Fabulous debut!

Where does I Let You Go rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, I found it difficult to put it down.

Any additional comments?

I am very much looking forward to more from this author. This book was highly compelling. Intelligently written, with great characters and rich context that gave me a real sense of being there with Jenna. Despite being brutal in its content, it was penned with a light touch. Highly recommended.

49 people found this helpful

Absolutely brilliant!

WOW! One of the best psychological thrillers I have listened to in ages. I can't actually believe this is a debut novel. The twists and surprises were jaw dropping. My emotions were all over the place with this one. I am not even going to go into any description of what the story is about for fear of spoiling it. Very cleverly written, the characters were all really excellent.
David Thorpe and Julie Barrie were both fantastic. Julie Barrie had me close to tears several times, while David Thorpe's sinister, evil voice felt truly threatening.
Loved it! I would give it more than 5 stars if I could.

33 people found this helpful

Slow start but good twists

I was struggling with the first part of this book, it seemed quite slow and a bit pointless, then I found out why and I settled in and enjoyed it. So my advice is stick with the scene setting and hold on for the surprises!

31 people found this helpful

A gripping debut

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I have recommended this book to everyone I know. It is an amazing debut that I listened to at every available moment. My previous book of this year was 'Girl on the Train' but this was even better. I loved the Bristol/Wales settings and really felt that I was there in the middle of the story. The characterisation was excellent and believable and the twists were completely unexpected.

What was one of the most memorable moments of I Let You Go?

One of the twists which I really did not see coming.

What about David Thorpe and Julie Barrie ’s performance did you like?

Both readers were excellent. I love listening to audiobooks with multiple narrators.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There were many shocking moments but they were done with empathy and not to shock gratuitously. I felt completely caught up in Jenna's story.

29 people found this helpful

Stilted reader but enjoyable story

Unfortunately I found the male narrator rather stilted in his reading style, which spoiled this side of the story for me. His flat and final "he said"s reminded me of a child reading from a script at a school performance. Overall, despite the dark subject matter, this book felt more like "chick lit" with its predictable ending, but was nonetheless an enjoyable listen.

18 people found this helpful

Dark and beautiful

In the beginning I thought the parts about Jenna were boring until more and more was revealed about her. Ray's story was enjoyable all the way through. I started getting truly addicted to the book as a whole from part 2 when it got a Gone girl feel. The book gives a good insight into someone with how someone with a personality disorder thinks. It's not a reality escape book, but a good read if you can handle at times dark realism.

12 people found this helpful

Kept me gripped the whole way through!

Just my cup of tea! Such a gripping story with unpredictable twists and turns!! Right to the very end!
Come on Clare Mackintosh we need your next book asap!!

12 people found this helpful

An impressive first novel

I believe that this is the author's debut novel which makes this well-crafted narrative all the more impressive. It opens with the death of Jacob, a 5 year old, knocked down by a hit and run driver. The accident witnessed by his horrified mother. The main female character, Jenna, then disappears to a remote coastal village in Wales traumatised by the accident. Thereafter the story alternates between Jenna’s agonised recollections of the sight and sounds of the boy being hit by the car and the efforts of detective inspector, Ray, and his DC, Kate, as they try to trace the driver of the car. The two sets of characters are slowly fleshed out over 20 or so chapters with no progress over identifying the culprit. We learn of marital friction between Ray and his wife, the frustrations of police work; and Jenna’s tentative steps to make a new life for herself in Wales, but still haunted by the accident.

It would be a spoiler to give any more details, but around chapter 24, a year after the accident, the story is transformed as Jenna’s backstory starts to be revealed, including the existence of an estranged husband. From then on I was glued to my headphones eager to hear the next twist and turn of the story that rapidly gains momentum.

Don’t be put off by the seemingly slow start to the book. These early chapter get one involved with the characters and when the story took off it meant that I was really involved with their lives and cared what happened to them.

Having two narrators, a male and female, works well as both are able to modulate their voices to make the various characters sound life different people.

11 people found this helpful

Don't Let this one Go!

Clare Mackintosh - who has a career as a police inspector behind her - has got the balance between everyday life and increasing terror just right in this unswitchoffable story. Jenna has fled to rural Wales from Bristol after she abandoned her car which killed a child. Or did she? The parallel narratives - read convincingly by David Thorpe and Julie Barrie - are Jenna's, that of her previous lover who first met her at art school, and that of the senior police officer running the investigation into the hit-and-run who is struggling not only with the pressures of the case but also with his marriage and troubled young son.
Even though the denouement includes a scene which lapses into horror movie, the overall story is cleverly structured between these narrative voices which build up real complex characters and a plausible story solidly rooted in reality. The reality - which is essential for the frightening development of the sinister elements to grip the listener - is helped by the portrayal of the contrasting Welsh community and the balm of the sea and the cliffs which promise Jenna a new life.
As Jenna's previous life is built up little by little, the suspense is ratcheted up, cleverly allowing you to think you've cracked it. But every time you're fooled, and there's another twist in the plot like a scorpion's tail. Hooked from first to last, I couldn't stop listening.
This is Clare Mackintosh's first novel. I'll certainly look out for the next.

11 people found this helpful

Didn't capture me

I didn't enjoy this book. I found parts tedious, particularly the first half of the book.
I didn't like the characters. I wasn't interested in the police characters or storyline.
The main story didn't grip me and found it a struggle to complete the book.
I did not like the male narrator. His voice was harsh and a bit forced. His character voices grated and over acted.

Obviously many loved this book. It just wasn't for me.

10 people found this helpful