Read June 17, 2020 – June 19, 2020
Julie Krause’s second novel, Sorry I Missed You, showed up on one of those “Coming Soon” book release emails last month so I put it on the Potential TBR But Not So Committed TBR That I Purchased It Already list. I hadn’t read her first novel, which was published last year, but I don’t look for authors that I recognize when I am trying to pick what I’m going to read; I typically care about the story more than the fanfare surrounding a name. The premise seemed interesting enough so I figured I would give it a shot – I downloaded it at a time I especially could use a pick-me-up and… well… it wasn’t entirely horrible.
What is it about?
Ghosts. Ghosting. Being ghosted. Finding out where ghosts come from and how to solve the problem of ghosts. That’s 100% not what it says on the back of the book but that’s sort of the gist of it. The story is set in Canada. A guy, Larry, inherits a house after a death in the family but there are tons of stipulations, including but not limited to: don’t go in the attic. The house is sort of known to be haunted and he makes the decision to convert the house to a three-unit rental, which he rents to three separate women who have all been ghosted by someone important in their lives.
Immediately after the tenants move in a mysterious letter appears. Most of the story is about them trying to figure out who the letter is to, assuming it’s probably from someone who ghosted them. An ended engagement. A broken friendship. A disappearing boyfriend. The three women form some quasi-friendship to get to the bottom of the letter and figure out what or who is haunting the house they share. Noises continually come from the attic and belongings go missing and you have to make sense of it while they do.
What does it have?
- Female Relationships
- Ghosts – the haunting kind
- Ghosting – the he’s just not that into you kind
- Short but effective commentary on the danger of social media
The story went along just fine although it never really hooked me. There were a couple of moments at the beginning where I said “hmm” to myself and once, about 70% through, I laughed. I didn’t entirely feel connected to the story or the characters and I can’t say I understood the purpose of the way the chapters were set up: the titles, the ghost drawings added at the start of most, and the insertion of the characters name, in bold, at the beginning of sections. These features didn’t appear to have any meaning whatsoever. Call it a personal preference but isn’t that the purpose of me writing this at all – to tell you whether or not it meets my preference and if I think you’d like it? There’s this one point where the narrator says, “Too bad how the end of something could ruin the beginning and middle of it,” and it stood out when I was looking at my notes so I could write this review… The end of this novel did exactly that.
Is it worth reading?
I’d say skip it if you feel my reviews resonate with you. If you feel like you vibe the same types of books that I do and you agree with a lot of what I have to say, don’t bother with this particular book. I’m not a harsh reviewer but I told you before you got here that I would be honest, so I can’t let you down. The beginning and middle didn’t hook me… the end made me wish I’d never started at all…
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Nicolena Reads 