I See You by Clare Mackintosh is a suspense thriller that will have you looking over your shoulder. Told from multiple perspectives I could set this down and devoured it on a cold, damp Sunday afternoon.

Five reasons to make I See You your next read:

-Some stories draw the reader immediately in and I See You does just that. We meet Zoe Walker as she takes the tube home from a thankless job. As she thumbs through the newspaper she comes across a classified ad from FindTheOne.com with a phone number and a grainy photo that looks an awful lot like her. Meanwhile, Kelly a police officer working the tubes struggles for a second chance after crossing the line. These two characters will converge when a theft case and Zoe's concerns over the strange ad bring them together. The tale that unfolds had me flipping the pages as we are introduced to thoughts of the person running FindTheOne.com

-I loved the different threads that allowed us to get to know both of these strong female characters, their families, and co-workers. While some may feel these side threads slowed the story, I felt it allowed me to connect and grounded the tale.

-The premise of this case, which becomes a murder mystery is clever and based in enough reality to be downright scary. As someone who doesn't like going to strange places and prefers the comfort of routine and familiarity, the concept is downright scary. While the threat is a well known Mackintosh weaved in modern technology and our own habits to ramp up the suspense and danger. The threat is real, and the author reminds you that no one is safe.

-I loved being a part of the case both professionally along with Kelly and the Homicide Department and tagging along with Zoe as she begins to find connections. The story delivered twists, turns, and red herrings that had me enthralled.

-I See You was a well written, fast-paced tale that shares all angles of a case that will have you looking over your shoulder...because someone is watching and waiting.

Mild Trigger Warning- the book discusses sexual assault and while not detailed one of the characters suffers from PTSD and flashbacks.

This is a thriller that really does make you think about your everyday routines and commutes. You never know who may be watching! I heard a lot of great things about this book and was excited to obtain an ARC copy but was somewhat disappointed. It took me awhile to really get into it. I was probably a third of the way into it when I was like finally something is happening! Then I couldn’t put it down and finished the rest of the book in one sitting. However, I just couldn’t connect with the main characters and felt that we got too many details about things that just seemed pointless. I found part of the ending to be quite predictable and part to be- well just odd. There didn’t seem to be a good reason for the one character to be involved. I have not read I Let You Go yet but still plan to. Overall I See You wasn’t the greatest book I’ve ever read nor was it the worst. The concept is pretty creepy but we all know that stalking does happen in many forms! I do appreciate the ARC copy – thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing it.

This was an excellent thriller! I had to force myself to stop reading when it was time to go to work/take care of my kids--a definite page-turner. Zoe Walker, a 40-something mom of two young-adults, is shocked when she sees her picture in the newspaper's dating advertisement. Her family tells her she's overreacting, until other women pictured in the newspaper become victims of horrible crimes. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing who the killer is--highly recommended! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the preview copy.

Readers who love to be sucked into a story need to grab a copy of Mackintosh's latest novel, I See You. This book, while a little slow at first, is an exceptional and exciting read. Now I can see why many readers rave about this authors work. It engrossed me. It is a unique and gripping read and I felt highly engaged to the storyline. I can't wait to pick up the authors debut novel after reading this one!

I See You is a thriller about a woman who stumbles upon a criminal enterprise which provides women to men with certain sociopathic tendencies. The twist is that the women don't know they are being trafficked in this way - many don't even know they are being trafficked at all until they end up dead. Zoe Walker has to worry that every man in her life is a potential murderer because they are all keeping secrets from her. In the end, the main antagonist turns out to be someone unexpected.
I See You manages to avoid many of the awful cliche's and tropes of the thriller genre and is worth the time even for those unfamiliar with London and British customs.

Zoe has a routine for work days. She goes the same way all the time, has her favorite seats and reads while on the underground. She likes where she lives, so she commutes. All is well until she looks at an ad in the back of the paper and finds they have escort services, dates and more listed. That's not what bothers her; it's her picture staring back at her that's scary. She didn't put that ad in; who did? And why?

Berkley Publishing and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It will be published February 21st.

This author has a way of getting under my skin. She creates insidious crimes that make you shiver. She maintains the pace and the tension from the beginning of the story to the end. And I'll most likely read her next book, too.

When Zoe notices another person in the old ads that she's seen before, she begins to realize it's not just happening to her. The original police officer is very interested in the case but she's not assigned to it. The new officer is not as concerned but he soon has reason to be.

Someone is creating these ads and men are paying for details. Some are raped and assaulted. Two of them end up dead. Zoe has good reason to be worried. Soon she can't even trust the man she's living with. She has no idea who's after her but she doesn't want to get hurt.

This is a very twisted tale. The person running the website is someone very close to her. It comes to a death threat up close and personal. What's most chilling is even though one person is dead, the original perpetrator is still on the loose. This story is over but it's not finished...

I really enjoyed this second novel from Clare McIntosh. It was suspenseful and gripping the entire time! I recommend this book to anyone who wants a creepy fast-paced read.

The premise is simple but terrifying- you go about your normal, boring, daily routine, all the while not knowing that someone else is watching and noting your every move. This is the best kind of thriller- the kind that had me uncomfortably glancing over my shoulder a couple of times, because it seemed so simple- it wasn't hard to imagine the ease of which this situation could truly play out. Zoe, who first notices the connections and brings it to the attention of the police, can't stop herself from suspecting everyone around her, and I certainly did too. A really excellent book!

4.2 - I enjoyed the twists and turns and red herrings in this mystery. Although I was curious about the amount of cash being paid to Zoe's son, I didn't see what was coming. It made me think a little more about my commute!

Turns out, it might be harder to write a second novel than a debut. I’ve actually heard, quite a few times now, that second books can be a beast. Clare Mackintosh even takes the time to mention that in the acknowledgements of this book. I imagine it's even more so coming off of a debut as heart-pounding and impressive as I Let You Go. Naturally, that’s where my thoughts went - would Ms. Mackintosh be able to emulate the shock value and sheer brilliance of that masterpiece?

For me, I LET YOU GO was a stunner. The unforeseen twist in that story knocked me on my ass. It’s still a standout in my mind, over a year and hundreds of books later, and one that I’ve measured other psychological thrillers against - time and time again. Including this one. Just in case you don’t fully grasp how spectacular I found that book to be, a pristine signed copy has garnered a coveted spot on my bookshelf among the few others I’ve consider worthy over the years.

This one on the other hand, not so much. The most exciting part of this entire book was the epilogue. Hands down. Had it not been for that last ditch effort to shock her readers with a much needed twist, my rating would have been a little different.

Sure, the thought of being watched and followed was anxiety inducing - in the beginning. The author relies too heavily on that fear to carry this story and without much action, the payoff doesn’t feel big enough. At least not for this suspense junkie. I’m sorry to say, but I found the majority of Zoe and Kelly’s story to be incredibly slow, rife with convenience, clunky with awkward revelations and just not all that exciting. Besides Kelly, there wasn’t a whole lot of depth to any of these characters.

What happened? I had to sit back and consider, was it that my hopes for this one were too high? Was I just another passenger on the expectation train unfairly demanding the same experience her first novel delivered? Maybe, but I’m not sure it mattered. I think regardless of who wrote this book, my feelings would have been the same. There wasn’t anything about these characters or the plot that I found compelling, noteworthy or even believable.

Was it just me or did the entire plot hinge on an idea that seemed pretty unlikely? |(hidden spoiler) [I struggled with the whole - find the one dot com - scenario. If you’re a crazed stalker that’s looking for a victim to watch, assault or murder, would you really turn to a website to provide the details of a woman’s daily commute on a train? Granted, I’m no expert on the subject, but in my mind, I imagine any psycho with those inclinations would handpick their victim, probably after a chance meeting, and subsequently do the legwork themselves. Haven’t we learned from all the movies, true crime shows and books out there that selecting victims and learning their routine is all part of the ritual? So would a man with that disposition just skip the foreplay and go straight for the kill by using some website disguised as a dating site instead? I don’t think so. It didn’t seem plausible to me that anyone would use this “service”, let alone pay for it or even take the time to try and crack the coded password. (hide spoiler)] The author provided an explanation within the story, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to get this reader on board.

The plot felt very current, a story of stalking in the surveillance age; someone is always watching and their intentions are not benign. I enjoyed the mystery at the beginning, and the who-is-doing-it plot held my interest all the way through, but the main characters annoyed me over time. There is a repeating pattern of people saying, "I shouldn't do this, but...", going ahead with the decision that is clearly not in their own interest, having something bad almost happen, and then everything turn out all right. And some of the later twists and turns in the storyline did not feel well thought through or explained. Instead of reaching the end and thinking "I should have known! Clues were there the whole time!" I was confused and didn't quite believe it. Overall, an interesting and creepy mystery, but with some flaws.

Being stalked is never a fun feeling. I see you brings that feeling to bear in this book. Knowing your being stalked, it's a totally different thing. Zoe Walker is getting messages. "I see you, but you don't see me." Thus Zoe is on a mission to find answers, and those answers will take her deep and further than she ever anticipated. This book had enough twist to be interesting.

My copy came from Net Galley. I wasn't required to leave a review, I do so of my own free volition. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed reading about both characters, Zoe Walker and PC Kelly Swift. The premise is high concept and terrifying in what it says about today’s pervasive social media. Basically, Zoe Walker is taking the Tube and sees her photo in the London Gazette. What’s disturbing, however, is that it’s for an ad for what looks like a dating site. Her family is convinced it’s not her, but Zoe isn’t so sure. It’s not until she realizes that violent crimes are being committed against other women advertised in the same manner that she fears for her own life as well as her family’s. She finds an ally in PC Kelly Swift, a transportation cop who has issues of her own. I enjoyed reading about Zoe and her neuroses and home life. I thought it was the perfect juxtaposition as well: the seemingly idyllic home life with her rather perfect boyfriend and two kids gradually descending into a world of paranoia and suspicion. I tore through the book and the first ¾ had me guessing who the culprit behind the website was. Numerous red herrings pop up and I slowly eliminated each one by one, only to look at them again later. This book kept me up and I had to know what happened next.

So creepy! I didn't see the twist(s) coming and both wanted to look away but felt compelled to keep reading.

This is a story told from multiple viewpoints. The first is Zoe Walker who is an ordinary woman in her late thirties. She is divorced with a new live-in boyfriend. She also has two grown children both living at home. Justin is her oldest and works in a coffee shop for a neighbor. Katie is the youngest who wants to be an actress despite Zoe's encouragement to take a secretarial course so that she has a back-up plan.

Zoe commutes each day from suburban London to central London. She takes the same busses and trains. She even sits or stands in the same places in the cars. One day she happens to glance at an add in the personals of the newspaper and sees her picture over a website URL and a phone number. At first her family tries to convince her that it is only someone who looks like her. Each day there is a new picture of a new woman.

The second viewpoint character is Kelly Swift. She is a law enforcement officer who has just come back from a long leave resulting from her assault of a prisoner. She is a great investigator but currently in disgrace. She is obsessed with the rape of her twin sister on her college campus ten years earlier even though that sister has moved on and forged a new happy life. Any sort of rape case triggers her anger. She is currently investigating a case where a woman fell asleep on her commuter train and someone stole her keys.

When Zoe sees someone she recognizes in an ad she calls the police and ends up with Kelly. Kelly is skeptical that the ads have anything to do with the crime until a young woman who is pictured in one of the ads is found murdered.

Kelly wedges her way into the task force that is investigating the murder and soon they are investigating the ads and the connections to crimes. After some detective work, the ad leads to a website that sells information about women to anyone who wants to buy a membership. It tracks details about each woman including her daily commute and where she can be found. Investigating who owns the site and who is downloading the information quickly gets involved in all sorts of complex ways of hiding data and money.

Meanwhile, Eve still feels that she is being watched and followed and becomes suspicious of everyone in her life from her live-in to her daughter's new boyfriend. The tension keeps ramping up in this one until it comes to a stunning conclusion.

Interspersed between sections from Zoe's viewpoint which is getting more tense as each day passes and Kelly's viewpoint about the frustrations of the investigation, we have the viewpoint of the person responsible for and profiting from the website. This person is perhaps the creepiest part of the whole story as they victimize women for profit.

I enjoyed this story very much and kept reading it late into the night since I couldn't sleep until I found out who the criminal was.

Mackintosh's first book "I Let You Go" blew me away last year, so I was really looking forward to this one. It starts off similarly with a very straightforward and well-written storyline. The author throws in some twists, which definitely keep you on your toes! I'd definitely recommend this to library readers and other staff. Clare Mackintosh is becoming one of my favourite authors!

I See You is about a woman who discovers her picture in the classified section of a newspaper while on her daily commute. At first, it’s taken as a mere coincidence, but as things begin to happen to other women who also appear in the ads, Zoe becomes concerned for her safety.

Think of it this way….You leave your house at the same time every morning. You take the same route to work. People live their lives in routines, knowing there’s safety in what is familiar. But what if your daily routine brought danger upon your life?

The premise of this story was chilling, and the idea of someone watching you without you knowing is just unsettling. I really enjoyed reading this book and I look forward to reading I Let You Go.

***I received an advanced copy of I See You from NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group***

I See You is Clare Mackintosh’s follow-up to her debut I Let You Go, which was a huge hit and one of my favourite mysteries of 2016. I’m very happy to report that I See You was equally as compelling as I Let You Go. It too was full of surprising twists, well-developed characters and an evocative UK setting. I See You follows Zoe Walker, a middle-aged mother tired of the long commute into London. One day on her regular train, she stumbles upon a strange ad in the local free paper – one that features her own photo. As she investigates, it becomes clear that other unsuspecting women who regularly commute into London have had their photos in similar ads…and some of them have ended up dead. If you enjoyed I Let You Go, then definitely check out I See You when it is released in April. (Published in the Napanee Guide, December 29th 2016, pg. 4)

I See You is the second book by Clare Mackintosh and is an amazing psychological thriller about cyber stalking.

Zoe Walker during her everyday commute sees her picture in a classified ad Zoe has no idea who placed the ad , gets worried and during her investigation learns that other women who’s pictures have been placed in the ad have been subjected to violent crimes. Kelly, a cop who is wrestling with her own troubled past starts helping Zoe but will they be able to capture the perpetrator in time?

I really enjoyed the book and the twists and turns kept me reading up late in the night. As soon as I thought I had guessed who the responsible person was there was another twist to the story. The outcome was completely unpredictable and surprising.

I would recommend this book to psychological mystery lovers. It was a solid 5 stars for me and I cannot wait to read more by Clare Mackintosh .

Many thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for this advance reader copy in exchange for my honest and fair review.

This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/

While I was intrigued by the premise of this novel, ultimately the story failed to capture my attention or draw me into the mystery. The beginning chapters are atmospheric and draw a vivid picture of the claustrophobic feeling of subway commuting, which is a perfect set up for a gripping thriller. However, there is too much time spent on the details of the mundane life of the main character that does not serve the story’s overall purpose and really slows down the narrative. The protagonist herself is not very compelling, and combined with the focus on the inconsequential details of her life, the story becomes quite dull. Unfortunately at a certain point I simply lost all interest and had to give up on this one.