Cover Image: I Found You

I Found You

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Member Reviews

Though I liked the book, I made the decision at the time I finished not to review it on my site. Maybe in the future I will include it in a book list post or another article.

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The word “amnesia,” however, never finds its way into Lisa Jewell’s latest novel, I Found You. Click on the link below to read my complete review.

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Not my favorite by Lisa Jewell, but still quite brilliant. She is a master word crafter, weaving tales in, out, and around the reader's mind. It was a little confusing in the beginning, but not too difficult to stay on track. Overall I really enjoyed this book and look forward, as always, to reading more by this author!

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Alice finds a man whose lost his memory. Lily is searching for her missing husband. They all must piece together the past and solve a haunting decades old mystery. A good page turner with some unexpected surprises.

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Thank you to Net Galley and Atria Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I read this book on a stormy snowy day and that helped set the book for this story. This book tells the interconnected story of several characters shrouded in mystery. How is the man Alice observed sitting outside her house with no memory of who he is linked to Lily's missing husband? And how does the story set years earlier of Gray and his sister Kirsty relate? And what long buried secrets will be uncovered?
Lisa Jewell writes a well paced mystery that will have you turning the pages to find out what happens next. I was hooked from the first page right up until the end. My only disappointment was that I figured out the big mystery well before it was revealed. Otherwise it was a great read.

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Lisa Jewell is a hit-and-miss author for me. But I really liked this. She has a way of writing complex and interesting characters, free of melodrama. They seem *real* - intricate, intelligent, saucy, smart, stupid, silly - and this book's characters are no exception.

I won't say too much, so as to not spoil the mystery - but I really enjoyed the building tension, the storylines woven together so expertly, and the beautifully realized ending. Thank you for the opportunity to read!

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I really did not enjoy this book, hence a long time to send my feedback.

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Thank you for the chance to review this book, however, unfortunately, I was unable to read and review this title before it was archived.

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A handsome man with amnesia, an abandoned bride, and long-ago events in a seaside town are somehow linked in this layered, well-paced mystery. The characters ache with loneliness and a desire to belong, making me root for them even while I suspected a happy ending wasn’t possible for everyone. Sometimes I have to pick between strong plot or characters but Lisa Jewell let me have both, plus an atmospheric setting. I’m glad I found her.

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I honestly could tell by the writing of the first 2 chapters that it wouldn't be a good fit for our box and had to put it down. I may read it again in the future!

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I agreed to read this book because it was by Lisa Jewell, who I've enjoyed in the past. But I must admit that I had a bit of apprehension when I read that this was "the next The Girl on the Train." You see, I really didn't enjoy that novel (although I do enjoy thrillers in general). So, it was with a bit of trepidation that I started in on this one.

I will say this: If you liked The Girl on the Train, you will enjoy this one as it has a lot of the same "feels." However, if you are like me and were less enamored with Paula Hawkins' hit book, don't worry--you'll probably still enjoy this one.

There are three pieces to this novel--Alice lake and the mysterious man she finds on the beach, Lily searching for her missing husband, and "something" that happened over 20 years previously. Jewell deftly arranges these three stories so that the transitions happen at just the right time to keep the reader engaged and the story moving. Not to give any spoilers, but I can assure you that these three pieces do ultimately fit together.

I normally figure out the "whodunnit" part of these book fairly early. And while I did discover the secret in this book before the last page, I do feel like I discovered it exactly when Jewell wanted me to. Up until that point, I really had no clue how it was going--which is...weird (but in a good way!). I also felt that they way things worked out makes sense--so frequently, thriller stories fall apart because the "secret" is so unbelievable.

I started out feeling apprehensive about this book, but ended up thoroughly enjoying it. It held my attention throughout and, unlike many similar books, it kept me guessing. This is definitely one that I would widely recommend.

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Alice, a quirky single mother, finds a stranger sitting forlornly on the beach adjacent her house. Once she engages with him, she realizes he is suffering from some sort of amnesia. She invites him to stay at her guesthouse as it is currently unoccupied. She's a little worried about what her parents and friends might think about having a strange man stay at her guesthouse, but she is truly being kind and wants to help him regain his memory. Then there's Lily who lives in London. She is newly married and from the Ukraine. She knows no one in London except for her new husband, who just so happens to not come home from work one day. She files a missing persons report and the police inform her that her husband's passport is fake. Who exactly is he? Then there's flashbacks to 1993 and a family vacation that turns awry and Lisa Jewell slowly starts to weave a mysterious and ominous domestic thriller in I Found You. It kept me turning the pages.

I wasn't the biggest fan of any character in I Found You as they are all a bit quirky and troubled. Alice, the single mom, who finds the mysterious guy on the beach, is an interesting character. She and her kids call the mysterious guy Frank and as the story progressed, I thought I knew who Frank truly was, but I was wrong. Jewell has a lot of plot twists in I Found You, which all kept me guessing, especially about Frank's true identity.

Lily, the abandoned wife, was also a mysterious character in I Found You, but I wanted to learn more about her husband and what happened to him. I found it crazy that she really didn't know anyone else in London and was pretty much on her own, but I guess it could happen, right? What does Lily have to do with Alice and these flashbacks to 1993? Slowly, Jewell weaves her web.

The flashbacks to the family vacation in 1993 was a bit confusing at first in I Found You. I knew there was a reason why Jewell was including this bit of narrative, but I wasn't sure how it all worked together. Slowly, I started to realize what was happening and some of the most compelling parts of this novel are in the flashback. The parents made some poor decisions regarding their children while on vacation, but once I got past that, I was flipping the pages. It gets dark though, so be forewarned!

I Found You is a lot like the psychological thrillers that are out lately. You definitely have to be in the mood for this kind of story and the violence at times was a bit much for me, but, like I said, I was in the mood for a thriller and a page turner. Jewell raises some good questions about how well do we really know a person?

I Found You is a good read if you are looking for something dark and atmospheric. It reminded me a bit of Broadchurch and sometimes you just need a good whodunit.

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Great book. Kept me turning the pages late into the night.

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I've never read any books by Lisa Jewell before. I decided to pick this book up because of a review I read about it. It sounded really interesting. Plus I love discovering new authors. Well was it worth checking out, let's find out.

Yes this book was worth picking up. This book does everything I love in a thriller/mystery book. There were different points of views. There was back and forth between past and present. Lastly there was plenty of suspense. I did not see anything coming.

First off I really enjoyed the different point of views. You get Alice who is a single Mom. She discovers this man on the beach by her house. This man is another character who lost his memory and he has no idea who he is. The last character whose point of view you read about is Lily. Lily is recently married and new to the country. She knows nobody. I loved reading these characters point of views. They're so different from each other. Alice was my favorite because she risked taking this man. She knows nothing about him but she decides to help this man out. In the past I've said I always enjoy different perspectives because I love seeing how each person is dealing with the current situation.

The next part I really enjoyed shows up in part two. In part two, the author decides to start going between the past and the present. I feel this can always be hit or miss. I was a little skeptical about it first. Thankfully it didn't take me long to get into it. I found myself guessing and trying to figure out the ending.

Lastly I really enjoyed the suspense. Right away I was hooked from the start. I didn't want to put this book down. I ended up staying up way past my bedtime to finish this book. I couldn't wait to know what was going to happen. I had my guesses and couldn't wait to see what was right and what was wrong.

Overall this was such a great read. I would highly recommend it. Lisa knows how to reel you in right from the start. She's a great storyteller and really surprised me. I can't wait to check out more of her books in the future.

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The best suspense/mystery novels are well written and keep you guessing until the last possible moment, twisting that knife of uncertainty until plunging in the answer at the last possible moment. There are exceptions to that rule, of course, but for the most part that’s my golden rule of suspense. If it can keep me wondering, it can keep my attention.

Beyond the uncertainty principle is another level–the authors who let you THINK you’ve got it figured out only to make you feel like a fool when they come out with another big plot twist. I LOVE this.

Jewell does this masterfully.

I thoroughly enjoyed I Found You. Jewell kept me guessing until the end, twisting me around repeatedly, and then finally putting me straight.

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I enjoyed this book for the most part. The time jumping storytelling technique kept the mystery fresh and interesting. Unfortunately, I wasn't a big fan of Alice, one of the central characters in the book. She first comes across as quirky and interesting but the more you get to know her she seems pathetic and worst of all, a bad mom. I can forgive a lot but being a lazy mom isn't one of them. She consistently put her own desires ahead of her kids and was at times a bit reckless about it too.

Characters aside, the pacing felt a bit slow as well. While the story had a few complexities, it seemed to needlessly drag on in spots that caused me to lose a bit of interest. Some people might be bothered by the ending but I wasn't. Life rarely wraps things up in a nice little bow, no matter how much we wish it did. It's one of the things that felt most honest about this book.

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Alice is a quirky woman who lives with 3 wild children and 3 misbehaved dogs. She lives near the ocean and discovers a man who has lost all memory sitting on the beach, on a dreary day. He does not move for many hours, so she decides to invite him to stay in her extra cabin. An interesting tale is told from both sides of this story, three perspectives are used to narrate, and all of it kept me enthralled!

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I Found You is a book that will have you turning the pages until you find out how it all links together. I liked how Alice inherently knew that "Frank" was a good guy. I liked how she was willing to stick by his side while trying to regain his memory. I wasn't a big fan of Lily but ended up liking how her story ended up.

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I was immediately captivated by this book. I loved how pieces were revealed as we moved through the book

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This was more Paula Hawkins than Paula Hawkins. I Found You combined the atmosphere of Siracusa with the twists and turns and sadness of I Let You Go. I was absolutely captivated! First off, I loved Alice. She's funny and smart, and i loves that she came across as confident and independent. I'm getting tired of the worn down by the world 40 something mother, so she was a nice change of pace. The chapters alternated between Alice, Frank, and Lily, and the effective transitions kept the story flowing. There was a villain at the core of the story who made himself easy to hate (think Dandy from American Horror Story Circus, without all of the mommy issues). It was a page turner with well developed characters leading the narrative and a solid story at its core. I had fun trying to figure out what was really going on and was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. The loose ends were tidied up and I felt like I got a resolution. I came away very impressed by the author and will definitely check out her other books.

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