'Please See Us' is a debut novel from this American author. This is a dark story set in a broken down Atlantic City, where a serial killer has been preying on women. It is part thriller, has a supernatural element, and is not shy about the revealing the seedy parts of society. Clara is a teenager who lives with her aunt and works as a psychic. Lily was an art agent in NYC, but has fled there and now works as a receptionist at a spa. The two become friends and Clara shares her dark visions. The story reminded me a little of the work of Heather O'Neill and might be a good recommendation her fans.

Rich, fascinating and suspenseful! I flipped pages continuously until the stunning ending. I look forward to more of this author’s work.
Many thanks to Gallery Pocket Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I thought this book was good! Caitlin Mullen wrote a very atmospheric read. I liked the unlikely friendship that happens between Clara and Lily. This is definitely a slow burn, I would not consider this to be a fast paced thriller but still a solid read. At times it was a tad confusing because of all the characters.

I would recommend this book to others and read more by this author in the future!

Please See Us – Caitlyn Mullen

I received this book as an Advance Reader Copy from Netgalley, in exchange for an objective review.
This novel opens as we meet a young Clara, who struggles to make enough money to live by giving Tarot readings in a seedy storefront in a downtrodden area of Atlantic City. Abandoned by her mother and cared for (the term is used loosely) by a drug addicted aunt, Clara’s life is anything but idyllic. She has just received a customer who is despondent over his niece, who has been missing without a trace for three months. He hands Clara a handkerchief that his niece used to wear for luck, in hopes of finding any kind of clue as to her whereabouts. Shortly thereafter, Clara begins to have visions of bodies in the marsh.

We then meet Lily, who, after being humiliated by a man she loved, runs home to Atlantic City, and secures a job in a spa, with the hopes of making enough money to return to NY City on her own terms. The two girls become unlikely friends and Clara eventually shares her visions of the girls with Lily.

We meet the Jane Doe’s, all 6 of them, who have left their real lives to end up in the brackish marshes of the Atlantic City shoreline, victims of an unknown killer. As they tell us their stories of pain and loss from beyond the grave, their disappearances are noticed by Lily & Clara who look for answers, , but also by Luis, a young deaf mute who parlays the information he is unable to speak of into other medium, unbeknownst to anyone.

This novel is a painful, but sadly realistic view into the lives of those individuals that we don’t see in our own lives, and rarely think about - the kids that leave home only to fall victim to drug use, sexual abuse, prostitution, hopelessness, and worse. Told in meticulous detail, you’ll think about this novel and its characters for a long time after the final page is turned, all while realizing that often, stories do not have a happy ending, even when the last page is turned. A haunting, gritty, exceptionally well written read. I cannot wait to read more from this new author!

Please See Us by Caitlin Mullen is a mystery thriller about a bunch of girls in Atlantic City, New Jersey who have been murdered by a serial killer and left to rot in a marsh until someone finds them. The book centers around a few main girls especially Clara and Lily. Clara is a psychic who is getting visions about these missing girls and Lily is enlisted to to help figure out how to put these visions together and find them. The story also centers around a deaf/mute male who may or may not be a suspect in the case. Overall, I thought it was a great, hard to put down read. There was so much action and I loved how the story kept changing perspectives so you were able to develop a relationship with each of the characters. I also found this story relatable because I am from New Jersey and know about a lot of the places which were brought up throughout the story. I think Caitlin Mullen did a great job with this one! Although I liked the ending, my only complaint is you never really find out exactly who committed the crimes and why.

A sophisticated and beautifully rendered complex look at violence against women with fantastic character development, excellent and confident plotting and assured and elegant prose

I had very high hopes for this one, maybe a little too high if I’m honest and while this wasn’t a bad book by any means, it didn’t live up to my expectations. It’s very slow paced and while I was initially interested in how things would play out, I also found it to be slightly disjointed. It switches between a few viewpoints and while I appreciate multiple narrators, it felt choppy for me.

One thing that really kept me reading despite my issues was the authors gorgeous writing, she’s really talented and her sense of place was amazing. This one is bleak y’all, and not just in terms of the plot, it’s atmospheric and incredibly well written with a strong sense of despondency throughout every component. If you’re going to give this one a try I recommend taking your time with it, definitely not one to race through, and be prepared for a more subtle style of suspense.

I confess I was not really into this book in the beginning. But I persisted and it got better. So better that that about halfway through it I couldn’t put it down anymore. This is a pretty interesting story that takes place in Atlantic City, involving two girls that met each other even though they belong to two complete different universes - and their loved cross each other in so many ways afterwards. Ava and Lily. But it is also a story about other women - Jane Does - that are desperate to be seen. I love how the book is constructed with each chapter with a different perspective. The beginning may seem disconnected - but bear with it that it will get better, trust me.

Well written but depressing story

This is a tale of tawdry, down on its luck Atlantic City and some of the women that live there over one summer. It is told from many points of view including that of some women that have been killed (not really a spoiler since they are mentioned in the synopsis of the book).

Lily left her art gallery job in New York City and fled back to her hometown of Atlantic City after a major humiliating episode in NYC. She now works in a spa as a receptionist until she can figure out what she wants to do next.

Clara is a very young girl working as a psychic on the Boardwalk with her aunt in a town that has very few tourists any more. She and Lily become friends - an unusual pairing.

This story was slow moving, building up to a good finish. For me, it was pretty darn depressing even though well written. Might just be the winter blues and maybe I should have read it in the summer.

It did a great job with character development and a great job of describing the downturn in fortunes of Atlantic City.

I received this book from Gallery Books through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.

3.5 stars
This was a promising idea of a young psychic who is trapped living a life dictated by a drug-addicted, prostitute aunt. They live at a downtrodden motel...something we have all seen. The type of place we drive by and never wish to check-in.
The other main character is a highly educated woman who has had her own unwelcomed twists in her life. She has had a very public ugly break up and now is wanting to hide in the new position at the New Jersey spa.

These two cross paths and somehow become friends and then share a need to find out what is happening with two Jane Does who are found next together. Our psychic is now having real dark visions and needs help finding concrete proof so others will not be killed.

A very interesting idea and this is not fast-paced but is compelling.

Young women keep disappearing in Atlantic City, but no one seems to be looking for them. They all struggled to find a better life for themselves, but were unable to make that happen. When you're poor, in a dead-end job, and need money, sometimes you have to do things you don't want to. Sometimes those things are dangerous. Sometimes, they get you killed.

Readers should be aware that this is a dark and disturbing novel. There is much physical abuse contained within these pages. If that's a trigger for you, don't read this book.

The story is told from the points of view of Clara, a teen-aged psychic; Lily, who works in a spa after relocating to escape a toxic relationship; Luis, a deaf-mute who is the janitor at the spa; and the Janes, the women killed/missing. Clara and Lily, unlikely companions who come to care about each other, are trying to make sense of Clara's dark, vivid and violent visions of young women in danger. Can they find these women to warn them, or is it already too late? Can they gather evidence to support Clara's visions so they can go to the police before they become targets themselves?

Please See Us is an impressive debut for Caitlin Mullen. Her writing is clean and concise, her female characters complex, wonderfully drawn and flawed. She builds suspense at a steady pace that keeps the reader engaged and wanting more. This is an author I've put on my authors to watch list. If you like suspense and/or crime genres, you will find Please See Us a very satisfying read. Four well-earned stars from me.

My thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for allowing me to read an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Please See Us was a powerful, disturbing, suspenseful, honest and unusual novel. A story about the current day run-down and devastated Atlantic City, with its desperate habitants. A serial killer is murdering "Janes" whom engaged in prostitutions, then staging them in a hidden location. An unlikely friendship is formed between a young psychic and an artist, which try to help each other and the "Janes", as well as hope for a better future for each other. Very well written and built up! Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the early reader edition for my review. All opinions are my own.

I probably would have liked this book more if it wasn't marketed as a "fast-paced thriller", because it is not fast-paced or much of a thriller. There was also an unnecessary amount of information about the characters. Which seems like a ridiculous complaint, but is just the way I feel.

Please See Us ….Clara is a Psychic on the boardwalk . This was a gripping page-turner .Clara is a sixteen year old psychic, abandoned by her mom, left to live with her prostitute, drug using, unscrupulous aunt. Her aunt even starts selling Clara's body and being so poor, having been raised to steal and cheat and lie, Clara has no recourse but to do as her aunt tells her to do. And now, Clara is seeing visions that terrify her, visions of dead women, of brutality, visions that drain all her strength and make her feel sick.
Lily, college educated and successful at her career in New York. she is betrayed by her famous, artist, boyfriend. I found the story to be heartbreaking. There are a lot of characters, 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.

2.5 STARS - This book is getting high praise from many readers and with its exciting premise, I was sure that I'd be jumping on the bandwagon. But this book fell flat for me which I found surprising because it has a lot of things going for it - a creepy atmosphere that paints a dark picture of Atlantic City (albeit not a book that will increase tourism to this seaside city), interesting themes regarding women and a lot of depth to its characters.

But it's the depth that's given to its 10+ characters who tell the story that was my biggest issue. Not only do we have double digit characters to keep track of and so many POVs, but readers are given too much detail about their lives - from the daily minutiae to things that happened years in their past. This detail was excessive and made for a very disjointed and convoluted read that I struggled to engage with. I like complex characters, but this excessive detail paired with story lines about psychic readings and the art world bogged down a plot and negatively affected the suspense.

This book is being called a fast-paced psychological thriller but to me it was a very slow burn thriller that I read in fits and spurts. I felt frustrated over its verbose details and the lack of suspense leaving me with very detailed characters but little motivation to continue reading. I finished the book, but it took me almost two weeks to read. While this book wasn't a hit with me, I am in the minority with my feelings. If you adore books with very detailed characters and a grim setting, this may be a book for you.

Disclaimer: This book was offered to me for review consideration by the publisher via NetGalley.

This debut novel is set in seedy Atlantic City and author Caitlin Mullen paints the picture well of the once prosperous city that has been hit hard by the recession, hurricanes, abandoned casinos, and crime. This is a place not kind to women and this book may be tough for some people to read.

It’s summer and two unlikely women have started a friendship. Clara, a young psychic on the boardwalk, is having disturbing visions of women and violence. Lily has retreated from New York to her hometown of Atlantic City after a disastrous experience. She’s working at a spa with few customers. The two women try to stay out of danger and find a path to happiness.

Another set of fascinating characters and voices are the Jane Does in the marsh and they want everyone to know their stories and to be seen – hence the title of the book. This thriller took a while to get going and then I was sucked into the dark and eerie world of this gambling town where men seem to do what they want with few consequences.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Gallery Books, and Caitlin Mullen for the opportunity to read her stunning debut novel - 5 stars for a book that is so beautifully written.

The book takes place in the gritty world of Atlantic City - past its prime, a shadow of its former glittery self. There are Jane Does - victims of a serial killer, laid in a marsh, side by side, just waiting for someone to discover them. We hear their voices. But the novel is set around Clara, Lily and Luis. Clara is a young psychic, abandoned by her mother, raised by her aunt who is too deep into her issues to do anything but use Clara. Lily is returning home to Atlantic City after a very public breakup and humiliation, finding work at a spa in a casino. These two characters meet by chance but become entwined into finding out the mysteries of the lost women. Luis works at the spa - he is deaf and mute, bullied, with seemingly no voice.

I was transported by this book. The writing is so perfect and really draws you into the atmosphere - the perfect slow burn. I was so worried about so many characters in this book! Plus, there is much to be discussed - sexual abuse, women's roles. Heartbreaking but real and such an amazing new voice - can't wait to read more from this author.

This was a gripping page-turner that I couldn't put down! Dead bodies in the marshland, under the boardwalk of New Jersey, serial killer and psychics, this book packs a punch. It was fast-paced and eerie- quite a reading experience. I will definitely recommend it to thriller readers and book clubs that are looking for a fresh debut!

I was so excited to read an advanced copy of “Please See Us”, but the book wasn’t all I had hoped it would be. While the book was well written it seemed to drag in many places and the numerous characters and points of view had me confused. The middle of the book was better than the start and it seemed like a really abrupt ending. I really liked the vivid way the author portrayed places and events and enjoyed her writing style. Although this book was not my favorite, I would seek out another by this author.

Please See Us is such a gut wrenching, hopeless story. We even get to see much of the story through the eyes of six "Janes", women who have been murdered by a serial killer who thinks he is punishing Atlantic City and it's prostitutes for their sins and the sins of the dying city. All these women can hope for is that their bodies will be found, that their stories will be told. 

Among the living is Clara, a sixteen year old psychic, abandoned by her mom, left to live with her prostitute, drug using, unscrupulous aunt. Her aunt even starts selling Clara's body and being so poor, having been raised to steal and cheat and lie, Clara has no recourse but to do as her aunt tells her to do. And now, Clara is seeing visions that terrify her, visions of dead women, of brutality, visions that drain all her strength and make her feel sick. 

Then there is Lily, college educated and successful at her career in New York, until she is betrayed by her famous, artist, boyfriend. She has run home to Atlantic City, to make money to start over, to hide from the embarrassment of what happened in New York. Her path crosses with Clara's and together they try find a way to save a girl that they think is going to be victimized by the person in Clara's visions. 
There is one more person central to this story and that is deaf, mute, Luis. Luis knows things but has no way to share what he knows. He's regularly beaten up by cruel men, as the cops stand and watch, pointing and laughing at him. There is no where to turn for Luis and his anger and frustration comes out in his own violent ways. 

Thank you to Gallery, Pocket Books and NetGalley, for this ARC.