Rating: 4.25⭐️

If I let you go follows Janet, a cleaner who has followed the same routine for years going to work and cleaning offices. Her and her husband Colin have been affected by something in the past regarding their daughter Claire. Janet is etched with guilt regarding whatever happened with their daughter. When a train crash happens and Janet is seen as the local hero for saving a little girl, her life begins to change.

I really enjoyed this book and really struggled to put it down. The short chapters made it such a fast pace read and I was constantly wanting to read more. This book had a slow paced thriller style to it which I really enjoyed and kept me on the edge of my seat at times. We find out something has happened to Janet’s daughter but we’re not made aware until quite a few chapters into the book which kept me hooked.

The characterisation in this book was absolutely fabulous, every character was so well developed and well rounded. I loved that there was such a wide range of characters in there too, Mary was such an annoying nosy neighbour. I adored Janet and she just seemed like such a lovely woman. She is a character I will think about for a long time. I really disliked Colin throughout and hated the fact that he was constantly punishing her for what had happened to their daughter.

There is a huge focus of trauma in this book and how it affects you on a day to day basis, the way it was explored was just fabulous. I really liked the ending and I’m glad it ended how it did because Janet deserved so much more. I also loved that it was set in Manchester/Salford🙌🏼

If I Let You Go by Charlotte Levin
Published by Pan MacMillan
Publication Date 2nd March 2023

No Spoilers

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I raced through this, desperate to find out how it would be resolved and it definitely didn’t disappoint. Dark, and compelling with a central character you will be willing onwards and upwards - I loved it.

I also enjoyed Charlotte Levins “ If I Can’t Have You” which was also darkly original and can only say I think this is even better.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advance digital copy to read and review.

‘If I let you go’ tells Janet’s story which on the surface can appear mundane as she trudges off to work cleaning offices. However, we are soon aware that all is not what it seems and her perfect house and perfect husband are a façade. The story slowly reveals Janet’s loss from eleven years previously and her supportive husband Colin isn’t quite as nice. The cause of Janet’s sadness is revealed (no spoiler here) and the reader cannot help but feel empathy and sympathy for Janet. An enthralling read from a unique perspective. Charlotte Levin is a great story-teller.

What a brilliant book! I went from feeling so sorry for Janet to her driving me mad, but the whole time she’s written in such a way that you still want her to be ok. From gaslighting & child loss to spiralling in a way that can’t be stopped, I felt gripped the whole way through.

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. This was an enjoyable read. I was invested in Janet's story and the novel explored difficult themes sensitively.

If I Let You Go - Charlotte Levin

I'm in awe of Charlotte Levin's writing - such beautiful prose - and a story that grabs you and doesn't let you go all the way through. A tragedy, a comedy, a mystery.... a masterpiece. I found myself rooting for Janet all the way through and think this would make an excellent TV/film adaptation. Lucky me I haven't read the author's first book so that's now on my list! Very VERY highly recommended!

Ever since I read If I Can't Have You I have been obsessed with Charlotte Levin and this book may be even better than her debut! It had everything the first one did and more!

The book started off with great promise about Janet and her cleaning. The storyline was a little slow as it detailed her life and how she got to where she was. The characters were engaging but frustrating. An ok read but thanks to NetGalley for an ARC.

Janet Brown spends her time cleaning offices, the cleanliness and neatness keeps her calm after suffering a terrible loss eleven years ago. When Janet finds herself involved in a train crash she makes a decision to be a hero and soon inspires everyone around her. But as events spiral out of control and confessing not an option she has to figure out what she's going to do and the truths she needs to face.
This was gripping its more of a character driven story than plot driven but that didn't make me like this any less. I felt so heartbroken for poor Janet for everything she'd dealt with and all the things she was still dealing with and I needed to see her make her life better. I love Charlotte Levins writing as she draws you in to the story and she's definitely made a fan out of me.

What an extraordinarily satisfying read!

Charlotte Levin not only confirms that she has more than one book in her, she also shows that she can produce an equally good one that has a different emphasis, not obsessive love but grief. However, both stories are nuanced and multi-layered, allowing the reader to join the dots on the wonderfully character-led novels.

In If I Let You Go we meet Janet, a cleaner, a wife and mourning the loss of her daughter eleven years previously. We peek behind the outward face of Janet to see how she navigates life as the day that would have been her daughter's eighteenth birthday.

The writer's ability to bring Janet to life when she is exactly the sort of woman that stumbles through life mostly unnoticed, is a real gift. As a result I found myself sharing Janet's anxieties when she is forced out of the shadows. As in her previous book the author creates a superb back-up of equally believable secondary characters to support the plot.

My favourite read of 2023 and I seriously hope that the author has other books ready for publication as I have found a new 'favourite author'

I’d describe this book as realistic fiction. The author has done an amazing job of creating imaginary characters and situations that depict the world and society. The characters focus on themes of growing, self-discovery and confronting personal and social problems.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words some text written has been typed in red and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Janet's 7-year-old daughter Claire died 11 years ago. Janet was driving and is consumed with grief and guilt, fueled by her abusive husband Colin. Janet lives a very small, insular, self-punishing life. On the anniversary of Claire's death, Janet rebels and is involved in a train crash where she saves the 8 year old daughter of a celebrity chef, thrusting her into the spotlight as a hero. But as events progress Janet struggles with her memories of what really happened. This is an extremely well-written, character-driven novel that had me rooting for the main character in her journey.

Janet Brown lives a quiet life. A cleaner who takes pride in her work and pleasure in small things. What leads her to make a break from her life?

It's evident fairly early in the story that there is a traumatic backstory to Janet but I really enjoyed the pacing of this and the way the full story was allowed to gently unfold.

Janet is such a great and relatable character - flawed & struggling but so much more than she initially believes herself to be.

As the story develops and we learn the full extent of the circumstances surrounding Janets past, I felt even more for her and boy did I want to slap her husband Colin! Though he is dealing with his own grief, his treatment of Janet and his emotional control of her was hard to read in places.

A really well written, believable story and you really could feel the weight of Janets grief and her guilt as she is pulled further into her rather unwitting deception.

I thought the ending was really fitting too. Will defintely be recommending this book.

Thanks to Pan McMillan for the chance to read an early copy

If I Let You Go by Charlotte Levin.

Beautifully written with a storyline that gripped me and didn't let go. I couldn't put it down and I didn't want to get to the last page.
I was really rooting for Janet , such a great character and enjoyed following her story.
This would make a great film or tv series.

Janet has been involved in a train accident, and has managed to help save the life of young child who was also on board. This child turns out to be the daughter of a TV chef, from a popular morning show, and all eyes are suddenly on Janet and her heroic act. But things aren’t all as they seem, as Janet grapples with memory loss, grief from a personal loss of her own eleven years prior, and her husband Colin, who…well. Isn’t husband of the year, that’s for sure.

This was a deeply human book, one that doesn’t shy away from grief. I found it very well written, and moving, and I really felt for Janet throughout the whole novel, rooting for things to become better for her. It’s a tale of loss and abuse, how the two can become terribly entangled, and how some situations can spiral away from ourselves.

An emotional story demonstrating how grief has impacted Janet and her life choices with an inability to stand up for herself. Easy to see how she got there but you are rooting for her to get out...

I really loved the beginning of this book, especially the intriguing first page, but as time went on it did become frustrating with the many hints that were being dropped, but very little revealed for a long time.

The story of course revolves around Janet and her behaviour is increasingly fascinating and troubling as events run out of control. Colin is equally interesting. He is full of contradictions, impossible to like, but clearly his hurt runs as deep as Janet´s but manifests in different ways. Yes, he's very controlling, but when Janet stands up to him he crumbles. He's really quite a pathetic figure rather than a monster.

The ending left me dissatisfied.. There were many loose ends that I'd have liked to see tied up, especially the final act of Janet's. Will she? Won't she?

I LOVED If I Can't Have You, so I was delighted to get approved for this one on netgalley. Once again I was not disappointed.
This story so cleverly pieces together, and I loved Janet's character and her bravery. I really felt for her throughout, as we gradually learnt more about her, her past and her trauma. Equally, I detested Colin, the other has done a brilliant job of making such realistic characters.

Janet Brown's life is small and quiet, and that's just how she likes it. After experiencing a terrible tragedy eleven years ago, Janet is living only in the most literal sense of the word. She cleans offices, visits her elderly father, and caters to her dominating husband, and she sees this as her penance for what happened all those years before.

But when Janet is involved in a train crash and saves the life of a little girl, it seems like fate has come full circle to offer Janet another chance at both life and redemption. As news of Janet's heroism spreads, things begin to spiral out of control, with TV appearances, crowdfunders, and celebrity friends. But all isn't as it seems: can Janet stop come clean and salvage the situation before it's out of her control for good?

I really enjoyed this novel, the second I've read from Charlotte Levin, who seems to have a real knack for writing flawed protagonists so that we are both horrified by their actions and rooting for them to come good. This one had my anxiety levels up for the whole ride, wondering how Janet was ever going to get the life she deserved after miring herself so terribly in untruths and discomfort. I loved the ending too (for a while I thought we were going in a different direction, and Janet deserved so much more than that - I'm glad she got it).

I can't wait to read what Charlotte Levin writes next.

Thank you to NetGalley, and to the publisher, for providing me with a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If I Let You Go is a character driven novel exploring the effects of grief on one woman. Janet Brown is still suffering from the grief of losing her 7-year-old daughter, Claire, 11 years ago. Living in a world where she has a lack of control and a marriage to an abusive husband, she finds comfort in cleaning. But after a train accident, where Janet loses her memory, all that changes. As she starts to work out what really happened, she struggles with the truth.

At first this novel started slow as it gave little hints here and there about Janet's life before the accident; however, after a few pages I couldn't put it down, as I wanted to know what had happened to Janet on the night of the accident and how she dealt with the turn of events afterwards. The prose is poetic and I felt so much sympathy and empathy for the life that Janet lives.

It deals with quite difficult topics throughout and while beautifully written, the tone and mood of the book is sad and heavy. This meant at times I felt like it was a difficult read. I do prefer my novels to be a bit more up-beat, so I'm not sure I'm the target audience for this novel. Having said that, I do want to check out Levin's first novel on the basis of reading this one.