Category Archives: Clare Mackintosh

June 24, 2019 · 11:58 pm

Review: After the End by Clare Mackintosh

Title: After the End by Clare Mackintosh
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Genre: Contemporary, Literary Fiction
Length: 400 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss

Summary:

Max and Pip are the strongest couple you know. They’re best friends, lovers—unshakable. But then their son gets sick and the doctors put the question of his survival into their hands. For the first time, Max and Pip can’t agree. They each want a different future for their son.

What if they could have both?

A gripping and propulsive exploration of love, marriage, parenthood, and the road not taken, After the End brings one unforgettable family from unimaginable loss to a surprising, satisfying, and redemptive ending and the life they are fated to find. With the emotional power of Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper, Mackintosh helps us to see that sometimes the end is just another beginning.

Review:

After the End by Clare Mackintosh is a captivating, poignant novel.

Pip and Max Adams have been happily married for several years when an unimaginable diagnosis turns their world upside side. Their 2 year old son Dylan has a brain tumor and he has recently undergone surgery and chemotherapy. Unfortunately an unexpected side effect of chemo lands him pediatric intensive care and his doctor Leila Khalili presents them with a grim prognosis for recovery.

At first both Pip and Max are in agreement that they will do anything to prolong Dylan’s life. Max feverishly researches treatments for his son while Pip is more concerned with Dylan’s quality of life. While informing Leila of their decision, no one is more stunned than Pip when she disagrees with Max’s choice to seek further treatment. Max then embarks on a public campaign to raise money for his legal expenses and to help offset medical costs if he wins the case. Pip is quietly shattered as she spends as much time as possible with Dylan. With their son’s future in a judge’s hands, what will happen to their family in the aftermath?

Pip is a flight attendant who re-adjusted her career in order to be at home with Dylan as much as possible. She suffers a fair amount of guilt that she did not seek medical attention for her son sooner. Never imagining the outcome of Dylan’s treatment, she has been given compassionate leave from work  so she can be with him as much as possible now he is in hospital. Pip never wavers from her heartbreaking decision to not prolong Dylan’s life and she is stunned by her husband’s vitriol.

Max relocated to the UK from the US after marrying Pip. His job requires quite a bit of travel and when home, he works long hours so he has not spent as much time with Dylan as he would like. Despite the family’s dire situation, he has no choice but to return to work after his son is transferred to intensive care. Never once thinking  that he and Pip would be on opposite sides of Dylan’s care, Max thrusts the family into the spotlight as he pursues his case to get his son further treatment.

After the End is an emotionally compelling novel with a clever storyline and sympathetic characters who must make an heartrending choice about their young son. After the courtroom scene,  Clare Mackintosh  chooses an innovative storytelling device that is initially disconcerting.  However, it does not take long to become completely absorbed in the gripping story that is unfolding. Despite the somber subject matter, this deeply affecting novel comes to a hopeful and bittersweet conclusion.  A very unique novel that is utterly fascinating and impossible to put down. Highly recommend.

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Filed under After the End, Clare Mackintosh, Contemporary, GP Putnams Sons, Literary Fiction, Rated B+, Review

March 12, 2018 · 11:58 pm

Review: Let Me Lie by Claire Mackintosh

Title: Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 400 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

The police say it was suicide.
Anna says it was murder.
They’re both wrong.

Last year, Tom and Caroline Johnson chose to end their lives, one seemingly unable to live without the other. Their daughter, Anna, is struggling to come to terms with her parents’ deaths, unwilling to accept the verdict of suicide.

Now with a baby herself, Anna feels her mother’s absence keenly and is determined to find out what really happened to her parents. But as she digs up the past, someone is trying to stop her.

Sometimes it’s safer to let things lie….

Review:

Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh is a suspenseful mystery about a young woman who begins to suspect her parents’ suicides may have been murder.

Anna Johnson is living in her family home with her partner Mark Hemmings and their two month old daughter, Ella.  On the one year anniversary of her mother Caroline’s suicide, she receives a card that makes her think her parents’ deaths might be murder instead of suicide. Taking her suspicions to the local police, retired CID officer Murray Mackenzie who is now a civilian desk clerk, decides to re-examine the closed cases on his own. When Anna’s family is threatened and she makes a shocking discovery, she tries to convince Murray to end his investigation, but he has uncovered information that might support her murder theory.

In her mid-twenties, Anna is trying to move on from her parents’ deaths and she is coping well enough until the one year anniversary of her mum’s suicide. She was quite close to her parents, only leaving home long enough to go to university. She is also close to her uncle Billy and her mum’s goddaughter Laura. Anna’s pregnancy was unintended but she is embracing motherhood although she is reluctant to say yes to Mark’s marriage proposals.

Murray truly enjoyed his career but he wanted to retire on his own terms. He is married to his beloved wife Sarah whose lifelong struggle with mental illness has also included numerous inpatient stays in psychiatric facilities. With Sarah currently in hospital, Murray quietly looks into Tom and Caroline’s suicides and he is puzzled by a few details from the original investigations.  Since he is a civilian employee now, he must rely on his instincts and good old fashioned detective work to examine the cases. Murray still has a few friends on the force who are willing to do him a few favors when he needs a little extra help.  Murray quickly concludes that Anna’s parents’ deaths are most likely foul play, but he is puzzled by her insistence he end his investigation.

Unfolding from Anna’s, Murray’s and an unknown person’s perspectives,  Let Me Lie is an engrossing mystery.  The characters are engaging and well-developed although some are more likable than others. It is virtually impossible to guess the unknown narrator’s identity and this person’s passages are a little dark and somewhat chilling. The novel is divided into three parts and each of them have plenty of twists and turns.  Clare Mackintosh brings the novel to a breathless, action packed conclusion that wraps up all of the various threads and with one final, jaw-dropping revelation, the story comes to a stunning  finale.

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Filed under Berkley, Clare Mackintosh, Contemporary, Let Me Lie, Mystery, Rated B+, Review, Suspense

February 19, 2017 · 11:58 pm

Review: I See You by Clare Mackintosh

Title: I See You by Clare Mackintosh
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 382 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

The author of the New York Times bestseller I Let You Go propels readers into a dark and claustrophobic thriller, in which a normal, everyday woman becomes trapped in the confines of her normal, everyday world…

Every morning and evening, Zoe Walker takes the same route to the train station, waits at a certain place on the platform, finds her favorite spot in the car, never suspecting that someone is watching her…

It all starts with a classified ad. During her commute home one night, while glancing through her local paper, Zoe sees her own face staring back at her; a grainy photo along with a phone number and a listing for a website called FindTheOne.com.

Other women begin appearing in the same ad, a different one every day, and Zoe realizes they’ve become the victims of increasingly violent crimes—including murder. With the help of a determined cop, she uncovers the ad’s twisted purpose…A discovery that turns her paranoia into full-blown panic. Zoe is sure that someone close to her has set her up as the next target.

And now that man on the train—the one smiling at Zoe from across the car—could be more than just a friendly stranger. He could be someone who has deliberately chosen her and is ready to make his next move…

Review:

Fast-paced with a very unique premise, I See You by Clare Mackintosh is a chilling mystery that is suspense-laden and downright creepy.

Zoe Walker is like many Londoners who rely on public transportation to go to and from work every day.  Her daily routine is quite predictable and she rarely varies her route or where she sits on her daily commute.  Passing time on her ride home one day, Zoe is stunned to find a picture of herself along with a phone number and web address in the classified section of the newspaper.  Despite her family and friends’ assurances she is not the person in the photo, she is curious enough to continue checking the classified section.  Zoe soon makes a stunning connection between some of the women in the advertisements and recent victims of increasingly violent crimes.  She reports her suspicions to British Transport Police Detective Constable Kelly Swift who in turn manages to get assigned to the Murder Investigation Team (MIT).  Working closely with Detective Inspector Nick Rampello, she and the other members of the MIT make a horrifying discovery: someone is stalking daily commuters and putting their information up for sale on a secret website.  Quickly realizing two women who were recently murdered  and a rape victim were featured in the adverts, Kelly and Nick are under pressure to uncover the identity of the person running the site before someone else is attacked.  The stakes are even higher for Zoe who is growing increasingly worried about her safety.

Zoe is a divorced mum of two adult children, nineteen year old Katie, an aspiring actress and twenty-two year old Justin, who has finally turned his life around after a couple of brushes with the law when he was younger.  She and her two children live with her significant other, Simon, who dotes on her but cannot seem to quell his jealousy over her ex-husband Matt, who drives a taxi for a living.  Zoe commutes to her job in London where she works at a real estate office that specializes in commercial properties.  Close friends with her neighbors, Melissa and Neil, Zoe is mostly happy with her life although she frets over her children’s futures.

DC Kelly Swift  is an excellent investigator but after she got into some trouble during a case a few years earlier, her career has stalled.  After Zoe calls her with her suspicions about recent cases being linked to the classified adverts, she convinces an old boss of hers to let her work with the MIT.  Kelly is instrumental in finding the first big break in their investigation but their first solid lead quickly run into a dead end.  Realizing time is not on their side, Nick puts someone from cyber crimes on the case and while they uncover valuable information, will it be enough to identify the person who is running the website?

Once Zoe has a better idea of what is going on with the adverts, she becomes more and more worried about her security. She uncovers shocking information about Simon but her biggest concern is Katie’s new boyfriend.  However, it is an innocuous discovery that sets a horrifying plan into action that threatens those she holds most dear.  Will Kelly and Nick find the evidence they need to catch the person behind the website before it is too late?

I See You by Clare Mackintosh is a spellbinding police procedural that has many unexpected twists and turns.  A vast pool of suspects and a series of misdirects and red herrings will keep readers guessing the perpetrator’s identity right up until the novel’s stunning conclusion.  Although the final plot twist is not completely unexpected, it is still a stunning revelation that leaves a few loose ends dangling.  I highly recommend this intricately plotted and devilishly clever mystery to fans of the genre.

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Filed under Berkley, Clare Mackintosh, Contemporary, I See You, Mystery, Rated B+, Review, Suspense

May 1, 2016 · 11:56 pm

Review: I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

Title: I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense
Length: 377 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

The next blockbuster thriller for those who loved The Girl on the Train and Gone Girl... “a finely crafted novel with a killer twist.” (Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train)

On a rainy afternoon, a mother’s life is shattered as her son slips from her grip and runs into the street . . .

I Let You Go follows Jenna Gray as she moves to a ramshackle cottage on the remote Welsh coast, trying to escape the memory of the car accident that plays again and again in her mind and desperate to heal from the loss of her child and the rest of her painful past.

At the same time, the novel tracks the pair of Bristol police investigators trying to get to the bottom of this hit-and-run. As they chase down one hopeless lead after another, they find themselves as drawn to each other as they are to the frustrating, twist-filled case before them. Elizabeth Haynes, author of Into the Darkest Corner, says, “I read I Let You Go in two sittings; it made me cry (at least twice), made me gasp out loud (once), and above all made me wish I’d written it . . . a stellar achievement.”

Review:

I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh is a spellbinding mystery that is full of jaw-dropping twists and turns.

While walking home from school with his mum, five year old Jacob is struck and killed by a driver who immediately flees the scene.  Detective Inspector Ray Stevens and trainee Detective Constable Kate Evans are assigned to the case, but their investigation turns up no viable leads and they are soon ordered to move on to other cases.  Haunted by the boy’s death, sculptor Jenna Gray moves to a small coastal town in Wales where she hopes to leave behind her disturbing memories and nightmares from that terrible day.  Just as she begins to find a measure of peace and happiness, Stevens and Evans uncover new evidence that blows the case wide open and puts Jenna on a collision course with the past she has so desperately tried to leave behind.

Jenna’s struggle to escape the grip of her tragic past is absolutely heartrending.  She leads a lonely existence on the cliffs overlooking the turbulent sea and she rebuffs the friendly overtures of the people she meets.  As the months pass, she begins to pick up the pieces of her life and her passion for photography turns into a surprisingly lucrative career.  Beginning to feel more at ease but still refusing to talk about her past, Jenna befriends her closest neighbor and unexpectedly finds romance.  However, just when she dares to believe it is possible to start over with a clean slate, the break in Jacob’s case thrusts her into the limelight and ultimately endangers her hard-won peace and security.

DI Stevens is a hardworking investigator whose day to day job is filled with mind numbing administrative tasks.  DC Evans is a go-getter who is new to his department and her enthusiasm and zeal reinvigorates Ray and reminds him of why he chose his career in the first place.  Disappointed by their boss’s decision to move on from Jacob’s case, Ray and Kate continue working the case on their own time but it is not until the one year anniversary of his death their persistence pays off.  Relying on their gut instincts, neither are fully convinced of their suspect’s guilt, but when their investigation turns up no new evidence, they are forced to allow justice to prevail.  The pieces of the puzzle fall slowly into place but will they uncover the truth before it is too late?

The first half of I Let You Go is interesting and leisurely paced but it is not until an arrest is made in Jacob’s death that the novel becomes impossible to put down. The first major plot twist is absolutely shocking and completely impossible to predict. The novel moves at a brisk pace as the tragic truth about Jenna’s past is revealed in horrifying detail.  As this riveting mystery thunders to a pulse-pounding and dramatic conclusion, Jenna is stunned by one final horrifying revelation. Clare Mackintosh seemingly ties up all of the loose ends in a short epilogue but the final scene leaves an unanswered question that will linger in readers’ minds long after the last page is turned.  Fans of police procedurals absolutely do not want to miss this brilliant suspense-laden psychological thriller.

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Filed under Berkley, Clare Mackintosh, I Let You Go, Mystery, Rated B+, Review, Suspense