Book Review: You Let Me In by Lucy Clarke

Nothing has felt right since Elle rented out her house to a family through Airbnb. Since coming home from her vacation in France, she feels like she is being watched...

“I am no trespasser, I remind myself. You let me in.”

Some of the lessons I learnt whilst reading this book:

- drinking and driving after one or two large glasses of wine is okay apparently (sidebar: IT IS NOT)

- noting all your passwords in one location is a great idea (again: it is NOT)

- it might be a good idea to visit your doctor if your insomnia has gotten to the point where you’re going batshit crazy (it bugged me that she didn’t do this)

- it’s not a good idea to constantly post clues suggesting the location of your home on social media when you’re a famous author (or even if you’re not famous, for that matter!)

- don’t fucking walk home drunk alone on the beach at night

- if you have a glass room at the top of your house (pfft, don’t we all), maybe you should invest in some blinds or curtains

With all that being said, I did finish this 400 page book in less than 48 hours - it’s a page turner, for sure, but it is accompanied with a lot of eye-rolling. There are far too many red herrings and strands of the story that just don’t get any resolution. A lot of it is also very repetitive.

But it wasn’t all terrible. It was a breezy read, and I particularly enjoyed the setting on the coast of Cornwall. It was also shocking at times as I didn’t predict what the outcome was going to be! Some parts were kinda creepy - but that might just be because being alone in the house and hearing weird noises and freaking out about it is something I do on a regular basis, so I relate hardcore.

This book reinforces that most thrillers just aren’t for me. Only one or two of us in the book club actually liked it, so tomorrow’s meeting will probably just be spent ranting about the idiocy of the protagonist whilst indulging in our salted caramel brownies... can’t wait! 2 stars.

Johann

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