never guess the ending! I finished this book in 2 days, a must-read!

Nola has been married to Alec for some three months when she is abducted from a parking lot by Jesse. Jesse is convinced that she is his supposedly dead wife, Stacey, who died ... some three months ago; except that Jesse never saw her in her coffin. As Nola tries to make Jesse see that she can't possibly be his wife, she is nonplussed at how familiar Stacey's things seem to her. She is shocked speechless when she sees photos of Stacey and realizes that she is looking at what appears to be her own face. The suspense of this excellent, faintly noir novel is relentless as the police search for Nola continues even as she begins to doubt her own identity and past. Jesse is a bizarre character who treats Nola with love and respect but locks her in when he leaves the house. Nola is horrified to discover that her abduction was not a spontaneous event; rather, Jesse quit his job and stalked her for months. After constant what if's, maybes, and I'll bet it was this, that, or the other, I was more than ready for all to be revealed in the end. I was a bit taken aback by the epilogue, however -- totally unexpected.

Twenty-one year old Nola Elidad was happey when she married Alec and the couple started out on a new life together, then a trip to the grocery store changes everything. Jesse who insists Nola is really his wife Stacey, abducts her as she is leaving the store and locks her up in the basement of the home he swears is theirs. His plan is simple, he'll take care of Stacey during her "sickness" and gradually reintroduce her to her real life until her memory comes back. Once she understands he has no intention of hurting her, Nola tries to prove him wrong and reclaim her identity as Nola.

However, she is continuously shaken as the coincidences keep piling up, how Stacey's clothes fit her perfectly, the gaps in her memory, her familiarity with the house, Jesse's knowledge of her likes and dislikes, and especially the photos with people familiar to her (although she can't quite place them) and wedding photos with a younger Jesse and someone who looks exactly like herself, exchanging vows.

This five star book will grab you and hold your attention till the very last page as you travel through the novel and unravel the mystery of Nola along the characters themselves.

This book is a page-turner,even if it is a little hard to believe. I had a hard time putting it down, but was wanting a little more out of it. The middle of the book had alot of unimportant info in it and the end was too short and left alot of unanswered questions. I would like to see her write more of this kind of book.

This was a really on the edge of your seat book,once I started reading I could'nt put it down, I only wish I could find more books with so much suspence, I am so glad that I bought it, Ms Navarro writes with such immagination, and the words just flow along, thanks for a great book!