BOOK REVIEW OF ‘I LET YOU GO’ BY CLARE MACKINTOSH

Book Title: I Let You Go

Author: Clare Mackintosh

Total Number of Pages: 384

Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group

Publication Date: 7 June 2015

Format: Paperback

Language: English

Genre: Fiction / Thriller / Psychological Thriller

REVIEWED BY SOHINEE DEY

‘I Let You Go’ has been receiving rave reviews and I have been seeing the book all over social media. I don’t normally pick up books that I hear people talking about all the time. But since it was a thriller which I love the most, I thought to give it a read and see what the hype was all about.

The book begins with a hit and run case where a five year old boy, Jacob, is killed. His mother is shocked to process with the situation. Then, as any other hit and run case, the CID gets involved. Inspector Ray and Kate along with their team handles the case. Jacob’s mother is unable to give them any details as the incident happened in the blink of an eye. That’s all for the main plot but there are many layers to the story which makes it interesting later on. In the opening scene, we don’t actually get to see the accident happening  and for this reason, we don’t know what actually transpired. So, we are on the same page with Ray and not with Jacob’s mother. This was a really good move by the author because it let her layer up the story and bring in the psychological aspect to the book.

The plot on the surface is very simple and if the genre is cut out, no one would even guess that it’s a thriller. The first few chapters were pretty normal, to say. Also, it starts off at a very slow pace. The story seems to be stuck at one particular scene in the beginning but then slowly it gets interesting.

‘I Let You Go’ is plot driven rather than character driven. There isn’t much about the characters to talk about because they were pretty one dimensional but the plot, it was on a different level! The sub-plots have been really really crafted out well. The twists and turns are hiding in the nook and cranny of the book. You wouldn’t even notice when they are coming your way. The plot has been fabricated in layers and just when you think that you’ve figured it all out, Clare gives you another surprise!

As is the case with psychological thriller, Mackintosh has delved into the emotional side of the characters to give the characters some shade. But, I am still going to say that the book is plot driven. Clare Mackintosh has a very simple yet engaging writing style. She is able to leave a message in short sentences. The narration is also very simple and it really helps to keep up with the complicated plotline. Also, the narration would make you assume things which aren’t true and then when the truth is revealed, you’ll be surprised. So, it’s deceptive and tricky at times and I loved the narration for it.

There are other characters who plays important roles in the story and I am not going to disclose any of them because I would be giving away too much which I don’t want to. All I can say is, it’s not as it looks like. That’s the point of all mystery and thriller books any way.

FINAL THOUGHTS

So to answer your question, did it leave up to the hype? Umm…for me, not exactly. After hearing about this book from almost all of my blogger friends, I was expecting the book to be much more complex, something which would mess up with my head, I guess? Don’t get me wrong, the book is great in its own way, I might have set the bar a bit too high. I was expecting more of a gory, twisted kind of story. The pace of the book was bit of a problem for me. I generally prefer to read fast paced thrillers and in this book, I didn’t get to the interesting part until I went 150 pages in.

Overall, I did like the book and if you are someone who likes to read thrillers, crime fiction, mystery novels, then you shouldn’t miss out on this book.

POESY IN CHRYSALIS RATING : 🌟🌟🌟.5 / 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

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