I Found You by Lisa Jewell – Review

Welcome back friends. It’s Monday, and today I bring to you my review of I Found You by Lisa Jewell. I finished this last week Wednesday and though I guessed how the stories were woven together, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. There was one aspect that wasn’t fully resolved, but it wasn’t something that detracted from the story.

Book: I Found You

Author: Lisa Jewell

Rating: ★★★★★

Summary: ‘How long have you been sitting out here?’
‘I got here yesterday.’
‘Where did you come from?’
‘I have no idea.’

East Yorkshire: Single mum Alice Lake finds a man on the beach outside her house. He has no name, no jacket, no idea what he is doing there. Against her better judgement she invites him in to her home.

Surrey: Twenty-one-year-old Lily Monrose has only been married for three weeks. When her new husband fails to come home from work one night she is left stranded in a new country where she knows no one. Then the police tell her that her husband never existed.

Two women, twenty years of secrets and a man who can’t remember lie at the heart of Lisa Jewell’s brilliant new novel.

Quote: “Because deep down inside, she was scared. Scared of being alone, scared of being an outsider. Scared that she had all of her chances of happiness; and blown each and every one of them.”

*Story-lines. I really loved the three story-lines. It was interesting to read about the history of the characters and how it tied to the current mystery. I was also curious to see how Lily’s story fit in with Alice’s and the backstory.

*Characters. I really liked Alice. Her far-from-perfect life and the constant mistakes that she makes made her more down-to-earth and a loving person. I originally liked Lily, but as the story continued, I began to dislike her bossy and somewhat entitled attitude. ‘Frank’ was okay, and at the end, I felt so much for him.

*Plot. A man who has lost his memory, a woman whose husband has gone missing, and a tragic backstory that is uncovered slowly makes for a great plot. Though I guessed how everything fit together before the big reveal, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. The suspense was great, and the end was okay.

*Slow. It was a little slow, but I liked the tension.

Quote: “But when it is just me. Alone. With myself—there is no sunshine.”

*Legal Aspect. A person gets kidnapped/attempted murder in this book, and the kidnapper/failed murderer isn’t arrested or prosecuted. There’s no mention of a possible trial, or any charges and I find it very hard to believe that it was ignored. It irked me but it didn’t detract anything from the story.

Quote: “Do you see now why I know something bad has happened?”

In the end, I really enjoyed this, I would recommend it, and I hope you like it if you read it. The mystery was a little slow, and I guessed the big twist before it happened, but the slow revelation of what was really going on was amazing. This is one of my favorite reads of the year.

One sentence summary: An intriguing mystery with a slow build-up and a great, yet predictable, ending.

Overall, 5 stars!

★★★★★