Thursday, March 1, 2018

Crime & Beyond Book Club Reads I See You by Clare Macintosh



Kerry Hammond is here with her most recent report from the Denver-based Crime & Beyond book club. This month they read a new-to-them author.

This month the book club met to discuss a new-to-us author; we read I See You by Clare Macintosh. In the book, Zoe Walker is traveling home on the London Tube when she spots the photo of a woman in a classified ad and swears it’s a picture of her. The photo is advertising a dating site called FindTheOne.com and Zoe has never joined a dating site. As the days go by, Zoe sees other women in similar ads and continues to feel uneasy. When she notices that these women have been the victims of violent crimes, she contacts the police. What follows is Zoe’s realization that she might be the next victim, that she is being watched, and that she has no idea who she can trust.

We had mixed opinions of the book; some really enjoyed it and others felt that it had crossed over into what we’ve noticed is a new category of books: the whiney female victim category. Don’t get me wrong, if I were being stalked and saw my face in a personal ad I hadn’t placed, I might be a tad whiney myself. As much as we felt for Zoe’s circumstances, we at times had a hard time connecting with her.

What we all agreed on was that the premise was excellent. I won’t give any spoilers, but the meaning behind the website and the ads is chillingly realistic. Macintosh is an ex-police officer and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that most of the club members really liked the character of Kelly, one of the police officers investigating Zoe’s case. We had a very interesting discussion of the book and many are planning to read the author’s first novel, I Let You Go.





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