I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh ~ Book Review

Book Description:

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.

Purchase a copy on Indigo.

About the Author:

Clare Mackintosh is an author, feature writer and columnist. She has written for The Guardian, Sainsbury's Magazine, The Green Parent, and many other national publications, and is a columnist for Cotswold Life and Writing Magazine.

Clare spent twelve years in the police force, working on CID, in custody and as a public order commander, and has drawn on her experiences for her début psychological thriller I Let You Go. She is currently writing her second novel, out next year.

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Review:

I don't even know how I will review this book without giving out spoilers! I will try my hardest to not include spoilers. I will warn you if I am about to. Here are some words that come to mind - amazing, twisted, suspenseful, will keep you turning pages from the very start. The book is written in first person for some characters/chapters, third person for the investigators and first person past tense for another character later on in the book. With a handful of different characters intertwining their lives the author does this very well. At first I wondered why she didn't label chapters with characters names but then I see why and it makes a lot of sense. I was taken by surprise a few times. This is an emotional read and will tug at your heart strings. warning; it does talk about sexual/physical violence. There were times I found myself on the edge of tears or gasping out loud.

The authors police history shows up in the detective parts of the book and make it more real life action. There are stories within the story with the characters and a lot of back story. I found it roping me into wanting/thinking more about each character and what their lives were like before and after. The author also leaves us with an ending that will stay with you. Is there more to this or is it really over?

For a debut novel, this is fantastic! I really enjoyed this story and will look forward to more from Clare MacKintosh. I give this book a 5 star!