I Let You Go

I really enjoyed this one. About a boy and his mom walking along a street, the boy run ahead of the mom and is hit by a car. The mom is grief stricken of course.

But, the twists in this book are something I didn't see coming. The book was sad, but I couldn't put it down.

..... Huh

2.75⭐

I don't like when characters are made to think, say, or do something very much against their grain just because the author wants the story to progress in a certain way, or wants to pull the reader in a particular direction; that happens here and I find it exceedingly irksome. Neither the story nor the writing is extraordinary, but it did accomplish a rare feat: it surprised me; and, for that alone, I'm glad I read it.

This book seemed to be prominent on bookshelves over the last year, it's presence always hovering and intriguing me as this author's debut seemed to have gripped so many other readers I decided it was worth a try.

The opening of the book immediately takes us into the story as the opening chapter walks us through the hit and run that kills young 6 year old Jacob whilst his mother walks him home from school. The driver fleeing the scene is shocking and the heart wrenching grief of his mother means we are instantly engaged in the characters and the resolution of the crime which has left this innocent young boy dead.

From there we are led into alternating chapters between the police officers investigating the incident and trying to piece together what happened and that of Jenna, who having lost her son is fleeing her grief and running away to a small Welsh village to escape her past. It is clear the police are having no luck finding the perpetrator of the crime and we follow them over the course of a year as they seek to find new leads whilst the victim's mother has fled her home seeking to forget the incident.

Many of the reviews I read of this book spoke of amazing twists in the tale approximately half way through and said it's story ‘blew them away', maybe I was reading a different book as from the outset I had pretty much gathered what this major ‘twist' was going to be and also how this arc in the story was going to then be played out.

The character of Jenna is written really well and I can understand why people become so engaged in her story of grief and distress. As a character I really liked her and was invested in her seeing justice, I wanted her to be able to see the person who killed her child brought to justice. I liked the small Welsh village she escaped to and the people she met there and how they all closed ranks around her and helped her start again.

For me I could only give this book 3 stars because whilst I enjoyed it there wasn't the same sense of suspense I'd been led to believe the book would give me. It didn't take me somewhere I wasn't expecting to go. The clues were there in the chapters if you read closely enough you would guess where the story was headed and I wish the secrets had been guarded a little more closely so as to hit me more unexpectedly.

The other reason I only gave a 3 star review was the ending of the book and the revelation of the true story and reasons for the hit and run had one aspect that left me feeling the author had tried one twist too far. There was a link between victim and driver that didn't need to be there, it didn't make it feel real for me.

I'm trying very hard in this review not to give away anything more about the story of this book than is absolutely necessary because whilst there were aspects I didn't enjoy there was much to like about the book and it is worth reading if you've enjoyed thrillers such as The Girl on The Train or Gone Girl.

Perhaps closer to a 2 star. This book alternates between two main POVs, that of a DI leading the investigation and the main character in the central mystery. The police storyline was weak and the characters were very two dimensional and never fleshed out. The mystery itself was quite dull, and the second half of the book contained a LOT of graphic domestic violence that really turned my stomach. Not a fan of this one.

3.5*

Definitely a page turner with some unexpected twists - also aptly described as a psychological thriller. I'm interested to read other novels by Mackintosh, as there is something to say about an author who can write a book you do not want to put down to find out what happens next. At times, it was not an easy read because of the content for me, hence the 3 stars, but I would be willing to read other books of hers.

Well this one had a few twists I was not expecting! Up until the halfway point, it seemed like Jenna was the one who lost the child in the accident :O I was very disappointed when I had to go to bed and stop reading lol. Once Ian was introduced I had a suspicion of how it was going to go but it was enjoyable nonetheless and even came with a bonus twist!

The absolute definition of un-put-downable. Filled with twists and turns, one so massive I had to go back and check I hadn't missed a key detail earlier on! Haunting and tense - each chapter filled me with dread and I had to read on. Which is why I am writing this review at 2am!

3.5 stars

TW: child dead, murder, gaslighting, rape, graphic domestic violence, cheating, and loss of child

i'm emotional

A quick and enjoyable read. All of the fantastic blurbs on the cover raised my expectations of what I thought this novel would be, so that was a bit disappointing. Average detective story in the end.

I was so set on giving this 5 stars, but I feel like it dragged a bit towards the end and Ian ending up being Jacob's father had me rolling my eyes. I also didn't think Ray's side story with his wife and son was really necessary - I just didn't care about their story at all. Other than that, a really good thriller.

The twist in the middle was surprising. The book kept me hooked after that 1st twist but I didn't expect the plot to turn into domestic abuse. I always feel uneasy reading about this topic. The whole turnout of the story was okay but there are a lot of details that does not need to be in the story, like the almost-love-affair between the 2 detectives, the rebellious 12-year-old son, etc.

Tóm tắt sau này khỏi đọc lại:
Sách nửa kể bằng ngôi t3 của Jenna nên ban đầu tưởng đó là bà mẹ. Tới nửa sách thì mới biết đó là đứa tông xe.
Cuối cùng thực ra ng tông là thằng chồng cũ Ian bạo lực của bà Jenna. Và thằng đó tông thằng nhỏ có chủ đích vì đó là con rơi của nó. Con Jenna ko chịu báo cảnh sát vì thằng chồng doạ giết.
Cuối truyện thằng Ian tới tìm định giết Jenna nhưng bả chạy ra vách núi xong đang vật lộn thì thằng kia rớt chết. -Hết-
Viết ra thấy truyện xàm l ghê

Absolutely loved this! I read the first section thinking it was a pretty standard storyline then the first big twist happened and I was hooked!! It's so gripping and fast paced it was hard to put it down. Also I've never hated a character as much as I hated Ian, what a despicable excuse for a human.

Some people said the first half of the book was slow. I personally thought it was perfect paced and I was never bored. But if you prefer a page-turner from the beginning, it might be a bit slow for you.

An amazing twIst half way though. I even flipped back a couple of pages to see if I had missed something. The book suddenly turns and the whole of the second half is absolutely spectacular. The tension is relentless.

Brilliant!

3.5 stars maybe. I think it was well-told. The arc of the story, in the end, wasn't that exceptional, and Spoilerthe gist of the incident in question was pretty clear well before the end, so the big reveal wasn't that big but it was interesting and kept me curious from start to finish.

Lecture prenante, twist réussi, seul bémol : les révélations se déroulent très vite dans la 2e partie.

Found the opening pages easy to read and it grabbed my attention however subject matter I found disturbing and difficult. Got a bit bored by part 1, found it predictable and likened to a chick flick. Part 2 engaged me again and after getting over the initial confusion really got into the book. A page-turner. Although there were a few surprises along the way I would still only give this book 3 stars. Think I found the subject matter difficult and kept thinking about the mother.

its not bad, but it isn't good either. the characters in the story aren't memorable. the writer didn't do a good job with the character building. the plot was decent with a good twist. there's domestic abuser which doesn't bring out any emotions in the readers since its not well done either. the child who is killed at the beginning of the story is not given any importance other than telling us he was killed. Read this book only if you want a time pass. the plot sure is unpredictable until the halfway through the book after which it gets pretty boring since you know what to expect.

I just can't get into this writing style 

3.5 stars

TW: child dead, murder, gaslighting, rape, graphic domestic violence, cheating, and loss of child

i'm emotional

Read in just one day, so obviously does something right; I don't usually read books quite this fast. I've enjoyed this female psychological thriller genre so far, and this is no exception. I'd rate this pretty high actually, among the very best I've read (with [book:Gone Girl 19288043] and [book:The Couple Next Door 28815474]).I'm not going to say anything about the plot, except that it works quite well. Some of these books are quite implausible, but this one I can believe without too much effort suspending the disbelief. That's always good. And the twist? Well, it is a good one.

Muito bom, embora a centralidade na morte de uma criança seja sempre tão horrível.

Apart from the U-turn in the middle which took me by surprise and revived my flagging interest for a short while, I found this cliched and predictable.