Yuletide Amnesia
by James YokePublish: Nov 02, 2025Mystery Book Overview
Catherine Drake has spent fifteen years as a ruthless executive in Manhattan, sacrificing everything for her career. On Christmas Eve, after closing a major merger, she drives recklessly through a snowstorm and crashes her car. She wakes up in the hospital with no memory of the last decade and a half. Discharged to Evergreen Inn, a cozy bed-and-breakfast, she's greeted warmly by staff who seem to know her well. They treat her like an old friend, and Catherine doesn't correct them since her last clear memory is from fifteen years ago, when she was a different person entirely.As Christmas approaches, Catherine learns about the life she led according to the inn's residents. They say she's a freelance photographer and artist who loves small mountain towns and has meaningful community ties. This version of Catherine is generous and warm—everything her corporate self is not. Despite her confusion, she feels strangely at home in this new role. She helps decorate the inn, bakes with guests, and reconnects with the community. A local artist named James shows romantic interest in her, and their chemistry is unlike anything she's experienced before. Fragmentary memories begin returning to Catherine—not of her corporate past but of this simpler life, making her question which version of herself is real.Catherine's new life faces complications when people from her past arrive at the inn. A young man claiming to be her protégé seeks help exposing corporate corruption, while a woman claiming to be her estranged sister urges her to visit their sick mother. Both demand she return to the life she built before the accident. Torn between these identities, Catherine finds inconsistencies that deepen her suspicions. She discovers photographs and financial records suggesting she's been living a double life intentionally. Most disturbingly, people at the inn might be lying about how long she's been there. Catherine suspects that someone orchestrated her accident to keep her trapped in this alternate reality.In the days leading up to Christmas, Catherine races to uncover the truth about her identity. She questions whether she created this second life as an escape or if someone is manipulating her memories. As fragments continue returning, she wonders if those around her are complicit or genuinely unaware of a larger scheme. Forced to choose between reclaiming power as an executive or embracing happiness in the mountains, Catherine knows she can't be both women anymore.By Christmas Eve, Catherine faces an impossible decision: return to save lives from corporate corruption or stay in the mountain town for genuine connections despite potential deception. Surrounded by people she cares for and illuminated by Christmas lights, Catherine decides which life—and which version of herself—she truly wants.
