#bookreview I See You by Clare Mackintosh @claremackint0sh

‘You do the same thing every day.

You know exactly where you’re going.

You’re not alone.’

I suspect I was one of the few people who hadn’t read I See You by Clare Mackintosh. Well….I fixed that during the week!!

Published by Sphere in 2016, I See You is described as ‘an edge-of-your-seat, page-turning psychological thriller.’

Do I recommend it as such or not??

Read on…..

Book Blurb:

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 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…. 

Single mum of two, Zoe Walker, is tired. Life has been hard for a number of years and the daily commute on the London Underground is part of the drudgery of her day that she has to endure.

Now separated from her husband Matt, she lives with her two children, Katie and Justin and her new partner Simon. Simon is everything Matt wasn’t. Zoe and Matt married very young with unfulfilled dreams and a very tough struggle to stay afloat for a number of years. This all took it’s toll on their marriage and the inevitable happened. Zoe made a new life for herself and the kids, with her neighbour Melanie being an enormous comfort and assistance in the early years.

One day Zoe spots an advert in the paper in the chatline section of the adverts…an incident that will change her life forever.

‘My heart is thumping as I stare at the advert. It bears the same warning about call charges as the other boxed adverts and an 0809 number at the top of the ad. A web address reads www.findtheone.com. But it’s the photo I’m looking at. It’s cropped close to the face, but you can clearly see blonde hair and a glimpse of a black strappy top. Older than the other women pimping their wares, but such a grainy photo it would be hard to give a precise age.

Except I know how old she is. I know she’s forty.

Because the woman in the advert is me.’

Kelly Swift is a cop who has been disciplined as a result of an incident with a felon. She is now involved in the ‘Dip Squad’ in the underground, helping to prevent robbing etc from unassuming passengers. She is part of an awareness campaign. Kelly feels extremely dissatisfied with her job and is forever trying to prove herself and get back to what she loves, dealing with offenders above the underground.

Zoe tries to put aside the feelings she is having of being watched as her family seek to assure her that all is fine and that photo isn’t of her. But Zoe follows up on a few bits of information she attains only to find herself in a game of cat & mouse with an unknown person.

There are times Zoe feels she is going mad, with no one taking her concerns seriously, until she meets with Kelly Swift. A series of frightening events take place that result in a fast paced, as is correctly stated on the back of the book, ‘page-turner’.

Zoe lives in a permanent state of paranoia as she starts to suspect everyone she knows. She starts to pick up clues of possible betrayal by people she thought she could trust. Her mind imagines all kinds of awful scenarios but nothing prepares her for what turns out to be a living nightmare.

Clare Mackintosh has written a great thriller. It would be way to easy to give away something so I will just stop here and say……pick up a copy of  I See You

It’s a great book and that twist…………!!!!!!!!

Meet the Author:

Clare Mackintosh spent twelve years in the police force, including time on CID, and as a public order commander. She left the police in 2011 to work as a freelance journalist and social media consultant, and now writes full time.

Clare’s debut novel, I Let Go, was a Sunday Times top ten bestseller for 12 weeks, and was the fastest selling title by a new crime writer in 2015. It was selected for both the Richard and Judy Book Club and ITV’s Loose Women’s ‘Loose Books’, and has been translated into 31 languages. It has sold more than 600,000 copies to date.

In July 2016 Clare received the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award.

Clare’s second book, I See You, published in July 2016, will be published in more than 17 languages. In its first week of sales I See You charted at number three in the Sunday Times hardback bestseller list.

Yon can read all about Clare Mackintosh at https://claremackintosh.com/  

and follow Clare on Twitter