It’s a well-known fact that I am a sucker for a good mystery and thriller story. Nothing can keep me awake at night better than thrilling survival instinct stories. I have been a fan of Tanushri Dutta’s An Invitation to Die and S. Hussain Zaidi’s Zero Day. It’s been a long time since I had read anything specifically from the thriller genre. When I got my hands on Lavnya Krishnamurti’s Forget Me Not, oh boy, it didn’t disappoint. It ended up being a solid 3.5 out of 5 read and sits right at the top of my thriller list of 2026 so far.
Premise
The story kicks off when investigative journalist Avantika Krishnan wakes up in a Coimbatore hospital unable to recognize her family or friends after receiving emergency treatment from her still-in-love ex-boyfriend, Dr. Shankar. It quickly becomes clear she’s suffering from retrograde amnesia following an accident. Things escalate fast when intruders ransack her hospital room looking for something, and someone shoots her childhood best friend, Marvin just outside his house. Once fearless, she’s now completely clueless about what she was investigating before the crash and why it’s putting everyone around her in mortal danger.
On the other hand, a sudden epidemic of appendicitis hits the town of Coimbatore exclusively among young women. This intrigues Dr. Shankar and sends him digging deep for answers. Meanwhile, following her relentless investigative instincts, Avantika tries to figure out what she was looking into and whether the attacks on her loved ones are connected. Even her estranged husband suddenly shows up at her doorstep trying to get back with her. Are these two investigations linked by any chance? Will Avantika finally regain her memories? All these questions are answered by the end of this pacy thriller.
My take
As Lavnya gives us clues one by one while we read Forget Me Not, we start suspecting all three men once close to Avantika to be the culprit at one point or the other. She has managed to keep us engaged even when the story moves back and forth in timeline with flashbacks from Avantika’s past. Sometimes, it is a bit difficult to keep track of where we are, but those instances are very few. Because Lavnya is a doctor herself, she has kept the pharmaceutical angle grounded. It had a very high chance of losing its grip with so many technical and scientific things in the story, but with nicely placed footnotes, it gets easy to keep reading. Lavnya has also integrated themes like body-shaming, mental health, and feminism into the story really well.
On the downside, like most thrillers or crime fiction, characters from law enforcement agencies feel a bit dull since our hero; or in this case, heroine; has to shine and some of the plot twists feel a bit too convenient. But if these minor things don’t put you off from reading a book, this one is a genuinely gripping, pacy pharmaceutical thriller.
About the book
- Name of Book: Forget Me Not
- Author: Lavnya Krishnamurthy
- Publication date: 3 June 2026
- Length: 194 pages
- ASIN: B0H3RCMFFT
My rating
Story: 3.5/5
Writing Style: 3.5/5
Cover Design: 4/5
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
Where to buy
Should you read it?
If you are looking for a gripping pharmaceutical thriller and not looking for perfection, you will enjoy Avantika’s search for answers while
This review is powered by Blogchatter Book Review Program.
For more about my views on books, click here.
Leave a Reply