Dial Press. 389 pp. $25

After all, Kinsella builds off a long and storied history of amnesia plotlines ranging from The Bourne Identity to the latest soap opera. Regrettably, nothing in Remember Me? breaks from the norm.

Even the basic premise sounds alarmingly like the TV show Samantha Who? A sweet girl wakes up in the hospital suffering from amnesia, and as she starts to piece together her life, discovers that in the past she has been, well, something that begins with a b and rhymes with witch.

On the TV show, Samantha emerges from her coma without a single memory of her past existence. In Kinsella's book, Lexi Smart recovers from a head injury sustained in a car accident missing only the most recent three years from her memory. That may seem minimal compared with Samantha's loss, but it still poses plenty of issues.

The most significant is how Lexi morphed from the poor, unattractive, and unhappy girl of 2004 that she remembers into the well-employed and gorgeous one of 2007 that she does not.

She also happens to have married a stunning millionaire, moved into a beautiful apartment, and learned how to drive (a Mercedes, no less).

And though she is initially delighted that her life seems magically perfected, she soon discovers a dark side to all the glamour: Her husband is bossy and cold, she has lost all her friends, her family is removed and neurotic, she has been having an affair, and worst of all, she has become a world-class meanie.

Before she can begin making reparations for all the bad things she's done, Lexi has to solve the question of how she became so awful in the first place. What happened in the last three years that turned her life around so completely? And once she figures that out, how can she get her better self back on track?

It all sounds solid enough, with the standard chick-lit pieces present and accounted for: witty but clumsy heroine, romantic confusion, ultimate triumph and resolution, with cocktails along the way.

Unlike Kinsella's best-selling Shopaholic books, which have charm to spare, Remember Me? never really serves as more than a clunky vehicle for a tired plot device, and a reader can't help but feel that Kinsella is phoning this one in.

The primary problem is Lexi herself, who spends the first half of the novel feeling confused or wallowing rather than taking action. While this may be understandable in an amnesiac, it makes for a dull heroine. Other problems include Lexi's love interest, who comes across as more annoying than endearing. After the reader spends 200 pages watching him pester her to remember their love, Lexi's claim that she's physically attracted to him seems a weak excuse for why they should ultimately be together.

The book does have its good points. Kinsella rewards those who slog through the first half with an exciting second, as Lexi solves the mystery behind her behavior and takes steps to rectify the situation and find happiness.

Like other Kinsella heroines, Lexi is often funny, full of the wry, self-deprecating humor that British chick lit does so well. Sure, it may not be Kinsella's finest novel, but her loyal fans will likely find it worth a read.

So, too, will anyone suffering from amnesia, who will likely find it quite original.