I See You - Gregg Hurwitz

I See You gets off to an intriguing start when a writer of detective fiction finds himself enmeshed in his own murder-mystery, accused of the murder of his ex-fiancée. The only problem is Drew Danner can’t remember killing her, since he was struck down by a brain tumour at the scene of the crime, and was found unconscious beside her dead body, up to his elbows in her blood. The court are unable to prove the case either, but when another copycat killing occurs shortly after his release from custody with evidence leading back to him, he’s dragged back in for questioning and doesn’t have the excuse of a brain tumour to save him this time.

Suffering a blackout and memory loss on the scene of his ex-girlfriends murder isn’t the only improbable coincidence in the story, as Drew attempts to clear his name with the help of the inside sources and criminologists that he often turns to for research for his novels. Despite this, the occasional authorial delve into LA detective philosophising at the state of the world (which can be excused on account of the narrator being a writer), and some fears that the novel will head in the direction of the easy suspects it sets up through overly convenient leads that arise, I See You remains a taut and exciting thriller throughout.

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