I See You

When Zoe Walker sees her photo in the classifieds section of a London newspaper, she is determined to find out why it's there. There's no explanation: just a grainy image, a website address and a phone number. She takes it home to her family, who are convinced it's just someone who looks like Zoe. But the next day the advert shows a photo of a different woman, and another the day after that.
Is it a mistake? A coincidence? Or is someone keeping track of every move they make . . .

In my humble opinion, there are few things better than a book with a well written twist. There you are, just reading along your merry way and BAM! Maybe you were ready for it, maybe you weren’t, but if it’s truly a twist, your mind may possibly short out for show more a moment, and it’s glorious. Now, I said there are few things better, but my absolute favorite thing is a book that ends well. When I say well, I don’t mean happily ever after with all the loose ends neatly tucked away. On the contrary, a good ending (again in my opinion) ends true to life. In real life, happily ever after is a rarity, and complete wrapping up of loose ends is nigh on an impossibility. Clare Mackintosh has apparently accepted these life truths and is unafraid to employ them in her books. I’m not going to say anything about the plot, because I don’t want to accidentally give away anything, but Ms. Mackintosh has produced another absorbing page turner. Her characters are multi-dimensional, and the dialogue flows naturally. Under normally circumstances, I would give I See You four stars, but because the ending left me cackling with glee (literally, as my coworker can attest), this, for me, is a five star read. show less

Clare Mackintosh’s first novel was an excellent twisty thriller. There are plenty of clues scattered throughout the novel, but no matter how many times you guess the ending, you are wrong. The ending comes as a complete surprise and changes the meaning of the entire story.

Given its excellence, there were high hopes for Ms. Mackintosh’s second novel. I See You should be just as amazing and equally thrilling. After all, what is more terrifying than someone stalking you without your knowledge? Unfortunately, lightning does not strike twice in this particular case.

The main disappointment is the fact that the ending is too predictable. You can envision how the story is going to end much too easily. Nothing is really a surprise. To make show more matters worse, you can accurately predict the ending less than halfway through the story. This is the death knell for thrillers because the minute you do so, the suspense disappears. Such is the case with I See You.

Moreover, Zoe is just plain annoying. She should be sympathetic as she has all of the reasons one should sympathize with her. Divorced, working a job that doesn’t thrill her but keeps her busy, struggling to accept her children’s life choices, and then dropped into the middle of this mystery that has all-too-real consequences. What she comes across as though is whiny, self-absorbed, and meddling. You are not rooting against her so much as you are just waiting for something to happen that will make her see the errors of her ways.

The female detective who takes an interest in Zoe’s case is not much better. She is a person who thinks she has everyone and everything all figured out and rules are made to be broken if she feels it necessary. Except there is no reason for her to do so, and it just adds a layer of unnecessary frustration. Between the main character who I just wanted to stop being so selfish and the detective who I just wanted to get her head out of her ass and start listening to her superiors who knew better than she did, I was already rather aggravated with the story. When I figured out the culprit behind the crime at the halfway point, that is when I became truly disappointed.

Had her first novel not been so stellar with an ending that is the ultimate in shocks, I See You would have been a decent thriller. Because it was however, I was looking for the twist as well as the clues, and doing so ruined the story for me. While you should never judge one book by another, it is difficult to refrain from doing just that when written by the same author. In this case, I suspect that those unfamiliar with Ms. Mackintosh’s previous novel will thoroughly enjoy this one. Those readers who enjoyed it though will be disappointed with her sophomore novel. show less

Zoe Walker’s life has become a predictable, plodding routine -- keeping a home for her boyfriend and her two grown children, commuting on public transportation to and from London for her job as an unappreciated bookkeeper at a real-estate firm. That is, until the day she’s shocked to see her own picture posted in a newspaper ad for an apparent dating website, and comes to realize that other women whose pictures have appeared in that ad have become victims of violent crimes.

I like novels of psychological suspense, including woman-in-peril premises, and I enjoyed this one. The three alternating narratives (Zoe; a female detective assigned to the case; and the perpetrator) kept the pages turning until things picked up in the last half. show more And there were plenty of surprises. But (not a true spoiler ahead, but hiding it for readers who like to go into mysteries knowing very little) the load-bearing twist was, in my opinion, totally unearned (more “OMG!” than “Oh, of course!”), and the final twist seemed mostly to shock (though I did like it). I have Mackintosh's debut, I Let You Go, in my TBRs and am eager to get to it.

(Review based on an advance reading copy provided by the publisher.) show less

Zoe is on the commuter train one evening when she happens across a photo in a classified ad, an ad listing a website known as FindTheOne.com. What is most surprising is that the photo is of herself, and she has no knowledge of how it got there or what it has to do with the website. A different woman's face appears in the ad each day, and soon Zoe realizes that several of these women have been recent victims of crime -- even of murder. After learning more about the website, she discovers that it's basically a tool to allow men to stalk women, esp. those who tend to follow a predictable routine day-to-day, and her initial worry turns into extreme paranoia.

I've heard that this thriller is not as good as Mackintosh's debut, but I found it show more intriguing and was rapt until the end. I was torn between conflicting emotions, one minute thinking this was too implausible but then the next I was doubting myself, thinking maybe in today's society this isn't so unbelievable. I will admit I was wrong about the whodunnit and it took me by surprise. There were lots of red herrings in this one, making me second guess myself a lot. Overall I enjoyed this one. show less

When Zoe Walker sees her photo in the classifieds section of a London newspaper, she is determined to find out why it's there. There's no explanation: just a grainy image, a website address and a phone number. She takes it home to her family, who are convinced it's just someone who looks like Zoe. But the next day the advert shows a photo of a different woman, and another the day after that.
Is it a mistake? A coincidence? Or is someone keeping track of every move they make . . .

In my humble opinion, there are few things better than a book with a well written twist. There you are, just reading along your merry way and BAM! Maybe you were ready for it, maybe you weren’t, but if it’s truly a twist, your mind may possibly short out for show more a moment, and it’s glorious. Now, I said there are few things better, but my absolute favorite thing is a book that ends well. When I say well, I don’t mean happily ever after with all the loose ends neatly tucked away. On the contrary, a good ending (again in my opinion) ends true to life. In real life, happily ever after is a rarity, and complete wrapping up of loose ends is nigh on an impossibility. Clare Mackintosh has apparently accepted these life truths and is unafraid to employ them in her books. I’m not going to say anything about the plot, because I don’t want to accidentally give away anything, but Ms. Mackintosh has produced another absorbing page turner. Her characters are multi-dimensional, and the dialogue flows naturally. Under normally circumstances, I would give I See You four stars, but because the ending left me cackling with glee (literally, as my coworker can attest), this, for me, is a five star read. show less

I See You begins with a warning:

You do the same thing every day.
You know exactly where you’re going. You’re not alone.
Zoe Walker is on her commute home, going through her normal, everyday routine, when she sees something that derails her normal, everyday life: her face, in an advert in the newspaper, in a section used for escorts and phone sex lines. Who placed the ad? Why? The number listed isn’t real, and the website given goes to a blank page. Is this a prank, a coincidence, or something more?

Later, Zoe recognizes a face from a past advert–in a news story about a woman who was raped and murdered. Digging in to the ads, Zoe finds that several women featured have been the victims of crime. With the police finally involved, the show more real purpose of the ads is revealed, and Zoe may be the future victim of a mysterious and violent stalker.

This was a fantastic thriller. To me, the most compelling thing about the book is how Mackintosh takes the normal everyday paranoia that comes from being a woman traveling alone, and dials it to eleven. It’s always there, the constant push-pull of balancing alertness with reason: is it better to make eye contact with the stranger on the train or to ignore all the other passengers? Are there other people around or am I suddenly alone? Is he following me or simply on his way home? Are those running footsteps after me or simply someone late for the bus? The hyper-vigilance is routine, whether you’re traveling home on the bus after a late night of work or making your way through the parking garage at night. It is something not often discussed, but will provoke a visceral reaction when reading the book. This is your everyday life, if all the worst case scenarios floating around in your head suddenly come true.

Mackintosh is a fine writer, and her former career as a police officer stands her in good stead with the finer details of police procedure. Fans of Ruth Ware, Lisa Gardener, and Paula Hawkins will likely enjoy this book.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. show less

This is Clare Mackintosh doing what she does best: a tense story with many twists and turns so you never know who to trust. She did it so well in I Let You Go and I See You is just as gripping a read.

Zoe Walker travels the tube everyday, taking the same routes at the same times, even down to sitting in the same place and standing at the same place on the platform. How many of us have such a routine? A lot, I would imagine. One day she sees her photo in the London Gazette accompanied by a telephone number and a website address, but nothing else. Understandably she's perturbed but her family manage to convince her it's not her, just someone who looks like her. But then Zoe sees another picture of a woman who she knows was the victim of a show more crime, and from there we follow events as they escalate and the true scale of crimes against women becomes clear. We also follow the story of PC Kelly Swift, back in uniform after a disgrace in her career. Can she redeem herself and at the same time find the culprit?

This is a fabulous read and a great idea for a story line. I'm surprised I didn't have nightmares as it's really quite unsettling. You can tell Mackintosh is so familiar with police procedure as she writes about it with ease. She's also very good at the red herring. It's a very relevant story, with the prevalence of the internet in today's society and makes you realise how careful you have to be.

It can be hard to follow up a very successful first novel but this is a triumph and I hope that Clare Mackintosh continues to produce other books of this calibre. show less