Catherine McKenzie just gets better and better with every book she writes. I’ve long been a fan of hers, ever since her earlier books like Arranged, Forgotten, Spin. Now she is writing suspense and her latest novel, You Can’t Catch Me, was a thrilling read!

Take a look:

After being fired from her investigative journalism job for plagiarism, Jessica Williams is looking for a break from the constant press coverage. She decides to escape for a week to a resort in Mexico boasting no connections to the outside world. While waiting at the airport for her flight, she encounters a woman with the exact same name, who she dubs Jessica Two. Drawn together by the coincidence, they play a game of twenty questions to see what other similarities they share, and exchange contact information.

A week later, Jessica returns home and discover that large cash withdrawals have been made from her bank account. Security footage from the bank confirms her suspicions—Jessica Two has stolen her money. She goes to the police, only to be told that the crime is a low priority. Frustrated, she meets up with a trusted old friend, Liam, who is an investigator. When the two Google “Jessica Williams,” they get thousands of hits—Jessica was the most popular girl’s name in 1990 and Williams is almost as ubiquitous as Smith. Convinced that this isn’t the first time this scam has been run, Jessica is determined to catch the imposter, and writes a Facebook post hoping to chase down some of Jessica Two’s other victims. When she gets a number of responses, she sets a plan in motion to catch the thief, encountering a string of identically named victims along the way.

Then, the threatening messages start arriving. Filled with incredible twists and turns, You Can’t Catch Me is a tantalizing, character-driven exploration of how far people will go to get revenge.

I really enjoyed this book. The premise was a great one (stolen identity) and the story was executed very well, keeping me engaged the entire way through. It was fun to read how Jessica went about trying to catch the other Jessica and the adventures we go on as a reader earned this book four Goodreads stars. I can envision playing out like a Lifetime movie, someone quick write the script!

I am already looking forward to Catherine’s next book! This is FREE if you have Kindle Unlimited and $4.99 if you don’t. You can pre-order here, the book will be out on June 9!

Catherine McKenzie has the ability to generate anxiety in the reader, and her latest novel continues the trend. The anxiety is often a result of fear that the main character has taken a road that will end in disaster. You may like and sympathize with the protagonist, but the apprehension generated by her behavior just keeps building.

You Can't Catch Me has two principal threads--one in the present and one in the past.

from description: After being fired from her investigative journalism job for plagiarism, Jessica Williams is looking for a break from the constant press coverage. She decides to escape for a week to a resort in Mexico boasting no connections to the outside world. While waiting at the airport for her flight, she encounters a woman with the exact same name, who she dubs Jessica Two. Drawn together by the coincidence, they play a game of twenty questions to see what other similarities they share, and exchange contact information.

The game of twenty questions is clever. "Jessica Two's" game has elicited answers to questions that will enable her to Jessica Williams' bank account. Our Jessica on finding her recent settlement money gone, sets out to find "Jessica Two."

The connection to the past is our Jessica's having been raised in a cult which she escaped when she was eighteen. These sections alternate with the present search for "Jessica Two."

You can count on plenty of twists from Catherine McKenzie. There are more Jessica Williams that have been tricked and had their accounts emptied, and each one is given a number.

I really liked McKenzie's last book (I'll Never Tell), but this one didn't work as well for me. Yes, the suspense was intense as worry for Jessica One increases, and yes, it is slick and manipulative, and yes, the grand twist was a surprise...and yet....

Read in February. Blog review scheduled for May 18.

NetGalley/Lake Union Publishing
Suspense. June 9, 2020. Print length: 355 pages.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

You Can't Catch Me follows Jessica Williams as her life unravels after she meets someone who wipes out her bank account. But it is not just anyone.... it is another woman who shares Jessica's name AND birth date. Is it a wild coincidence or a set up? McKenzie strategically reveals Jessica's past in a cult as Jessica works to get her money back from the thief and make amends to a past she would rather forget. The twists in this book continue until the very end!

Suspenseful and addictive domestic thriller about identity theft and growing up in a cult. But it is so much more, Jessica is an investigative journalist fired for plagiarism, who wins a settlement for sexual harassment and loses it all. She uses her skills to hunt down the perpetrator, finding others who were duped along the way. Full of twists. Can’t wait to recommend to customers.

You Can’t Catch Me had me on Page 1. I was intrigued with the interesting storyline and wanted to keep reading. However, I was lost in the end. Really, I had trouble following who was on first.

“You Can’t Catch Me” is a psychological thriller from author Catherine McKenzie. She's been a favorite of mine for a while and her books seem to keep getting better and better. Jessica Williams was liberated from a cult when she was 18 years old and had to learn to adapt to life in the “real world.” More than a decade later, she’s established herself as an investigative journalist, but was accused of plagiarism and fired. To try and put that out of her mind and give herself a break, she takes a trip to Mexico. At the airport, she runs into another woman with the same name and birthday who she later dubs Jessica Two. They play a game about what else they have in common and exchange contact information.

What follows takes many different turns and twists that I do not wish to spoil. I did not love the ending, but I enjoyed the journey to get there very much. I am thankful for the opportunity to read this book early. Thank you, Net Galley & publishers.

I received this book "You Can't Catch Me" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. This was a bit of a strange book. I like unusual most of the time but this book was a bit over the top. I just found the storyline jumbled. I think there were too many things going on in the book. Parts of the story seemed to be dropped. I didn't connect with the characters at all, as a matter of fact I don't think the characters and story really connected. Just jumped around too much!

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review
Jessica, with help escapes the cult call the land of Todd.

When catching a plane she discovers another girl with the exact same name. They decide to tap phones to share contacts.
And when Jessica returns home she finds her bank balance empty.
And then she discovers there are more girls who have been jilted and they decide to get together to set a trap.
Grab this book to see what happens.

Interesting but somewhat convoluted plot. What happens when numerous women share the same name and birthday and one of them decides to go rogue and scam the others? Read You Can’t Catch Me for one scenario. It definitely kept me engaged, although it was far fetched. Loved the descriptions of the Tetons...would love to visit some day. Figured out who Serene was early on. The ending made me sad for the original Jessica as I was hoping for a happy ending for her. The revelation her mom shared was somewhat redeeming. For the most part this is a fast paced and entertaining read. Many thanks to Catherine McKenzie, Lake Union, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read this book, to be published in June.

I started this book and couldn't stop until it was finished. It is definitely a "5 star 10/10 would recommend" suspense story. I was educated on cults while I turned the pages of this thriller.

Another FANTASTIC 5 -star thriller from Catherine McKenzie! This one packs a punch and I read it in one sitting. Un-put-down-able and addicting with twists that keep you guessing. Cults, identity theft and fascinating characters oh my! I've read all of McKenzie's books and this one is the best yet.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. The plot had so many twists and turns that I'm still trying to process it. Catherine does such a good job with the Jessica Williams story line and building the stories and backgrounds for each of them. The original Jessica came from the mess that is LOT (Land of Todd) and it is such a crazy background story that makes it all so interesting. I recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery type books and books that keep you guessing!

Another wonderful twisty mystery by Catherine McKenzie! I've read all of her books and she just keeps getting better! Great cover too!

This was an excellent novel that I had a great time reading. The characters were well drawn, and the storyline flowed seamlessly. Would like to read more books by this author.

This is an excellent, mostly fast-paced book about a woman named Jessica Williams, who years after escaping a cult, ends up meeting another Jessica Williams in the airport. Jessica 2 ends up stealing the OG Jessica’s identity and money. Jessica ends up finding out this has happened to other women named Jessica Williams, and decides to contact them and get a group together to find the bad Jessica and get their money back.

I was highly entertained throughout this novel, and Catherine McKenzie (who is one of my favorite authors) writes extremely compelling characters with full backgrounds, and plots that are richly developed and thought out. I really cared about Jessica, and absolutely loved her entertaining commentary. There’s a brief point at the 3/4 mark where I thought this would take a turn for the worse, but it didn’t. I was also NOT expecting the ending. It was a great twist that really wrapped everything up. This would make a great movie as well.

Thank you to author Catherine McKenzie, Lake Union, and NetGalley for an ARC. I am so looking forward to the next riveting novel from the author!

I really enjoyed reading this book. The twists were unexpected and kept you flipping the pages. Will there be another?!? This is the first I have read by Author, Catherine McKenzie, and will definitely not be the last.

A very entertaining and thrilling read! I truly enjoyed this story and the characters, and i was very eager to learn more.

Holy wow. Talk about an edge of your seat wild ride into trying to see who is who and what is the real plan. The twists throughout and the major twist at the end will leave you stunned. This is a book that you will not be able to put down so make sure that you make the time and skip all your chores and errands for this!

Jessica is making an escape to Mexico after her career takes a turn for the worse. On her way there she meets another Jessica with the same name and birthday and from there things just keep going and spinning out of control. Jessica 2 steals all her money and as she delves deeper into it she finds out she isn't the only victim. Not only that she is still dealing with all her issues and secrets from being raised in a cult and escaping. As she gathers other Jessica's to track down the one who robbed them all, things start to get twisty. Who really did what and how will the revenge end?

So good this will be one of the top rated books for me this year. Just when you think you have things figured out, you don't. Run don't walk and get you a copy.

Love this author, love this book! A thriller, crime story with unexpected twists. Keeps you guessing until the end. Identity theft and how far you will go for revenge make for a very contemporary story. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy in exchange for a honest review..

For once, I didn't see the ending of this one coming. I've read several of this author's work (one of her other novels was my first Goodreads win!) and I actually think this may be one of her best. It was intriguing, quick paced, and had an original storyline. The ending twist was especially clever.

Technical issue: this may be fixed in the final copy, however, due to the fact that chapters switch from past to present frequently, I would've liked them marked a little clearer; in this version, it read as if it was simply a new paragraph, which was hard to follow as it took me a minute to realize we jumped back in time.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I look forward to more from this author!