I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

Seriously, here's another blurb using the dreaded comparison...STOP!!!
The next blockbuster thriller for those who loved The Girl on the Train and Gone Girl...a novel with "an astonishing intensity that drags you in and never—ever—lets you go." (Daily Mail, UK)

3.0 out of 5 stars -- There's no where to run and hide as the past always seems to catch up to you...

I am not quite sure how to classify this book into a genre. You start out reading it and think it's going to be one thing, and then, suddenly, it's quite another. I would say it has drama and romance with a large dose of menace.

A child is killed in a hit and run -- leaves behind a devastated mother and an angry police department as they can't find the driver even with intense investigation. No leads pan out and the case goes cold.

Jenna has escaped Bristol to where she lives in seclusion at Penfach in a tiny, cold cottage near the sea. Her dreams are nightmares of the accident. She finds some comfort in her photography and makes some tentative friendships with some of the residents. Her life is lonely and sad.

Suddenly the point of view changes -- no spoilers. After that, the rest of the novel becomes predictable and reaches the inevitable conclusion.

I've read other reviews of this book and can't say I agree. I am not a fan of this new manipulative style of authors that put a GONE GIRL twist now into the narrative. (And I'm tired of reading how every novel that is supposed to be psychological suspense is compared to that title or to GIRL ON THE TRAIN). This was neither. There were a couple of things that really bothered and irritated me, for one, the ridiculous romantic interplay between the two main lead cops, Ray and Kate. It seemed false and banal.

At the end, I was just left feeling meh and disappointed. I never connected with any of the characters and there were quite a few slow parts. I would not say there was any gripping suspense as the outcome is easily anticipated and I'm trying to figure out how so many were captivated and cried while reading.

Regardless, I'll be more careful in the future when reading a synopsis of a book that is compared to those previously mentioned other titles. Because once you accept it's like those, you know that there will be a "gotcha" and you're ready.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the e-book ARC of this book to review.