I See You by Clare Mackintosh
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Read: 3rd May 2018
Purchase: Amazon
★★★★★ 5 stars
One word - WOW!
I started this book thinking it was her first novel but as the titles were a little similar, I grabbed this one and started reading, despite having marked "I Let You Go" as "currently reading"...lol It wasn't until I was a chapter or two in that I thought "This doesn't sound anything like the synopsis." That was when I discovered I was reading the wrong book! lol So I reset my "currently reading" status and continued with this one.
So...the prologue grabs you. I mean really grabs you and gets you in. Then we go to Zoe Walker on her commute home. Next chapter we follow Kelly Swift on her commute home, till she sees someone she recognises and gives chase. At this point I had no idea who or what Kelly was, and I found myself wondering why she was chasing someone she saw on the train and how he related to her. I think the author (Clare Mackintosh) should have woven into Kelly's commute early on in the piece that she was a PC, and not the end of the chapter because it was a little confusing at first. A couple of pages before Kelly reached him and declared "You're nicked!" I had worked out that she must be a police officer. I just wish it had been made clear at the beginning of the chapter. No big deal though. It just would have been a little less confusing at the outset.
From them on, the book follows mainly Zoe's commute to and from work each day with Kelly's commute really only focused on when she was first introduced. Once it was made known she was a PC, her part of the story was told by way of investigations. With a short chapter thrown in every so often through the eyes of the perpetrator, and you find yourself mentally sifting through the characters and wondering who it could be...I mean after all, it HAS to be one of them! Doesn't it?
The chapters I found a little too lengthy for my tastes, but manageable. With Kindle, I have it set to tell me how many minutes left in the chapter, which makes reading to a schedule easier if you are waiting for an appointment or something. I do prefer shorter chapters but I guess this kind of story couldn't warrant short chapters, and lengthier ones were more apt. I was getting a little bored with the commute being such a focus for so long, even after Zoe spotted her own photo in an advertisement in the London Gazette, as nothing seemed to be really happening. Not for a while anyway. It took a while to start to match other women's photos from the advertisements to crimes being committed but once that link was made, the pace began to pick up speed. This was more like it. Not being able to put it down - that was more like it. Plus I like to play detective and work out who I think is behind it all. And I was right...well, half right.
So, despite the few faults I found and the drawn out commutes before anything began to really happen, why did I still give this book five stars?? Because even when we thought everything was over, there was one final twist that even I didn't see coming! And I see and predict many a twist. But not this one. Just when you and Zoe and Kelly thought it was all over...there is that final twist lurking there unbeknownst them...and leaves the reader wondering just what will their fates be after all. I usually don't like those types of ending, but this one....WOW! It was breathtaking. And masterful. Once I knew, it all fell into place and made perfect sense.
THAT is why, despite the little flaws, this book deserves five stars!!
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