I found you - Lisa Jewell

photo courtesy:goodreads.com

A gripping story from a writer getting better with each book.

I have been hooked onto Jewell's books ever since I read  The House We Grew Up In. Her books are not profound or literary. But they are a good read; they force you to get to the end of it, stopping from doing anything else.

It is easy trace her development as a writer and storyteller from her earlier books. She is getting better in terms of handling the plot and the twists. It has now become easy to predict a Jewell book and she never fails in delivering the feel-good factor.

Gist:

Alice is a mum of three and runs a small business from the attic of her home, by the seaside. One day, while working, she notices a man sitting on a beach for hours together. She walks up to him and realises he has no memory. She brings him home unaware of his past, or the fact if he was safe to be in contact with her family.

Lily a new bride is looking for her husband, who suddenly goes missing. She is new to the country and has no clue where to look for him. She approaches the police only to find her husband was not what he had claimed to be.

What works:

• Jewell is today's writer. With short sentences and crisp dialogue, she writes for the restless reader, who loves action more than description.

• Her characters are quirky and they do bizarre things. However, she makes them so believable that you actually care to see what happens to them.

• The writing and the plotting are so good that the initial chapters just whiz by as you shuttle back and forth in a past and present scenario.

What doesn't:

• Although the first half is good there is a point when it becomes all predictable. 

• Jewell builds up a great premise and the suspense has a good too. But then once the hype is revealed, it heads into a predictable zone.

• There is a bit too much of drama and the soap opera element to it.

A great holiday read. One can be assured that in Jewell's escapist stories, the characters end up in happily ever after. 

Lovely for those loving all-becomes-well romances.