Good book

The Day I Died by Polly Courtney is something a bit different. The heroine regains consciousness after a bomb in a London nightclub. She remembers nothing about her life up to that point not even her name. But she feels an overwhelming urge to escape. She decides to call herself by the name of a person whose wallet she finds beside her though she doesn't believe it is her name.

'Jo' gets on a bus and ends up near Oxford where she manages to get a job and find somewhere to live. She still can't remember who she is or anything about her previous life. Her only clue is Saskia Dawson the name written on her hand. Jo has several problems to overcome and she starts to wonder whether she actually likes her previous persona from what little she can remember. She has a drink problem, knows she has used illegal drugs and is worried about something she may have been involved in. Gradually memories start coming back to her.

The book is well written and the plot is fast paced and intriguing. Even though the heroine is not terribly likeable at times I still found I wanted to know what happened to her. The other characters are interesting as well - Pearl - her landlady; Saskia - the stripper; Matt - who helps Jo get another job. I enjoyed it and I shall be watching out for other books by this author.