I See You

by Clare Mackintosh

[Leah]

I See You is one of those books that will leave you gasping - literally. I didn't know what to expect going in - Clare Mackintosh is highly, highly regarded among critics and fellow authors, but for once all the high praise really did this book justice, it is SO well deserved. This book was phenomenal, and very much is a contender for my top ten books of 2016. It absolutely blew my mind - the plot, the twists, the characters, but most of all that ending, that left me open-mouthed in shock and absolutely desperate for a sequel at some point in the future. THIS is how you write a thriller, pay attention thriller writers, because this is how you do it, this is how you nail a psychological thriller.

No matter what I will say about this book I will never do it justice. It's so tight, so taut, very edge-of-your-seat stuff, I started it one evening and barely put it down, until I had finished, sitting in shock for at least fifteen minutes just trying to process what I had read. But it was also so scary! Because it's so true, that what happens in I See You could so very, very easily happen in real life, with the way people are nowadays, glued to their mobile phones, always distracted, never having their wits about them, and that's perhaps the scariest part. This book could be a manual for any one looking to cause some serious trouble, because everything in this book could legit happen in real life. I will never, ever look at a ride on public transport in the same way again, that's for sure.

The book is told from three points of view which really helps keep the pace going - there's Zoe, a mum, who finds her picture in the paper that kind of sets everything off; then there's Kelly, investigating the case and then there's the unsub, I had no idea who the unsub was, and it genuinely left me stunned to find out. There really was such a good pace to the book - I liked Zoe, though I liked Kelly more and I really hope Clare develops that part in future novels - brings back PC Kelly Swift and DI Rampello, sets them away on their journey the way many crime/thriller writers have. She's set them up as a good team.

This book genuinely astounded me. I pride myself on being able to tell who the bad guy is, but Clare got me here. She absolutely mugged me. And I loved it, because I do believe the best thriller writers are the ones who make you feel stupid for not knowing what's going on, because I HATE guessing what's occurring, and I love being surprised and Clare had me like a goodun. This was an astonishing read. Book three now, please, Clare? Whenever you're ready. And a sequel at some point, please and thank you.