I Let You Go

At its center, this is a story about a woman running away from her previous life. I will discuss only a few main plot points to avoid giving away too much. Jenna Gray has rented a spare cottage in a small Welsh town. She's timid and doesn't interact with many people, just her landlord and a woman at a local shop. Jenna is a sculptor, and the privacy the cottage affords appeals to her. She acquires a dog and soon has a canine companion who accompanies her on walks on the beach. She meets the local veterinarian and keeps him at a distance for reasons only known to her. This, of course, only makes the man more interested in getting to know her.Detective Inspector Ray Stevens and a rookie are working on a case with few results. Stevens is drawn to the younger Kate, his partner because she's someone he can talk to easily and knows the score around the office. The case they have been assigned is of a young boy killed in a hit-and-run right in front of his mother. Stevens and Kate give the boy's mother assurances that they will find the killer, but they have had months with no leads. They have been officially pulled off the case. In private, they decide to continue investigating the boy's death. The extra hours Stevens is putting in make his wife Mags, a former detective constable, unhappy. Especially since those hours are spent with an attractive younger woman. Stevens's home life with his wife and kids begins to suffer.Finally, the extra work the detectives, have put in begins to pay off. They find a witness who describes a car being driven erratically near the area where the boy was killed. They focus on locating the car. Meanwhile, they learn that the police liaison assigned to the boy's mother has fallen short of keeping contact with her. She has left her apartment and has moved away. No one knows where she is. Stevens and Kate are relieved to be reassigned to the case, which has been reactivated with the new information. The only problem is now they have a killer to catch and a mother who's gone missing.The author has written a psychological thriller that may seem to point to certain apparent facts to some readers but turns things around as the story unfolds. The novel is even more interesting because the author is a former policewoman. She knows the way the police work. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and recommend it to mystery and thriller readers.

I Let You Go is the name of the book, yet it is also what I did with the book, on multiple occasions. I let it go. I picked it up, thought about buying it, and then decided on another book. I did this at least four times. The first time I did it was the day that I bought Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel, which turned out to be my Book Of The Year.But the other week I decided that I wanted to give I Let You Go a shot.What made me pick up the book in the first place was the cover. The cover is a little dark and has a beach scene with the title written across the front. It looks as if a storm or some kind of trouble is on the way. As you read the story you will learn something about a main character that really makes the cover make sense. The cover artist did a great job creating a cover that actually has something to do with the story.The book is told from the point of view of three characters. The book is also broken up into two parts. I cannot tell you how it is broken up in two parts without giving any spoilers so I won’t. But there is a Part One and a Part Two.Part One is told between two of the characters, Jenna Gray and DI Ray Stevens. In Part One, Jenna Gray is trying to put her life back together after the accident. We follow her journey as she tries to start a new life for herself. All the while, DI Ray Stevens is trying to solve the case.Then Clare Mackintosh completely threw my world at the end of Part One, a twist I did not see coming.The twist had me so excited for Part Two. I actually continued into Part Two without stopping. I had to know what happened.As I said, the twist really surprised me and had me loving Mackintosh’s writing style. Her next book, I See You, is scheduled to come out on February 21, 2017, in the United States Of America. I knew that I could not wait that long after reading the twist she threw in. I then went to the UK Amazon site and ordered I See You because it is available over there right now.Clare Mackintosh had me loving the thriller/mystery genre again. I have not read many thrillers/mysteries as of late. There have been a few, but not many. I used to be a huge fan of James Patterson, but he puts out so many books it became hard to follow. Then I discovered Sci-Fi and have been reading a lot of that.Part Two of the novel is almost at the halfway point; according to my Kindle it is at the 45% point. Here we get introduced to a third character, Ian Petersen. I cannot tell you about him without giving the story away. This part is also the downfall of the book, I feel like I should say “in my opinion,” even though that is what a review is. Not too far into Part Two, I had I Let You Go figured out. I should say, I knew who killed the boy and what would happen to the character, but I didn’t know how Mackintosh would get us there.When I got to the climactic scene at the end I was not surprised and I even rolled my eyes. There was a part in the final scene that I didn’t see coming, but due to the fact I knew what was going to happen, it didn’t really shock me like it should have.But I don’t want to beat Mackintosh up in this review. So what did I like?Her writing is great. Even though I had the book figured out, I still enjoyed the ride she took me on. Never once did I feel bored reading and never did I want to put it down. She really knows how to keep you hooked.Her chapter lengths are great too. The longest chapter took me about twenty minutes to read, most chapters took me about fifteen minutes. They are long enough so you can read a chapter before bed . . . but also long enough so you end up reading more and losing sleep. She also has several breaks in each chapter if you need to stop in the middle of it.I also loved the characters. Each character has flaws and none are perfect, and I like that. Some characters make mistakes that will have you shaking your head. Other characters will have you so mad at them that you wish they would just die. The villain in the book is straight up evil and I could not wait for them to get what they deserved.Overall this book is a fun and entertaining read. Part One is a shining star, while Part Two felt too predictable. Did the fact that I predicted the ending ruin the book for me? No. I still wanted to read to find out how all the dots would connect, even though they weren’t surprises.How about the audiobook? I am glad you asked. I did listen to some of the audiobook. Nicola Barber and Steven Crossley are the two narrators. As you can probably guess, Nicola Barber voices the chapters in Jenna’s point of view and Steven Crossley voices the chapters in DI Ray Stevens and Ian Peterse’s point of view. Each voice actor does a great job and it was easy to tell when two people were talking. If you enjoy audiobooks, this is a good one to pick up, of course I love their English accent.If you enjoy thrillers and mysteries then you will probably enjoy the book.For more book reviews, podcasts, and author interviews, head on over to: [...]

This book is rubbish, I could not believe the drivel I was reading. A Richard and Judy Book of The Year? Sunday Times bestseller? Really? It was completely implausible and a ridiculous storyline. The characters were frustrating in their stupidity. I would recommend anyone NOT to read this book.

This story is well written, beautifully crafted and with twists that snatch your breath away.A complex psychological thriller, I couldn't stay away from it. This book did perhaps take me a little while for me to get into as I acclimatised myself with the writing style. It is very descriptive in places, if not slightly 'overwritten,' some of the smallest details so intricate, I got lost in the wordiness... but this was a temporary reaction. Every spot of rain, every tear, every emotional response and consequent reaction is important. The story blew me away.Without giving too much away, there was a character that shocked me. Written in second person singular, I admire the way this author got right inside the head of controlling psychopath.Will definitely be reading more by Clare Mackintosh.

*Possible Spoilers*The market has been drenched with books that promise you a twist you'll never see coming yet often leave you wondering what it was! The 'twist' in this one is evident from the word go and you're well aware of whose viewpoint you're reading from. However, if you take that away and just follow the plot you'll find decently written characters whose development you're genuinely interested in. I liked the fact that the 'baddie', who we're introduced to later, is in the first person too which provides for a well-written dark and twisty insight into a character, who is paramount to the story. Some cliches make you groan. But they're realistic all the same. There's no need for the final 'twist'. Its far too neat and, in my view, the baddie was already so vile that it would have had more impact if there had been no link between them and the victim. This character needs no reason to behave the way they do. Overall, a good effort with some great moments, sadly let down by the promise of a shattering revelation that doesn't deliver.

Claire Mackintosh is a fantastic writer.She's written a book that flows to perfection, packed with substance.Her writing makes this un-put-downable moreso than the story itself although it is pretty average.The beach scenes with Jenna are outstanding to 'see'.The book is clever in that it's written in first person through the eyes of the main character victim Jenna, also in first person by the persuer Ian and in third person by the 2 investigators each told with their own seperate chapters.I didn't care at all for the weak characters of the investigators. Their journey was so so, but nothing solid in their outcome.Jenna's eyes was told beautifully.A strong artistic woman whom i found very likeable.Ian's telling completely nailed it as a serious nutcase who thrived on his behaviour without a guilty conscience. Stunningly told so much so you could hear his voice. From the onset of each of his chapters there would be the most suspenseful music accompanying his storytelling.Because of Ian's story being told in first person it gave away that he couldn't possibly die at the end.But this didn't matter, it was all about what he was going to do next thus what would be Jenna's fate.I love books with a twist but there was no real twist, which was obviously disappointing hence the 4 stars instead of 5, it's an average psychological thriller which is definitely worth reading.How Claire Mackintosh writes with such detail and flow with not one boring passage is amazing, but how she achieves the ideas of the shocking abuse Jenna received is very powerful.Jenna's journey throughout was immensely gripping. Her fate was definitely unpredictable.I would like to have seen a longer final scene, predictable as it was, but nonetheless satisfying.I highly recommend Claire Mackintosh, put simply, the perfect writer.

The three stars are a little generous. It was an ok read but no more. The characters, all of them, were pretty shallow and unbelievable and the plot so predictable. Yes there was a surprising twist part way through but the ending was obvious from a long way out. The attitude of the main character was a little silly, almost ridiculous and it is hard to believe that anyone would take this course of action in real life. But then ok this is a novel and there has to be some poetic licence. The relationships are extremely cliched and therefore not particularly interesting. What bugs me most of all though, and what makes the story so unbelievable, is the character of the villain. Why oh why is it that the baddy so often has no redeeming features at all? Utterly evil. Utterly unbelievable. Utterly unrealistic. I was interested enough to make it to the end although the ending was entirely predictable. In an attempt to be fair, I have read much worse books hence the three stars, but this was not in my opinion up there with the best.