Review: I Found You

I Found You by Lisa Jewell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lisa Jewell intrigued me with the idea of I Found You: a lady finds a man on the beach who has no recollection of his identity or how he got there.The setup did provide a few nail-biting moments, and even though the pace was slower to what the author has been accustoming us to, the twist made it all worth it.

Single mother Alice Lake meets Frank, an amnesiac mystery man who seems bewildered, in East Yorkshire, where the book is set. As Alice tries to help him work out who he is, a parallel storyline unfolds about Lydia, a woman looking for her husband, who went missing. The plot of both stories intermingles in a thrilling way, keeping me engaged.

In a third timeline, 23 years ago, teenagers Grey and Kirsty are on their yearly summer holiday. A young man shows interest in Kirsty, but something is off. This third timeline creates a sense of gloom and interest, prompting searches into the past to solve the mystery. It's, of course, a technique to keep the reader in the dark by incorporating different points of view, and it did work on me.

By far the best thing about Jewell's writing, I think, is the layering up of characters, which really comes into its own here. However, even though I admired the determination of Alice in trying to help Frank, she seemed a little too passive in places, and it was hard to accompany her fully on her journey. In the same vein with the second case, I could understand Lydia's desperation, but it lacked those frequent twists I enjoy.

Comparing this to Jewell's other works, I was reminded how Watching You kept me intrigued with its exploration of obsession and hidden secrets, and revelations coming fast and furious, whereas the action of I Found You unfolded at a far more measured pace. There is also None of This Is True, which deeply explores the inner psychological conditions of its characters and therefore creates a real, almost suffocating atmosphere of paranoia and intrigue. I Found You felt more like a slow burn, a gentler mystery with fewer surprises around each corner.

In the final analysis, despite my finding I Found You an engaging read, interesting because of its premise and unexpected twist, the few implausible elements won't let me give this book a 5-star review. This being said, I absolutely recommend the above book to readers of character-driven mysteries and for leisurely reads.

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