I can’t believe this is a debut novel! Let me just start by saying there is obviously a dark, gritty undercurrent to this book because it is technically a crime thriller, but it is SO much more than that.
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I was completely engrossed in this story from start to finish, and even though some parts of it were bleak and tough to read, it was so beautifully written and the author did such a great job of developing the characters so fully that it was impossible not to be totally absorbed in all of their intertwined stories.
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I don't normally read a lot of psychological thrillers, simply because they are usually underwhelming and feature a husband who secretly plots to kill his wife. Instead of being a domestic thriller, this book focused on current society's expectations of women, how they should act, look, behave toward others, etc. and why those expectations place women in danger. For this reason alone, I love this book. I won't say I loved the characters, but the plot is fantastic. It's more realistic, and probably unsatisfying to many, than most thrillers, but by focusing on the women (victims and sleuths), their emotions and disadvantaged situations in life, it showed how violence is so easily perpetuated against women and why the deck is stacked against them. I can't recommend this enough.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I could not get into this book. I really really tried. I may try later on, but for now, it is a DNF. I am lost on trying to follow the story between someone getting a job at a spa, then turn around and throw in someone who is a possible psychic. It does not feel in-depth for me.

I thought I had written my review for this awhile back but I now see I haven't. Boy finish I had because I have forgotten quite a few details.

I do know I really loved it and read it in one sitting. Not many books do that to me . I would highly recommend this book.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I apologize for being late .

Please See Us by Cailtlin Mullen felt so real. Its story was sad, mysterious, and suspenseful. Women are dead. They way they're displayed and poised tells us, readers everything. Someone has it against modern women. This debut novel takes a storyline so common and turns it into something so deep and powerful. The book was emotional. It was also interesting we had women characters scrambling to find out who is killing these women before there are more. Then, it becomes darker and intense as they too, can become victims, themselves. Overall, the thriller was a great read. A bit dark but woven well.

<i>Please See Us</i> is told from the dual perspectives of Clara (a psychic) and Lily (a working girl) in Atlantic City. Murders are happening and women are going missing all over the town; the signs of the missing are everywhere. This raw, unyielding story is one of heartbreak, loss, longing and mystery.

I found it a very slow start for me, but once I found my rhythm, the story unfolded for me and I couldn't put it down. My advice to readers: Keep going - it's worth the ride.

"Heartbreak is the human condition in this town."

The once-booming Atlantic City is seeing the glitz and glamor of its heyday dimming to despair. The casinos that were so vital in cultivating the city's economy have slowly started to close, boarded up as a reminder to the town's past. The resorts that remain open struggle to fill their rooms. In the weeds of the marsh behind the rundown Sunset Motel lie the remains of two dead women, "laid out like tallies." They still wear their suggestive clothing, outfits used to attract the lustful eyes of men as they walk the streets. Unfortunately, they attracted the wrong man, the one who placed them here. Before all this is over, five more women will join their line.

Clara Voyant's whole life is based on lies and deception. Even her name isn't real. Ever since her mother left her with her aunt, the pair have operated a fortune-telling company off the Atlantic City boardwalk. Like the rest of the city, their small business struggles to attract guests. Clara has turned to petty pickpocketing to help pay the bills. Beyond her hustle, however, lies a true gift. Clara truly can see psychic visions. When a man from out of town comes in asking about his missing niece, Clara immediately recognizes the girl's face. Its been plastered on missing person posters that litter the boardwalk, just another casualty of the decaying town. Clara does see a vision about this girl, but it isn't really clear what it all means. The man leaves the shop, but the lingering dread about what she saw continues to torment her.

Lilly has come back to Atlantic City as an escape from her life in New York. In NYC, she was an up and coming art dealer, representing her hotshot artist boyfriend. He cheated on her, so she broke up with him, packed her things, and headed back to her childhood home in Atlantic City. Lilly has taken a job at one of the resort spas as a receptionist. It is not a glamourous as her art dealing job, but it will hopefully help her earn enough to make it back to the big city one day.

Please See Us by Caitlin Mullen is the kind of slow-burning suspense novel that had me reading into all hours of the night. Mullen drives the novel through shifting perspectives of each character, including the different Jane Does who end up in the marsh. As we learn more about the characters, the dread surrounding the murders only grows. This is a dark read, and Mullen does not shy away from the gritty details of the city and of prostitution. The novel immerses the reader into Atlantic City. I could practically feel the creak of the boardwalk beneath my feet and smell the salty air! I can't recommend Please See Us highly enough. It will certainly end up being one of my favorite books of the year.

Very real and human characters inhabit this book. Some I liked and some I did not though they all contributed to the story. The story moves quickly and is a good thriller and murder mystery. I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

Two young women make an awful discovery and must decide whether they should speak up or stay quiet. Their personal challenges and the ill fate of the city where they live make their choice that much harder. If they speak up, they might expose the unsavory parts of their lives to the world. If they do nothing, people may die. Author Caitlin Mullen presents readers with the melancholic backdrop of a failing Atlantic City in her overlong novel Please See Us.

Lily Louten comes home to Atlantic City so she can escape her life in New York. Nothing, she thinks, could be worse than the scandal she’s left behind. Her boyfriend, Matthew, an up-and-coming artist, betrayed her and humiliated her. Worse, he did it in the name of “art” and actually expected her to understand. Now Lily just wants to figure out what she’s going to do next.

Her mother calls in a favor and gets her a job interview at a spa in one of the casinos in town. Working the front desk of a place that promises to wax and exfoliate a woman into the best version of herself is a far cry from the glamorous art world where Lily scouted new talent and attended parties soaked in champagne and crudités. Still, it’s better than sitting at home, and when she gets the job Lily feels like life might become bearable once again.

In another part of the city, Ava, who goes by Clara, and her aunt, Des, wake up every morning trying to figure out how to pay the bills. Clara has a gift: she has psychic abilities. She receives visions about people and places. At only 16, she’s dropped out of school and spends her days trying to convince tourists—or, anyone, really—to pay her to read their tarot cards. Des dances in one of the clubs, and neither of them make enough money to satisfy their landlord or the utility companies.

When the uncle of a missing girl comes to Clara for a reading, the result disturbs Clara. She tries to soften the blow of the vision she sees, but she can’t hide it from herself. Something bad has either happened to this girl or is going to happen soon. After the uncle leaves, Clara continues to receive more visions. It’s a jumble of images and impressions that frighten her, but she doesn’t know what to do about it.

Des is only focused on the money that needs to come in, and Clara’s mother deserted her years earlier. Clara knows her mother had the same gift she does, and she wishes she could ask her mother for help interpreting the visions. She meets Lily, and the two form an uneasy friendship. Having no one else to turn to, Clara confides in Lily what she sees. As more women go missing, Lily and Clara realize the visions are connected to them. If they don’t say something soon, the danger could careen into their own lives.

Author Caitlin Mullen’s prose establishes the maturity and heft with which she tells the story. Early in the book, from the point of view of one of the missing women, Mullen writes, “If she could do it again, she wouldn’t pick up a needle after she was canned, wouldn’t feel so relieved that heroin came cheap. When she got clean, she like did in ’96, ’98, ’03, ’07, she would stay that way.” From Lily’s point of view, Mullen writes, “[I]t was unsettling to be in Atlantic City again—coming home had filled me with an inarticulate dread. … The entire town was like a dreamscape titled toward nightmare.”

Mullen chooses to tell the story from first person in the sections on Lily and Clara and from third person in the sections on the missing women. A few other characters also receive some attention, and therein lies part of the problem. The book tries to allow for too many people’s perspectives. While Mullen’s narrative follows a measured pace, giving voice to so many characters makes the novel drag. Readers might wonder whether this is more literary fiction and less a mystery or thriller.

The revelation of the person responsible for the missing women might surprise readers. In some ways, it’s unsatisfactory and will leave readers wondering why they needed to read as far as they did to make the discovery. Also, characters who seem to be given relative importance disappear only to pop up later without warning or explanation.

The haunting mood Mullen sets for the book is pitch perfect, but the story tries to tackle too many areas at once. Its overly ambitious approach will make readers want to Borrow Please See Us.

This book is one of the best debuts I've read in a very long time. Full of well-drawn characters and a clever, twisted plot that will keep you reading and shivering into the wee hours, Please See Us is a must-read for fans of psychological suspense.

Mullen carefully builds the relationship between boardwalk clairvoyant Ava and art gallery girl Lily in such a way that you find yourself rooting for both of them as they plunge into the dark side of Atlantic City and into the even darker recesses of a killer's mind. At the same time, she also gives character to the girls who want to be seen - not just the victims in the marsh but all the lost girls who drift around the city, looking for...something.

Fans of Laura Lippman and Kathy Reichs will enjoy this one.

I really tried to get into this book but I wasn’t for me. There were too many POV (is this the current trend?) and I couldn’t get on board with the dead bodies having a POV.

Too many characters/points of view introduced right in the beginning. Made it hard to connect to the story. Did not finish.

This was a bit slow moving for me and it was difficult to read about so much abuse, the true horror of this story.

A murder mystery set in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and based on a true story. Across the bay from AC, the bodies of several young women were found in a marsh behind a cheap motel. All had ties to the sex trade. Caitlin Mullen tells the story from the points of view of two of the young women, as well as a man who knows something about what’s happening, but can’t make his voice heard. I chose this book because I remembered the story from the news a few years ago. It’s a harrowing story, well told. Warning: sexual violence, other violence, graphic language. (Netgalley review)

This story is told from two different character's perspective, so it does make it a little hard to follow. The premise is young girls are disappearing in Atlantic City and are laying in the marshland behind one of the hotels. Only one person knows they are there and he doesn't speak. Clara is a young psychic struggling to pay her rent and Lily is a former art gallery worker that has come back to her hometown to get her life back together. The two become friends and try to figure out the mystery without them becoming victims themselves.

Thank you for the advanced copy of Please See Us by Caitlin Mullen. I have ended up purchasing this as an e-book and have begun reading.

This is a story of the forgotten women that no one seems to care about , or has forgotten. As a reader you notice right away a dark , eerie place and feeling. We learn these women that gone missing we’re taking without their consent.


We meet our main character who is a good psychic. She tells us as she starts reading off the tarot cards one by one. She seeing visions from these women. Almost real life like images that makes us wonder if she is really seeing what is happening or what has happened to these women.


She meets the other protagonist Lilly the two join forces , and team up to try to figure out what happened to the forgotten invisible women. The writer is extremely organized , and a gifted phenomenal storyteller and has exquisite narration

She keeps you glued to the story page by page wondering “ what happens next “. Job well done an exceptional book.

PLEASE SEE US by Caitlin Mullen was a difficult read. I was frequently frustrated with the Jane Does and the transition. The writing was good and I will welcome another book by this author but this one did not work for me.

The book is dismal, so is Atlantic City which feels like a character in the book. This book manages to be compelling and disturbing at the same time which is an interesting concept.

This book is different than the new trend of unreliable narrator thrillers out there; read it for a change of pace and you will not be sorry.

I read this blurb.. i never read blurbs but the cover also had my attention. I began reading this book on my transatlantic flight and it did not hold my attention. I realized recently that this just released and i never finished the book so I popped it back into my ereader and once i picked it up i was hooked... this is a book that the begining is indeed slow but there are sooooo many different POVs happening that you need to devour this book... which i did in two days.. i think i started reading it in January but then casually picked it back up the 17th and murdered it in two days. I am just slow with my reviews i was stockpiling them since were in the end of times with COVID right now haha. I seriously read it then reread the last two chapters... I SERIOUSLY have no idea who dun it and its driving me madddddd loved it

What an amazing read. Hard to believe it is a debut! If this book is any indication, the author is going to have us all begging for more.

Told from different points of view, Please See Us is completely engrossing. It kept me turning the pages eager to see what I would learn next.