Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. I absolutely loved it. An amazing psychological thriller with so many twists and turns I could hardly keep up! The concept was very interesting and thought provoking. A real page turner with a fantastic ending. In my opinion it would make an amazing film or series. Highly recommend this book. Massive 5 stars from me.

Unusual thriller about a woman who suffers from face blindness, otherwise known as prosopagnosia. Phoebe, a young British woman suffers from an extreme case of face blindness, so extreme she can't recognize her sister, boyfriend or roommate, even when the roommate is speaking to her in a grocery store. The story is about a sociopathic man who is dating Phoebe and who takes advantage of her condition to stalk and terrorize her. Phoebe was an interesting character but not particularly likable to me. She had problems getting along with her sister and her roommates and she didn't seem to be seeking help in managing her face blindness. She is dating a man named Alfie who lies to her, makes her pay for all their meals out and disguises his voice to play games with her One day Phoebe goes to Alfie's flat and is sexually assaulted but she doesn't know if it was by Alfie or another man. After the assault, someone is stalking her and it could be Alfie or it could be someone else. Her roommates want her out so she moves into a flat owned by her sister and her wealthy husband.

I found it strange that the author made Phoebe a nurse in the emergency room of a busy hospital. She cannot recognize her own roommates yet has a job where she has to interact with dozens of people per day. Although she could read name tags or patient bracelets, it would take a lot of time and she would never know if she were talking to a patient, visitor, doctor or fellow nurse. Nothing is mentioned about her having difficult except for a few scenes where someone is speaking to her and she does not know if she knows this person. Surely someone like Phoebe would be more comfortable working with computers or with a small group of people. I also feel that people who are so afflicted would be working with a therapist to develop some coping skills.

Phoebe moves and begins dating two men, Tom and Robbie. She does not know if either of these men are her previous boyfriend Alfie. Her new neighbor Denise cautions her against dating while the stalking is still going on but she insists on dating these men although she cannot recognize them when they go on dates. The last part of the book gets exciting as Alfie becomes more and more bold in trying to take over Phoebe's life and she is trying to find out the real identity of Tom and Robbie. I found some parts exciting but some parts unbelievable such as her job where she could be putting patients at risk. I know that people really have this disease but they usually are taught some coping measures to avoid the situation Phoebe finds herself in Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for a review.

"The Girl Who Couldn't See Faces" ticked a lot of boxes for me. It's an usual and original premise - what do you do if you're trying to escape an abusive ex when you can't recognise his (or anyone else's) face? It's a quick and compulsive read and the author does a great job emphasising just how vunerable the main character is because of her face blindness. At times I found the main character a little sappy and the plot was a little predictable but that didn't hinder my enjoyment of the book. I would definitely read another book by this author.

It's great for fans of thrillers and fast reads. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This book has all of the makings of a decent thriller, but it just doesn't quite get there. The setup feels as if the author learned about prosopagnosia (face-blindness) and tried to make that fit into a thriller. Yes, the social awkwardness of the disorder is present; but, to be taken in again and again by the same guy just isn't how that works! The story started slowly, but even then it seemed like some scenes were glossed over (the rape scene, in particular). By the end of the book, everything did come together with a suitable ending.

I thought The Girl Who Couldn't See Faces was not bad. Phoebe was that girl and Alphie was her boyfriend. The only way she could recognize anyone was if they called her name or gave her a nod.

When Phoebe learned that Alphie was cheating on her she broke up with him. That didn't go over too well with him. She met two men, Robbie and Tom, and started dating them. It turns out that Alphie had created the Robbie character. He used a fake accent to throw her off. Of course Phoebe didn't recognize him.

Phoebe lived with two roommates. They didn't like Alphie. After she broke up with him he kept going to their flat and causing a scene. Phoebe decided to leave and go live on her sister Suzi's property. She also changed her phone number. Her neighbor, Denise, tried to convince her not to date too soon, but she didn't listen. So she was dating Robbie and Tom. Denise was the one who suggested that maybe Alphie was one or both of the two men. All three men had tattoos. She used the tattoos to figure out that Alphie was Robbie.

Alphie was obsessed with Phoebe, even though the one time she went to his flat he raped her. Nevertheless, he phoned her sister to get her new address, and then he took over the vacant property across the street to watch her. He did things to get in her head, like delivering sex catalogs to her flat, messing with Denise's yard gnomes, and killing Denise's cat. He also impersonated an electrician to get into her place to install cameras.

The whole story was around Phoebe's dating the two men, the trouble Alphie caused in her life, and a side story between Phoebe and Suzi. It wasn't one of the better books I've read, but it most certainly wasn't the worst. It wasn't an attention grabber, but it was enough to keep me somewhat interested. I did find myself a bit frustrated that Phoebe didn't pick up on Alphie's mannerisms in Robbie. And I wish she had gone to the police to report the rape. All in all, it wasn't a terrible book. I gave it three stars.

Unsettling novel with a main character who has prosopagnosia (face blindness). This has the elements of a good domestic thriller with what seems to be a unique premise. I would recommend this for any lover of mystery/suspense. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

The girl who couldn’t see faces was a unique story being that Phoebe couldn’t remember faces. I found that even though phoebe couldn’t remember faces she was a nurse and lived a somewhat normal life. The story moves pretty quick with a build up of who’s who and who might be out to get phoebe. I’d love to read some more books by C.J. Bowden

I was drawn in by the title, and I liked the unusual condition in which the main character had difficulty identifying people by their faces. The story was engaging, well paced, and well written, Her difficulty recognizing people made her a compelling victim. This bothered me, I worried about her. I was rooting for her. The ending wasn't as strong as I would've liked, simply because the battle in which she had to choose who was the good guy and bad guy didn't seem plausible but didn't detract too much from my overall enjoyment of the book. I would be propose that there be some content warnings in regards to victims of sexual assault so they are aware of this prior to reading the story.

4/5 stars! The premise of this book is one of the most unique I have heard in a long time. Face blindness is a disorder I've read about in school but have never seen featured in a fictional book before. There is such a huge psychological factor at play with this disorder and that made for a phenomenal thriller angle. It was a little creepy toward the end, but this just made for a better conflict resolution.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

This was an interesting read about prosopagnosia and the dangers that arise when we can’t recognize someone and when we can’t tell whether they are ‘friend’ or ‘foe.’

The author examines the dangers of settling for, rape, ignorance, fake friends, and the sisterly bond in a story that fed my curiosity and caused me to be thankful for the ability to see and understand what and who I’m seeing. Alfie is a total bastard and I’m really happy that at the end, Phoebe found the true loving partner.

Pheobe have problems, having rest bitch face, couldnt recognisez someone face, anti social, abandon childhood make her life hard. Manipulation boyfriend, fakes friends, drama queen sister. Alfie really creep me out, lie so easily, thirsty to take control, manipulatif psycho. Beth and Claire really bitch. Suzi love and care Phoebe in her own way still dramatic as ever and blame Phobe the dramatic one. I glad Phoebe find Tom, he make effort because really interesting and want to know her, not like Alfie making effort for fun and game. I really enjoy the story, i can imagine how hard for Phoebe, can recognize people like that and people easily assume she is not pleasant.

Thank you to NetGalley for provide this book, it is pleasure to review this book.

#TheGirlWhoCouldntSeeFaces #CJBowden #BooksGoSocial #NetGalley #ARC

The Girl Who Couldn't See Faces
A gripping domestic thriller
by C. J. Bowden

This was a VERY Good domestic thriller!! The family secrets and so much of a wild ride ! I was into this one from start to finish. Not many want me to skip life to stand and read, even as I cook. LOVE this one.

A very good book from start to finish, I am looking forward to reading more books in the future from this author

Phoebe is a nurse and is violently attacked by someone she believes to be her boyfriend, but she is not sure it is him.
She happens to be 'face blind'. She cannot recognize anyone, and relies on their scars or their eccentric dress sense to differentiate between people.
She flees to her sister's flat to escape the stalker that is following her, and starts dating two men, and realises that one of them is her ex boyfriend, but she is not sure which one it is.

I did enjoy this novel, but cannot understand why Phoebe could not recognize people that she knew well, like her sister, Suzi, by their voices?
The terrifying part for me was that her ex-boyfriend was a talented accent impersonator.
I thought Phoebe was actually quite silly for not calling the police about Alfie sooner.


Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting enough. I enjoyed the theme of face blindness but it wasn't unique. More of a cliche novel I've read before.

Great story about the fear of stalking combined with face blindness. How much worse would stalking be if you couldn't identify the stalker? Good subplots on domestic violence and family secrets.

This was an interesting read about prosopagnosia (face blindness) and the dangers that arise when we can’t recognize someone - can’t tell if they are ‘friend’ or ‘foe.’

The author examines the dangers of ‘settling for’, rape, blissful ignorance and the sisterly bond in a story that fed my curiosity and caused me to be thankful for the ability to see and understand what/who I’m seeing.

I was gifted this copy by BooksGoSocial and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial. This was okay. I love British novels. I just like the brit story and the way they talk. This was just an okay thriller. I was not here nor there for me. It had a great starting but it was a bit boring in the middle. I may feel different later about it but now I think it is a 3 star.

I finished this in one night! Couldn’t put it down. This is sure to be one of my top 2023 reads for sure. Would recommend!