I took to reading this book without a fraction of idea who Clare Mackintosh is, what her book is about, and which words would best suit for the potential apology I would need to send to the person who recommended this to me. One look at the front cover (which screams YOUNG ADULT CONTEMPORARY in the loudest manner) activated my don't-read-the-synopsis, don't-check-the-ratings, don't-read-the-reviews warning systems on red alert. I have nothing against the subgenres under young adult fiction, especially contemporary, but we all have our own reading preferences, and mine do not touch young adult as much as they did in the past. The only exceptions I risk are recommendations from people I respect--and a lot of good it did so far this year! And with this book I See You by Clare Mackintosh (which I gathered later to be an adult thriller as I read on, thank goodness) I am grateful that I had decided not to sit this one out despite the horrible thoughts that ran through my head at my first glance at the book. 
 After all, one must not judge a book by its cover, right? 
 Let me start with what stood out to me: the prose. Whoever this Clare Mackintosh person is, I hope she's young and healthy enough not to die soon; that she never sets foot on a dangerous place; that she eats properly three times a day (hell, more than three if she pleases so); that some of the goodness in the world would come in her way. She's that important in literature. Normally, a first-person point of view thriller puts me down; I don't like staying inside a character's head because they manipulate you into thinking various things. I give in, however, the moment I discover that the prose is blasting. To hell with a caged-up point of view, right? Dive in to the beauty of the words. Thrust those arms, pump those legs. Swim to its bottom and feel the music of the words on your senses. This occasion is a rare gem; Clare Mackintosh and her writing skill is a rare gem. 
 She's British, thank you very much, which means she loves semi-colons and knows where to place them. Where other writers confound their readers with their long, shaky sentences owed to resorting to a comma-spree, Mackintosh took it to herself to spare her readers the waste of time to reread sentences when they don't make sense by using semi-colons in times of complex lines. Considerate of her; don't you think? She abducted a lot of semi-colons and murdered a lot of commas for the common good of everyone. But mind that she knows when to keep an Oxford comma for a particular sentence and when to dump it with the rest of her kills--she's a badass. 
 I am a huge escapist reader; I read not for the unraveling of meaning in life, but for the resolute pleasure it gives me. I don't care if a story does not contain a social commentary, a hidden message, a life-altering lesson; all I seek is fun, fun, fun. I See You proves to be one of those exceptions. It talks about family, public transport, dating sites, porn addiction, phones, social media and the lack of privacy nowadays--all interwoven in a suspenseful, a-breath-of-fresh-air story line. This book does not go gentle into the good night concerning technology and its slaves; it rages in the dying light of our generation's sense of awareness around the world; and also, it sends a chill up my spine--the notion that while I'm surrounded by people in a public area, I'm not really safe from harm because someone I can't see may be watching me, plotting my demise. Thank goodness I don't live in a place where I have to take a train to travel. For people in Metro Manila who commute via MRT and LRT, you might want to read this. 
 "'They're so stupid. Commuters. You see them, every day, oblivious to the world around them. Plugged into their iPods, staring at their phones, reading their papers. Taking the same route every day, sitting in the same seat, standing on the same spot on the platform.'" 
 One of the major themes in the story is moving on; that is, what it costs to be able to forget the past and get on with one's life. Lexi Swift and Cathy Tanning are two characters that stood out to me the most. The former is a rape victim, while the latter is stalked in the story. Both withdraw from their respective cases, deciding that the tragedies they went through were enough to let reporters, court hearings, and the hopelessness of it all add up to their already messed-up lives. At the beginning I found it difficult to understand this; then a character in the story said:- 
 "'Offenders, coppers, witnesses, victims . . . there's one common thread running through them all . . . and it's that no two people are the same. Every victim deals differently with what's happened to them; some are hell-bent on revenge, others want justice, some are looking for closure, and some . . . some just want to move on.'" 
 I See You by Clare Mackintosh doesn't cut like a knife; it cuts like a blade in a series of slow, two-inch deep runs along the skin, so that it will not kill you--just torture the fuck out of you. Five stars!