A 5 year old child is dead; the victim of a hit and run accident. His mother has let go of his hand for the briefest moment and he has run across the street in the blink of an eye. Lives are forever changed and yet life goes on. This debut novel holds the readers interest as you try and decide if the narrators can be trusted. Told from the view points of several characters this is an intriguing dissection of a terrible tragedy. Quick and satisfying read. Recommended for fans of police procedurals and psychological thrillers.

I read this book free and early; thanks go to Net Galley and Berkley for the review copy.

Ordinarily, a book that I don't enjoy or admire gets reviewed when it's released, the same way I would with a book I love. However, on this one, I choked. The protagonist is a woman who's grieving the loss of her little boy, and the author's notes mention that as she wrote it, she was thinking of her own child that had died. How do you pan a book like that? And so I made a conscious choice to bury it. It was released in 2016, and it is by far the oldest novel in my backlog.

Since that time, this book has made bestseller lists and received acclaim from far more auspicious (and lucrative) sources than this humble blogger, and I realized this evening that I can go ahead and write my review with little likelihood of rocking this writer's world.

What I found is some competent use of setting, but the plot was all over the place, both choppy and unfocused. I realize it is the author's intention to build suspense by revealing the past in increments, but it didn't build suspense for me; I felt irritated instead. The protagonist never became real for me, and ultimately the story was mostly predictable, increments or no. There was tired figurative language and a lot of cliches and truisms. I looked everywhere for the magic, but I never did find it.

I don't recommend this book to anyone but the author's diehard readers. The good news is that you can probably score a used copy inexpensively by now, if you're going to go there.

Satisfying suspense thriller. Enjoyable, engaging, and a good plot twist. I think dans of this genre will enjoy this book!

Really, really good. Fast-paced thriller with twists and turns. The dual narrative between Jenna and Ray kept the story suspenseful.

Great psychological thriller that was fun and quick to read. Clare Mackintosh does a great job in a genre that I love.

I Let You Go is a book that I finished and I had to wait to write my thoughts on it. I only had to wait because I was so invested in the characters, the storyline, and the outcome. I put the book down only to have to pick it up again and start reading as soon as possible.

I enjoy learning about Jenna. I felt fear from the life Jenna was running from before I even knew what she was running from. I felt sorry for Jacob’s mother as she comes to terms with the loss of her son. The excitement I felt for what could be Jenna’s future was my favorite part, at the least the good part of her future.

The story of this book was crazy. I would definitely call this a thriller. It was emotional, heart wrenching, beautiful coming into yourself story. There is romance, secrets, heartbreak, and so much more. The twists and turns kept me on my toes always having to think about what was coming next. The characters were real and wonderfully developed.

I recommend picking up this book as soon as you can. This psychological thriller will not disappoint any reader.

"Headlights glint on wet tarmac, the dazzle blinding them every few seconds. Waiting for a break in the traffic, they duck across the busy road, and she tightens her grip on the small hand inside the soft woolen glove, so has to run to keep up.”

The little boy lets go of his mother’s hand in an instant everything is completely altered. How could the driver not stop to help and how can anyone live with the knowledge that this precious five year old is now gone.

Jenna’s life is forever altered and she moves away from London. She has to get away from all the memories and without a real destination to go to she somehow ends up in a small coastal village. There in a dilapidated cottage with a barely working door lock and sparse furniture or belongings she starts to recreate her life.

In London for the detectives on the case of the hit and run, it’s been months of nobody saw anything but how can a mother disappear. Perhaps as the anniversary of the tragedy is approaching they can once again reach out to the community and try to get a lead.

Jenna has slowly been rebuilding her life and even has made some friends and gotten close to a special person but soon she’s going to have to face the past she left behind.

This was a gripping read with a fantastic plot twist I didn’t see coming. I’ve read a couple of her books now and will be eagerly looking for the another of her books to add to my nightstand. If you enjoy thrillers give this one a chance.

This psychological thriller had me captivated and I really was unable to put it down until I finished it. An emotional plot with a huge twist that snuck right up on me making my heart jump into my throat. Completely changed the dynamic of the story and then another twist that I never expected. Many great characters that are very well developed. Jenna is haunting and felt very authentic as did many of the characters. This novel clearly shows how in one moment an unexpected tragedy can occur leaving many people devastated.

Check out my five-star review for this book on the Chick Lit Central site:

http://www.chicklitcentral.com/2016/05/book-review-i-let-you-go.html

This was good, a lot different than I expected. To be honest, the beginning was very slow and I almost gave up a couple times. I'm glad I didn't because there was a great twist in the middle that redeemed the book and made me very excited to finish reading. Highly recommend. Review on Goodreads and Amazon.

This book turned out to be an edge of your seat thriller. It started out good but you do have to force yourself to read the middle section. I honestly would not have missed a couple of the side plots. Then the first bombshell gets dropped into your lap and the twists and turns just keep coming. By the end of the novel you're thinking back through the book trying to see if you missed some clues that would've tipped you off sooner. A couple of the twists did prompt a couple jaw drop moments.

Right when I knew where this was going, it slapped me upside the head! A well done twisty mystery!

I read the entire first half of this book with the wrong perspective. But as soon as I turned that corner, whoa!
There are a few parts I question being relevant to the story, but I can also see how it plays in to the path things had to take.
Great suspense, well woven details, and an ending that would actually make for a good movie for once.

When a horrific hit and run accident kills young Jacob, the police will stop at nothing to find out who fled the scene of that horrific scene. At the same time Jenna flees her home in Bristol in order to start a brand new life away from that horrific scene. Through alternating chapters you can see how Jenna starts to build her life again while the police struggle with too little evidence in order to bring a murderer to justice.

I can totally see why everybody loved this book. While the beginning was a little bit slow, at about 45% of the way through, I seriously couldn't put this book down. It was glued through to my hands and I didn't want it to end! Definitely pick this up if you're looking for a good story, thriller, and character development.

I really liked this book, although not quite as much as I loved the author's second book, "I See You." I thought it was beautifully written and ranged from being interesting to extremely suspenseful, but I did have a few issues with it. First, the twist at the end of the first part rather annoyed me because it seemed less of a twist than an unnecessary gimmick, although upon going back to read the early parts of the book, I did have to give the author due credit for having written so carefully. However, my annoyance was quickly forgotten as the plot really picked up speed and the tension increased. Second, although the relationship between the two detectives was interesting, it received too much space in my opinion--half of the first half of the book, about a third of the second half. It seemed more like a distraction rather than a truly cohesive part of the narrative. Third, I found the actions of the detectives--and really of everyone--immediately after the trial ended to be irresponsible, knowing what they all knew. I understand it was needed for the plot to go on as it did, but I found it disturbing and probably unrealistic. Finally, I thought the part about the relationship of Jacob to another character was unnecessary and that it strained credulity. So all in all, while I thought this book was a very engaging read and I'd definitely recommend it, I feel the author was a bit too intent on having shocking twists and that the story could have held up very well without them. Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read an advance e-copy of the book. I just wish I had gotten to it much sooner! It was my love of the author's second book that made me realize I hadn't yet read this one, but I'm glad I finally did.

Great plot twist but highly unbelievable. Started off as a real page turning but after about half way through, it was like wading through mud. Overall a decent read was disappointed at the end.

Wow! This is one of the best thrillers I've read in quite awhile. Thrillers are actually one of my favorite genres, so I read them pretty often. Sadly, it takes a really good plot to stump me anymore - and most don't do the job. This novel had me guessing until the very end and was full of twists and turns I didn't see coming a mile away. I ended up reading the entire book straight through in a few hours. The writing was incredibly well done and had me hooked right from the very beginning. Like I mentioned, the twists were very intricate and I was completely taken by surprise several times. I always try to figure everything out before the characters do, but every time I had a theory - there would be a plot twist and it all would come crashing down, and I had to start over from square one. Not that I minded! The author did a wonderful job creating a really creepy vibe. The story line was intense and realistic - which made it all the more suspenseful. These things could actually happen to someone, and that in itself added a whole level of terror. I can't go into the plot very much without spoilers - and I definitely don't want to do that. All I can say is that it was incredibly taut and well constructed, and even the most seasoned thriller fan will be turning pages as fast as they can.

One huge aspect of the book for me was the writing style. This is always a really big deal in my opinion, and the wrong point of view can make it or break it. The author used a myriad of styles blended together to create a unique voice. There are three characters' perspectives being told throughout the book. There's the main character, Zoe, who's part of the story is told from the first person POV. Secondly, there's the police officer who's helping Zoe. Her part is told from the third person POV. Last, there's a bit from the villain's perspective - which is told from the first person POV as well. Normally I don't like the third person POV because it seems cold and detached most of the time, but in this case, I understand why the author chose this style - and it makes complete sense to me. Having multiple first person narratives in one book is just asking for confusion - and that would take a lot away from the plot itself. The way the author integrates the multiple perspectives and has them weave together to form one story was fantastic. I don't think many writers would be able to pull this technique off - but this was done with perfect attention to detail and made the story all the more intriguing to me. All of the characters were rounded - especially Zoe and Kelly (the police officer), who are the main narrators. I enjoyed getting to know each of them and then watch them work together to figure out the sick game that was being played. I also really loved the addition of the villain's perspective - it added a real chill to the novel that wouldn't have been there otherwise. I highly recommend this book to fans of thrillers, mysteries, suspense, and contemporary fiction along with readers looking to lose themselves in a tightly woven story.

Setting: England and Wales

Characters:

Jenna Gray
Detective Inspector Ray Stevens
Kate, a detective on Ray's team
Plot: I Let You Go is told through a couple of points of view. Ray and Kate's side of the story detail a tragic car accident that took the life of a five-year-old boy. There are no leads to follow and the case quickly stalls and goes cold. The detectives are pressured to drop the case, but both Ray and Kate feel a responsibility to the little boy's mother, each of them yearning to prove that her child's death mattered and that they were doing all they could to find whoever was responsible. On the other side of the story is Jenna Gray. A depressed artist at the end of her rope who, after the horrible accident that takes the life of the little boy, walks away from England to start her life over again in a small village in Wales.

Pacing: I'll be honest; this story starts out slowly. I nearly gave up on it a couple of times because I just couldn't find the hook of interest to keep me reading. But I had heard so much about it and read other reviews praising the plot and the story and the twists and turns therein and so I kept reading. And I'm glad I did.

Predictability: Low. Totally did not see the twists coming.

Wild Card: It's hard to write about and review this book because I'm loath to state anything that could in any way give up essential elements of the story and ruin the experience for future readers. However, I will say that I Let You Go is a thrilling and compelling read. What you think you know, you don't know fully; kind of like trying to piece together a jigsaw puzzle without the benefit of knowing what the final picture is supposed to look like. The character of Jenna is intriguing in a lot of ways and I think most readers will be able to identify with and understand her - not to mention feel incredible sympathy towards her. There are some scenes in this book that are quite difficult to read; Clare Mackintosh creates mental images that are hauntingly memorable and very disturbing at the same time; it's an admirable thing to be so talented that you can evoke such strong emotions in a reader.

Hit, Miss, or Draw: Hit.

It was a very interesting book. The twist was intense and the last few chapters had me reading long into the night.

this novel started out slow and ended a little odd. But I enjoyed it. Cried and tried to figure out the twists. Good first effort by the author and will be reading more from her