A sad story about desperate people and the things they do to survive. The story is told from the perspective several characters. It tells how they end up in the killers crosshairs. There is no happy ending as life continues to chew up the lost souls. No one sees the truth except for the person who is causing all the destruction.

A dark and depressing mystery with more struggles by more characters than is easy to take. I do like the way the author gave voice to the dead and her descriptions of what Atlantic City has become after its heyday several decades ago. However the very real burdens carried by every single character without a single one to break the bleakness of the story was just to heavy for me to say I really enjoyed this novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster for the ARC to read and review.

A great, suspenseful thriller to read in 2020.

What I enjoyed most about Please See Us was the alternating narratives. We learn the stories of each Jane Doe waiting in the marsh to be discovered. Clara’s struggle as a young psychic trying to save enough money to leave Atlantic City. Lily’s desire to escape her humiliating break up with her ex in NYC and figure out her next steps. And misunderstood Luis – a native who is sad to see his beloved city continue to fall into ruin.

The alternating perspectives not only gives insight into the main characters, but also gives the reader empathy for the Jane Doe victims. No longer just unknown women in the marsh, each one has her unique and sad story.

Even though there are several different story lines going on, Clara is the central point that pulls everything together. As women continue to disappear, Clara becomes more anxious to figure out what her visions mean to stop the next one. As she gets more desperate, the story builds to a nail-biting, page-turning ending.

Ms. Mullen does an excellent job pulling the reader in to this story. I was hooked from page one. A great debut.

Thank you to NetGalley and Caitlin Mullen, for allowing me an ARC of the book for a voluntary review.

While I was hoping that this was a book that I could totally throw myself into, I struggled with getting through it.

I like to see at least one character to be a hero/heroine, and with most of the characters being abused, I couldn't relate to the writing of the author as while there are multiple abuse cases every day, not all of them had to end up in one book.

The writing was sometimes hard to follow also, and there were many times I almost gave up reading it.

However, I do always want to give kudos to an author for getting their book out there for review, and for allowing us readers to give an honest review. I will read another one by Caitlin Mullen when the next book comes out.

3 out of 5

More like 2.5 stars.

It makes me sad. I really wanted to enjoy this. I was very excited to have an advanced copy. Thank you so much Gallery Books. I’m so grateful that you reached out to me about this book.

It was promising. The synopsis drew me to this book as well as the cover. Going in I expected great creepy atmosphere and the author delivered that. She describes Atlantic City as a dying tourist trap. I have not actually been so I cannot attest to that but I loved the feel / vibe of the setting.

I also enjoyed the authors writing. It’s what kept pushing me forward. I kept telling myself to just keep reading. Something is going to happen that will make this all worth it. And- it didn’t happen for me.

I did not care for the characters in this book. I didn’t feel attached to any of them. About 75 to 80 percent in I just didn’t care about anything the book brought to the table. I just wanted it to end.

Saying these things makes me feel like a horrible person. I mean no disrespect to the author or the publisher. I just have to be honest.

I’ve seen a few people who have loved this book and I can respect that. I am one person with one opinion. I won’t be recommending it to others.

I absolutely loved this book! The atmosphere was haunting and once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down. The characters are relatable and show that not everyone is a saint or a sinner, but a survivor through and through. I can’t wait to see what is next from Caitlin Mullen.

I will admit at first I was not sure how I would like this story... I didn't know if it was going to capture my attention like so many other thrillers have. But OH yes it did! Y'all... so full of suspense and creepiness and the characters are one for the ages. Go and read it now!

Gorgeously rich in characterization and atmosphere, PLEASE SEE US centers on two women who become unlikely allies when faced with an illusive, lethal threat. While the pacing is sometimes uneven, these are two protagonists readers will easily identify with and root for.

Please See Us is a thriller set in Atlantic City that follows two women and unlikely allies as they attempt to reveal mysterious events happening around the town. The women each have secrets of their own, and they must face their personal demons while working together to save missing girls.

This was a good thriller that gave a lot of background to the characters. I really appreciated the character development. I was able to gain insight not only of our protagonists, but of the killer's victims. I did find some parts slow and depressing instead of a quick, page-turner that I was expecting. The story really picked up in the second half as more pieces to the puzzle began to fit and I could get a clear idea of what was happening. Overall, it was a good story mystery, just not as quick-paced as I would have liked.

I enjoyed Please See Us, the dark, yet compelling, book about several murders, a psychic, and the seedy, underbelly of society in Atlantic City.

The characters were fully developed, and, as I got to know them, I felt a variety of emotions, including sadness, compassion, understanding, and sympathy, among others.

I liked the author’s writing style, especially how each chapter was about a specific character and their PoV. Family dynamics for each character was artfully presented.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ms. Mullen for the opportunity to read and review this debut novel. I easily give it five stars.

I enjoyed this book particularly because I am from the Atlantic City area and enjoyed all the references to different things from the area that I remember.
The story was good and would assume that this was based on the true story of the murders there years ago. The killer also still has never been found..
The only problem I had with the book is that it kept jumping from person to person. At times I got a bit confused and forgot which girl the chapter was about. With that said I definitely recommend this book. It was a great read and wanted to keep reading till I finished it.

A well-written thriller with well developed characters. There was so much to this story, more than just a mystery about three dead girls. It is a story about a city that once was bright and thriving and scintillating but since the recession is fading and dismal. Crime is rife. The story did get a little complicated with all the POVs, so I would like to go back and read it again.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

When we meet Lily and Clara, they are polar opposites. Seriously, as different as two girls could be. We have a girl abandoned by her family, raised by a friend of her mother’s who does not have her interests at heart. And Lily, an educated, up and coming face in the art world who left behind a blooming career in NYC galleries to work as a receptionist at a Atlantic City casino spa.
The only thing they have in common is that they are both making the best of life in Atlantic City, a town that has lost its luster from days past as famed casinos that seemed so promising in the 1960’s closed their doors in the past 10 years. Empty storefronts, fallen dreams. So dramatic, right?
We also meet the Jane Does at the beginning of the book. The women who were murdered and left behind the Sunset Motel. The murderer has a plan. For other women to join them. But first, we get to hear their stories.
The juxtaposition is interesting as we meet each woman who was a victim of the serial killer. And we wait to see if Lily and Clara will cross paths with the killer. It’s a very interesting premise.
Unfortunately, for me, the premise was amazing, but it fell a bit flat. I appreciated the stories from the women who had lost their lives, but I had a very hard time accepting Lily’s story. That she had given up her life and was working as a receptionist of all things in her hometown of Atlantic City. It just didn’t make sense to me how she had come to this point in her life.
I felt a little bit more connected to Clara, but overall, I just didn’t believe they were characters who were grounded in reality. And that made it a little hard for me to get through the book.
Special thanks to Gallery Books and Netgalley for an e-galley in exchange for my honest review. And if you don’t want to take my word for it (and why should you, books are like pizza-everyone has their own favorite!), this one releases March 3, 2020. My review will be published on my blog, Women in Trouble Book Blog on February 12, 2020.

Please See Us
by Caitlin Mullen
Gallery, Pocket Books
Gallery Books
Mystery & Thrillers
Thanks to Net Galley for providing the digital ARC so I could read this book before it is published.
Sorry to say I could not get into this book. I found it confusing and I did not finish reading the book.
Many others have written excellent reviews so maybe you will enjoy it more than I did.

Atlantic boardwalk, missing girls and a fortune teller’s daughter. This was a fun read with all the twists and turns of a good mystery. Girls are missing along the board walk, lili finds her life not one she wants and Luis is a mysterious character.
Chapters told by the characters narrative gives the reader insight into the activities .
Recommended

The beginning is disjointed and confusing. Each chapter is a point of view from a character. It is slow moving and difficult to follow. Characters are not developed so that you can really like any of them very much. The description of the area and lifestyle of characters would definitely deter one from visiting that city. The storyline and timing of events is difficult to follow since it is so embedded in all the characters. There is no one event or person that piques interest enough to like the book.
I received this book as a complimentary copy for an unbiased review.The opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy!

On the whole, I enjoyed this book. The structure was unique and I liked the different perspectives. However, I did think there was just a little toooo much going on. I think the whole side plot with Luis could’ve probably been cut out with no repercussions to the book, although there was nothing wrong with his story, it just didn’t add anything. My experience reading this book was kind of like a roller coaster—at times, I was super engaged in the story and at other times, I felt it dragging. The plot of the murders reminded me a ton of the unsolved LISK murders, which is a case I am very interested in, so I loved that angle! Overall, a solid debut!

I adored this debut novel and literally put everything on hold while I read it! It's both haunting and heartbreaking as the story unfolds about an unlikely friendship between Clara, a sometimes-visionary sixteen-year-old and Lily, who flees to her hometown of Atlantic City after a bad breakup. Both women are flawed and broken in their own ways, caught up in circumstances beyond their control. Clara was abandoned by her mother and lives with her Aunt Des as they scam tourists with tarot readings and pickpocket unsuspecting victims. Lily, filled with anger at her boyfriend, accepts a minimum wage job at a spa after working in an art gallery in New York. Who could predict their lives would intersect as they connect over Clara's disturbing and random visions--a bloody tooth, a baby's screams--even as we see murdered women in a muddy marsh that aren't discovered until the end. As the body count grows, the tension increases as Clara is forced into prostitution by Des in order to make their rent. There is so much more to this storyline; Luis, the mute, deaf janitor, the many women who have fled to make a better life for themselves--only to be drawn into selling their bodies. The writing is poignant and the book is often difficult to read as it's gritty and violent, but overall we are left with the recognition of the human condition as we are not always able to control the environment in which we live; and yes, we need to SEE more often!

Two Women become unlikely friends in Alantic city during a hot humid summer filled with murder. Clara is a palm reader/psychic who begins to have visions of violence against women. Are Clara’s visions connected to the two murdered women who are down in the marshland waiting to be found? The beginning of the story dragged and for a thriller it didn’t really hook the reader. There were a lot of different POV’s throughout the story which made the story hard to follow and at times hard to focus on who was saying or thinking what.
The ending felt rushed for a rather slow an and dry book. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC

Realistic, raw, and atmospheric with flawed character trying to eek out a living the tale shines a light on many of the hardships and struggles of economically depressed areas while pulling you into a suspenseful mystery.

The murders, the mystery of them and Clara’s visions combined with the POVs of the victims and their stories pulls you in. This does lessen the suspensefulness of the tale. In fact, it wasn’t until the last few chapters that I found myself holding my breath.

Full review will post at Caffeinated Reviewer on March 4, 2020. Link provided.