Before I Go To Sleep, SJ Watson (Black Swan, 2011)

'Who are you?', I say.
'I'm your husband Ben,' he says. 'You had an accident a long time ago. You have trouble remembering things.'
'What things?'
'Everything.'
'I'm scared.'
'Don't worry. I'll look after you. I'll always look after you.'

I really like this dust-jacket blurb because it creates an idea of fear and suspense (kudos to SJ's good use of short dialogue and well-placed gaps - something that continues throughout the book).
'Before I Go To Sleep' is SJ Watson's debut novel. It's a psychological, crime thriller set in contemporary England, mainly London. SJ Watson worked in the NHS for a number of years before being accepted into the first Faber Academy 'Writing A Novel' course in 2009; the course was a program that covered all aspects of the novel-writing process and 'Before I Go To Sleep' is the result. 
We don't get our main character's name until Page 19. "Christine" wakes up in a room she doesn't recognise, in bed with a man she has no memory of. This sounds like our narrator is a vaguely hungover one-night-standee until she goes into the bathroom and doesn't recognise her own reflection. Further discover shows that the man in the bed is her husband and that she has a condition that leaves her unable to retain memories for longer than twenty-four hours at a time.
The premise of the novel is plausible. Memory is something that affects us all, from where we've left our keys to family birthdays, from PIN numbers to childhood incidents. One of the main ideas used in this book about memory is how it relates to personal identity. If we lose our memories, do we lose our identity? Christine can form new memories and begins keeping a record of them in a journal. However, she also suffers flashbacks which come out of nowhere, brought about by tastes, smells or sights. Thus, her senses connect her to her memories and are also part of her identity.
The narrative is chronological, but only within Part Two of the book. Parts One and Three are separate and seem to be enclosing Part Two, like bookends. In Part Two, the story is told in the form of diary entries (an interesting technique to make the reader connect with the narrator on a personal level).
As the story continued, I found myself growing to like Christine and to question everything around her. SJ Watson is very good at developing suspense; the climax of the novel is as brutal as an attack - I felt scared and shocked as I read it.
Overall, I think that this is a brilliant first novel.