Review : I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

 

A tragic accident. It all happened so quickly. She couldn’t have prevented it. Could she?

 

Published by : Little Brown

Paperback : 7 May 2015

Copy : Reviewer purchased

 

The Blurb

 

In a split second, Jenna Gray’s world is shattered. Her only hope of moving on is to walk away from everything she knows to start afresh. Desperate to escape her past, Jenna moves to a remote cottage on the Welsh coast, but she is haunted by her fears, her grief and her memories of the cruel November night that changed her life for ever.

 

DI Ray Stevens is tasked with seeking justice for a mother who is living every parent’s worst nightmare. Determined to get to the bottom of the case, it begins to consume him as he puts both his professional and personal life on the line.

As Ray and his team seek to uncover the truth, Jenna, slowly, begins to glimpse the potential for happiness in her future. But her past is about to catch up with her, and the consequences will be devastating . . .



 

Did you love Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train?  Now lose yourself in the twisty, enthralling psychological thriller that everyone is talking about.

 

The Very Pink Notebook Review

 

In answer to the above question, yes, I did love Gone Girl and Girl on the Train so there was no doubt about me purchasing a copy of this book once I had picked it up.  I will say, from the outset, this is one of the best books I have ever read (I completed it in two sittings, no mean feat in my house-hold).  

 

I was fully drawn into the story from the opening paragraph.  The description of the accident, the incident central to all the characters, immediately had me welling up, given I have a five year old son of my own, and from that moment I was hooked, my fingers wanting to turn the page faster than my eyes could read.

 

Absorbed into the life of both Jenna Gray, who is a fragile and emotional shell, and DI Ray Stevens, the practical investigator, I was driven along exactly the way the author wanted me to be, so when the twist in the plot happened I actually exclaimed - out loud - I really did not see it coming.  I connected to both Gray and Stevens, impossible not to with such well developed characters, and was easily transported between lives from the sweeping, lonely, wildness of the remote Welsh coast to bustling Bristol. 

 

The book is written in two distinct halves, both equally as enthralling as the other, with a finale pulling absolutely every last string together.  The first and third person narratives I thought worked brilliantly well.  Being placed in the head of a character can be quite intense, so to change to a third person was sometimes a relief, as was the secondary plots of DI Stevens.  The alternating voices (chapters) helped move the plot along at speed, so much so I often found my breathing rate had increased, and I loved the very clear time milestones weaved into the narrative.

The book's title, I Let You Go, I thought was going to be connected to just one person, but by the end I could see how it was important for several characters, for various reasons and in different ways.

 

Given the complexity of the plot, Clare has managed to write a novel that feels effortless to read through great characters, just the right amount of description, wonderful dialogue and killer twists.

 

I can not recommend this book highly enough and as such have rated it as five pink notebooks :

 

Also to come this week : An evening with Clare Mackintosh and a Giveaway Event!