I picked borrowed this from the library after reading We Were Never Here and The Paris Apartment and enjoying the fast pace of thrillers. This one was a little slower than those, but in a good way that I enjoyed. It all begins when Alice, a single mum who has her own struggles paying the bills and keeping her kids and dogs in line, notices a man sitting on the beach near her house. He was there earlier. He’s been there for a while. She goes and talks to him, offering him her ex’s left behind coat. He doesn’t offer much, so she leaves him there. But later that day, he is still there. And the weather is taking a turn for the worse. She has a vacant guest room she’s been planning to rent out, so she decides on a whim to bring him home with her.
It turns out that he may be a stranger to Alice, but he’s even more of a stranger to himself. He’s got no idea how he got to the beach or who he is. He doesn’t know where he came from or if he has family. And he definitely doesn’t know why he’s so drawn to this particular stretch of beach. All he does know is that he keeps feeling pulled to it, and that there’s something dark he can’t quite grasp.
Meanwhile we meet Lily, a young woman who has just moved into a new apartment with her brand new husband. She’s from another country and has no family or friends. So when her husband doesn’t come home – a husband who is home at exactly the same time each day and who never leaves her texts unanswered – she is very worried. But getting anyone to help her is hard. The police think he’s just taken off, and judge her for her accent, her youth, her lack of roots in the community and the difference in age between her and her husband. She’s sure that he’s not just run off, though. He wouldn’t leave her. He loves her. Besides, without him she has nothing. No job, and no money. So she’ll have to look for him herself.
Going into this story, there’s the obvious suspicion of how the two women’s stories intersect, but as we learn more about their lives and the lives of those around them, we start to see more and more details that paint ever darker pictures. As the stranger begins to gain memories, and as Lily starts finding a few threads to pull on, the story quickly intensifies.
I can’t say much, because you really need to go into this book without any spoilers. But it’s a book with a lot of layers, a lot of intrigue, and some really great characters and character development. Every time I thought I was getting a handle on what was going on, some new information came to light that had me questioning my suspicions. I liked Alice a lot, and I felt for Lily (thought she’s not quite as much of a likeable character, she has her own back story). The two women are in difficult situations, though two very different ones, and they both have their own investments in the outcome of the situations they find themselves in. I really enjoyed getting to know them, and I was never bored while reading. It’s not the best thriller I’ve ever read, but it is one with characters that are more developed than some, and a story that definitely packs a punch. Worth a read if you’re interested in the premise!
‘How long have you been sitting out here?’
‘I got here yesterday.’
‘Where did you come from?’
‘I have no idea.’
East Yorkshire: Single mum Alice Lake finds a man on the beach outside her house. He has no name, no jacket, no idea what he is doing there. Against her better judgement she invites him in to her home.
Surrey: Twenty-one-year-old Lily Monrose has only been married for three weeks. When her new husband fails to come home from work one night she is left stranded in a new country where she knows no one. Then the police tell her that her husband never existed.
Two women, twenty years of secrets and a man who can’t remember lie at the heart of Lisa Jewell’s brilliant new novel. – Goodreads
Book Title: I Found You
Author: Lisa Jewell
Series: No
Edition: Audiobook (Libby)
Published By: Atria Books
Released: June 30, 2016
Genre: Fiction, Historical, WWII, War, Family
Pages: 352
Date Read: March 2-4, 2025
Rating: 7/10
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.94/5 (153,542 ratings)