Please See Us

By Caitlin Mullen

Book Overview

Winner of the 2021 Edgar Award for Best First Novel This "beautifully written, thoughtful page-turner" (Chloe Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Immortalists) set in Atlantic City blends noir suspense, a missing persons mystery, and female friendship into a haunting, literary page-turner, as two young women become unlikely friends during one fateful summer when mysterious disappearances hit dangerously close to home.Summer has come to Atlantic City, but the boardwalk is empty of tourists, the casino lights have dimmed, and two Jane Does lie hidden in the marshland behind the Sunset Motel. Only one person knows they're there. Meanwhile, Clara, a struggling boardwalk psychic, gives tarot readings to make ends meet--until she begins experiencing disturbing visions that feel all too real. As reports of missing women spread through town, Clara suspects her clairvoyance may be tied to the growing danger. When she meets Lily, a former Soho art gallery assistant now working at a nearly abandoned casino spa while grappling with personal loss, the two form an uneasy bond. Together, they begin to uncover a pattern--but getting too close to the truth may put them directly in harm's way. This "heartbreaking...riveting thriller" (Paul Harding, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Tinkers) explores the intersection of womanhood, power, violence, and survival, as two women confront buried truths and risk everything to stop a pattern of disappearance before it claims another victim.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 198212749X
• ISBN13: 9781982127497
• Release Date: October 2020
• Publisher: Gallery Books
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.3" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Excellent Debut!

I would like to thank Gallery Books (Simon & Schuster) and NetGalley for sending me an Advance Reader’s Edition. Because I did find the book “captivating and thrilling,” I am happy to offer this review. This is Ms. Mullen’s debut novel, and it is a page-turner. Please See Us is a crime drama about a serial killer...my favorite book genre. There are millions of books about serial killers out there, so it is hard to write an original one. Ms. Mullen managed to create for me a story that I had never read before. Nice work! I loved the chapters interspersed throughout the book written from the victims’ points of view. While I have heard stories about Atlantic City, I have never visited there. The description of the city became a story in itself for me. I could picture it as I read. Initially, I had some trouble with the two protagonists (Clara and Lily). I found their situations...while very different...combinations of bad luck and poor decision-making. As I continued to read, I decided that my initial observation was too harsh. After all, bad luck is no one’s fault, and who in their late teens to early twenties makes all good decisions? By the end of this book, I was pulling for them both. Truly, that hasty judgment is the only negative thing I have to say. I truly liked this book. For me, the most disappointing thing that can happen in a crime drama is for me to know “whodunnit” before the reveal. The first character offered up as a logical culprit had better not turn out to be the bad guy, and he wasn’t. That cannot be considered a spoiler, right? This character was actually my favorite character in the book. He is interesting, deep, and well-developed. He might just need a book of his own. The end is not what you might expect. I hope you like it. I did. Stars: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 4 solid ones