“Readers of Liane Moriarty, Paula Hawkins, and Ruth Ware will love.” —Library Journal (starred review) “Jewell’s novel explores the space between going missing and being lost….how the plots intersect and finally collide is one of the great thrills of reading Jewell’s book. She ratchets up the tension masterfully, and her writing is lively.” —The New York Times In the windswept British seaside … Times
In the windswept British seaside town of Ridinghouse Bay, single mom Alice Lake finds a man sitting on a beach outside her house. He has no name, no jacket, and no idea how he got there. Against her better judgment, she invites him inside.
Meanwhile, in a suburb of London, newlywed Lily Monrose grows anxious when her husband fails to return home from work one night. Soon, she receives even worse news: according to the police, the man she married never even existed.
Twenty-three years earlier, Gray and Kirsty Ross are teenagers on a summer holiday with their parents. The annual trip to Ridinghouse Bay is uneventful, until an enigmatic young man starts paying extra attention to Kirsty. Something about him makes Gray uncomfortable—and it’s not just because he’s a protective older brother.
Who is the man on the beach? Where is Lily’s missing husband? And what ever happened to the man who made such a lasting and disturbing impression on Gray?
“A mystery with substance” (Kirkus Reviews), I Found You is a delicious collision course of a novel, filled with the believable characters, stunning writing, and “surprising revelations all the way up to the ending” (Booklist) that make the New York Times bestselling author of Then She Was Gone Lisa Jewell so beloved by audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.
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Lisa Jewell had me guessing till the end in I FOUND YOU. I’ve been on the hunt for more “domestic thrillers” since gobbling up every Liane Moriarty book, and this one didn’t disappoint. The mystery was compelling and tightly plotted, while the relationships kept me emotionally engaged until the end.
I feel like a broken record when I say this, but I’m on the fence with I Found You by Lisa Jewell. While the writing was intriguing and I enjoyed the plot, I felt the characters were really irritating and the story dragged on at times.
Alice is a single mom of three living in a cottage by the sea in East Yorkshire. On a rainy day, she stumbles upon a man sitting on the beach by himself, who apparently lost his memory. He has no idea who he is, and what brought him to this beach. She invites this man into her home and soon becomes involved with the man while she is trying to solve the mystery of who this man is.
Meanwhile, Lily is a 20-year-old Ukrainian woman whose British husband, Karl, has gone missing. Having just gotten married, and Lily is new to this country, she starts to worry and makes her way to the police to report him missing. Soon the investigation by the police and her own digging brings about a very dark side to her husband she never knew about.
Finally, we have two young siblings who are vacationing in the summer of 1993, Graham aka Gray, 19, and Kristy, 15. While the family is enjoying their time on the beach, they encounter a mysterious young man who becomes obsessed with Kristy.
I know what you’re thinking, how the hell do these three story lines have anything to do with each other? Shockingly, they interweave seamlessly, with plot twists and Jewell’s writing. While she alternates between these narrators; Alice, Lily, and Gray, you’re given a sinister and dangerous psychological thriller that I honestly didn’t see coming.
While this book was difficult to put down, I felt like reading Alice and Lily’s sections were nails on a chalkboard. While the two balanced each other out with the personalities — Alice was nutty and all over the place and Lily was organised and straight-lace — it felt like whiplash with their chapters. The only saving grace was the occasional chapter by Gray. I think this is why the book felt like it dragged for me — the characters pulled this story down.
Putting aside the negatives, I really have to give Jewell credit, again, for her fantastic writing. It was both tantalising and compelling all the way through. She left me questioning all the characters — I honestly didn’t know who I could trust. Her timing with the twists were well times and the surprises had me captivated.
I Found You by Lisa Jewell is a tense tense psychological thriller that had me guessing all the way to the very end. What started off as a light beach read, turned into a dark, sinister thriller that had me on the edge of my seat wanting more — even if there are wacky characters that drag the book down slightly. Let’s just say, you’ll be reading more review of mine that have Lisa Jewell in them!
Read my full review here: https://bit.ly/2jWYylZ
I loved I Found You by Lisa Jewell. This suspense novel wouldn’t let me go from page one. From the moment a strange man shows up on an English beach, suffering from apparent amnesia, I was completely sucked in. We have mystery, intrigue and even a little romance. A very entertaining read.
Lisa Jewell brings two story-lines together and also weaves a 1993 murder into the mix and it comes out flawlessly. These lonely people meet when their lives are in upheaval and learn they are also connected by a haunting 20-year-old mystery. The writing was very good, the twist and turns keep you captivated. This is my first Lisa Jewell book, I am now a fan.
“Alice Lake lives in a house by the sea.” Thus begins Alice’s adventure in “I found You” by Lisa Jewell. Alice has three kids and three dogs and lives in a three-hundred year-old house. Things are physically and grammatically synergetic in the tiny room in the tiny house. She makes silly money for a single mother. She sells, not seashells, but maps. Readers immediately get a feel for the people and the place through Jewell’s words. The change happens when she looks through her window to the beach and sees him – the man. He does not move, but sits and stares. “He looks lost.”
The plot progresses from three different points of view. Jewell adds to the intrigue with grammar and construction. Two stories, the first with Alice, her family, and the man with no name, called Frank by Alice, and a second with Lily and her missing husband Carl, proceed in the present tense, which pulls readers into the action, uncertainty, and suspicion. The third, written in the past tense, takes readers to the same Ridinghouse Bay in 1993 with a family renting a vacation house. The past tense emotes ominous feels of past disturbing events.
The three storylines appear in alternating chapters. Those in the present tense with Alice and Lily pull readers to search for answers, identity, and resolution for Frank and for Carl. The chapters in the past tense hint an impending catastrophe and instill questions about the future of the participants. The storylines skillfully twist, turn, intertwine, disengage, and reconnect before things are over.
“I found You” by Lisa Jewell is a book that will keep readers engaged and guessing. This is a thriller with little blood and gore but lots of uncertainty and suspense. Are people who they seem to be, or are they not? The questions are numerous, the possibilities multiple, the answers startling, and I will not give anything away. Readers will be glued to the pages right until the final startling finish.
3+ out of 5 stars to I Found You, a 2016 thriller and suspense novel, by Lisa Jewell. Many thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books and Lisa Jewell for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Why This Book
NetGalley had the book listed as an option in the thriller section. I’d seen one or two reviews with positive feedback on Goodreads. After reading the description, I was intrigued by how the plot would come together. Requested it. Was awarded it. And it was the next date due on NetGalley.
Overview of Story
Lily and Carl have been married for a few weeks and are deeply in love. Lily’s waiting for him to come home from work in London, but he’s later than usual. Carl met her on business in Ukraine and married her within a week, bringing her home with him to England, where she knows not a single soul. He’s got a mother they spoke with on the phone once, shortly after the wedding, but she’s not met any of his family or friends. She’s about 20 and he’s in his early 40s. When he’s late, she gets the cops involved, and after their initial day of research, the cops tell her the man does not exist and must be using a fake name. They begin to search for him with whatever little information they have available.
Alice watches a man sit on the beach in the rain outside her small house. Her friend Derry tells her not to pickup another stranger, given her bad habits in the past. Alice, 42, has 3 different children by 3 different men, and each one ended in some sort of disaster, including kidnapping and violent attack. But Alice doesn’t listen and offers the stranger a place to sleep for a few nights, given she learns he has no memory of who he is or where he comes from. Slowly, Frank (40), as he calls himself for lack of any other name, begins to remember pieces of his life, believing he may have murdered someone and is looking for a young girl from years ago.
Twenty-two years ago, the third story takes place. A father, mother, daughter Kirsty who is 15 and son Gray who is 17, are on vacation near the beach. They meet a young man named Mark, who is 19. At first Mark seems like a great young man and is very interested in Kirsty. He introduces them to his aunt Kitty, who he is living with up on the hill. Slowly, we see Mark might be deranged, and when Kirsty tries to end it, a battle between the 3 of them begins. It ends in disaster that night, and as the chapters unfold, we see small pieces of the previous events.
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By two thirds into the book, readers are questioning whether the stranger Frank is one of the two men from 22 years ago. We’re confident the husband Lily is missing is Frank, who has no memory, but is he the supposedly good guy from 22 years ago, or the bad guy? The stories begin to collide when Alice and Lily meet one another and realize they are each looking for answers. But who is he, what happened to Kirsty, the parents and Aunt Kitty?
Approach & Style
The story is told in the present tense and as a 3rd person narrative. There are 3 stories being told for the first two thirds of the book (alternating chapters), prior to their intersection. Readers can see how they could be connected, but we don’t know which person is which person, as there is memory loss and a possible fake name being used.
Strengths
It’s a strong psychological drama. And it’s one of the better books with alternating chapters between the three stories. Each one stops exactly at the point where you are about to get answers, and then you change characters.
Each character is strong and has distinct elements. You see major flaws in all of them, but somehow still root for things to work out.
The setting and descriptions are quite vivid. The writing is simple and easy. Everything flows and connects, with just enough mystery and suspense left all around.
Open Questions & Concerns
1. I’m not entirely sure I buy the memory loss story. I can’t give too many details, but it seems to occur a bit too conveniently.
2. I wish there was a bit more complexity in trying to figure out who is who. Once you know about 2/3 of the way thru, the last 1/3 is about bringing it all together. I would have liked the open questions to last longer.
Characters
Gray is really likable, but the memory loss makes me a little unsure of how stable he is.
Mark is just so intense. He seems to change his views and reacts too quickly.
Alice is strong, but I really question her abilities and judgment as a mother. She seems to let too many strangers around her kids, and it has caused problems in the past.
Why would the parents let their 15 year old daughter go out alone with 19 year old Mark when they barely met? Seems like a bad idea to me and I don’t have children.
Lily just married Carl after a week and moved to another country? I understand that she needed to get out of Ukraine, but really… where was the true motivation? I don’t buy her as being 20 years old… I think she should have been older.
Author & Other Similar Books
It’s definitely in the vein of a Liane Moriarty or Kate Morton book. It’s set in London and the surround suburbs / coastal towns.
Final Thoughts
It’s a good read. I enjoyed it. Took 3 days with about 80 minutes each day, so 4 hours in total. It’s an all around average good book with a little extra oomph thrown in and about. I’m not sure I liked all the characters and I felt some of their past or history was overdone. But I liked the author’s writing style and would definitely read another book by her.
I really liked this book. It moved at a good pace and the story was interesting and intriguing. I liked the main characters and the mysterious twists. The narration was wonderful.
This is the third Lisa Jewell book that I’ve read and I really wanted to like it. I figured out who Frank and Carl were pretty early on in the story (about the 25% point). I hate books like this, I prefer books that keep me hanging to the end. This leaves me to think that I’ve really read too many of these types of books or perhaps the author isn’t that good of a storyteller.
By halfway through the book, I had already figured out the story and plotline and how it would probably end. I wasn’t too far off the mark either. The last 15%-20% seemed so rushed and meshed together. Based on that, I truly feel my 2star rating is pretty generous.
I have another Lisa Jewell in my to read list but I’m thinking of passing on it. I just don’t think I’m a fan of her particular style of storytelling. Kind of a shame too because the first book of hers I read (Then She Was Gone) was a really good book.
So very good. Many twists and turns.
This is the second book by Lisa Jewell that I have read. I have also rated it five stars. There are distinct characters with detailed and relatable back stories.
I worked hard gathering the evidence from the three stories to figure out where Carl was. I felt I was getting closer but my assumptions were wrong.
Don’t start listening to or reading this book if you have something else to do.
As always, Lisa Jewell sucked me in with excellent plotting, lots of mysteries to solve and unique characters.
I loved this love story.
This is the second book I’ve read by Lisa Jewell and it definitely won’t be the last!
I could not put this book down!!
I FOUND YOU
By Lisa Jewell @lisajewelluk still has yet to disappoint me, yet I’m not even remotely dissatisfied with any of her works as of yet. Her writing is so detailed and her psychological thrillers never cease to amaze me on how she comes up with the ideas that you never expect to see what you do in her stories. I’m one who is pretty good at guessing endings and ruining the rest of a book for myself but with Lisa Jewell, she has become the exception.
She adds dimension to characters and makes you truly like and care about what happens; even some that you aren’t too sure if you should like yet or not. And for those that are downright despicable, you have a seething dislike where you want to jump in the book and intervene yourself.
This is an absolutely great story that brings a man that has no memory of who he is or where he came from and ends up being taken in by single mom Alice, and her three kids in her backyard shed that she normally rents out. Alice, lives life with risks and tends to act and then ask questions later. Knowing nothing about this man and if he can possibly pose a danger to her family. Instead, Alice grows rather fond of him and is willing to help him get answers even if it turns out he’s more dangerous than he appears. What’s in his past? Was he running from it or to it?
In another city, a wife reports her husband missing when he doesn’t come home. The police are called and using his passport ID, she comes to the knowledge that the man she was married to doesn’t even exist. The illegal paperwork he possessed creating a new identity is associated with those in the dark underground. Willing to do anything to hide from their previous life. Where was her husband now? Did something happen to him, or was he running from somebody?
Ironically these two stories are twisted together and it’s filled with hope, heartbreak, terror and suspense. You won’t want to put the book down!
Good ending! It was perfect for my book club! Lots of twists and turns!
Great book! One of my favorite authors!
Totally enjoyable read though gruesome happenings. A tad improbable but I willingly suspended disbelief to read on. It really could happen.
A character-driven thriller that takes place in the UK–even the setting is interesting–and not too scary :). Kept me turning the pages until the end!
So good! I couldn’t put it down!
REALLY GOOD STORY, THREE STORIES ALL COMING TOGETHER BEAUTIFULLY AT THE END. KEPT MY INTEREST AND FINISHED IT QUICKLY, COULDN’T PUT IT DOWN.