Catch You Later – A Thriller That Fails To Thrill

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My Review of Catch You Later

Why I Picked Up Catch You Later

I wanted to read a thriller after reading so many feel-good beach reads. Reading the blurb, I thought this might inject some adrenaline into my blood. A woman who said – Catch You Later – then disappeared into the sunset had the theme of missing person written all over it. Friendship embedded in a story was something I valued in a book. I was keen to explore the dual emotions of desperation to find a friend Mikkie and the deep bond of friendship.

Though I didn’t like the cover, but the title more than made up for it.

Themes, Plot, Writing

The plot arc of a Missing Person was done up well, where the writing left hints of how much Mikki would regret this decision of leaving her workplace with a stranger and how Lark would spend years cursing herself for not having done enough to stop her best friend. I loved the crumbs the author left at the end of each chapter initially. They pulled me right into the story.

Written in dual timeframes of 2016 and 2024, I could get to see the story from both their eyes, which was a good point and a strong way to build curiosity in a reader. Then the story drifted away from the main theme with pages and pages of narration and nary a dialogue to break the monotony. How much could one read about Lark’s thoughts on the same topic?

On the other hand, Mikki’s conversations with the stranger who drove her away from the drudge that her life was nothing great. There was an attempt to add an air of mystery to the whole escapade, but the writing didn’t pull me in. No strength in the words, where most of them didn’t project the right imagery needed for a thriller.

Now, how would one end such a book with dual timelines which had left the theme of a thriller far behind and become more like a contemporary novel? You guessed it right. A predictable way.

Strengths

The initial few chapters of Catch You Later had a strong feeling of suspense and the atmosphere of impending danger. I had visions of Mikki being chained in a dark cellar. The words written in the prose appeared to have a darker connotation. The chapters that most retail sites allowed a reader to download as a sample were done well. Almost suspenseful, evoking sympathy for the girls they were and the women they would soon become.

But then…

Weaknesses

OMG. Too many to talk about in detail. I would say the decision to move away from a suspense and make it a literary fiction almost contemporary in its tone pulled me down completely. Many attempts were made to cast doubt on Lark’s testimony to the cops. But believe me, they were flimsy at best. I failed to understand why a small lie, which didn’t have anything to do with what happened to Mikki after she rode off with a stranger, became the cause of so much doubt. Even her fiance was on the verge of breaking up. There were many such lines which would work in a true thriller. But pages of rumination by Lark especially killed my enthusiasm for the book. It forced me to skim read, and even that took 5 days.

I went through the blurb after reading the book and realized it left hints of a suspenseful thriller. But on analyzing the individual words, I realized the beauty of it. There was actually no suspense in it, just left readers feeling there was a missing person story in it. Adding the author’s bio with book titles – all of which appeared to be thrillers – made me feel this book was one too.

But that was marketing. And not really what was in the actual book. Boring as heck was what I thought the book was.

Conclusion And Recommendation

Getting the book free? Read it if you don’t have any other books. Buying the book? Forget it, there are better ones in the market. Not a book I would recommend. Keeping it to 2 stars

Have you read this book? Did you like it? Let me know in comments.

Ever read a ‘thriller’ that left you anything but thrilled?

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