I am not who you think I am / Eric Rickstad.

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Title:

I am not who you think I am / Eric Rickstad.

Author:

Rickstad, Eric

ISBN:

9781094000336

Edition:

First edition

Publication Information:

Ashland, OR : Blackstone Publishing, 2021.

Physical Description:

229 p.

Abstract:

Wayland Maynard is just eight years old when he sees his father kill himself, finds a note that reads I am not who you think I am, and is left reeling with grief and shock. Terrified, Wayland keeps the note a secret, but his reasons for being afraid are just beginning. Eight years later, he makes a shocking discovery and becomes certain the note is the key to unlocking a past his mother and others want to keep buried.

Subject Term:

Family secrets -- Fiction.

Fathers and sons -- Fiction.

Fathers -- Death -- Fiction.

Suicide -- Fiction.

Genre:

Detective and mystery stories.

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Avon-Washington Township Public Library	Adult Mystery Fiction Book Hardback	120791002920244	M RIC	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

A New York Times Best Thriller of 2021

An Amazon Best Book of the Month

An Apple Best Book of the Month

"A tale not just of profound misunderstanding but dynastic wealth and dysfunction, of how money and power can warp a community...[A] shocker of a finale." --New York Times

''Wicked and smart. Everything you want in a great thriller.'' --Adrian McKinty, New York Times bestselling author of The Chain

One secret.Eight cryptic words.Lifetimes of ruin.

From New York Times and Internationally bestselling author

Wayland Maynard is just eight years old when he sees his father kill himself, finds a note that reads I am not who you think I am, and is left reeling with grief and shock. Who was his father if not the loving man Wayland knew? Terrified, Wayland keeps the note a secret, but his reasons for being afraid are just beginning.

Eight years later, Wayland makes a shocking discovery and becomes certain the note is the key to unlocking a past his mother and others in his town want to keep buried.

With the help of two friends, Wayland searches for the truth. Together they uncover strange messages scribbled in his father's old books, a sinister history behind the town's most powerful family, and a bizarre tragedy possibly linked to Wayland's birth. Each revelation raises more questions and deepens Wayland's suspicions of everyone around him. Soon, he'll regret he ever found the note, trusted his friends, or believed in such a thing as the truth.

I Am Not Who You Think I Am is an ingenious, addictive, and shattering tale of grief, obsession, and fate as eight words lead to lifetimes of ruin.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

This exceptional thriller from bestseller Rickstad (Reap) opens with a letter from the Shireburne, Vt., police chief to the town's citizens regarding a manuscript by Wayland Maynard, a former resident who was believed to have died in a fire in Shireburne in 1984. Maynard's account begins in 1976, when, at age eight, he came home to witness his father, Roland, the local barber, shoot himself in the head with a shotgun. Maynard, who was splattered with his parent's blood, finds a note nearby with the cryptic message "I Am Not Who You Think I Am," but conceals it from everyone else. His mother's response to the suicide--to rid the home of anything connected with Roland--further traumatizes Maynard. As a 16-year-old, Maynard begins to question what he believes about his father's death, but his investigation just leads him into more confusion and violence. The reveal about the meaning of the note comes as a genuine gut-punch. Knowing that the story line is building toward the fatal conflagration keeps the tension high. Rickstad has raised his game to a new level. Agent: Shane Salerno, Story Factory. (Oct.)

Library Journal Review

In Rickstad's (What Remains of Her) 1984-set thriller, 16-year-old Wayland Maynard is still traumatized by his father's suicide, which he witnessed as an eight-year-old. He lives on the fringes of the small Vermont village of Shireburne with his mother and sister, and the family barely scrapes by. Wayland is keeping a secret: eight years ago, he found a note near his father's body, bearing the cryptic message "I am not who you think I am." Wayland is convinced that the man who died that afternoon was not his father. Now he launches his own investigation, digging into the twisted past of the Vanders family, scions of Shireburne society who owned the dilapidated mansion in the woods outside of town. Someone out there will stop at nothing to keep Wayland from learning the history of his father's birth and death. VERDICT Rickstad ratchets up the suspense, filling Wayland's investigations with misdirection, shadowy characters, and gothic elements. There's a sense of dread throughout the book, but the final plot twist is a jaw-dropper. Recommended for readers who like their thrillers dark and twisted.--Nanette Donohue, Champaign P.L., IL