I Let You Go

One rainy November evening, a young mother is bringing her five year old son Jacob home from school when she lets go of his hand for a second. Long enough for him to get killed by a hit-and-run driver, who becomes the subject of a police investigation.

Devastated by her memories and haunted by her past, Jenna Gray moves to a remote cottage in Wales, where she tries to get over her grief. And bit by bit she starts to find a new purpose in her life – but just as she finally sees light at the end of the tunnel, her past comes back to find her.

I’ve had to be deliberately ambiguous about the plot of this book, because I don’t want to give anything away. However, if you are a fan of psychological thrillers, then I would highly recommend show more it. I thought the plot was very clever, and all of the characters – particularly Jenna and DI Ray Stevens, the man in charge of the investigation into Jacob’s killer – were very well depicted and easy to invest in.

There are multiple narrators in this book – Jenna tells the story in the first person, while a third person narrator describes the police investigation and delves into the personal life of Ray Stevens. A third narrator enters the story at a later point, but to say who would reveal too much.

The author was actually in the Police Force, and it shows in her knowledge and descriptions of police procedure. I also liked how she revealed the story bit by bit, and for the first time in a while when reading a novel, I had to stop myself from looking a few pages ahead, because I really wanted to know what was going to happen.

The blurb on the cover as well as every review I’ve read of this book state that there is a big twist, so I don’t think I’m revealing anything new by saying that here – however, I think I would have enjoyed it even more if I hadn’t known there was something twisty coming. The twist itself was cleverly written, and had I not been expecting it I would have been totally thrown.

This is an accomplished debut, and I will definitely be looking out for further books by Clare Mackintosh. show less

On his way home from school, a little boy lets go of his mother’s hand, runs out into the street, and is killed by a hit and run driver. Detectives Ray Stevens and his new assistant Kate are assigned to the case, but their investigation stalls when the boy’s mother suddenly leaves town. Jenna Gray travels to a remote caravan park on the Welsh coast and moves into a tiny cottage. She keeps to herself, slowly and tentatively meeting locals and, in time, beginning to heal.

Then, suddenly, a major plot twist made me question everything I'd read to that point. A new narrator appeared to tell another side of the story, and things got creepy and sinister. In this debut novel, former police officer Clare Mackintosh teased out the rest of the show more mystery in a way that kept me turning the pages and finding every opportunity to read just a little more. I also enjoyed getting to know Ray Stevens through a subplot about his marriage and family troubles.

I Let You Go has all the makings of a good series. I hope the author has more of these books up her sleeve. show less

I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh is a highly recommended novel about a tragic accident and secrets.

In the opening of I Let You Go Jacob, a 5-year-old boy, is killed by a hit and run driver in Bristol. His mother let go of his hand, for just a moment, and he dashed ahead of her, into the street. The police have a headline-grabbing complicated case they must try to solve with very few good clues and no good witnesses. People are weighing in with their own opinions, saying that the mother should not have let go of his hand. If she had held his hand, Jacob would still be alive.

In the meantime, Jenna Gray, a sculptor, is haunted by Jacob's death. She runs away to live in a rented cottage in the remote coastal town of Penfach, Wales. It is show more Jenna's plan to start over here, in this remote area where no one has heard of Jacob and the horrific hit-and-run accident that changed her life. She wanders the cliffs and shoreline, using photography as a way to help her recover.

The Bristol CID team headed by DI Ray Stevens, and assisted by long-time friend and investigator Stumpy and rookie DC Kate Evans. The team is doing all they can to try and dig up new information that will lead them to the hit and run driver. It doesn't help the investigation that Jacob's mother has disappeared, unable to handle the criticism that she is partially to blame for his death because she let go of his hand.

Chapters in the first part of the novel alternated between what is happening in the investigation, and of the personal life of Ray Stevens, and Jenna's life. Then the novel throws a big mind-bending deviation half way through. Once you start down that path, expect several other twists and complications before you reach the end. I can't say anything else because experiencing the shocking twists are what make this novel worth reading.

I Let You Go is a well written, complex who-done-it with plenty of layers to the plot. Mackintosh does an excellent job in this debut novel. The plot twists are surprising, but not contrived, which increases the tension and should hold your rapt attention through to the end. The character of Jenna and Ray are well developed; they are flawed characters with a depth that lends them realism. For me, the only kink in an otherwise exemplary novel was the relationship between Ray and Kate.

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of the Penguin Publishing Group for review purposes. show less

This is the newest in the list of thrillers with an "unreliable narrator" and a gripping story that will keep you turning the pages to find out what REALLY happened.

Jenna Gray is walking home with her son when she lets go of his hand for one second. In that second he darts in front of a car and is killed while the driver speeds away, never to return. Jenna can't believe what just happened and is overcome with grief. In the dark of night, she leaves her life behind to start over in a tiny Welsh Village. In the meantime, two detectives are trying to find the hit-and-run driver. All leads seem to be coming to a dead end and Ray has to close the case, even though he and his partner Kate, can't seem to get the case out of their mind. The show more twists and turns of the case baffle them until a lead takes them to someone they never expected to find.

This thriller is fast-paced and tells you the story from Jenna's perspective and then flips over to Ray and Kate's story so that you always know what is going on in Jenna's life and the investigation. Jenna's grief over losing her son and the blame she places on herself seeps off the pages. You can imagine how she wants to disappear and start life over knowing that she will never be able to truly start over. Mackintosh's descriptions of Jenna's nightmares, the way she is "walking through molasses" and how everything is the same and yet different...forever changed, give you a visual and painful understanding of her desperation.

Once she leaves, you start to have hope for her as she begins a new life in Wales and meets some people she can consider friends. As an artist, she finds a way to work art back into her life in a way that is different from what she did before. She finds a new energy and starts to think that this can be her new life. Then, you are suddenly slapped across the face with a twist so shocking, you will want to scream at the author while knowing that you have to keep reading to find out what is going to happen next. This is what really made the book for me. I didn't see it coming for one second and then when it did, I became so absorbed in the rest of the novel that I forgave the author for giving me that jolt.

There are definitely some disturbing parts to this story and it touches on topics that can be difficult for some to read about. I don't want to give anything away because I want every reader to have the same reaction I did. Even knowing that there was a twist to come, didn't make it any less shocking for me.

Mackintosh has found her way into the novelist world after working twelve years for the police force. I'm sure she has a wealth of information at her fingertips to continue surprising readers with thrillers for years to come. I LET YOU GO is her debut novel and I SEE YOU, her second thriller, will debut in July. show less

This book had been on my wishlist for a while, so when it was featured as a Kindle deal at an awesomely discounted price, I couldn’t resist. It’s another book where I went in cold – I knew only that many of my Goodreads friends really enjoyed it. (If you haven’t already, add me on Goodreads, I want to see what you’re reading!)

Let me begin by saying that this book is an emotional roller coaster. And just because you think you know what’s going on, doesn’t mean you do. The plot twist at the end of part one caught me completely by surprise, as in totally blindsided – not only did I not see it coming, the option never even crossed my mind. I love love LOVE when that happens, but it doesn’t happen nearly often enough.

From show more that point, in part 2, the book takes a much more sinister turn. A dark, uncomfortable, I don’t want to be on this road alone at night bend that makes you consider certain characters and their actions in an entirely different light. I really had a hard time not giving spoilers away in this review, but I’d hate to rob other readers of that breathless, hit hard feeling. This is a debut novel by what promises to be a formidable author! Five stars! show less

Occasionally, a book can become a victim of its own publicity.

Clare Mackintosh's dramatic debut novel, 'I Let You Go', has been extensively marketed and reviewed as containing an 'astonishing' and 'shocking' twist. So, as a reader of many crime thrillers and psychological suspense stories containing big twists, I was obviously On Guard for hints and clues pertaining to the Astonishing, Shocking twist. And, presumably because I was looking for them, I found them easily and the Massive Big Twist was, um, not. In fact, events seemed so clearly signposted that I wondered whether I was wrong and something much...twistier...was afoot, but I was right and actually found the ending of part one a little flat.

All of which is a lengthy way of show more saying that sometimes priming readers to expect a huge twist might not work in an author's favour; I would have enjoyed this far more had the intended twist had the impact it was meant to, or even if I had still spotted it in advance but not been led to expect a shattering development. (I appreciate that it's equally possible to argue that I spoiled my own fun, but part of the joy of these kinds of stories is to guess where you might be taken, and I really do feel that the signs were quite clear from the start.)

Still, it's possible to foresee a twist and still enjoy the story an author has to tell, and I really did enjoy this.

-- What's it about? --

A tragic accident results in the death of a five year old boy. Devastated by the implosion of her life and desperate to escape, Jenna Gray flees to a remote cottage on the Welsh coast, where she initially struggles to cope with her memories and her grief.

Gradually, Jenna begins to build a life for herself, but her past isn't about to disappear that easily, and when it catches up to her, it may just destroy her.

-- What's it like? --

A compelling mix of police procedural and personal drama. Chapters narrated in the first person by Jenna reveal her almost-paralysing fear and Mackintosh deftly balances the emotional weight of these fraught interludes with more mundane, but equally revealing, scenes from the ongoing murder investigation. DI Ray Stevens is mentoring DC Kate Evans and it's immediately clear that his admiration for her youthful stamina and principles has the potential to spill over into their personal lives. In fact, we learn so much about the the relationships between Evans, Stevens, wife Mags and son Tom, that I wonder whether they will feature in her next book, 'I See You'.

Mackintosh has been a police officer herself, and some of the ideas behind this story were inspired by a case that was ongoing during her first few years as an officer, so it was particularly interesting to read the chapters featuring the police officers as I felt like it was quite an 'inside' view being offered. (This was especially true of the barrister who suggests a tactical 'sneezing fit'.) The long hours and camaradie are well-portrayed and I felt sympathy with DI Stevens even as he irritated me. (Of course this pretty, young, fiery woman who you're spending most of your time with seems more appealing right now than your wife, but please, please, switch on your brain!)

Jenna is a complex character who is likely to draw strong feelings from readers as her story trajectory develops, but just as you might decide to loathe her, another narration enters the mix: this sinister first person voice forms perhaps the most chilling and effective narrative strand of the entire story, and I loved this insight into a dark mind.

-- Final thoughts --

Mackintosh's writing is at turns beautiful, saddening and shocking. It is always suspenseful. There are several twists, so if you do spot the first one coming, there's still plenty to be stunned by. Even the ending is startlingly open in one key aspect, leaving readers to speculate about whether or not the remaining characters can move forwards or if they will remain haunted by the novel's events and departed people. I really enjoyed reading this and particularly liked the way the action was spread over more than a year; the whole storyline felt very convincing, despite some very dark and dramatic scenes near the end.

It's easy to see why this genuinely chilling story has been so popular and I shall definitely be keeping an eye out for 'I See You'. show less

Now THIS is a knock-your-socks-off thriller. Rarely do I read a book I can't put down, and I had no expectations this would be any more than a well-reviewed genre entry. It was on my list to read, having been recommended by Modern Mrs. Darcy (http://modernmrsdarcy.com/), but then the Kindle version came up for $1.99 at Amazon, so what's a girl to do? How about put her life on hold?

A young single mother let's go of her 5 year old son's hand as they near their home, and he's killed by a hit-and-run driver. The police have no clues, the case goes cold, and the mother disappears, settling in an isolated part of Wales to try to recover. Just as you're thinking something's got to give, the book stands on its head and takes off with such a show more shocking revelation you can only hold on and say goodbye to the rest of your day's plans.

Superb. show less