I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

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.

      

A child, on his way home from school, releases his mother's hand with disastrous results.  Jenna Gray leaves everything behind and moves to a remote cottage in Wales, hiding from her past.  A pair of investigators with the Bristol police are trying to solve the hit-and-run, but are frustrated at every turn.  Can the pieces be put together?

      

The prologue is the perfect example of a wide-awake nightmare.  It is painful to read, and a definite attention grabber.

      

The first third/half of the book almost reads more as a romance than suspense.  It is so disappointing when characters fall into predictable, stereotypical situations.  But one wants to keep reading just to see where the story is going.  One thinks one knows, until one finds they are completely wrong. 

      

Then comes the second and third parts of the story--talk about hugely disappointing.  It is as though Mackintosh watched “Sleeping with the Enemy,” and/or “Jagged Edge” way too many times.  That said, I do give her credit for knowing how to play with the reader’s loyalties and emotions. 

      

Not only are many of the situations stereotypical, but so are most of the characters.  By far, the best character is Bethan, who has a secondary role, along with Insp. Stevens.   It’s unfortunate there weren’t more characters such as those.    

      

“I Let You Go” had some strengths.  It also had major weaknesses which made it close to a wallbanger due, in part, to its horribly predictable ending.  I recommend letting this one go and moving on to something better.

I LET YOU GO (Psy Susp-Jenna Gray-Wales-Contemp) – Poor

      Clare Mackintosh – 1^st Book

      Berkley Reprint, Nov 2016