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Review: I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh



Blurb from Goodreads:
The next blockbuster thriller for those who loved The Girl on the Train and Gone Girl...a novel with "an astonishing intensity that drags you in and never—ever—lets you go." (Daily Mail, UK)

On a rainy afternoon, a mother's life is shattered as her son slips from her grip and runs into the street . . .

I Let You Go follows Jenna Gray as she moves to a ramshackle cottage on the remote Welsh coast, trying to escape the memory of the car accident that plays again and again in her mind and desperate to heal from the loss of her child and the rest of her painful past. 

At the same time, the novel tracks the pair of Bristol police investigators trying to get to the bottom of this hit-and-run. As they chase down one hopeless lead after another, they find themselves as drawn to each other as they are to the frustrating, twist-filled case before them. Elizabeth Haynes, author of Into the Darkest Corner, says, “I read I Let You Go in two sittings; it made me cry (at least twice), made me gasp out loud (once), and above all made me wish I'd written it . . . a stellar achievement.”
My Review:
 
This was pretty good, not much of a mystery and not too thrilling but had I not just read a stellar book with similar and familiar territory (Into the Darkest Corner), I probably would have liked this even more.  However, I am still annoyed by the Gone Girl/The Girl on the Train comparisons.  Yes, it's another unreliable female narrator but that doesn't mean we should treat all of these books the same.  This book was actually originally released in 2014 but it got a shiny new cover and is being re-released after The Girl on the Train's  (another British female unreliable narrator) monumental popularity.  There were also two threads to the story (they weren't even divergent, really) and I didn't like the characters that were trying to solve this crime.  They were so insipid.  I think this one was also hyped and so well reviewed that I was expecting something a bit more -- no twist, no big thrill -- but a solid mystery that you will figure out half way through.  It is a fast read and definitely enjoyable.

I would recommend this to anyone that likes the current crop of thrillers with unreliable female narrators -- this was better than some of the others I've read lately.  For me, it was a pale imitation of Into the Darkest Corner but, perhaps, if I had read this one first, I would have liked it even more or just as much as that one.  I Let You Go is scheduled to be released today May 3, 2016, and you can purchase HERE!  
A hush descends on the court and the magistrate fixes me with an unsmiling gaze.  I have the absurd urge to tell him that I'm not like the usual occupants of his court.  That I grew up in a house like his, and that I went to university; held dinner parties; had friends.  That I was once confident and outgoing.  That before last year I had never broken the law, and that what happened was a terrible mistake.  But his eyes are disinterested and I realize he doesn't care who I am, or how many dinner parties I have held.  I'm just another criminal through his doors; no different from any other.  I feel my identity being stripped away from me once more.   

Comments

  1. I'm next in line for In the Darkest Corner at the library and just picked this one as my subscription box choice. I'm glad you mentioned that about having read this one right after In the Darkest Corner, so I will try to avoid that. I ran into that same problem with The Good Girl and The Daughter - eerily similar.

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    1. Oh I have the Daughter to read soon! It could just be me but I felt like they were too similar to read close together

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  2. Yes - someone who felt the same way as I did about this book!! I've had a lot of blogger friends who loved this one, and thought the big 'twist' (which wasn't very big IMO) was amazing. I was very underwhelmed by this book. It was just okay.
    I really hate the Gone Girl/GOTT comparisons. When are they going to get over that?!

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  3. I'm excited to read Into the Darkest Corner since you liked it so much! I added it on Goodreads after you recommended it to me. :)

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    1. I don't know that the story or writing are any better but it is super suspenseful, which is what I wanted from this one but felt like a pale comparison compared to Into the Darkest Corner. I also think they have some similarities that made me like the one I read first a lot more.

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    2. Hi Eva!
      I was sucked into this book like the other bloggers were, as you said, and I did enjoy it! It was worth it!! I am glad you told us they reissued this book - this does tell me that MANY books DID get lost around that time because of a certain trilogy that was written just awful! (No! I did not read it, I took the word of other dependable people who read it and I trusted their opinion of the books. Besides, WHO wants pain with sex??? I NEVER understood that!)
      I am also tired of books being compared to Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train just as much as everyone here is. Some of that comes from the authors themselves! They review a book for an author friend and THEY compare it to the two books! I was shocked to see that a few times!
      I am looking forward to your suggestion to read Into the Darkest Corner, thanks! One thing, though - who is the author for that book? Thanks!!
      Great review! Thanks for letting us know about this other book, too! GREAT food for thought!

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    3. It's by Elizabeth Haynes -- you can read my review here

      Thank you so much for stopping by and reading!!

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  4. I didn't realize this was being compared to Gone Girl. I don't really see the comparison at all?
    I wanted to love this more, but too many issues though that first twist was good.
    I'll definitely need to read Into the Darkest Corner.
    Lovely review, Eva!

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    1. Thanks Nick -- I felt like it was just me but the more I think about it, the more I really didn't like the police thread -- just seemed a bit unnecessary but maybe just because I didn't like those characters

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  5. The fact that both you and Nick didn't love this, makes me think I probably should read it either. Thanks for the wonderful honest review!

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  6. I'm really in the mood for some thrillers because I need more...SUSPENSE in my life which would explain my intense need for some SCARY MOVIES?? I'm sad you didn't like this very much and with the whole unreadable narrator, you would think that would have added even more suspense. Sad that wasn't the case here though. :( I hope your next read is WAY BETTA!

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    1. Thanks Keionda -- if you really want something thrilling and horrifying and scary, I totally recommend Swerve by Vicki Pettersson!!

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  7. I still have yet to read The Girl on the Train, but I am not quite in the mood for another thriller just yet. Still, why do they always compare? I know they have to promote these books to a certain market, but dang. It's so disappointing when the book is nowhere near as good as the one they compare it to. I think I'll pass on this one. Great review!

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  8. Ugh to those comparisons!! Those two books are compared to every suspense/thriller with a female now. So annoying. But anyways - sorry this one wasn't better for you!!! Great review though!

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  9. I really enjoyed this book, but I agree with you about those comparisons; I wish they'd stop -- they just set readers up for disappointment. I liked Into the Darkest Corner a lot, just not quite as much as this one. Great review! Thanks for stopping by :)

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  10. Oh I hear you, the comparisons to the other Girl books drive me stark raving barmy. They really do. It's like publishers forget readers can actually decide whether to read a book without Girl in the title. Sighs. It's depressing isn't it? I think I depressed myself. LOL. But this one really did blindside me. I had to go back and reread sections to see what I had missed lol The ending though. Sighs. The wealth of information about Jenna's past kind of dampened the twist a bit, I admit.

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  11. I almost requested this after seeing some glowing reviews, but then I saw Brandie's reaction and I thought I'd just order a library audio copy. So glad I did that after seeing your review. I wish they'd get off the comparison of Gone Girl. Be original! *sigh* Wonderful review, Eva! :)

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  12. I love the sound of this one, but it sounds pretty okay. I can't be bothered with okay. Ya' know?

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  13. I know Megan loved this one, but thrillers just don't call to me. I need some romance in my books!

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  14. I have to say I wanted to read this one. But if a thriller isn't done correctly, I shy away from them and this one could fall in that area. I think I prefer the old cover, the one that has the window. Anyway, thank you for being honest with your review!

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