I Know You by Russell Govan

 I Know You by Russell Govan




I Know You by Russell Govan  was published on 01 June 2022  by Guernica Editions.

My thanks to the author and publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Random Book Tours for inviting me to take part on this tour.



Synopsis

Eilidh, bright, headstrong and feisty, gets sparkling exam results that confirm her university place. Her boyfriend reveals he has deceived her. In the ensuing argument she is knocked unconscious. She arrives in 1984, in an Ethiopian refugee camp, where she nurses a dying child, then a wounded aid worker before wakening back home in present-day Scotland. Three days later, at an isolated beauty spot trying to come to terms with her ex-boyfriend’s betrayal and her experience in Ethiopia, she encounters Walter, who is in the early stages of dementia. He is there because of a tattoo on his wrist that simply states the date and location of the beauty spot. Eilidh recognises Walter’s symptoms, takes him home and contacts his niece to come and collect him.

Over the following 48-hour period Eilidh finds herself transported to various locations in Europe and North America, and time periods from the previous fifty years. Each episode draws her further into an unexpected and unconventional romance. Eventually she travels to WW2 blitzed Liverpool and meets a fellow time traveller who explains that Eilidh faces a decision with life and death consequences.




My Review

The story of Eilidh starts off as though it going to be a teenage love story that explodes with all the angst and bitterness that it entails before careering off into a drought ravaged ethiopia where she encounters a dying child and a wounded aid worker who will shape what she does for the rest of whichever life she chooses. Eilidh has tough decisions to make which will affect her deeply, along with those she loves and cares about, both in her time travelling existence and her current life.

I Know You is an incredibly well written story with an imaginative writing that draws you in and compels you to carry on reading.It is a wonderfully easy read at nearly 250 pages, and I devoured it in a few hours, feeling content in the fact that I had just read a good book that was "different"

The concept of the story, and Eilidh's ability to time travel is clever and provides an interesting take on the ability to time travel and the outcomes. how this is linked to the initial bump on the head and the changes that are taking place in her brain is clever along with the understanding and knowledge gained from her dementia suffering Grandma.

For me this was an incredible 5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 read and I will be looking out for future novels by Russell with intrigue as to what his concepts he will deploy for his next characters.




About the Author

Russell Govan is a Scottish, Oxford-based author who had two well- received thrillers published in 2020 and 2021.

His works have been shortlisted in numerous writing competitions, including an extract from a draft of this novel which was shortlisted for the 2019 Grindstone International Short Story Prize.


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