You Let Me In by Camilla Bruce

Synopsis:

You Let Me In delivers a stunning tale from debut author Camilla Bruce, combining the sinister domestic atmosphere of Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects with the otherwordly thrills of Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

Cassandra Tipp is dead…or is she?

After all, the notorious recluse and eccentric bestselling novelist has always been prone to flights of fancy—everyone in town remembers the shocking events leading up to Cassie’s infamous trial (she may have been acquitted, but the insanity defense only stretches so far).

Cassandra Tipp has left behind no body—just her massive fortune, and one final manuscript.

Then again, there are enough bodies in her past—her husband Tommy Tipp, whose mysterious disembowelment has never been solved, and a few years later, the shocking murder-suicide of her father and brother.

Cassandra Tipp will tell you a story—but it will come with a terrible price. What really happened, out there in the woods—and who has Cassie been protecting all along? Read on, if you dare…

Edition:

E-ARC

Disclaimer:

I received a complimentary copy of You Let Me In from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger Warnings:

*I apologize profusely if I miss anything – I’m adding this well after the fact*

My Thoughts:

Wow. This is such a thoroughly unsettling story. But somehow, in spite of how deeply disturbing it is, it still manages to be kind of horribly beautiful. I cannot fathom how this is a debut novel for Camilla Bruce. Her writing makes it seem as though she’s written dozens of books before this one.

The narrative style is really interesting – it begins with a clipping from a newspaper telling the reader of the disappearance of well known author Cassandra Tripp. Her disappearance is especially noteworthy since she is a woman of advanced years (74), and also because she has an…interesting…past. Cassandra was a suspect in the investigation of the particularly violent death of her husband 38 years before, has been plagued by family tragedy ever since, and at one point had a book written about her by her former therapist entitled Away with the Fairies: A Study in Trauma-Induced Psychosis. Pretty salacious stuff, right?

Well, let me tell you – this book is a real mood. You Let Me In has gotten me into making mood boards, since this one was absolutely SCREAMING for one. You will find those from now on at my brand new Pinterest page, or I’ll probably continue to cross-post them on Twitter – I’m just soooo connected.

The story is primarily, I think about the pain of trauma and cycles of abuse. In fact, Cassie is so traumatized that she neither knows, nor cares about the difference between fact and fiction, reality and coping mechanisms.This really made for an interesting story – since Cassie never knows or cares to find out, the reader isn’t allowed to either. She’s such a complicated, nuanced, and deeply damaged character.

“Daughter of pain. Daughter of anger. Daughter of love, too, I always believed.”

The fairies that Cassie may or may not see and interact with are not friendly. They are wild, feral things. But they’re beautiful in a way as well, much like the story as a whole. Bruce wrote a story fleshing out one of the most interesting things (as far as I’m concerned) that the human psyche is capable of – finding beauty in the horrible. Cassie’s happiness certainly doesn’t mirror what the average person would hold, but she seems, in spite of everything, mostly happy – or is this just another (possible) trick she’s (probably) playing on herself on account of her severely traumatized mind?

About the Author (from Goodreads):

Camilla Bruce was born in central Norway and grew up in an old forest, next to an Iron Age burial mound. She has a master’s degree in comparative literature, and have co-run a small press that published dark fairy tales. Camilla currently lives in Trondheim with her son and cat.

You can find her on Twitter @millacream or on her website at https://camillabruce.com/

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Rating:

This is not a light or happy read – yes, there are fairies, but they aren’t the nice kind. You Let Me In is going to keep you at the edge of your seat waiting to find out not only what the hell happened to Cassie, but how much of the resulting chaos was perpetrated or otherwise machinated by her in response. You Let Me In is a thoroughly disquieting, incredibly absorbing read.

You Let Me In
By Camilla Bruce
MacMillan-Tor/Forge
ISBN: 9781250302045
Expected Publication: April 21, 2020
Hardcover, Paperback, E-book, Audio
256 Pages