This review was originally posted on <a href="https://booksofmyheart.net/2020/02/25/please-see-us-by-caitlin-mullen/" target="_blank"> Books of My Heart</a>
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Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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I don't know what I expected from <strong>Please See Us</strong> but it wasn't what I read.  We do get the thoughts and activities of the two young women, Lily and Clara.  We also get several other points of view which helped tell the story. I didn't remember from the blurb about the two young women so I didn't start with paying special attention to them, although they had more voice in the story than most others. All the perspectives made it a little confusing initially.

Overall, <strong>Please See Us</strong> is a difficult read. It's a well written story about those with few options who are overlooked and often mistreated in their daily lives. It applies to most of the women but also some men in the story.  It is set in Atlantic City, NJ after many business failures with people left there.

Most of the characters were not very likable.  All had made a bad choice or more made many bad decisions along the way. Some were prostitutes, thieves and / or drug addicts.  I was surprised there was nothing about any police involvement or point of view.

Lily, who came home to her parents for the summer, after a break up, has a great education but is trying to decide what to do with her life. She is working a receptionist job.  Clara, who didn't finish high school, lives with her aunt, after being abandoned by her mother. She does readings with tarot cards and sometimes steals.

Lily and Clara become unlikely allies as they both get the sense of something being not right. Over the summer, both face difficulties and make tough decisions. I can't say I liked either of them, or many of their choices, but they did grow on me. I felt badly for Clara who is under 18 and in a bad place but who would care? Even when Lily cared, there were limits to what she could do.

Those without power, no matter their social class, can have a rough time making good choices, especially if they isolate themselves from others who might help them or support them at least emotionally.  <strong>Please See Us</strong> is a sad view of some harsh realities.

Wow, oh wow! This is one hell of a debut novel! I was immediately drawn into the story. The characters are well thought out and developed. Every single character has a flaw, which makes them and the lives they live even more realistic and gritty.

This book does have it's dark and disturbing instances like drug addition and sexual abuse. Combine that with the backdrop of a once glorious but now crumbling city and it turns into a page-turning mystery that you can't put down.

This novel alternates between characters as we get glimpses into the lives of the Jane Does, as well as other main characters. They tell their stories and describe how they came to be dead women in the marsh. It was fun to see how all the characters connect.

I hate to give too much away but the ending was satisfying in a weird way. The resolution isn't complete, but it is the perfect ending and I like how there were questions left unanswered.

Thanks to Netgalley and Gallery Pocket Books for allowing me the eARC to read and share my honest review.

This was a 5 star read for me, and to be honest I am ready to read it again because it was that good! I can;t wait to read more from author Caitlin Mullen! Please See Us is available March 3, 2020 here in the U.S. so preorder now! You do not want to miss this!

Happy Reading!

This was a solid entry in the suspense genre. The author did a good job of painting a picture of Atlantic City and the people who live there. Characters were well-drawn as well. A few story lines were slightly far-fetched, but is was delivered well, so forgivable.

This didn't look like a book I would love when I read the description but I am glad I picked it up because I thought it was amazing. I finished it in the middle of the night one night because I couldn't sleep until I knew how it ended. It centers on Clara (Ava) a clairvoyant teen trying to make ends meet with her aunt in a dying city, and Lily, a NY art gallery rep who is returning home to Atlantic City to lick her wounds after a humiliating breakup. These girls have nothing in common but forge something like a friendship as the book goes on. There are also other chapters told from the sad perspective of the "Janes", girls who were murdered by not yet found, as well as some other girls struggling to make it on the streets of AC,

I found the story to be heartbreaking through and through- though there are a lot of characters, the author gives you enough information about each of them to empathize with them and their stories are truly heartwrenching. This is a story where bad things happen to people that you like, and you feel for them because you could see how they got into those situations. I also thought the author did a great job of bringing the city to life, creating a dark and creepy imagery of the town.

As others have said, the ending was somewhat unsatisfying but it actually felt in line with the rest of the story, and I felt like I understood why the author went that direction.

Overall, this book will stick with me for a long time to come and I'd strongly recommend it for those who like the psychological thriller genre.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I wish I could jump on the bandwagon with readers who've loved this book, but I'm left feeling like I need a hot shower and a Disney movie.

First, I need to address marketing. This is not a "fast-paced psychological thriller." It's a very slow-paced blend of literary and family drama, with a small side of murder and suspense.

The writing is beautiful in its descriptiveness, but the story execution didn't work for me.

We're given a large cast of narrating characters. Some come to us in first person, others in third person, and occasionally we have the rarely used second person, which is rare for a reason. Some parts are in present tense, others in past tense. Rather than set each character apart, the lack of continuity, for me, makes the story feel jumbled and disconnected.

The entire mood of the story is bleak, as if the atmosphere itself cloaked people in misery.

Content is dark, with repetitive, graphic, uncomfortable sex scenes unrelated to the murders.

The conclusion is a complete non-ending, lacking any sort of closure. I was left wondering whether there was even a point to what I'd read. And so I was left vaguely depressed for reasons unknown.

I have mixed feelings on my review for this book. I tried to like it more and kept thinking it would get better, but I kept getting more lost because of the extra characters thrown in. I was expecting it to be faster moving because of the description, but it was pretty slow moving. I liked the mystery part of it, and the psychic part, and the murders parts, but this one just didn't grab me. I am sure some will really enjoy it, but unfortunately there were too many reasons I didn't love it. 3 stars.

I was excited to receive an e-arc of Please See Us, and was disappointed that it was a DNF for around the 1/2 way point. It started with such promise as I was curious about the main characters and their back stories. I also was intrigued with Atlantic City as the setting. Unfortunately the story lost steam for me and here's why.

I had anticipated a fast pace mystery. What I found was more of a family drama, life crisis situation with a side of murder. If I had known this going in, I think I would have viewed the story very differently and taken another approach to reading it.

As we know, however, we all have different responses to books so while this wasn't a fit for me it could be for you.

Welcome to Atlantic City, the place that once was full of tourists and casino lights. Now it’s on a downward plunge and so are the people who live there. Besides the faltering casinos, there are those who are down on their luck, hookers, tarot card readers and even a killer amongst them.

Clara, a teenage psychic who lives with her unstable aunt, crosses paths with Lily, an educated former art gallery employee who is temporarily working at a casino spa while re-evaluating her future. The two make an unlikely pair, but they form a sort of friendship that centers around the disappearance of some other women in the area.

The author gives life to the dead women by telling their stories and emphasizing their wish to be discovered. Eventually these women come to total six in all. I had trouble keeping track of who all they were in the story.

For a debut novel, this was a good story, but it was slow moving and I felt that the dismal atmosphere of a dying Atlantic City was a bit overdone. Also, I found the risky behavior of some of the characters deeply disturbing.

I loved the character of Luis and what came to be revealed about him as the story unfolded. Such a misunderstood individual, but one who had a kind heart that was hidden to others by his handicap.

Readers who love thrillers will probably like this one. It wasn’t my favorite, but many other readers found it engaging. I would definitely be open to reading more from this author.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Pocket Books for allowing me to read an advance copy and offer my honest review.

This is a great suspense novel with a supernatural vibe. I started this book with the impression that it would be a fast paced thriller but, in my opinion, it isn’t. So I spent some time feeling like it was dragging around the middle of the story. I think that was a combination of my original expectations and the fact that it did actually drag a little.
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That being said, I ended up really liking this book. It was suspenseful and the supernatural element made it pretty creepy.
This is a great debut novel and I’ll be on the lookout for more from this author.

This book opens with two dead women displayed in the marsh near a seedy motel in Atlantic City. We’re told that by the end of eight weeks there will be five more dead women to join these first two. They are begging the rest of Atlantic City to ‘Please See Us’!

Clara (Ava), and her aunt struggle to eek out a living in a declining Atlantic City. Clara offers tarot readings to the tourists to try to keep their floundering psychic shop open. and also to earn enough money so she can leave to find her mother in California. Lily returns home after a bad breakup with her boyfriend in New York City. The two women become unlikely allies in trying to find out what has happened to several women after Clara begins to have disturbing visions.

The book is told from several points of view - Clara, who struggles to make sense of her visions and to accept the ‘dates’ her aunt coerces her into to bring in more money; Lily, who tries to find purpose while trying to get over her breakup and get back to New York; Luis, the deaf/mute man who sees more than people think and who wants to communicate ‘I see’ and The Janes, who now lie in the marsh waiting to have their stories told.

This a well written book, but the subject matter can be disturbing and may be distasteful to read about. I found it a little slow at times and often didn’t like the characters much, but that’s a normal life experience. The ending wasn’t what I was hoping for, but that too is reality.

Thank you NetGalley.

I had a really hard time getting into this book and then getting through it. I think this is one of those books that you are either going to like or not like. I did not care for either Clara the psychic or Lily the ex-Soho art gallery girl. I did think the book was very well written, but it was just not the type of book that I enjoy. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I give it 3-1/2 stars.

It's summer in Atlantic City, and the city is crumbling due to casino closures and a boardwalk depressingly empty of tourists. What the city has yet to realize is that the bodies of two Jane Does are laid out in the marsh behind the Sunset Motel.

The book is told from several points-of-view. Clara is an underage boardwalk psychic living with her aunt and struggling to pay their rent, while trying to hold off her aunts ideas about how Clara can make them more money. Clara experiences scary visions that she believes are linked to the women who have recently gone missing. Lily recently fled New York and her Soho art gallery job and returned home to live with her mother in Atlantic City, despite never wanting to come back to the memories and grief she thought she'd left behind. After a chance encounter, Clara is certain Lily may be able to help her investigate the missing women. They band together, but can Clara and Lily save each other and the lost women or will they lose themselves?

We also hear from Luis, a disabled man with unclear connections to both Clara and Lily, who suffers ableism and abuse on a regular basis. And we hear directly from the Janes.

The opening of Please See Us was powerful, and all the sections of the novel told by the Janes, the deceased women waiting to be found and remembered, are the stand out part of this novel. Generally we hear relatively little about murder victims in books, with their stories told of course by other characters. Hearing the murdered women speak about their current situation, what happened to them, and how they got here, in their own words was extremely powerful. It added an emotional layer to the story, and put into stark perspective the ways poverty, abuse, addiction, gender, abelism, family connections, and geographic location all flame together to burn hotter than people can bear (and often burn the bridges many of us take for granted). Weaving the Jane's stories together with Clara, Lily, and Luis, highlights those intersections, as well as how power structures can work to help or hurt you. In the book, men use women, women use women, ableds use disabled people. Trauma moves from person to person like disease, and is just as damaging. Giving the Janes a voice illuminates their relative lack of voice in life (and how few people are working to speak for them in death). Instead of the painted over, packaged version of how people end up doing "bad" things that we often see, here we see the very real human problems, emotion, and trauma that lead to the pain and damage depicted. Trauma is multifaceted and it's tentacles reach into all areas of life.

Though sometimes difficult to read because of the heartbreaking story, Please See Us was wonderfully written and compelling. It effectively demonstrated power imbalances and how those imbalances make people less safe and lead to violence. The tension and fear (economic, social, survival) is felt on every page and the setting adds to that with the oppressive heat and formerly dazzling but now falling apart city.

Without money and social support, how do you gain an education and a job that can consistently support you? If you don't have that, then how do you support yourself? In the ways available, which are often dangerous and grotesque.

The ending is hopeful, but it is also hard because it is honest. It's not the ending I want but it is the one that is true to life.

Content Warnings: SPOILER statutory rape; murder; abelism; prostitution; revenge porn END SPOILER

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC. The opinions in this review are honest and my own.

A young woman returns to Atlantic City for a reset after a disastrous art gallery incident in NYC. She finds herself drawn to the teenage girl who does tarot card readings on the boardwalk. When they both realize girls are disappearing, they become an unlikely duo -- united against an unknown serial killer. Meanwhile the "Janes" are lying sided by side in the salt marsh behind a seedy motel. How many more will disappear? Will the girls we get to know escape? This debut mystery is told from multiple POVs and in addition to missing girls there are gallery-worthy portraits found amongst the treasures of a deceased senior citizen. Who painted them? Can they help breathe life back into the AC population? At times gritty and heartbreaking, there is still hope in the end. Had a bit of a "The Lovely Bones" vibe. Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell.

Thank you to Gallery Books for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Please See Us has multiple points of view, little action, and an unsatisfying ending. This should equal a book that was not for me. But, I thought it was AMAZING. Strong, well-developed characters and a constant level of suspense created a story that I could not put down, even at 2 am. This novel is not your ordinary psychological thriller. It is a dark and gritty tale that is as haunting as any horror book.

What I Loved

The setting – The declining gambling Mecca of the east coast sets the perfect tone for this story, which is as much about a serial killer going unnoticed as it is about the marginalization of women. Pawnshops and slots parlors replaced resorts and oceanfront homes. The women, once killed, are left in the marshes. Decay is everywhere, and it effectively creates a feeling of despair that is pervasive.

The characters-

Ava (Clara Voyant) – my favorite character - she is a teenage psychic who was left with her aunt while her mother goes off to California. She hasn’t heard from her mother in four years and longs for the day when she can save up enough money to take a bus out to California to be with her mother once again. She will do anything to make that happen.

Lily Louten – recently returned home to Atlantic City from New York City, she is trying to pick up the pieces of her life after it was shattered at an art exhibit of her boyfriend’s work. She takes a job at a local spa that struggles to attract clientele in this declining city.

Janes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 – we learn the reason that they left home and ended up in Atlantic City, ending up in the marsh behind the Sunset Motel.

Lois – a special needs adult who’s deaf and mute, he had to learn ways to adapt in a society that marginalizes his life as much as they do women.

Overall, Please See Us is as haunting as the title implies. Tackling themes such as marginalization and harassment, the story is moved along by the suspense of whether or not they will catch the murderer.

What I Wish

I really wish that it had a more satisfying ending. It didn’t need it for the theme and message, but it did in order for it to be a more enjoyable read for me.

To Read or Not to Read
This unique psychological thriller is a must-read for lovers of the genre.

There's a lot of promise and potential in this story. The descriptions of a broken Atlantic City NJ and the depression of the people struggling to survive there were really well done. One of those people is Clara, Clara Voyent, yes, you got it, a psychic, who lives with her aunt, Des. The other main character is a jilted woman, Lily, who leaves the art world and her cheating boyfriend in New York and moves back home with her mother in a town that borders on Atlantic City. I liked the two main characters, Lily and Clara but would have liked more of their stories. I wish I had more of Luis' story as well. The mentions of the Janes and their brief stories were a little too brief and just missed the mark for me. I'm also not really a fan of psychics and 'visions.' The story did keep my interest and moved along at a good pace.

Women keep dying in Atlantic City and Clara, a boardwalk psychic and Lily, a art critic down on her luck become friends over the need to figure out what is happening. A suspenseful, psychological thriller.

So this one was intense. Don't get me wrong, I still really enjoyed it, but wow the details and the depth we explore the victims was tough at times! Very emotionally gripping. Set in a failing Atlantic City, this debut novel takes us to the underbelly of survival on the streets for the women in the town. There is a little "paranormal" piece as Clara is a tad clairvoyant, but to see how her aunt exploits her is heartbreaking. The "Jane" sections told from each victim are truly gut wrenching, and I did not see the end coming!
Very well done, dark, but in a thrilling way. Highly recommend for fans of thrillers, twists, crime and mysteries.

The cover and blurb of this book hooked me but I had a hard time trying to get into the story. It started a little slow for me and I was a bit frustrated by the breakout of the chapters and the transition flow between characters. It interrupted the steady flow of the story and kept me from truly embracing the overall storyline. This was also a hard book to read. It contains a lot of abuse with vivid details, heartbreaking scenes, sadness, fear, and hopelessness as seen through the eyes of each character. It was a lot to take in and try to absorb. If you like dark and disturbing tales with a mystery/thriller-like feel then you will probably enjoy this book. It was just a bit much for me.

*Thank you to NetGalley for the arc; I appreciate the opportunity to read this book and I am voluntarily leaving my honest review.

I want to start off by saying thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book, it was a very good read easy to follow along with storyline and characters. This was a new author for me but I very much enjoyed it, thank you for the opportunity and I look forward to reading more by this author again. I highly recommend this book to everybody.

I really enjoyed the strangeness of this novel. It was written in a way that felt eerie, yet real. I particularly loved how the janes were given a voice and how women are the main focus of the novel.

It was really slow in the middle - and I found myself not really wanting to finish at times. But I plowed through and I’m glad I did. I enjoyed it for the most part. It was a terrific debut novel.