Yesterday by Felicia Yap @FeliciaMYap @Wildfirebks #Yesterday

There are two types of people in the world: those who can only remember yesterday, and those who can also recall the day before.

You have just one lifeline to the past: your diary. Each night, you write down the things that matter. Each morning, your diary tells you where you were, who you loved and what you did.

Today, the police are at your door. They say that the body of your husband's mistress has been found in the River Cam. They think your husband killed her two days ago.

Can you trust the police?
Can you trust your husband?
Can you trust yourself?

Yesterday by Felicia Yap was published in hardback by Wildfire Books on 10 August 2017, it will be published in paperback next May. Yesterday is the author's debut novel.

Over the last year or so I've heard many grumbles about how many psychological thrillers are currently being published. People seem to be tired of dark covers, and missing girls, or strange sisters or abducted children. Yesterday by Felicia Yap is a thriller for those people, it's unique, it's unusual, it's intriguing and it is very different.

Felicia Yap has created in Yesterday a story that combines sci-fi with murder mystery, with domestic noir and takes a wry, but intelligent look at social justice issues.
Whilst the story is set in Cambridge in 2015, it is a very different world to that we are used to. The population is divided into two; Monos and Duos. A Mono can only remember the past day, whilst the Duos can remember two days. In order to retain facts, everyone has their own personal iDiary where they enter the important things that happen to them. The Government has just decided that Monos and Duos may marry but Mark and Claire Evans have been married for years already - he's a Duo and she's a Mono.

When the body of a woman is found in the River Cam, Mark Evans is immediately questioned by the police, and the central storyline is the investigation into this death.

The reader hears four voices who each narrate the story; Mark and Claire, the policeman in charge of the investigation: DCI Hans Richardson, and the victim herself, and each of these characters have their own distinct voice. Whilst all four characters are intriguing, the reader struggles to know any of them well, and whilst this could be a disadvantage, in this case and in keeping with the short-term memories, it really does work.

Felicia Yap writes cleverly, with short, snappy sentences that again, just like her characterisation, fits incredibly well with the whole premise of the plot. This is about memory, but it's also about deception and falsehoods.

The author explores social issues such as discrimination, and it is done very well. She looks at how Monos and Duos interact, how they treat each other and how being one type can open doors, or prevent progression. It's an astute look at an imagined world that reflects our own times excellently.

Yesterday is a book that raises so many questions. The murder mystery is integral, but for me was not the most important part of the story, even though the end reveal did surprise me!

Felicia Yap has taken a brave step with Yesterday, it's unsettling and clever, and the style does take some getting used to.

Distinctive, clever, definitely something very different. Yesterday is a book that will surprise and intrigue the reader.  Felicia Yap is an author to watch!

My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review.

Felicia Yap grew up in Kuala Lumpur. She has been a cell biologist, a war historian, a university lecturer, a technology journalist, a theatre critic, a flea-market trader and a catwalk model. 

Felicia lives in London and is a recent graduate of the Faber Academy’s creative writing programme. 

Her debut thriller Yesterday will be published around the world in August 2017.

Find out more at www.feliciayap.com
Find her Author page on Facebook
Follow her on Twitter @FeliciaMYap