Review: I Let You Go

Title I Let You Go
By Clare Mackintosh
Genre Adult, Suspense, Crime
Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis
A hit and run takes the life of a child. Detective Inspector Ray Stevens is determined to find the driver but has nothing to go on.
Jenna Gray, devastated at the loss of her child and the horrible memory of the accident runs away from the life she's known to Wales. Hiding out in a small rental on the beach she slowly begins to heal but the past isn't done with her yet.


First Sentence
Detective Inspector Ray Stevens stood next to the window and contemplated his office chair on which, an arm had been broken for at least a year.


As I've mentioned before, I used to love crime novels (a story that follows a detective or police officer as they solve a crime) but have been having a hard time enjoying them these days. I'm determined to not lose my love of them, though and have heard good things about this author so I decided to give this one a go.

And I ended up liking it. Mostly because as we followed Detective Stevens we saw a lot of his personal life and not just the investigation. I ended up really liking him in spite of a few things and am curious if he features in the author's other books. I kind of hope so.

We also get a first person POV from Jenna as she escapes to Wales and tries to start a new life. While I found her a bit too victimized and fragile I did have empathy for her.

I was shocked numerous times in the book, which, as you know, is rare. I always see things coming from a mile away but was shocked at how easily I had been mislead and fooled. I did not see several twists and really enjoyed being surprised.

I listened to this one and really liked the two narrators and was entranced the whole time. I loved how just as you start to think things will settle down and this might be a quieter book, you get wrenched back into the mystery and suspense. It easily distracted me from hours of painting and cleaning during the remodel. 

The epilogue threw in a little twist that had be rolling my eyes and docking  one star from my review. Sorry, but I really hate endings like that. It would have been just fine the way it was, thank you very much. Still, it was an entertaining read that had me on the edge of my seat.

Should you read it?
Usually I only recommend these types of books to people who like them but this one I'd recommend to anyone. Even those who DON'T like these types. I think they'll like this one.

Review: A Merciful Truth

Title A Merciful Truth (Mercy Killpatrick 2)
By Kendra Elliot
Genre Adult crime/fiction
Rating ⭐️⭐️

Synopsis
Back in her hometown of Eagle's Nest Oregon FBI Agent Mercy was hoping for a warm welcoming from family but while some are welcoming others are not. Meanwhile an arsonist turned murderer is on the loose. Can Mercy and her lover Police Chief Truman Daly find who's behind the crimes before it's too late?


First Sentence 
Police Chief Truman Daly slammed the door of his Tahoe and raised a hand to protect his face from the heat of the fire.



I received a copy of A Merciful Truth from the kind folks at Montlake Romance in exchange for an honest review. 

Having not read the first book in this series I was a little afraid I wouldn't know what was going on but I felt that I caught on pretty quickly. Mercy has just transferred from Portland back to her home town of Eagle's Nest Oregon and is dating the Police Chief Truman Daly. Her brother was killed not too long ago and she is now the guardian of his daughter. The death of her brother is what, I'm assuming, was covered in the first book. Don't take my word for it, though, I'm just assuming.

I felt like this one stood on its own storywise. While I liked watching Mercy track down the arsonist with Truman's help as the story unfolded, I found far too much telling not showing going on. As a result I couldn't really connect to the characters. They felt one dimensional; like character cutouts of a FBI agent and a police chief. Even Mercy's niece felt like your typical teenager. They were just too standard. I wanted to connect to them but couldn't.

There was quite a few things that were far too convenient as well. I tried to be forgiving but found far too many things that were unbelievable.

I know it sounds like I hated this one and that's not entirely true. I didn't hate it but was a bit disappointed. Maybe I'm just burned out on these crime novels (as I've mentioned before) or maybe I wasn't in the mood but this one fell a bit flat for me.

Should you read it
If crime novels are your thing then give this one a go. Though, I might recommend reading the first in the series before reading this one.

Review: What She Knew

Title What She Knew
By Gilly Macmillan
Genre Adult Crime Mystery
Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis
When a mother lets her 8 year old son run on up ahead of her the unthinkable happens. Benedict Finch goes missing. Following his mother and the detective assigned to the case, the story takes us through the 9 days after Ben's abduction.

First Sentence
In the eyes of others, we're often not who we imagine ourselves to be.





I'm all for a missing person book. Several of my blogging friends had read and recommended this one, so when it went on sale for Kindle I snatched it up.

 What no one mentioned was it's more of a crime novel than a mystery. Let me explain. I consider a mystery or suspense or whatever you want to call it a book about the people that a tragedy happens around or to and how they cope or figure things out. A crime novel takes us into the head of the detectives working the case. Many moons ago, crime novels are about all I ever read. I loved them. Couldn't get enough of them. I watched Law & Order SVU religiously and binge watched old episodes. Sadly, I burnt myself out on them. Now if I see a book or show about detectives my eyes glaze over. It's kind of like when you eat so much of something you never want to eat it again.

So while it was a crime book and I almost gave up when I saw that, I decided to stick with it. It did have the mother of the missing child's POV and I was interested enough in whodunnit that I kept reading. It was a rather fast paced book after the first 100 pages or so and I liked the way it drew social media into the story. It showed us how awful people that read about these things on line can be so horrible stating their unasked for and biased, judgmental opinion. There were enough red herrings in this one to keep me guessing, though I had my suspicions, and I liked that. I hate when I know who it is from page one.

My complaints about the book are pretty straight forward. The crime novel aspect while not completely torturous did make me struggle and almost give up and I really didn't like a single character in this book.

Sometimes I think authors try so hard to create flawed characters that feel human and real that they make them a bit too unlikable. While they didn't all drive me nuts, I found them to be a bit irritating and that effected my overall opinion. Thank goodness for plot, right?

Should you read it
If this sounds like your kind of book I'd recommend it.