Please See Us

This book is getting high praise from many readers and with its exciting premise, I was sure that I'd be jumping on the bandwagon. But this book fell flat for me which I found surprising because it has a lot of things going for it - a creepy atmosphere that paints a dark picture of Atlantic City (albeit not a book that will increase tourism to this seaside city), interesting themes regarding women and a lot of depth to its characters.

But it's the depth that's given to its 10+ characters who tell the story that was my biggest issue. Not only do we have double digit characters to keep track of and so many POVs, but readers are given too much detail about their lives - from the daily minutiae to things that happened years in their past. This detail was excessive and made for a very disjointed and convoluted read that I struggled to engage with. I like complex characters, but this excessive detail paired with story lines about psychic readings and the art world bogged down a plot and negatively affected the suspense.

This book is being called a fast-paced psychological thriller but to me it was a very slow burn thriller that I read in fits and spurts. I felt frustrated over its verbose details and the lack of suspense leaving me with very detailed characters but little motivation to continue reading. I finished the book, but it took me almost two weeks to read. While this book wasn't a hit with me, I am in the minority with my feelings. If you adore books with very detailed characters and a grim setting, this may be a book for you.

Disclaimer: This book was offered to me for review consideration by the publisher via NetGalley.

My Rating: 2.5 stars
Author: Caitlin Mullen

Genre: Suspense

Type: eBook

Source: NetGalley

Publisher: Gallery, Pocket Books

First Published: March 1, 2020

Book Description from GoodReads: In this sophisticated, suspenseful debut reminiscent of Laura Lippman and Chloe Benjamin, two young women become unlikely friends during one fateful summer in Atlantic City as mysterious disappearances hit dangerously close to home.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.