Who would expect a car being pulled from the bottom of a lake with a dead driver inside to stir up so many complications for a woman, who has no idea who the man is... Zoey Phoenix is minding her own business being a plant whisperer until someone tries to kill her in a hit-and-run, ransacks her shop and home, and brings back her ex-husband, Luca Damezas. He comes running when he finds out she is hurt. Top it off with her mother disappearing without a word, a mysterious package arrives and the town of Gothic is looking to have the perfect garden and flower show. This is just normal for Gothic, California!
If any book can be called off the charts then FORGET WHAT YOU KNOW by Christina Dodd is the perfect example. Her characters are rather eccentric--who else would match up a plant person who is more than a little obsessive with plants and a pro-wrestler husband? Then there is the Dragon Heart that everyone seems to know about but Zoey and if it can't be grown she really doesn't care. Luca is looking for a second chance with Zoey, who he still loves, but if they can't figure out what is going on there will be no chance for anything. The mail lady, Jael, becomes a real pain as she tries to entice Luca--who is having none of it--which, of course, leads her to try even harder.
The townsfolk, who are amazingly quaint and sometimes really odd as they go about their daily life. One of the off-the-wall characters that Ms. Dodd brings us is Luca's mother, Giuseppina, who is very good at aggravating Zoey and scaring people but is actually a lot of fun.
FORGET WHAT YOU KNOW has a lot of twists and turns as you are led through the mysteries of the Dragon and Zoey's past, the memories that might be real or just childhood imaginations. It is all the secrets within secrets that come to light a little at a time that will keep you turning the pages. Just when you think you know what is next you get zinged into another direction. That is what is great about Ms. Dodd's storytelling; she can really pull you into the world she has created and at no time do you want to leave. Fantastic job with the perfect final chapter and an intriguing ending that leads one to believe the town of Gothic is going to keep coming out way!
A submerged car is pulled from the bottom of the lake, and in an interesting twist, the driver has been shot in the back of the head. No other bodies are found; only the legendary Dragon's Heart remains inside, and as it rises to the surface, greedy collectors from around the world gather. They'll stop at nothing to gain possession of the priceless artifact, and only flower-breeder Zoey Phoenix, the unknowing heir, stands in their way.
Zoey remembers nothing about her early childhood; her mother's desire to leave those years behind never worried her...until she's almost killed in a hit and run and, days later, her mother disappears. Now Zoey fears her family secrets won't stay buried long. She has no idea who almost killed her or why, but she's determined to unravel the dangerous truths of her past—before they claim her future.
FORGET WHAT YOU KNOW, a full-length thriller by New York Times bestseller Christina Dodd,
No excerpt available.
© 2003-2026