ARC Review: Believe Me Now by S. M. Govett

Believe Me Now
Author: S. M. Govett
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (June 10, 2025)

Description: A woman wronged and the detective investigating her husband’s suspected crime must work through a chilling and puzzling case in this twisty dual-narrator thriller where nothing is as it seems, perfect for fans of Hayley Scrivener and Lisa Jewell.

Natalie Campbell loses time. She’ll wake up in different places with no memory of how she got there. The blackouts are a symptom of her PTSD, which began after she was sexually assaulted by her boss, who was found not guilty. But she found ways to cope by setting up routines and relying on her supportive husband, Ryan. Then one day, her husband is accused of committing the same crime that ruined her life.

Natalie desperately wants to believe he is innocent, but when Alice Lytton, the young woman who accused him, is found murdered in the woods near their house, she begins to doubt the man she married.

DI Helen Stratton is also healing from old wounds. Her older sister disappeared when she was 16, and the police didn’t bother to investigate. Vowing to help other lost and vulnerable girls, she joined the force. Stratton is ready to do whatever it takes to catch the killer and bring justice to her sister and Alice.

Tightly plotted, fast-paced, and addictive, Believe Me Now will keep you on the edge of your seat, wondering if anyone is to be believed.

My Thoughts: BELIEVE ME NOW is a twisty, dual viewpoint thriller. Natalie Campbell is a suburban housewife who suffers from PTSD after an office rape and a trial that found her attacker innocent. Natalie has blackouts in which she loses time and finds herself in different places with no idea how she got there. These blackouts - what she calls "losing time" - seem to be stress-related. They began with the court case almost ten years earlier exacerbated by the arrival of threatening letters sent by her accuser's wife.

Some years have gone by since she has received new letters, but her anxiety hasn't ended. The stress is starting to increase again as some new letters arrive, and her husband is accused of raping his assistant. Natalie's relationship with her husband has changed over the years and now she doesn't know if she can believe him when he says that the accusation is false.

Stress ramps up still more when the young, pretty accuser is found murdered in the woods near their home at a time when her husband was out running.

DI Helen Stratton is the other viewpoint character. She's under stress of her own as it is nearing the anniversary of her older sister's disappearance. She joined the police force to find her sister and over the years of her career she has solved many crimes. However, her sister's disappearance remains a mystery.

Now, she finds herself being partnered with a fast-tracker - a young police officer being pushed up the ladder and with responsibility for this new murder case reluctantly given to her by her superior with whom she once had an affair. Helen is also dealing with a mother with dementia whose care home is hinting that another facility might be better for her. 

While Helen zeroes in on Natalie's husband as the murder suspect, Natalie is also trying to unravel the case. And when Natalie's husband apparently commits suicide, the case gets even twistier. 

This was a dark story which leaves the reader to put the pieces together even as the two viewpoint characters are trying to do the same. I enjoyed the twists and turns though I felt the ending came too fast and tied up the loose ends a bit too easily. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.