I LET YOU GO (2016)

I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After writing reviews here for over eight years, you'd think I would have figured this out. Write about the book you just finished reading before starting the next one and entering a new world. Many a worthy title has never been reviewed because I moved on. I think the fact that I enjoyed discovering I Let You Go so much was what propelled me to start Peter May's Entry Island.

THE STORY: A terrible accident changes everything in an instant. With nothing to live for, Jenna Gray flees her life finding solace in the isolation of a remote village in Wales. Slowly she begins to heal, but her past isn't through with her yet. To say more might spoil the experience.

WHAT I THOUGHT: I have always read a lot of 'first' books especially thrillers and mysteries. Readers find the popular titles on their own. I have always wanted to be able to discover new possibilities.

I Let You Go is an outstanding debut. Clare Mackintosh has cleverly plotted a griping and unexpected story - one that has the power to keep you up way past your bedtime. 

Well-drawn, interesting characters populate a world in which the reader gets caught up. The author's description of the beauty and bleakness of the ocean cliffs in Wales is seductive. A sense of dread lies below the surface. Like Jenna, the reader must be alert. This is storytelling at its best.

Although I am getting tired of multiple voices, they work perfectly in this psychological tale. Alternating points of view between first person (Jenna and Ian) and third person (the police investigation), draw the reader into the stories of all the characters. As a matter of fact, the story threads developed for Detective Inspector Ray Stevens and his team, could lead one to suspect this may be the beginning of a series. We can only hope.

FIRST SENTENCE: "The wind flicks wet hair across her face, and she screws up her eyes against the rain."

BOTTOM LINE: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED especially for those who love psychological thrillers like Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train.

DISCLAIMER: Invited by NetGalley to request and receive this title for an honest review.

Title: I Let You Go

Author: Claire Macintosh

Genre: Psychological thriller, Mystery

Publisher: Berkley

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

No. of Pages: 480 pages

Copyright: May 3, 2016

ISBN-10: 1101987499

ISBN-13: 978-1101987490

Claire Macintosh spent twelve years in the UK police force, including time on CID, and as a public order commander. She left the police in 2011 to work as a freelance journalist and social media consultant, and now writes full time.

Clare is the founder of Chipping Norton Literary Festival, and lives in the Cotswolds, UK, with her husband and their three children. (from AMAZON)