I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Someone Like Me by M.R. Carey Published by Orbit on November 6 2018
Genres: Adult, Suspense
Pages: 500
Format: Finished hardcover
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: M.R. Carey once again proves how consistent a writer he is with his latest, a suspenseful, mind-bending novel full of realistically nuanced characters.
I’ve loved every M.R. Carey book I’ve read, and I’m happy to report that his latest is just as thrilling, strange and mind-bending as I’ve come to expect from him. Someone Like Me is very different from The Girl with All the Gifts, which is probably his most popular book, but for me that shows Carey’s range as a writer. Readers who like straight-forward plots and easily solved mysteries may have trouble with this book, because the mystery here is sometimes twisty and confusing, and even by the end I’m not sure I completely understood what had happened. But such is the magic of stories, and Carey’s ability to suck me in simply proves what a wonderful storyteller he is. My mind is still reeling from the events of this book, and believe me when I say this is very hard to classify. Part horror, part psychological suspense, part paranormal mystery, you can’t really pigeonhole this story, nor should you try.
The story is told—at first—from two alternating points of view (two additional POVs are eventually added). Liz Kendall is a divorced mother of two, struggling to pay the bills and living in constant fear of her abusive ex-husband Marc, who continues to have shared custody of sixteen-year-old Zac and six-year-old Molly. Fran Watts is also sixteen and is the survivor of an abduction when she was six years old. A disturbed man named Bruno Picota kidnapped her and held her in an abandoned motel for two days before police found her. And even though she wasn’t harmed, Fran bears the emotional scars of the event and has been having mental health issues ever since. The only thing that keeps her sane (ironically) is Jinx the fox, the imaginary friend she conjured after her ordeal with Picota. Jinx is unwavering in her devotion to Fran and becomes Lady Jinx, complete with armor and a sword, whenever Fran feels threatened.
When the story opens, Marc has just brought the kids back from their weekend visitation, but an argument between Liz and Marc escalates, and Liz finds herself fighting for her life when Marc reacts to something she’s said by grabbing her by the neck and trying to strangle her. Liz realizes she’s about to die, but before that can happen, an odd and forceful presence seems to take over her body, which compels her to grab a broken bottle and smash it into Marc’s face, giving herself just enough time to escape. This terrifying experience leads Liz to seek psychiatric help, and she winds up in the same waiting room as Fran, who just happens to have an appointment with Dr. Southern, the man who has been treating her since her abduction ten years earlier. This encounter will have long-lasting effects on both families, as Liz, Fran and Zac begin to realize that there is a dangerous intruder in their midst, a woman who shouldn’t be there at all, yet has the ability to ruin all their lives.
I realize that recap is pretty vague, and I’m going to try to keep my review as spoiler free as possible. I enjoyed discovering all the twists and turns without spoilers myself, and I feel this story is best experienced when you don’t know much about the plot. Carey’s story made me very uncomfortable at times, and I’m not even talking about the inevitable violence that crops up. His characters are excruciatingly human. They bully each other and throw insults around. They are weak and scared and often make the wrong choices. But they are also fiercely devoted to those they love and will do anything to help them.
All the characters are fighting demons of one kind or another, but Liz in particular gets my sympathy. She was in an abusive relationship for so long that she’s decided the only way to survive is to not make waves, to not make Marc angry, to not draw attention to herself or the children. She’s walking a very fine line, and although I wanted to scream at her in the beginning to “stick up for yourself already!” she does get her moment, and by the end of the story she’s become one of the strongest characters in the book. Carey really puts her through the wringer, though, and I loved her story arc, even though it was very painful to read.
Fran was probably my favorite character, simply because it’s hard to resist a damaged but spunky teen who has the self-awareness and maturity of an adult. Fran is pretty sure she’s crazy, because hey, she has a cartoon fox following her around! She’s also missing chunks of her memory, which scares her. For one thing, she can’t remember the details surrounding her mother’s death when she was eight, but she chalks it up to her mental illness. She experiences odd shifts in reality at times, like an object in the room will suddenly change color. She also notices there is something very wrong with Liz when she sees her for the first time, but it isn’t until later that she finds out what that is.
And then there is Jinx, who stole my heart from the beginning. Jinx, who is supposed to be nothing but Fran’s hallucination, but who was just as fleshed out and delightful as any “real” character. I had my suspicions about Jinx’s purpose in the story, but the reveal still gave me goosebumps. I also loved Zac, who is probably the only “normal” character. I think Carey used him to ground the story, as he’s not only the go-between for Fran and Liz, but he’s almost blissfully unaware of the dangers swirling around him.
As for villains, there are several in this story. Marc, of course, the nasty wife abuser who is a terrible person, but believe it or not, isn’t the worst one. Even Picota makes a brief appearance, but the winner of the nasty award goes to the “intruder” who I mentioned earlier.
This is a fairly long book, and I think some readers might complain that it’s too long and could be shortened in spots. There is a lot happening in the story, but I was so invested in finding out what the hell was going on that I could barely stop turning the pages. The ending was a bit over-the-top, but I felt as a reader I deserved it after everything Carey had put me through! My only criticism is purely personal: I thought the last few chapters should have been ordered differently. I wanted the book to end with the scene between Fran and Jinx, which brought tears to my eyes and would have been a punchier ending, but Carey chose to end it with a short scene between Liz and Zac. Which was still pretty good!
In the end, Someone Like Me will make you think hard about what’s real and what’s not. Carey touches on the theme of mental illness, but that isn’t the focus of this story. His characters may be mentally ill, but what they are experiencing isn’t clear cut at all. Are Fran’s and Liz’s minds playing tricks on them? Or are the things they’re seeing and feeling actually real? You may not get all your questions answered, but that’s OK. You don’t need all the answers to enjoy this well-written story.
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
Great review, Tammy. This one looks really good – I’m hoping to read The Boy on the Bridge before the end of the year – he’s a really interesting writer, isn’t he?
I absolutely loved The Boy on the Bridge, it might be my favorite Carey, enjoy!
This is on my list, so I am glad you enjoyed it. I have never read this author so I am curious. 🙂
This book is very trippy, but I loved it.
Hmm…I think I want to try this too. I listened to his Girl With All the Gifts on audio and wished I’d read it instead. I could tell that I’d have loved his writing. I want to read this one.
Zezee @ Zezee with Books recently posted…Halloween Creatures 2.0 Book Tag
I love his writing, and especially his characters.
I’m about to read this one, so it’s taking me everything not to peek because I want to go in with a blank slate. But I’m so excited you loved it! Space and Sorcery also gave it the same rating and it’s making me so pumped that everyone is raving about this book!
It was unique, that’s for sure! I’m looking forward to seeing your review:-)
Yes! Great review! So many good things about this one. I haven’t read his second one… but have it and need to sooooon!!
All his books are worth reading, especially The Boy on the Bridge and The Girl with All the Gifts. And I even loved Fellside, which was VERY different.
Cool!!
I was going to post my review of this today but forgot! Glad you loved it! I did think it was a tad too long, but I loved all the twists. Also, Jinx is THE BEST. 😀
Jinx needs her own book, lol:-)
LOVE MR Carey. He has a way of handling complexity in character that always draws me in.
He really does! His characterizations are so strong, I look forward to each new book:-)
Well done! I know how hard it is to speak about this book without revealing the crucial details that fuel it, but you managed it beautifully: I dare anyone not to be intrigued by the tantalizing glimpses you give about the story! 😉
And I agree with you, the ending would have been much more powerful if the scene between Fran and Jinx had been put there, instead of the more… watered-down peek at the mother-son exchange, but overall it was a fantastic read.
Thank you so much for sharing!
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…Review: SOMEONE LIKE ME, by M.R. Carey
Thank you Maddalena! I’m glad I’m not the only one who felt that way about the ending. I’m so curious whether it was the author’s decision, or an editor’s.
I’ve not read anything from M.R. Carey but your review has me very interested in giving him a try. It sounds like a powerful read.
Suzanne @ The Bookish Libra recently posted…Weekly Recap #76: Week of 10/28 -11/3
He’s such a good writer, and even though his books are on the strange side, his characters are wonderful.
Oooh, this sounds like exactly my type of book. Thanks for the review!
Knowing that we often overlap with our reading tastes, I can say you will probably love this:-)
Such a great book and so difficult to review – after I saw your Twitter comment I decided I couldn’t wait and I literally read this in two sitting. Boy is it compelling.
Lynn 😀
I can’t wait to read your review!
Ooh, twisty sounds fun, but I’d probably be frustrated by not really understanding what happened in the end. Then again some of my absolute favorite books are like that lol, so it’s also making me intrigued. The characters sound interesting too. Glad to see you loved this one!
I think he kind of lets the reader decide what they want to believe, at least that’s the way I interpreted it. I wanted Lady Jinx to be a something so I just decided she was, even though he doesn’t really come out and tell you.
Great review!
I’m planning to read this one at some point. Only read The Girl with All the Gifts by this author, but that was pretty good also 🙂
This is quite different from The Girl with All the Gifts, but I swear he can write anything:-)
Great review. I love your thought about the characters being “excruciatingly human” — so true! They’re flawed, and make some terrible decisions along the way, but that makes them feel real. You know a book is powerful when you worry about the characters after finishing the book, and I do really worry about these people! They’ve all now spent time at the place where bad things happen (being vague) — will it change them too? And I also loved Lady Jinx, and loved the explanation for who she is. Such a great book!
It’s one of my favorites of the year, I can’t believe we have to wait a year or more for another Carey book!
I wonder if there could possibly be a sequel… The main story is resolved, but there are still some unknowns left at the end of the story. Ij’d definitely like more!
I’ve enj0yed all his other books so am looking forward to this one. Glad to see you loved it. Curious about the mental health aspect of it
He did the mental health theme very well, I thought. And in typical Carey style, everything is not quite what it seems at first…
I love this title.
It makes sense when you read the book, too:-)
Ooooh, interesting!I just recced this today and thought I had an idea of what it might be about, but now I am not so sure…
It might surprise you…:-)