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windy_witch's review
5.0
When auther Elle rents out her cliff top house on AirBnB she didn’t expect things to take a dark and scary turn.
She returns from her holiday and she gets the feeling that things are not right in her house with items being moved that should not have been accessed while she was away. The additional the pressure of an upcoming deadline for her next novel starts to get too much and she starts to lose her grip on reality.
This was a gripping and pacey psychological thriller that had many twists to the plot. A great read by Lucy Clarke and I was grateful to have the opportunity to read this book.
She returns from her holiday and she gets the feeling that things are not right in her house with items being moved that should not have been accessed while she was away. The additional the pressure of an upcoming deadline for her next novel starts to get too much and she starts to lose her grip on reality.
This was a gripping and pacey psychological thriller that had many twists to the plot. A great read by Lucy Clarke and I was grateful to have the opportunity to read this book.
whatthefawkes's review
5.0
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ARC received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
"After all, who owns a story? The person who tells it? The person who reads it? The person whom it is about? Or all of them?"
I wasn't expecting a lot from this book and up until the 25% mark I wasn't wholly invested but by the time I reached the end, I could barely put the book down. Elle is an internationally bestselling author freshly returned from her writer's retreat in France and on the cusp of a deadline but after renting out her apartment on Airbnb something seems amiss, and when odd little things keep happening... Elle has to wonder: is somebody in my house?
This book isn't predictable in the slightest. I'll admit, I got to about the 43% mark and had two suspects in mind: it was either the most obvious person in the planet (just because they hated each other) or the other person purely because they said something a little odd that had me thinking "hang on a second, that wasn't right". I was wrong. Both times.
Clarke doesn't rely on big twists and thrills to get you on the edge of your seat. There's an art of subtlety to You Let Me In, it starts with a trickle and ends with a bang. That unease you feel brewing in your stomach is gradually built up throughout the novel until you're left frantically flicking through the pages of your book asking yourself: Is Elle lying?, Is she paranoid? Who is it? What do they know?
By the end of it, I was deeply unsettled and felt a lot of ways about the reveal of Elle's stalker and the relationship between them. Many feelings I won't discuss for fear of spoiling the twist but can definitely see many people relating to the her stalker in some way or another...
TLDR: A brilliantly paced, suspenseful and chilling tale of a woman on the cusp of losing everything and a past that threatens to break free. It starts with a trickle and ends with a bang.
I wasn't expecting a lot from this book and up until the 25% mark I wasn't wholly invested but by the time I reached the end, I could barely put the book down. Elle is an internationally bestselling author freshly returned from her writer's retreat in France and on the cusp of a deadline but after renting out her apartment on Airbnb something seems amiss, and when odd little things keep happening... Elle has to wonder: is somebody in my house?
This book isn't predictable in the slightest. I'll admit, I got to about the 43% mark and had two suspects in mind: it was either the most obvious person in the planet (just because they hated each other) or the other person purely because they said something a little odd that had me thinking "hang on a second, that wasn't right". I was wrong. Both times.
Clarke doesn't rely on big twists and thrills to get you on the edge of your seat. There's an art of subtlety to You Let Me In, it starts with a trickle and ends with a bang. That unease you feel brewing in your stomach is gradually built up throughout the novel until you're left frantically flicking through the pages of your book asking yourself: Is Elle lying?, Is she paranoid? Who is it? What do they know?
By the end of it, I was deeply unsettled and felt a lot of ways about the reveal of Elle's stalker and the relationship between them. Many feelings I won't discuss for fear of spoiling the twist but can definitely see many people relating to the her stalker in some way or another...
TLDR: A brilliantly paced, suspenseful and chilling tale of a woman on the cusp of losing everything and a past that threatens to break free. It starts with a trickle and ends with a bang.
hannahmaybookreviews's review
4.0
Book 12 of 2019 📚
March Read: 1 📖
.
.
Title: You Let Me In
Author: Lucy Clarke
Pages: 406
My Rating: 4/5
.
.
Synopsis🖋- Whilst spending two weeks in France to focus on her writing, Elle rents out her perfect home in Cornwall to who she thinks was a little family wanting a holiday. However when she returns things don't quite feel like they once did in her home. Elle has a feeling she is being watched, she locks and double checks her doors and windows but she still hears footsteps and see's shadows. Elle puts it down to her imagination, but someone knows her secrets, someone wants revenge and that someone has a key!
.
.
Review 📝- It took me a while to get used to the flow of the book due to the two story lines and another character's perspective. However when I overcome this, You Let Me In was gripping throughout with a feel of eeriness.
.
.
I generally did not see the twists and turns coming- I was kept on my toes. I found myself really sympathising with Elle and quite scared for her well being despite her just being a character.
.
.
I have to say for me the ending was rather full on and too much seemed to happen all at once after the eerie build up. All of a sudden the book started to be action packed which threw me off slightly. This is just a small critic however and I generally enjoyed this thriller!
.
.
March Read: 1 📖
.
.
Title: You Let Me In
Author: Lucy Clarke
Pages: 406
My Rating: 4/5
.
.
Synopsis🖋- Whilst spending two weeks in France to focus on her writing, Elle rents out her perfect home in Cornwall to who she thinks was a little family wanting a holiday. However when she returns things don't quite feel like they once did in her home. Elle has a feeling she is being watched, she locks and double checks her doors and windows but she still hears footsteps and see's shadows. Elle puts it down to her imagination, but someone knows her secrets, someone wants revenge and that someone has a key!
.
.
Review 📝- It took me a while to get used to the flow of the book due to the two story lines and another character's perspective. However when I overcome this, You Let Me In was gripping throughout with a feel of eeriness.
.
.
I generally did not see the twists and turns coming- I was kept on my toes. I found myself really sympathising with Elle and quite scared for her well being despite her just being a character.
.
.
I have to say for me the ending was rather full on and too much seemed to happen all at once after the eerie build up. All of a sudden the book started to be action packed which threw me off slightly. This is just a small critic however and I generally enjoyed this thriller!
.
.
zooloo1983's review
4.0
Sometimes you read a book and you have zero clues where it is going. You are shown a path and then, then you are turned around onto a different path. This is what happens here!!! I had an inkling to whom was doing what they were doing, but the story behind it I did not. I loved the story at the end, what a full circle of events – clever!
I listened to this book and then when I got impatient I quickly changed to the ebook. I needed to see what was going to happen. In a way, I feel like not enough penance was given to someone but I did like the final kick in the teeth.
You Let Me In has the ability to put your teeth on edge, it is the thought of someone you didn’t let into your home, be there. The sounds don’t seem the same and then a lot of strange things start to happen. It began to make me wonder, was this all in Elle’s head? I mean she is a writer, after all, was fiction becoming real life?
You can feel the isolation for Elle, especially with the mammoth house she has had built, which felt more cold and sterile rather than a home. The fact, people could see in with the big windows from the beach is so creepy, you never quite know who could be watching you. Plus, with everything going on, you could see how isolated she was as a person and where that all began. It feels she has no one as the crazy starts to ramp up, and we have so many suspects to turn our eyes at. This isolation also feeds her paranoia, which again makes us question the narrator in front of us.
It is a taut thriller which will leave your head spinning with revelations, it is a like a lid on a pressure cooker waiting to explode. When it does, there are most definitely fireworks. I couldn’t believe that someone was doing these things! I mean why? I was shocked too, for the same reason but the revelations that kept coming and coming and coming! Bar hearing the noises in the house, one of the creepiest things for me is the Facebook live video, I kept waiting for something to happen. I love suspense like that, keeps you guessing and tears at your last nerve. This book is by no means boring, there is something all the time to keep you entertained. There are a lot of red herrings and a couple of them I don’t think they’re tied up, whilst others had been given to me with a nice red bow on. Booklover01 anyone!?
I enjoyed my first foray with a Lucy Clarke book and I will be checking out her other works. I love the way she weaves her story, dangling so many carrots in front of you so you trot on through the book. I didn’t trot I was full speed ahead that was for sure! I needed to uncover the ending and all the tantalising secrets!!!
I listened to this book and then when I got impatient I quickly changed to the ebook. I needed to see what was going to happen. In a way, I feel like not enough penance was given to someone but I did like the final kick in the teeth.
You Let Me In has the ability to put your teeth on edge, it is the thought of someone you didn’t let into your home, be there. The sounds don’t seem the same and then a lot of strange things start to happen. It began to make me wonder, was this all in Elle’s head? I mean she is a writer, after all, was fiction becoming real life?
You can feel the isolation for Elle, especially with the mammoth house she has had built, which felt more cold and sterile rather than a home. The fact, people could see in with the big windows from the beach is so creepy, you never quite know who could be watching you. Plus, with everything going on, you could see how isolated she was as a person and where that all began. It feels she has no one as the crazy starts to ramp up, and we have so many suspects to turn our eyes at. This isolation also feeds her paranoia, which again makes us question the narrator in front of us.
It is a taut thriller which will leave your head spinning with revelations, it is a like a lid on a pressure cooker waiting to explode. When it does, there are most definitely fireworks. I couldn’t believe that someone was doing these things! I mean why? I was shocked too, for the same reason but the revelations that kept coming and coming and coming! Bar hearing the noises in the house, one of the creepiest things for me is the Facebook live video, I kept waiting for something to happen. I love suspense like that, keeps you guessing and tears at your last nerve. This book is by no means boring, there is something all the time to keep you entertained. There are a lot of red herrings and a couple of them I don’t think they’re tied up, whilst others had been given to me with a nice red bow on. Booklover01 anyone!?
I enjoyed my first foray with a Lucy Clarke book and I will be checking out her other works. I love the way she weaves her story, dangling so many carrots in front of you so you trot on through the book. I didn’t trot I was full speed ahead that was for sure! I needed to uncover the ending and all the tantalising secrets!!!
nannyf's review
4.0
This is the kind of book which draws you in slowly and has you questioning everything you are reading. The way the author has written this story, we know that someone has been in Elle’s house. We know that she isn’t imagining things are going wrong. We just don’t know who is doing it. When the reveal comes I was surprised to say the least.
The story was written well but I felt it took quite some time to get to the nitty gritty. I enjoyed the story.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy.
The story was written well but I felt it took quite some time to get to the nitty gritty. I enjoyed the story.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy.
caitdob's review
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.0
Predictable. Maybe I’m just really smart but I knew what was coming.
dayswithhan's review
5.0
Absolutely loved this book. Really easy book to read and easy to follow. Thought I knew ‘who done it’ but I was SO wrong. And that ending! Freaking genius. I did think the ending was gonna happen about half way through the book but I honestly thought it was just me speculating so yeah I loved the ending and I thought it ended perfectly! 10/10 recommend. I will be posting a round of books I’ve read in a blog post so I’ll update when I’ve done so if you wanna read a little more in depth review! :)
archimedesfudge's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
montanasamantzis's review
4.0
Wouldn’t put it at the top of the list but it was a pretty good read, not a bad twist at the end!
rubywarhol's review against another edition
3.0
First of all, a trigger warning that should've been on the back cover: One of the big plot points revolves around an experience of sexual assault that one of the characters has had in the past. The trauma of what happened and how nobody believed her are brought up repeatedly.
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New record: read 414 pages in 7 days. I actually read this in German because I felt like it and hadn't done it in a while, and I think that made it even more real for me.
This book was literally a page turner and I could not stop thinking about it. The characters were alive with all their little flaws and authentic behaviours. I couldn't stop reading even when it became too scary.
The potentially unreliable narrator and zero dramatic irony were what kept me on edge the most: The reader never really knows more than the protagonist, so the mystery remained until the end, with countless clues that might not be clues at all. And whatever Ellen did, she couldn't be entirely sure if it was real, or if someone wanted her to think it wasn't real. She doubted her own judgement, and other people didn't believe her either.
Everyone was a suspect, I kept guessing who the secret tenant was, or if it was several people, and changed my theory every couple of pages. So many people were close to her but the question was if she could really trust them. She either had lots of friends or lots of enemies. Made me question my own life.
I suffered with Ellen to the point that I became her and related to her paranoia as well as the frustrating feeling of being disturbed when you're writing, the attachment to her home, personal items, and books. The showdown at the end didn't feel like reading a book but more like watching a film. I could hear the dramatic music, see the characters' expression, and feel the suspense.
If the characters actually exist in some form, I really hope they're all doing okay.
-
New record: read 414 pages in 7 days. I actually read this in German because I felt like it and hadn't done it in a while, and I think that made it even more real for me.
This book was literally a page turner and I could not stop thinking about it. The characters were alive with all their little flaws and authentic behaviours. I couldn't stop reading even when it became too scary.
The potentially unreliable narrator and zero dramatic irony were what kept me on edge the most: The reader never really knows more than the protagonist, so the mystery remained until the end, with countless clues that might not be clues at all. And whatever Ellen did, she couldn't be entirely sure if it was real, or if someone wanted her to think it wasn't real. She doubted her own judgement, and other people didn't believe her either.
Everyone was a suspect, I kept guessing who the secret tenant was, or if it was several people, and changed my theory every couple of pages. So many people were close to her but the question was if she could really trust them. She either had lots of friends or lots of enemies. Made me question my own life.
I suffered with Ellen to the point that I became her and related to her paranoia as well as the frustrating feeling of being disturbed when you're writing, the attachment to her home, personal items, and books. The showdown at the end didn't feel like reading a book but more like watching a film. I could hear the dramatic music, see the characters' expression, and feel the suspense.
If the characters actually exist in some form, I really hope they're all doing okay.