You Let Me In

Unsettling, captivating, different than traditional fantasy in a good way. If you’re interested in dysfunctional families and childhood trauma, it’s excellent. Great voice. I flew through this book. Love the psychological questions behind it all. Can’t wait to read the next one.

I really loved this book. I read a lot of thrillers and this one had me surprised. I loved the twists znx and turns. The end was satisfying for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. 'You Let Me' In' is a stunning novel with an original concept that is executed with pin-point precision. There are no well-hackneyed tropes of literary fiction in this novel - quite the contrary. Indeed, original is not a word you hear often in the context of the mystery & thriller genre, but 'You Let Me In' emphatically bucks the trend. Where to start? Well, lets begin with Cassandra Tipp. Cassandra is a famous, wealthy and eccentric novelist, but the constant spectre of death seems to follow her around. There is her husband Tommy Tipp, whose mysterious disembowelment has never been solved, and a few years later, the shocking murder-suicide of her father and brother. Now Cassandra is dead, or is she? What role did she play in the deaths of her husband, brother and father? Well, 'truth' is always relative to some particular frame of reference, and so it is with the life and times of Cassandra Tipp, as revealed in the curious, last document she leaves behind. This manuscript, which forms the backbone of the unfolding narrative, is nothing like you have ever seen before. By entering Cassandra's world, we truly go down the rabbit-hole of human subjectivity and the twisted archetypes of the Jungian unconscious, which reveal itself again and again in Tipp's final manuscript. In what can best be described as a stunning literary pastiche, Bruce, with the skill of a born storyteller, draws us into Cassandra's unusual infinitely complex psyche with some aplomb. There are the stuff of myth and legend; the enduring darkness of a medieval world where a fairytale was a form of discourse, a literary device, for adults not children to channel and explain their fears and traumas where no other words would or could suffice. But in a world full of the nefarious whims of fairies, what is Cassandra trying to tell us? This is the great mystery at the heart of Camilla Bruce's epic novel. As such, I'll let you decide for yourself....

Curious, Compelling and Brilliant.

A glorious, pitch-black fairy tale of a book. Lush, strange and defiant. As soon as I finished it, I went straight back to the start and read it again.

You Let Me In by author Camilla Bruce is an intense thriller that does not disappoint! The characters are intriguing and well developed and the plot is thick and hearty! A true mystery/thriller!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn't put this book down. It was truly engrossing.

With that being said, it was a deviation from what I normally read. However, I was hooked from the beginning. The further into the book I got the more I wondered what was real, and what may have been psychosis.

This book kept me going back and forth as to what she really experienced with Pepper-man and what was imagination.

If you like something other worldly, then this is definitely the book for you.

What did I just read??! I have never read a book like this before and I loved it. The thoughts that have to go through someones head to come up with this stuff is amazing!

This book left me wordless. It was so bizarre, and so interesting, that I couldn’t put it down. I didn’t even know what to expect when I started reading!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

You Let Me In is a very disturbing, devastating, and weird book, but it’s also extremely good. It was such a pleasure to be genuinely surprised by this book. It’s a story of tragedy, illusion and conjuring, family secrets and death. Nothing is as it seems. I recommend this one to fans of very dark stories and dysfunctional families. I loved the story and the way it was told. Camilla Bruce writes beautifully. She succeeds exceedingly well confusing at you and at the same time hooking you into the story. It kept me reading well into the night. Great story and interesting family dynamics. I loved it. I highly recommend it. My copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to the the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it.

~This ARC has been gently provided in exchange for an honest review~

Wooooow! This book has blown my mind, seriously. Disturbing and twisted, though, I couldn't stop reading. After finishing it I needed some time to process and I kept thinking over and over about ... everything!
It took me by surprise, because at first I thought the story was more like a thriller, but no, not at all.
This is definitely the most dark-disturbing-twisted book I've read this 2019. I loved it!
I won't try to explain the plot, because I don't want to give any spoilers. I can only say that if you enjoyed reading Gillian Flynn's novels, you should definitely give it a try.

Rate: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Author: Camilla Bruce
Publish Date: April 21, 2020

Thank you so much to Macmillan-Tor/Forge for giving me an ARC of You Let Me In by Camilla Bruce via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Cassandra Tipp is dead, her body is nowhere to be found, but she did leave a will to her heirs, her niece Penelope, and her nephew Janus. And on that will is a story that Cassandra wants to share.

The execution of this story was unique. That was my first reaction seeing the first 3 chapters. I thought we were going to read a series of letters that leads on the disappearance of Cassandra Tipp. I was preparing myself to witness another mystery/thriller again. But <b>I didn’t know</b> it would take that <b>turn</b>.

I was hooked, but with mixed feelings. Some part of me hoped it would leave the fantasy aspects of the child, but it didn’t. And I guess that is this novel’s flare. Bruce succeeds in making you confused but hooked, in making sure you flip that next page to see what is happening on Cassandra Tipp’s troubled mind.

This book was just… hauntingly beautiful. Like a dark idea that shouldn’t have escaped the mind of the author, but it did, and it’s out there for everyone to read. The contrast of innocence and stained darkness. Light and dark. Good and bad. Sane and insane. I’d recommend this to anyone who would like a dark read, but not to people who cannot handle gore and extreme metaphorical abuse.

Another forthcoming release which is dividing opinion. A Twitter post from Kelly Braffet, plus Joanne Harris' review, spurred me on to read it and I was intrigued from the opening pages. This year I've experimented with reading different genres and "You Let Me In" was an excellent way to finish off the year - with a faerie tale for grown ups. I loved the story and the way it was told. Camilla Bruce writes beautifully and maintains a strong first person narrative throughout, which is no mean feat. There are many themes wound into the novel which gave me pause for thought. I've even had strange dreams whilst reading. I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to more from this exciting, innovative author.

A fantastic debut. In fact I can hardly believe this is in fact a debut. Great story. Interesting family dynamics. Loved it. Highly recommended xx

It's hard to describe this book without going into too much detail and giving things away. As a girl, Cassandra Tipp met a faerie she named Pepper-Man. Her family life was horrible. She had no friends. And Pepper-Man never went away. Now she's dead, and her niece and nephew have come to her house in the woods to read her final manuscript in order to get the password to access her fortune.

I didn't know exactly what I was requesting when I saw this on NetGalley. In my mind it was a thriller barely removed from Sharp Objects, which the synopsis compares it to. But when Pepper-Man arrived on the pages, I knew I was dealing with something else altogether.

I almost DNFed in the beginning. The book opened with a jarring second-person narration that I didn't feel flowed quite well. I didn't read this for a few days, and then I came back to it, and before too long the second-person dropped off, cropping up only once in a while after that beginning. Mostly the story is told from Cassandra's perspective, and she isn't a likable narrator. Nor is she reliable. But her story is heartbreaking and compelling, no matter which version of this story you believe is the real one.

This book is quite disturbing and devastating, but also really good. It kept me reading well into the night, and I only put it down when I couldn't keep my eyes open. The next day I woke up before my alarm and finished it. I'm sure I'll be thinking about it for some time. I'd recommend it for fans of dark (very dark) faerie stories and dysfunctional families.

I honestly didn’t know what to expect from this book. Or, to be more accurate, I had an idea of what it might be and then it went and blew my expectations right out of the water. Because the initial appearance screams thriller, doesn’t it. One of those ever so popular female driven female authored thrillers dominating the genre these days. You have a women’s face on the cover, there’s that title that makes you go…well, Let Me In and Let The Right One in were taken and there are only so many titles to go around. There are the inevitable (and in this case widely inaccurate) descriptions comparisons. And the official plot summary itself presupposes a suspense thriller with some murders thrown in for good measure. But, giant Kardashian butt of a but, this isn’t that sort of thing. Surprise, surprise. The author boldly goes and does something completely different. And, frankly, pretty awesome. I mean, yeah, sure, major kudos just for defying the genre stereotypes and clichés, but also props for delivering a genuinely good story. And not just that…a genuinely good story about fairies. Yeah, fairies. Not that cute whimsical beings of ephemeral charm, but something infinitely darker and creepier dwells in the forest here. Cassandra Tipp is befriended by one as a child, The Pepper Man, and thus a disturbing abusive lifelong loving friendship begins. The fairies are vampirical by nature, long dead or undead creatures that require regular feedings of blood in order to function. In return they offer company, gifts and strange forest delights. And whether you believe in them or not will define how you read this book. Because the book is in fact a last will and testament manuscript companion provided by Cassandra Tipp, a reclusive author who disappears leaving behind a fortune accumulated by writing romance novels, addressed to her niece and nephew. If they read the story, they’ll know how to claim the money. So they read. And so do we. And what a strange story it is. Not the first to represent the creatures of the forest and dark and scary, there’s Keith Donohue for one (apparently not famous enough for an official description comparison but much more accurate all the same), but still well done. The best thing about this being the ambiguity of it all. The cleverest thing of all is that this book can be read as two completely different stories that’ll give you completely different versions of events. While it isn’t a classic suspense thriller, there’s plenty of a sort of slow boiling suspense, it is plenty thrilling and there are murders to solve. It’s just that you’re never quite sure of the nature of reality in the narrative. Casssandra, Cassie, isn’t quite the prototypical unreliable narrator, but she’s something like that. If she is living in a delusion, it’s an all encompassing profound reality shaping one. If she isn’t…well, then there’s one more thing to fear in the woods. Either way she is a victim and her life is undeniably tragic, but you’re just never quite sure as to why. I absolutely love the way the author leaves that up to her audience to decide, her commitment to straddling both planes of existence complete until the very end and what a whammy of an ending it is. Natural or supernatural, this was a very entertaining atmospheric read. All in all very nicely done, not to mention most auspicious for a debut. It’s such a pleasure for a seasoned thriller reader to be genuinely surprised by a book. So many thanks for that to the publishers, who have previously rejected all my Netgalley requests with frustrating consistency. And, of course, thanks to Netgalley. Recommended.

I loved this book. I didn't realize it had a fantasy aspect, and am glad, as I wouldn't have picked it up. I am so glad I did! It centers around eccentric author Cassandra Tipp, who disappears as an old lady at the beginning of the book, but leaves a manuscript for her niece and nephew to read in order to claim their inheritance. The manuscript tells the story of Cassie's life, with conflicting stories around what Cassie believes happened and what her psychiatrist believes happened. Cassie' has maintained for her entire life that she has become entrenched in the fairy world and that most of her key life experiences have been influenced in some way by this relationship. The psychiatrist wrote a book that got him famous around Cassie creating this world in order for her mind to defend itself from horrible abuse. We don't know where the truth lies, but we get an amazingly written story from Cassie's perspective.

The way the author described the fairy world and the fairies themselves was so descriptive and engaging- I was easily able to suspend my disbelief and fully immerse myself in that world. The juxtaposition between the logical and what Cassie explains really happened is fascinating. I literally woke up in the middle of the night to finish reading.

If fantasy isn't your thing but you like mysteries (and fantastic writing), I think you should give this book a chance. This will stick with me for a long time, and I am excited to see what Camilla Bruce comes up with next.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

**Apologies - I've posted this review a little earlier than I should - I thought it had an earlier release date. Also, I absolutely loved it and was so excited to discuss it with everyone that all coherent thoughts fled my brain!

https://lynns-books.com/2020/03/19/you-let-me-in-by-camilla-bruce/
This book was brilliant. I loved it utterly and completely and frankly I’m flabbergasted that it’s a debut – it’s just so impressive and I can’t fault it at all. That being said, you’ll have to decide whether this is something for you and I’ll try my best to help with this review but I really don’t want to give away spoilers so let’s see how that plays out.

I didn’t really know what to expect going into this and from the description was expecting something more akin to a mystery. I guess this is a mystery in it’s own way, although maybe not of the traditional style that I was expecting. What this actually delivers is a stunning and beautifully written tale within a tale and, frankly, there’s no clear cut decision to tell you which is truth and which is fabrication. I know what I think was going on here but I’m guessing this book will have different mileage depending on the reader.

So, what we know.

Cass, had a troubled childhood. One of three children she had a picture postcard perfect sister and a quiet and withdrawn brother. She was different than other children, didn’t make friends easily and seemed abrasive or confrontational – in fact other children were frightened by her and she was constantly at war with her mother, who seemed to be an angry, thin lipped woman.

As she grew into adulthood she seemed to have a brief respite, an interlude of ‘normality’ if you will, marrying a handsome man and becoming the perfect housewife – to the outside world at least. Until everything ended in blood.

Cassandra Tipp is a famous and reclusive novelist. As the story begins she has been missing a year. No body has been found but she is assumed dead and her wealth and property have been left to her niece and nephew upon condition that they read her final manuscript. Given Cass’s past you better believe that they’ll be reading this manuscript – anything to find out some answers to the strange history that brought such death to this particular family.

Those are the things I can tell you without any potential spoilers. I will try to keep my thoughts organised and give away as little as possible for the rest of this review.

I mentioned that Cass had a troubled childhood and this is one of the elements that plays into the ‘is it real’ or is it a figment of Cass’s imagination elements. Cass has an unseen friend – not your usual ‘imaginary friend’ but a fae person who she calls The Pepper Man. This is an unusual relationship and sometimes quite uncomfortable to read about as Cass’s narrative starts from a relatively young age. However, this is a consistent part of her life and leads her to make other fae ‘friends’ who dwell in the Mound within the woods. I can’t deny that I loved this aspect of the story. It’s so well written, so well imagined and makes for absolutely compelling reading. These fae are definitely not relatives to Disney fae. They are unusual looking and they feed off those they become attached to. They operate on a totally different moral compass to humans but at the same time do form attachments. The relationship between Cass and the Pepper Man being a perfect example of such. Both become dependent on the other even if it’s not always totally healthy.

The writing here is stunning. I have to say that I was pretty much hooked from the beginning, I admit that I have a tendency to love stories where I’m reading a narrative style like the one here. Here Cassandra is talking to her niece and nephew through the pages of a manuscript and relaying to them the story of her life. If they choose, at the end of the narrative, to continue with the inheritance then they will have at least been warned of the potential consequences. Sorry, went off track there a little. I was talking about the writing – it’s beautiful, it’s evocative and it was perfect for me. This is one of those books that is totally immersive. I went in and couldn’t get back out. Sometimes I was angry, sometimes I was sad, but I was always fascinated and couldn’t gobble up the words quickly enough. And, on top of this everything was perfectly imagined in my mind’s eye. There were no little irritabilities that sometimes pull you out of the story. I simply loved it and this is an author that I will now watch with great interest.

The characters – well, Cass is the main character and you’ll need to decide if she’s an unreliable narrator or not. Personally, I don’t really think she’s unreliable in a certain respect – because she believes with all her heart the story she’s telling. You, the reader, will have to decide what else lies between the lines on the page and reach your own conclusion in that respect.

The only other thing I would mention here is that there is a sense of discomfort at certain points during this read. Admittedly, nothing here is written for shock value and in fact everything that the author writes is necessary to the story. Just be aware that some of the aspects to this are dark and they may be triggers for some readers.

To conclude. I’m not sure if I’ve really spread any light on this novel or whether or not you might want to pick it up – I think the only thing I could say is this could be a very dark tale of the fae, or it could be a tale of a young girl with mental health problems brought on my trauma.

That being said I absolutely loved this book. I could literally read it again right now and I’m desperate to talk to everyone about it.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

My rating 5 out of 5*