#CJSReads2017 Review: I See You by Clare Mackintosh
I See You by Clare MackintoshBerkley Pub
Releases today 2/21/17!
A collective 5 stars from all three of us for this creepy thriller where your every day life is being monitored and then sold to those who want to meet and greet you "randomly" - but are they friend or foe?
Every morning and evening, Zoe Walker takes the same route to the train station, waits at a certain place on the platform, finds her favorite spot in the car, never suspecting that someone is watching her...
It all starts with a classified ad. During her commute home one night, while glancing through her local paper, Zoe sees her own face staring back at her; a grainy photo along with a phone number and a listing for a website called FindTheOne.com.
Other women begin appearing in the same ad, a different one every day, and Zoe realizes they’ve become the victims of increasingly violent crimes—including murder. With the help of a determined cop, she uncovers the ad’s twisted purpose...A discovery that turns her paranoia into full-blown panic. Zoe is sure that someone close to her has set her up as the next target.
And now that man on the train—the one smiling at Zoe from across the car—could be more than just a friendly stranger. He could be someone who has deliberately chosen her and is ready to make his next move…
It all starts with a classified ad. During her commute home one night, while glancing through her local paper, Zoe sees her own face staring back at her; a grainy photo along with a phone number and a listing for a website called FindTheOne.com.
Other women begin appearing in the same ad, a different one every day, and Zoe realizes they’ve become the victims of increasingly violent crimes—including murder. With the help of a determined cop, she uncovers the ad’s twisted purpose...A discovery that turns her paranoia into full-blown panic. Zoe is sure that someone close to her has set her up as the next target.
And now that man on the train—the one smiling at Zoe from across the car—could be more than just a friendly stranger. He could be someone who has deliberately chosen her and is ready to make his next move…
Jessica's Thoughts:
5 / 5 Stars
5 / 5 Stars
I loved this book! So amazingly creepy and unnerving. This is definitely something that has the potential to happen! Little do you know, someone could always be watching you. On your daily commute, your place of work, anywhere.
Every morning and evening, Zoe Walker takes the same route to the train station, waits at a certain place on the platform, finds her favorite spot in the car, never suspecting that someone is watching her. One night, on her commute home, she sees her photo in a classified ad with a phone number and a listing for FindTheOne.com. The more she checks these listing, new women are featured in this same ad, but Zoe begins to realize that they all have become victims of violent crimes that continue to increase in severity, including murder. Zoe becomes convinced more and more paranoid as she she realizes she could be the next target.
That man smiling at her from across the train, could he simply be a friendly stranger? Or is he someone that has specifically chosen her and is prepared to make his next move?
This book fills you with paranoia. Checking over your shoulder wherever you go. Is someone watching?
Sam's Thoughts:
5 / 5 Stars
My first experience with a Clare Mackintosh novel, I See You was a book that, in my opinion, lived up to the hype! A perfect psychological thriller, from the opening pages to the epilogue, I See You had me on the edge of my seat. I was completely gripped.
The concept of this one had me completely creeped out; a woman, Zoe, finds her picture in the back of a classified under some sort of dating website. She brushes it off, more confused if anything, until she sees other women appearing in the ads. Women that have become familiar to her; women she has viewed on television as victims of violent crimes. Once the nature of the dating website is revealed, Zoe’s confusion becomes dread. It’s an alternative dating website. A dating website that women are a part of even if they are not willing participants. As they go about their daily routines, men can choose and claim their prize. They can see you.
The creepiest part about this book was how read world it actually; how many things do you do in a day purely out of habit? You go to the same place for coffee, take the same route to work, visit the same grocery stores. The fact that someone could choose to take the safety of routine and turn it into a nightmare had me feeling extreme paranoia throughout my reading! Kudos to Macintosh for instilling this type of fear!
Full of suspense and dynamic characters, it is no surprise to me that this book is getting rave reviews. I think I’ll take a different way to work over the next few days…just in case!
My Thoughts:
5 / 5 Stars
Everybody has their daily rituals and routines. It's easy to just do what works every single day. But what happens when someone is targeting you because they know your schedule inside and out? How can you protect yourself from something you don't even know that is happening? Zoe happens to notice an advertisement in a newspaper with her photo and a listing for FindTheOne.com. Surely it's a doppelganger, and not actually HER, right? But when she starts noticing that others on the same type of advertisements end up victims of crime she wonders, is she next?This book is told from Zoe's perspective, the perspective of Kelly Swift, the law enforcement person who believes Zoe and notices ties to these ads. But she has her own set of issues and will need to find a way to solve this without destroying her career in the process. We also get inside the head of the antagonist here and there and this villain is creeeeepy! I'm thoroughly amazed at Clare Mackintosh's mind. I want to crawl inside of it and live there to see how this whole story came together. As a New York commuter, I completely understood that feeling of being watched on the train, the "accidental" hand brush and being protective of my own belongings while commiserating with others on the train or making my own conclusions about people based on their footwear. Taking every day routines and bringing it into a plausible, disturbing scenarios will have me questioning every person on the train from now on. I'll surely be switching up my routine. Thanks Clare, you've made me a paranoid mess.
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