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Can't Let Go
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
September 7, 2016
Beth Stephens kills River Carillo and gets away with it; that's not a spoiler,btw, the writer tell us that in the first few lines (and continues to tell us, ad nauseum, throughout the book). Sounds bad, right?
Well, not so bad, because Jane Hill can write. Not brilliantly, but certainly competently she trudges her way through an engaging, if somewhat dreary story, and to her credit manages to amuse the reader enough to make it a worthwhile use of your spare time. It's a thriller without too many thrills and it's psychological (lite). Some people will like this and Hill's effective if repetitive style : "People and people and people." (is that a sentence? Hill gets away with it, sort of) will bear you to the finish line. And readers reaching the finish line in a debut novel is an achievement, reaching it delightedly is a master stroke, which Hill does not pull off.
So this book would get 3 stars, who knows, even four, if it hadn't been for the cardinal sin the writer committed at the end.
Jane Hill, you cheated the reader, and for that this book loses a star in the last few pages.
You cannot cheat the reader and get away with it, remember that and you will write a very good book someday, because it is evident that you could.
Well, not so bad, because Jane Hill can write. Not brilliantly, but certainly competently she trudges her way through an engaging, if somewhat dreary story, and to her credit manages to amuse the reader enough to make it a worthwhile use of your spare time. It's a thriller without too many thrills and it's psychological (lite). Some people will like this and Hill's effective if repetitive style : "People and people and people." (is that a sentence? Hill gets away with it, sort of) will bear you to the finish line. And readers reaching the finish line in a debut novel is an achievement, reaching it delightedly is a master stroke, which Hill does not pull off.
So this book would get 3 stars, who knows, even four, if it hadn't been for the cardinal sin the writer committed at the end.
Jane Hill, you cheated the reader, and for that this book loses a star in the last few pages.
You cannot cheat the reader and get away with it, remember that and you will write a very good book someday, because it is evident that you could.
May 2, 2012
I'm beginning to not like Jane Hill. First she teases you with a sinister-ish intro, then she takes her foot off the gas and just lets the tale meander along. Enjoyable, definitely, but no real tension.
Then she sticks your fingers in the light socket.
The shock - and there are at least two such moments - really are a literary slap in the face. And from then on, you suspect everyone and you are looking for the twists, trying to stay one step ahead.
And I saw all the twists coming, right up to the point I was wrong.
And I knew exactly who was doing what to whom, right until I was wrong again.
A gentle rollercoaster of a book, that grabs you by the throat in the second half.
One star deducted for unnecessary cultural references (a pet peeve of mine).
Did I ever mention that Jane killed off my burgeoning radio career? I feel more people should know this...
Then she sticks your fingers in the light socket.
The shock - and there are at least two such moments - really are a literary slap in the face. And from then on, you suspect everyone and you are looking for the twists, trying to stay one step ahead.
And I saw all the twists coming, right up to the point I was wrong.
And I knew exactly who was doing what to whom, right until I was wrong again.
A gentle rollercoaster of a book, that grabs you by the throat in the second half.
One star deducted for unnecessary cultural references (a pet peeve of mine).
Did I ever mention that Jane killed off my burgeoning radio career? I feel more people should know this...
February 4, 2011
I think I should probably give up on thrillers.
Oooooh, something bad is going to happen. Oh, no. It's ok, not yet.
Right, something bad is going to happen now! No, that's alright, nothing bad this time.
This time though something bad really is happening... Oooops no, not actually that bad.
Repeat for forty-odd chapters.
I may be shortchanging the book, and it did have some decent writing and some good characters. I had no trouble in believing in the characters. I just never believed anything was actually going to happen to the central character.
If you don't see the twist coming then it might be a surprise - I don't usually mind seeing the twist from a hundred pages away but this time I did as I didn't think the book had much else to offer.
So yes, it's probably just that I should give up on thrillers.
Oooooh, something bad is going to happen. Oh, no. It's ok, not yet.
Right, something bad is going to happen now! No, that's alright, nothing bad this time.
This time though something bad really is happening... Oooops no, not actually that bad.
Repeat for forty-odd chapters.
I may be shortchanging the book, and it did have some decent writing and some good characters. I had no trouble in believing in the characters. I just never believed anything was actually going to happen to the central character.
If you don't see the twist coming then it might be a surprise - I don't usually mind seeing the twist from a hundred pages away but this time I did as I didn't think the book had much else to offer.
So yes, it's probably just that I should give up on thrillers.
January 23, 2018
The basis of this story is that as an eighteen year-old in San Francisco, Lizzie killed a man by the name of Rivers Carillo. On her return home her whole persona changed & she started to go by the name of Beth.
The story is split, as is often in this genre, between past & present. In the present day, some seventeen years after the murderous event, Beth is haunted by what she had done - & boy don't we know it, after all it's reiterated often enough! She frequently imagines she sees the ghost of Rivers causing her to flee from wherever she is (not always very convincingly) & is unable to maintain any sort of relationship. When she finally agrees to date her neighbour Danny & makes a friend in comedian Zoey, her life seems to be gathering some semblance of normality but she then receives an anonymous note & the paranoia really hits home. Beth is convinced that someone knows what she did all those years ago & wants payback for Rivers death.
Now right from the start I had a problem with that first note: "Remember I'm watching you, I know everywhere you go" For a start Beth received it at the school where she taught teenage girls. Isn't it just the sort of prank they'd pull on someone they'd consider to be a middle-aged spinster? I expected the note to turn out to be a coincidence/red herring. Okay not exactly right but a later note ambiguously addressed "to the murdering bitch" just reinforced the idea that Beth was not the intended recipient. As a result, the death of Zoey wasn't really much of a surprise....sorry but I did warn you at the start about spoilers ;o)
As for young Lizzie, well I can believe her falling for an older man as she was, as she says in her own words "...an annoying, naïve, pretentious teenager"....very naïve indeed. Lizzie may have thought Rivers to be "the hero of a romantic novel" but he just struck me as sleazy. I'd have liked a bit more of a mysterious aura about him rather than feeling it was blatantly obvious from the off that he was a married cheat, or maybe I've just got cynical in my old age...
To summarise, l found the story a little tedious, very repetitive at times & lacking in suspense. I did have high hopes for it having so enjoyed both"Grievous Angel" & "The Murder Ballad" however this pales in comparison, so it's an okayish two stars from me.
The story is split, as is often in this genre, between past & present. In the present day, some seventeen years after the murderous event, Beth is haunted by what she had done - & boy don't we know it, after all it's reiterated often enough! She frequently imagines she sees the ghost of Rivers causing her to flee from wherever she is (not always very convincingly) & is unable to maintain any sort of relationship. When she finally agrees to date her neighbour Danny & makes a friend in comedian Zoey, her life seems to be gathering some semblance of normality but she then receives an anonymous note & the paranoia really hits home. Beth is convinced that someone knows what she did all those years ago & wants payback for Rivers death.
Now right from the start I had a problem with that first note: "Remember I'm watching you, I know everywhere you go" For a start Beth received it at the school where she taught teenage girls. Isn't it just the sort of prank they'd pull on someone they'd consider to be a middle-aged spinster? I expected the note to turn out to be a coincidence/red herring. Okay not exactly right but a later note ambiguously addressed "to the murdering bitch" just reinforced the idea that Beth was not the intended recipient. As a result, the death of Zoey wasn't really much of a surprise....sorry but I did warn you at the start about spoilers ;o)
As for young Lizzie, well I can believe her falling for an older man as she was, as she says in her own words "...an annoying, naïve, pretentious teenager"....very naïve indeed. Lizzie may have thought Rivers to be "the hero of a romantic novel" but he just struck me as sleazy. I'd have liked a bit more of a mysterious aura about him rather than feeling it was blatantly obvious from the off that he was a married cheat, or maybe I've just got cynical in my old age...
To summarise, l found the story a little tedious, very repetitive at times & lacking in suspense. I did have high hopes for it having so enjoyed both"Grievous Angel" & "The Murder Ballad" however this pales in comparison, so it's an okayish two stars from me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 16, 2020
Beth killed someone when she was 18 and got away with it. Sounds interesting, right? Wrong. This was 300 pages of pointless blah blah blah and 100 pages of mediocre plot. There was one somewhat surprising twist at the very very end of the book, literally on the last page, but all it did was make me dislike Beth even more. Which I guess is a feat in and of itself as I already thought she was an insufferable pill but all the same probably not what the author was hoping for. This is what I get for picking up random books at the library just because I like their covers.
November 5, 2010
The blurb on the back of Jane Hill's Can't Let Go tells us that this is psychological suspense fiction - and yes, it has it's suspense but it is certainly not thrilling all the way through. I found the first half of the story quite slow - the reader is introduced to the main character; Beth and slowly we begin to find out little bits about her. We know from page one that Beth 'killed a man and got away with it' over seventeen years ago, and it is this event that has shaped Beth's life today.
Seventeen years ago she was Lizzie; an outgoing, drama loving teenager, she went to San Francisco and returned as Beth, became a teacher, wore conservative clothes, didn't form relationship and spent her life looking over her shoulder and imagining that she could see her victim following her.
Beth begins to receive letters addressed to 'the murdering bitch' - someone knows where she is, and what she has done. Beth then spends the rest of the story trying her best to avoid capture - but she doesn't know who is after her and she can't ask anyone for help.
Set in London and in Edinburgh during the fringe the book contains a lot of detail about stand-up comedy, comedians and their routines - I wasn't surprised to find out that the author is a part-time stand up comedian - there is certainly a lot of knowledge in the story.
I did enjoy the story, despite the slow start which, when looking back was probably essential in order to build up the picture of Beth's life. There is a great twist at the end of the story which I certainly didn't see coming and the build up to the end is excellently written.
On the whole, an enjoyable story and I'd read another of Jane Hill's novels.
Seventeen years ago she was Lizzie; an outgoing, drama loving teenager, she went to San Francisco and returned as Beth, became a teacher, wore conservative clothes, didn't form relationship and spent her life looking over her shoulder and imagining that she could see her victim following her.
Beth begins to receive letters addressed to 'the murdering bitch' - someone knows where she is, and what she has done. Beth then spends the rest of the story trying her best to avoid capture - but she doesn't know who is after her and she can't ask anyone for help.
Set in London and in Edinburgh during the fringe the book contains a lot of detail about stand-up comedy, comedians and their routines - I wasn't surprised to find out that the author is a part-time stand up comedian - there is certainly a lot of knowledge in the story.
I did enjoy the story, despite the slow start which, when looking back was probably essential in order to build up the picture of Beth's life. There is a great twist at the end of the story which I certainly didn't see coming and the build up to the end is excellently written.
On the whole, an enjoyable story and I'd read another of Jane Hill's novels.
November 19, 2016
I have mixed feelings about this book. Rather repetitive through the body of the book, as time and time again Beth has paranoid episodes that don't come to anything. But mostly I enjoy the author's writing style, and my interest was sustained. The big twist was a good one, I didn't see it coming, but the extra little twist at the end was unnecessary and spoilt it for me, left a bad taste in the mouth. This is my second book by Jane Hill, I understand it was her debut novel - it hasn't put me off reading further titles from her if I come across them in the library, but I won't be avidly seeking them out.
July 28, 2019
This had been sitting on my TBR pile for a good while. From start to finish it had me gripped. Love the style of writing, plus it wasn't too gory. Kept me guessing and I liked the punchy way it progressed with good chapter endings making you desparate for the next one. Perfect for this time of year too given its Fringe and Edinburgh based in parts plus its made me want to visit San Francisco though doubt I ever will. A tale of unrequited love with a poet, and Stalking, I adored it and want to read her other books now, if I can find them.
May 4, 2016
I listened to this on Audible and perhaps I may have had a better experience had I read it. Whilst the story started well, it became extremely repetitive on audio and slightly irritating. The main character actually annoyed me and therefore I was unable to feel any sympathy for her dilemma.
July 28, 2017
It started well, I felt instantly attracted to this book as it seemed to tease me into this being my ideal page turner. However, and it's only a minor however, it just seemed to drag, there were some exciting bits and other bits where I couldn't wait to finish the book so I could move on to my next read. That sounds a tad harsh and I don't mean it to sound that way. But you know, it wasn't the best. It wasn't the worse either not by a long shot. I'm just not that enamoured with Jane Hill to rush out and read anything else she's done at this point
August 6, 2018
Luckily, I picked this up in a '4 for £1' book section in a charity shop.
The majority of the book is dull, repetitive, predictable and pretty pointless, page fillers I guess.
I suppose this book has two twists , both of which I found extremely poor, no shock factor there at all. The character switch was a surprise ,but the reasoning behind a certain murder? Really? There had been no hints or links to this throughout the book , none, so to me it made no sense what so ever. The final pages are absolutely dire too. So anticlimactic. What a disappointment.
The majority of the book is dull, repetitive, predictable and pretty pointless, page fillers I guess.
I suppose this book has two twists , both of which I found extremely poor, no shock factor there at all. The character switch was a surprise ,but the reasoning behind a certain murder? Really? There had been no hints or links to this throughout the book , none, so to me it made no sense what so ever. The final pages are absolutely dire too. So anticlimactic. What a disappointment.
July 29, 2017
Suspense?! Not for the right reasons. More like when will this end. No I didn't guess the ending, there were so many twists that in the end it was irrelevant. She killed someone and got away with it. She's got a guilty conscience seems to be the whole premise for the story, and I don't care. That seems to be the main failing, the central character fails to connect with me the reader. I don't care.
October 3, 2021
Oh man, I really didn't enjoy this book. It is incredibly slow and nothing ever happen expect - SPOLER ALERT - the main character thinks she's is being chased by someone and she gets 2? weird letters. Even in the end, when finally something happens, it's just meh!!
The reasoning behind the killers motive is also completely bonkers. Also the whole topic of rape was very weird in this book. It was quite apologetic for the perpetrator.
The reasoning behind the killers motive is also completely bonkers. Also the whole topic of rape was very weird in this book. It was quite apologetic for the perpetrator.
December 25, 2017
Entertaining and really quite well-written compared to many in the genre. Many of the reviews on here are rather harsh I feel. Twist towards the end worked well and overall the author did a good job. An author to watch, as this girl can write for sure.
September 23, 2017
Fantastic debut
I read this with my heart in my throat, totally convincing and so well written. Totally did not see the ending coming. Highly recommend.
I read this with my heart in my throat, totally convincing and so well written. Totally did not see the ending coming. Highly recommend.
March 11, 2018
Slow. Predictable. Repetitive.
April 28, 2019
I would give this a 3.5. It was too slow for my liking. The idea was good and especially the ending.
odio-jarocho-aka-nope
June 6, 2019Nope
September 13, 2019
I liked this book at the start but then it just dragged and was an effort to finish.
April 29, 2021
A good read with an interesting twist right at the end.
March 12, 2024
Mehhh tough read sos Jane 😅
May 5, 2024
Blah!
March 31, 2025
Good read, didn't see the ending coming. First time with this Author. Enjoyed this.
January 15, 2023
At 18 Beth Stephens killed a man and got away with it. A statement that is repeated throughout. A reasonable read neither good or bad. At times I wished it would get to the point as I was willing for something to happen. The ending was unexpected which did make me reflect back on the whole story and appreciate it more.
October 9, 2014
5 Stars from me!
I absolutely loved Can't Let Go.
I've seen quite a few negative reviews for it and would have to say I think it's a book best enjoyed by reading quickly over as few sittings as possible as that way you get fully engaged with the story.
I found Beth's character utterly compelling and believable and I really enjoyed the quirks and traits of her personality. Her relationships within the book were great, maybe the situation with Danny was a little far fetched but I loved the budding friendship with Zoe.
I thought the sense of paranoia and the ever tightening fear were brilliantly executed - for me, this was psychological suspense at it's best!
I saw some of the twists and turns coming but not others and I loved the way the book kept me guessing right the way through as it revealed little snippets about Lizzie/Beth and also about the other characters, with each new bit of information making you trust or distrust them more.
Don't believe the negative reviews, if you like a well written book that will mess with your head then give it a go!
I absolutely loved Can't Let Go.
I've seen quite a few negative reviews for it and would have to say I think it's a book best enjoyed by reading quickly over as few sittings as possible as that way you get fully engaged with the story.
I found Beth's character utterly compelling and believable and I really enjoyed the quirks and traits of her personality. Her relationships within the book were great, maybe the situation with Danny was a little far fetched but I loved the budding friendship with Zoe.
I thought the sense of paranoia and the ever tightening fear were brilliantly executed - for me, this was psychological suspense at it's best!
I saw some of the twists and turns coming but not others and I loved the way the book kept me guessing right the way through as it revealed little snippets about Lizzie/Beth and also about the other characters, with each new bit of information making you trust or distrust them more.
Don't believe the negative reviews, if you like a well written book that will mess with your head then give it a go!
March 2, 2011
A lot better than I thought it was going to be. (I picked it up in a supermarket for £2!) It's suspenseful and intriguing, if a little lacking in pace. More of a depiction of the way in which an single event/trauma can shape the rest of your life as opposed to the crime thriller that I was expecting. I wasn't really looking for the twists so I didn't see them coming so their arrival added a bit of bite to the climax of the story.
December 31, 2015
I wasn't expecting much from this book, to begin with... Though at the same time, I didn't reckon it would be THIS bad.
1) two thirds of the book was going NO WHERE. It was just filled with Beth's endless paranoia, which increasingly bore me as the chapters flew by.
2) Hill's poor attempt at a plot twist at the end just didn't work out. Almost as if she was unsure how to end the book & decided that a 'twist' of that sort would compensate for the lack of thriller throughout..
10/10 would not recommend.
1) two thirds of the book was going NO WHERE. It was just filled with Beth's endless paranoia, which increasingly bore me as the chapters flew by.
2) Hill's poor attempt at a plot twist at the end just didn't work out. Almost as if she was unsure how to end the book & decided that a 'twist' of that sort would compensate for the lack of thriller throughout..
10/10 would not recommend.
December 29, 2015
This was an entirely unexciting book. I did wonder whodunnit and flicked through the possibilities in my mind as I read. I eventually gave up - just after a huge twist that wasn't enough to inspire any excitement in me - and flicked through the rest of it to the end.
It might have made an interesting short story, the premise was a good starting point but a lot of the plot development was repetition - this person scared her , that person scared her... boring
It might have made an interesting short story, the premise was a good starting point but a lot of the plot development was repetition - this person scared her , that person scared her... boring
April 27, 2016
This book is about Lizzy, she travels to San Francisco and murders a man. She escapes, gets away with it but has to live with the 'guilt'. She goes back home and changes her life completely...17 years later she starts receiving notes calling her 'a murdering bitch'...just when she was starting to live life again...she does not know what to do, where to go, she sees the guy she murdered everywhere.
I loved the book, the story was very well written...but the ending was a bit anti-climatic...
I loved the book, the story was very well written...but the ending was a bit anti-climatic...
December 28, 2009
I'd never read anything by Jane Hill before, but check out what else the local library might have! Not exactly a cheerful tale, or a "crime novel" as such, but more an exploration of fear and paranoia - when you do have a secret.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews