When the game is deception, nothing is as it seems in this novel of cunning psychological suspense by the #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of I’ll Never Tell.Do you want to play a game?Twelve years ago Jessica Williams escaped a cult. Thanks to the private detective who rescued her, she reintegrated into society, endured an uncomfortable notoriety, and tried to put it all behind her. Then, at … tried to put it all behind her. Then, at an airport bar, Jessica meets a woman with an identical name and birth date. It appears to be just an odd coincidence—until a week later, when Jessica finds her bank account drained and her personal information stolen.
Following a trail of the grifter’s victims, each with the same name, Jessica gathers players—one by one—for her own game. According to her plan, they’ll set a trap and wait for the impostor to strike again. But plans can go awry, and trust can fray, and as Jessica tries to escape the shadows of her childhood, the risks are greater than she imagined. Now, confronting the casualties of her past, Jessica can’t help but wonder…
Who will pay the price?
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Catherine McKenzie is at the top of her game when a former cult member finds herself mixed up in a dangerous, high-stakes case of identity theft. Addictive and fast-paced, You Can’t Catch Me proves that sometimes revenge is sweet. McKenzie’s best book yet!
This is another great thriller from Catherine McKenzie. Once you read the first page you enter into a roller coaster ride with lots of twists and turns along the way. Just when you think you have everything figured out, she throws in another twist and you realize you were wrong – very wrong. I didn’t figure this one out until the bomb shell was released near the end.
Jessica escaped from a cult and Liam helped her re-enter real life again. He remains one of the most important people in her life and reluctantly agrees to help her – but her plans go way beyond his comfort zone. As the book begins, she has just lost her job as a reporter for plagiarism. She is sitting in an airport bar waiting for a flight to Mexico for a vacation hoping that the stories about her will disappear by the time she gets back. Imagine her surprise when she finds out the woman next to her has the exact same name and birthday as she does. They play 20 questions to look for other similarities in their lives and talk about where they grew up, their mother’s maiden names etc. Imagine the surprise when Jessica gets back from a week with no social media and finds out that all of her money has been withdrawn from her account. She suspects who did it but can’t get help from the bank or the police so she starts trying to solve the problem on her own. She begins to look for other women with the same name and finds several who have also been conned by the same person who stole her money. She and the other Jessicas set a trap to catch the thief. But how far will she go to get revenge? The results may surprise you but it all made sense in the context of the novel.
This is a fantastic thriller that will keep you up late into the night while you quickly turn the pages to find out if Jessica succeeds with her clever cat and mouse game to catch the thief.
This might be McKenzie’s best…and that’s saying a lot since all of her books are amazing. This is a smashing thriller!
What seems to start as a clear-cut case of identity theft turns into mistaken identity–again, and again, and yet again–in the latest from Catherine McKenzie. Every new character we meet has the same name–and the same laser-focus on outsmarting the others. Original, timely, and twisty, you won’t guess how this one will end. (Thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for a sneak peek in advance!)
I am already a huge fan of Catherine McKenzie so I knew going into it that I would enjoy You Can’t Catch Me. And guess what, I did!
One thing I love about McKenzie’s books is that they are all so different. I haven’t read too many of her books yet, but every one has been unique and really quick reads. This was my experience with You Can’t Catch Me as well! There are short chapters and I was able to read it super quickly, plus I also thought the pacing was really well done and I was hooked from the very first chapter.
Books that involve cults are really hit or miss for me, but You Can’t Catch Me is definitely a winner. I think it’s because the cult Jessica was in is a part of the story, but it doesn’t actually revolve around her being currently in the cult. The book jumps between her past (in the cult) and her present and I thought that was a big helper with the pacing and keeping things interesting.
Once again I was also totally thrown by the ending of a McKenzie book! I had so many suspicions during You Can’t Catch Me, but most of them were not correct at all, and the big reveal was something I DEFINITELY didn’t see coming! Read this book if you are already a fan of McKenzie, or if you are in the mood for a quick, page-turner.
Thank you to NetGalley for my advance review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
5* Cat and Mouse Stars
I was very excited to read Catherine McKenzie’s latest novel as I love her writing style and know that I will be taken on a wild ride filled with thrilling twists and turns. This book did not disappoint.
Jessica Williams is a former cult member, whose life becomes upended when she is fired from her job as an investigative journalist. She decides to take a vacation to Mexico and while waiting for her flight at the airport she is befriended by another Jessica Williams who also happens to share her same birth date. Upon her return home she finds out that her identity has been stolen as well as all her cash in her bank account. Jessica makes it her mission to now track down the scammer who has assumed her name and personal details because the Police will not help her. The only problem is that her name is very common and so is her birth date. Jessica has to tread carefully when befriending the other Jessica Williams and filtering them out to find the culprit. So begins the game of, “cat and mouse”.
It is a very cleverly written story which will have you hooked from the first page read until the last word is written.
I won’t pretend to know the ends and outs of what a thriller should contain. I only know what I like and I really liked this one. You Can’t Catch Me grabbed hold of my interest and never let go. A fast-paced ride until the very end with a few twists I saw coming and a few I didn’t. Definitely recommend.
Jessica Williams has had a full life. She was in a cult and with help, escapes. She has made a new life for herself. As she is sitting in airport she meets another Jessica Williams with the same birth date as her! What Jessica doesn’t realize, the 2nd Jessica is a con artist that steals her identity and all her money! Jessica devises a plan to go after the thief. This is a great thriller that has many twists and turns. I read this in one day as I couldn’t put it down. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.
Jessica Williams is a journalist who is caught plagiarizing an article. However, she wrangles a trip to Mexico out of her employer before she leaves. While in the airport, she meets another Jessica Williams. What are the odds? Well, it seems that they are more likely than you might think. What happens next is a game of cat and mouse. Jessica One (the journalist) plans to take revenge on Jessica Two (the woman she meets in the airport). But she needs help. She enlists Liam, the man she has secretly loved for years, and her rescuer from a cult, to help her. She finds other Jessica Williams.
You will NEVER see the ending coming – so well crafted, so well planned. Unbelievable. So good!!!
Great job Catherine McKenzie!! This is a great thriller.
#YouCantCatchMe #CatherineMcKenzie #NetGalley
You Can’t Catch Me by Catherine McKenzie was a grabbed you from the first paragraph kind of story! I love McKenzie’s writing! It literally jumps off the page as if viewing a movie. Very descriptive in scenery, food, smells, colors, people…..you can “see” the body language she describes. All the characters in this story weren’t real life like, but in a story like this they needed to be the tough gritty people they were..it helped make the story! And the plot? That ending! Blew me away!!
One of my dear 5 stars!
Wow. What a page-turner that combines the voice and pace of SPIN, McKenzie’s brilliant debut, with the multi-layered twists and turns of her recent psychological thrillers. I thought I had the story figured out, and boy, was I wrong. This is McKenzie at her best: cults, stolen identities, PTSD, a terrific heroine, a strong supporting cast, and a devious, but heart-wrenching plot that keeps you guessing until the final paragraphs. Loved it!
Woah! This novel had me on the edge of my seat as soon as I started it until the very last page!
Through the entire book I had no clue as to what path and how this story would ever end, but it was was amazing!
Jessica Williams has been trying to put her life back on track and forget her past life.
She cannot believe that she was caught in plagiarism in her journalism job and actually dismissed.
Nobody should have even found this or inspected it!
Heading for a much needed vacation, she meets another woman in the airport with her exact name and birthdate. This new “friend” even steals her identity and gets into her bank accounts! How can this happen?
This begins the roller coaster ride to make things “right”
Only right isn’t always right!
This is truly a quick, intense story that had me up late!
The details are incredible! Well done!
You Can’t Catch Me by Catherine McKenzie delivers a PUNCH! I never saw that coming! Now you have to read the book to understand my reaction to this suspense thriller. This is an intriguing story that has some unexpected twists. Jessica Williams had grown up in a cult commune and was very proud of the life she had made for herself. But now Jessica is on her way to Mexico for a much-needed vacation to try and recover from the humiliation of being fired from her job. While in the airport bar she happens to meet another woman with the name of Jessica Williams who also shares the same birth date. When she returns home from her vacation, she is shocked and upset to learn her bank account has been emptied by the Jessica Williams she had met at the airport. As she starts to research and seeks out others who share her name and birth date, she finds she is not the only Jessica Williams who has been targeted by this con woman. As the story unfolds, the reader will get a glimpse of Jessica’s life as she was growing up and her concern for her cousin Kiki, who she could not rescue from the LOT I will not post spoilers, but I read the book from start to finish without stopping.
Publication Date: June 9, 2020
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and give an honest review of this book.
Something about this one appealed to me from the minute I first saw it as a Goodreads giveaway. I did not win it — tried more than once. But I finally bought the Audible version.
I really liked this story, it kept me going until the very end, until the letter she writes to Liam. That detracted from the story for me — I would have liked a slightly different ending. Very wild ride.
Wow, this was a fun one. I love a smart thriller!
Imagine identity theft from someone with your same name and birthdate. A smooth, likable con artist. Aren’t they all? The targets are well thought out, the consequences are real, and the end? You’ll just have to read it.
Another fine read by Catherine McKenzie! A plot woven with twists and turns through past and present. How much does one’s back story affect their life and choices? Jessica One’s personality is solid all the way through the book. Almost reminiscent of Ellie McEnroe.
This is a doozy of a book that keeps the pages turning too late into the evening.
I was lucky enough to read a copy prior to release. Go! Read!
I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. I thought the premise of using a common name for identify theft was intriguing and the synopsis of the book was enticing. Unfortunately, the book fell flat for me. It started off strong. Two women meet in an airport only to discover they have the same exact name and birthdate. What are the chances? Soon after one of the women discovers that her bank account has been emptied by you guessed it…herself, kind of.
Then the story takes a turn into the exploration of cults, as the main character was rescued from a particularly brutal and mentally abusive one. Therefore, everything she does is influenced by how she was raised within the cult. I found the cult part a bit boring and tedious. The main character had escaped from the LOT (Land of Todd). Over time, all the references to Todd wore me down and started to annoy me to be honest.
I also disliked the main character and found it hard to invest in the story. I couldn’t make any personal connections to anything and that made reading it difficult. Beyond that, I thought the number of coincidences went beyond even the most forgiving imagination.
With all that said, I have read McKenzie before and do enjoy her writing. While this one wasn’t a hit for me, I’ll definitely read her stuff again!
July 14, 2020
Wow!
How do they think this stuff Up?! So convoluted and creepy, I was guessing to the last page. Great read!
This is a complex and interesting story to process. The thriller storyline and the backstory seem to parallel and the reader is left wondering how they are connected until nearly the end of the book. At the same time, figuring out these characters is an equally intriguing aspect of the story.
I found the protagonist’s character (Original Jessica) confusing. She’s certainly multifaceted, I’ll give ya that. She is a victim and yet unscrupulous. From the very first chapter we learn that she is unethical, so we’re not sure what to make of her. And quite honestly, I didn’t trust most of the other characters either. I feel like they were kept purposely vague in order to keep the reader suspicious at every turn. That’s okay because this is a psychological thriller, but I really wanted to like Liam and was disappointed that I didn’t trust him 100%. I suppose that’s the romantic in me.
I can’t say too much and spoil it for you. It’s an intricate story—two stories rolled into one with many many flashbacks. Sometimes I got confused as to the timeline but eventually it made sense. I would have loved to be inside the author’s brain as she plotted out this story before she wrote it because it was so complicated. There were a few things in there that were hard to believe but I was able to overlook them because I wanted to be entertained, and I was. The cherry on the top was the ending.
I recommend this book to people who like complex yet easy to read psychological thrillers. It’ll keep you engaged and left with clarity. It’s well worth your time and money.
You may enjoy the book club questions at the end of the book.
With her tenth book, Catherine McKenzie proves once again why she is a must-read author. YOU CAN’T CATCH ME weaves a brilliant, compelling plot about Jessica Williams, a former cult member chasing down the woman who’s stolen her identity, and that of others with her same name. Featuring a cast of complex characters in a fast-paced, dangerous cat and mouse game, this suspense is a twisty ride that gripped me from the first page to the last.