When I Know Your Name

by Gemma M. Lawrence

*This edition has been unpublished and is no longer available.

254 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 26, 2020

About the author

This author is now published under G.M. Lawrence.

Reviews

[Sissy's Romance Book Review · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I Know You Name by Gemma M. Lawrence is the story of Elena Dumont who was kidnapped and held for ransom. Elena family was to pay but sh escaped on her own now trying to find out who it was that has set all this in motion. While doing so a mysterious man has entered her life. This book kept me turning page trying to figure out what was going to be happening next and the mystery behind what had been set in motion. I do recommend this book and I will be looking for more book from this author.

[Kat Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Satisfying, engaging blend of romance, mystery, and suspense. Elena is extremely relatable and her story is so compelling, grabbing the reader from the first page and leading them through a winding trail of intrigue and betrayal that throws her loyalties and entire sense of what she knows into relief as she plunges deeper and deeper.

The love interest is fantastically done-it takes a lot of skill to pull off a captivity trope, and I was thoroughly impressed by how deftly the author mastered the subject matter. The world is vivid and shaped by an engaging plot chock-full of twists, all adding up to a gripping read that's a true gem.

[Beyond The Covers Blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suspenseful and emotional are two emotions that are fully covered in Gemma Lawrence’s latest book When I Know Your Name.  I was reading as fast as I could because the answers just weren’t coming to me and I was on the edge of my seat not knowing when the next attack from the boogey-man was going to happen.  I genuinely enjoyed this unique mystery, suspense and believe it or not romance story.  I would not but this book entirely in the romance department but there are some feel good moments that make you stop reading and say “HMMMM”  This was my first book by Gemma Lawrence and I was mesmerized with the story.  5-stars for When I Know Your Name by Gemma M. Lawrence.
 
Elena Dumont can’t shake the feeling that she’s being watched, yet her friend and her boyfriend thinks she’s just paranoid.  Giving her a hard time about over-reacting, Elena lets her guard down for a brief moment and her worst fears come true.  Elena is taken hostage and a ransom has been demanded for her safe return, now she just has to wait and manage to survive.  Her abductors range from one being scary to the next ambivalent to the third being caring and gorgeous and someone she recognizes.  The longer Elena is held the more she begins to feel towards one of the men, even if he is holding her hostage.  If Elena survives she will have to figure out just what her crazy feelings mean and if it’s wrong to feel the way she does towards a man who has taken everything from her but who has somehow giving her more than she ever had in all of her privileged life.

[Jaime Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story took me by surprise. The storyline has suspense and thoughts of what the heck, while you are left turning pages wondering what will happen next. Not to mention a potential romance. Elena is kidnapped but a turn of events threatens to change her life forever. Will Elena give in or continue to try to escape? You will want to read to find out all the details.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little while back I got a review request to read ‘When I Know Your Name’ by Gemma Lawrence. Since I love Romantic Suspense, this book definitely sparked my interest and I was super excited to start reading.

In ‘When I Know Your Name’ we meet Elena Dumont. Elena has had a feeling she is being watched for a while now. But no one seems to believe her. Than one day she is taken from her home and soon she realizes she is kidnapped. And they want her father to pay big. But one day, becomes one week and soon Elena is gone for weeks. But one of her captors is different, and soon Elena makes a choose that changes everything.

This book was definitely not what I imagined. From the start this story kept me hooked. Right away we are in the middle of things and it definitely made it hard for me to put this read away.
The romance in this book was fun and different, really different. But there just was something about Elena and Ethan that kept me rooting for them until the end. And the author definitely kept me guessing how this romance was going to go. The chemistry between Elena and Ethan wasn’t as great as I’d hoped. Mostly because I just felt like there was still a lot of mystery revolving Ethan, which made it hard for me to really ‘trust’ him. But.. that being said.. This book definitely didn’t go the way I expected at all. And I really enjoyed that.

Mostly this book was really impressive and very original. The main character Elena wasn’t really my favorite. I felt really bad for her, but I just couldn’t really connect with her. And especially the way she was with her boyfriend, frustrated me a lot. But this story was thrilling enough to keep me hooked, and to not let me bother it as much as it would normally.

‘When I Know Your Name’ was a very thrilling and exciting read. The romance was enjoyable enough, but the fact that so much was going on that I didn’t expect made this book a really good one. I look forward to reading more books by Gemma Lawrence.

[Christina Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow oh wow!!! this book kept me on my toes, every turn of the page I wanted to know what in the world was next!!! mean his book starts with a dang bang an your sitting here going wtf just happened?!?!?! if you like suspense even thriller this is your book!!!! check it out, you will not regret it! my first read by this author and i'm dying for more

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elena is kidnapped. She undergoes hell while awaiting her father to pay the ransom. She misses her boyfriend and her best friend, especially when she is all alone in a nasty, run down room for long stretches of time.
When she finally escapes, no thanks to her father, she needs to heal from this endeavor. With the help of a mysterious man,she begins to try to find out who was behind her abduction. Being surrounded by lots of selfish people,Elena has a long line of potential suspects.
Opinion
If you like suspense, you’ll love this book. I absolutely did! I was kept guessing throughout. Every time I thought I had the villain picked out, new information came along to rock the boat. The ending is such a plot twist that it came out of left field.
There is absolutely no way for me to give you any details of the book without spoiling it. All I can say is that you will not be disappointed if you read this book.
This is my pick for suspense of the year.
Many thanks to Bare Naked Words for providing me with an ARC of this book.

[Kari Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elena believes she is in danger but those closest to her not only don’t believe her but they try to convince her otherwise. She is about to find out she should have followed her instincts when she is kidnapped and held by three men. With every passing hour her anxiety rises as she waits for the ransom to be paid and eventually manages to escape.

She is about to find out her ordeal has just begun as she doesn’t know who took her and why. As she tries to uncover the truth she needs to find out who are friends and who are foes before it is too late.
Elena’s strength and resilience shines through as the story takes us on a journey filled with intrigue and surprises you don’t see coming.

[Joyffree · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was wildly intense and a little fun!
Nothing like I thought going in heavy on the mystery and suspense lighter on the romance with a twist of "you never know it could happen"

A Mysusance really

The storyline is easy to follow and the author did a fabulous job of misleading the reader sometimes subtly other times 'in your face'. The characters were so vivid. My love and loathe meter was going berserk. A couple scenes were just a touch out there but IMO they worked with the overall tone.

At one point in the story, I went a whole different direction then had to make a U-turn but nothing was adding up and someone said something and my mind went all off the grid only to end up in some far away so not happening place
And the best part?
When you think you know -
You don't

[Tanya Vought · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sigh. This book is a gripping, suspenseful read!
You will fall in love with Elena- her determination, perseverance, strong will and attitude.
Then her family..... you'll find out what kind of people they are... and then the kidnapping/captor.

Let's just say-- you'll fall in love with this suspenseful read. It left me speechless, satisfied with the ending and everything in between!!!

4 stars from me.

[Within The Pages Book Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not what I expected...in a good way

This story took me by surprise. The storyline has suspense and thoughts of what the heck, while you are left turning pages wondering what will happen next. Not to mention a potential romance. Elena is kidnapped but a turn of events threatens to change her life forever. Will Elena give in or continue to try to escape? You will want to read to find out all the details.

[Kelly Kemmerly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit this story grates on your last sanity nerve as you experience the horrors of kidnapping, torture, deprivation, and fear. From there you begin to share Elena's thoughts, feelings, and mental shifts.
Is her protector and captor one and the same?
Who wants her dead?
Nothing in her daily life is real when she begins to unravel the truth behind the ultimate betrayal.
Elena puts all her trust in the one person who she knows nothing about, not even his name.
Frozen to your seat suspense, that will have you shaking your head with dread and begging for more!

[Celeste · Rating 5 out of 5]

for full review go to Beyond the Covers Blog here on Goodreads

[Jennifer Pierson · Rating 5 out of 5]

After I finished this amazing story that kept me on my toes cover to cover, I decided I needed to see what other books this author wrote so I could get them. Imagine my surprise when I didn't see any other books making When I Know Your Name her debut and I'm in even more awe about everything. My happy place is when I'm experiencing a book that keeps me guessing with twists that are so turned out that my only option is to drop loud f-bombs, and that's what I got.  Elena is kidnapped, and while she definitely lived in fear from her captors (a couple were plain evil) as she waited for someone to pay her ransom, she ended up bonding with the "good cop" who goes by Ethan.  And that's all that I'm really willing to impart about the plot because it's so amazing with all its anxious filled moments as each layer was exposed before the big reveal.  I promise I had not guessed that big reveal.   Anyway, just experience it all for yourselves by hitting those one click buttons!  HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND TO ALL!  

[Ashley Jasper · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't exactly know how to put into words what I just read. I finished When I Know Your Name and I just sat there staring into space. A mixture of confused, anxious and satisfied.

There was something about Elena that I liked. She was sharp and strong. Brave and at the same time vulnerable. Her situation changed her. How could it not? It didn't hurt that Ethan was there to keep her safe and quasi sane.

I liked that Ethan was a not so bad bad guy. He gave Elena the space she needed to work through her feelings and make her own choices. But he also helped her ask the right questions. And start standing up for her feelings and not brushing them under the rug. And in her quest for answers she stood her ground and followed her gut.

Talk about a wild and twisted ride. Gemma Lawrence kept me guessing who was behind it all until the very end when all was revealed. And even then, my jaw was on the floor. Ethan and Elena's love story is unconventional to say the least, but it was uniquely theirs and they owned every aspect of it.

[Vic Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant innovative writing from debutant author. Twists and turns to the very end. Let us hope there will be more to follow as our appetite has been whetted.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was kindly given a copy of this book for an honest review.

A very well written, gripping novel from a talented writer, who I was surprised to learn was her debut novel. The novel gripped you from the first page to the very last and I struggled to put it down. The characters set up the scene for a whodunit, along with a healthy dose romance and gripping suspense throughout the book. I found myself changing my mind who was responsible at various stages of the story and at the end a complete blind side that is an unexpected genius.

[Cris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story. Suspenseful throughout the whole book. Loved the interaction between Elena & Ethan. Surprised by who the person was behind the kidnapping. I received a free copy thru Voracious Readers.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the first third of this book, but then something changed for me and I was less engaged. I think the relationship between Elena and Ethan was uncomfortable, and some of her behaviour, particularly at the end wasn't quite believable.
Thanks to Voracious Reader's for sending me a copy to review. I enjoyed it and would read more by this author.

[Pauline Render · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Elena Dumont is kidnapped, her bravery and courage regardless of her terror eventually creates an unexpected bond with one of her kidnappers. When she escapes with his help, she discovers a side of herself she hadn’t realised existed as she is determined to find out who had taken her and why. Together Elena and her saviour, with whom she shares an unbreakable, intense relationship begin to uncover the truth of what happened. Elena is a very strong character, surprising me at times with the strength of her will, and while I was never too sure if Ethan had an ulterior motive due to what seemed to me to be an obsessive love for her, I did appreciate everything he was willing to do for her. That being said though, I did have that constant niggling questioning the back of mind of is he a good guy or is he a bad guy. There were plenty of twists to keep me wondering right until the end of this book, and for me, I would love to read a sequel to this book.

[Hannah Symonds · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is dangerous, once you have picked it up, nothing else will stand in it's way and you wont want to put it down. It is a very good read with believable characters, I don't think I have read a book with this type of story before, the fact that this is a debut novel just makes me even more happy as it is full of suspense and you never know what will happen next. I look forward to more books by Gemma in the future. This is definitely one I would recommend.

[Anne-Marie Goyette · Rating 5 out of 5]

intoxicating

This book is totally intoxicating. You will find yourself captivated and fascinating as the suspense and love keeps you turning pages. The characters come to life just like in a movie
Perfect blend of heart wrenching and heart warming. . (Wish I could give 10 stars). First I have read anything by this author
And I delighted in the gem I found in this book
Warning a book hangover is coming your way
Enjoy the read

[Wendy May · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliantly written debut novel which had me turning the pages with gusto to find out more. The characters are well depicted and truly believable - some had you rooting for them, whilst others bought out whole host of negative emotions! Great ending with a good twist which kept me guessing right up to the end. Best book I have read all year. Hope to read more by this author in the future....?

[Sue Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I Know Your Name by G.M. Lawrence.
They planned the perfect kidnap. Except for one thing – they chose Elena.
Elena Dumont appears to have it all: a charmed life, a handsome boyfriend and wealthy, successful parents.
I really enjoyed this book. Creepy twisty and gripping. I do love this author. 5*.

[ThrillerSeeker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic debut novel

This was a fantastic debut novel. The characterisation of Elena is excellent – a tenacious and strong protagonist. You want to know what happens to her, so the storyline keeps you turning the pages. A great twist finished it off nicely!

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elena thinks she’s being watched. She keeps seeing the same guy. But everyone tells her it’s her imagination. It’s happened before and she was wrong. So one day she heads out……and finds out she wasn’t wrong. She’s kidnapped and the guy holding her wants to hurt her. But someone else is in charge and they have a connection neither of them expected. She’s fascinated with him and he seems drawn to her.
What follows is a story like none I’ve read. What is going on? There are so many twists. So many questions. Is it just Stockholm syndrome? Is Elena crazy? Is this guy for real? What’s in it for him? Who’s really behind the kidnapping? What the &$#@ is going on?
I won’t say it grabbed me from the first page, but when it did, it wouldn’t let go. I had to go to work and I was reading on breaks, thinking about it driving. I will be looking for more books by this author.
I did receive this book as a free copy from BookSprout and am voluntarily leaving this review.

[Abigail Drumm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read When I Know Your Name after encountering a social media promotion and recommendation. I opted for the Kindle version and read it via my computer within a few days.

I will preface my review by noting that I am a reader of historical and contemporary fiction more than of suspenseful novels or thrillers. Therefore, other books in the genre to which I might compare When I Know Your Name don’t come immediately to mind. My review of the book is based on my perception of the plot and the characters without context of genre precedent or convention.

The story centers around a young woman named Elena whose family is swimming in money. Her worries about being watched come to a head when a man steals her from the street and hauls her to a run-down shelter in a wooded area. The book focuses on her abduction for about a third of the book, including the feelings she begins to develop for the charming, considerate (as considerate as one can be under the circumstances) “good cop” captor*. The remaining ⅔ follows Elena as she navigates through her new old life - unsuccessfully, changed as she is from the kidnapping - and her affection for her captor.

To start, I did enjoy the pace of the story. Lawrence didn’t spend pages setting the scene; she plunged the reader directly into the conflict, with only a chapter or two devoted to the background of Elena’s abduction. The author effectively captures the terror of the kidnapping, the revulsion of the keeper who Elena dubs “Cigarettes”, and the confusion Elena experiences when falling for her captor. The drama and mystery certainly kept me turning pages, though not, at times, without frustration. Frankly, Elena frustrated me.

My brain sounded Stockholm Syndrome alarms the moment that Elena began betraying her feelings for her captor. The therapist at the hospital recognized this condition after Elena hid details about her captor from the police, but Elena discounted the woman’s assessment and later called the therapist a “dopey shrink.” As Elena expressed multiple times, she endured much through the ordeal (“You haven’t been through what I’ve been through”, and variations, were a common refrain) and could not return to being the same afterward. I sympathize and agree with her; at the same time, I criticize how she confronted her relationships as a result, particularly with her best friend Charlotte. When Charlotte voiced concerns about Elena’s relationship with this mystery man (the former captor), Elena interpreted Charlotte’s efforts to protect Elena as controlling and without understanding.

Meanwhile, the captor IS a controlling man, and he (and, later, a friend) admits this. For some reason, that doesn’t scare Elena, but I began to worry that elements of an abusive relationship were being covered over with explanations about safety, all-consuming passion, et cetera. He places a tracker on Elena’s phone so that he knows where she is at all times and starts digging through the personal business of all her friends, family, and colleagues to find the inciting actor of her abduction, which makes sense considering that her life could still be in danger, but it reminds me too much of tactics that mental/emotional abusers use.

Elena began as a compelling character, fighting against Cigarettes during her abduction and refusing to crumble despite the horror of her situation, but I found myself losing interest in her when she gave into her affections for her captor and reached out for him to become an official part of her life, secret though he generally had to stay. At the beginning of the story, the author notes how much Elena enjoys her work at the museum, how it was her dream job. Elena has passions and the readers catch a glimpse of how she pursues them despite family pressure. Once this relationship with her captor begins, Elena’s life pivots to focus on him and him alone. Few mentions about her career are made again. (I recognize, of course, that Elena is recovering from a traumatic experience and that an immediate return to work is nonsensical, but she might at least consider life issues unrelated to the captor, such as her history interests.)

True, the book is about the relationship between Elena and her captor more than her recovery from the abduction, but including more about the latter while following the former would have made Elena more realistic, more human, for me. Instead, she jumps from aggravation to “normal” life to bliss with her captor. Many conversations are had to paint the captor in a better light than collusion in a kidnapping would otherwise allow. (That he is dashingly handsome and fit tech genius helps, I suppose.) At the same time, much dirt is thrown on the reputations of the other main male characters. This division of the male cast into relatively clear bad and good, black and white, rubbed me the wrong way. The captor’s friend Jack did intrigue me, but, unfortunately, we experience him (as himself, not talking about the captor) for only a few paragraphs.

Altogether, the main characters (other than Charlotte, bless her soul) didn’t connect with me, but I don’t deny that Lawrence can craft a page-turning mystery. I didn’t guess the real perpetrator until the end; the build-up to the reveal was arranged well, with hints dropped through small investigation discoveries and character interactions. My criticisms aside, I am giving When I Know Your Name three stars because, though I didn’t like the characters (which, I argue, are the most important part of a story), I did like Lawrence’s writing style and pacing and would therefore be open to giving future publications from her a chance.

*I refer to the love interest as “the captor” in the review because 1) that is the only title by which Elena knows him for a while, and 2) revealing the name is an important part of the relationship development.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping, powerful, brilliantly written romantic psychological thriller. Impossible to put down as you journey through Elena's abduction and imprisonment. The twists and turns in this remarkable story have you captivated as it reaches its climax in the final pages. Highly recommended read and worthy of five stars.

[Coco.V]

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