I Let You Go by Claire MackinTosh

Author: Claire Mackintosh
Publisher: Berkley
Date of publication:May 2016

On a rainy afternoon, a mother's life is shattered as her son slips from her grip and runs into the street . . 

I Let You Go follows Jenna Gray as she moves to a ramshackle cottage on the remote Welsh coast, trying to escape the memory of the car accident that plays again and again in her mind and desperate to heal from the loss of her child and the rest of her painful past. 

At the same time, the novel tracks the pair of Bristol police investigators trying to get to the bottom of this hit-and-run. As they chase down one hopeless lead after another, they find themselves as drawn to each other as they are to the frustrating, twist-filled case before them.

I Let You Go is kind of a hard book to review without giving away any key plot points.  The story is told through three alternating points of view: Jenna, Ian and the detective in charge of the case, Ray Stevens.  The story opens with a five year old boy being killed in a hit and run.  Jenna, decides to move away from her life and start fresh somewhere else.  Ray refuses to stop trying to find out what happened to the little boy.

For the most part, I liked the story.  There were definitely a few twists that were surprising.  I found Ian's POV really disturbing.  If you ever want to get inside the mind of an abuser, just read Ian's passages.  You will be equally disgusted and fascinated at the same time.  My major complaint about the story was the pace.  It was a little slow at times and there were parts that could be cut out, such as, the personal life of Ray. It really didn't add much to the plot and without it, it the pacing would have been better.

This is a fairly good debut and I look forward to reading more from this author.