Review: Please See Us by Caitlin Mullen

Good reads|Amazon

Release date: March 3, 2020

Publisher: Gallery

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Blurb:

Summer has come to Atlantic City but the boardwalk is empty of tourists, the casino lights have dimmed, and two Jane Does are laid out in the marshland behind the Sunset Motel, just west of town. Only one person even knows they’re there.

Meanwhile, Clara, a young boardwalk psychic, struggles to attract clients for the tarot readings that pay her rent. When she begins to experience very real and disturbing visions, she suspects they could be related to the recent cases of women gone missing in town. When Clara meets Lily, an ex-Soho art gallery girl who is working at a desolate casino spa and reeling from a personal tragedy, she thinks Lily may be able to help her. But Lily has her own demons to face. If they can put the pieces together in time, they may save another lost girl—so long as their efforts don’t attract perilous attention first. Can they break the ill-fated cycle, or will they join the other victims?

Evocative, eerie, and compelling, Please See Us is a fast-paced psychological thriller that explores the intersection of womanhood, power, and violence. 

Review:

I had very high hopes for this one, maybe a little too high if I’m honest and while this wasn’t a bad book by any means, it didn’t live up to my expectations. It’s very slow paced and while I was initially interested in how things would play out, I also found it to be slightly disjointed. It switches between a few viewpoints and while I appreciate multiple narrators, it felt choppy for me.

One thing that really kept me reading despite my issues was the authors gorgeous writing, she’s really talented and her sense of place was amazing. This one is bleak y’all, and not just in terms of the plot, it’s atmospheric and incredibly well written with a strong sense of despondency throughout every component. If you’re going to give this one a try I recommend taking your time with it, definitely not one to race through, and be prepared for a more subtle style of suspense.

Overall rating: 3/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

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