You Love Me by Caroline Kepnes
“Completely addictive, razor-sharp writing.” — Catherine Steadman, bestselling author of Something in the Water
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“Thank the reading gods that Joe Goldberg is back and just as seductive, dangerous, and witty as ever.” — Jessica Knoll, bestselling author of Luckiest Girl Alive
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When I read You by Caroline Kepnes, online stalker Joe Goldberg creeped me out so much. I stayed off social media for … DAYS. Maybe even a week! Can you imagine? But then, I realized I have a writing business to market, and so I steeled myself against online predators and went back out there. Now, while reading You Love Me (Random House), I just shook my head and said, “Oh, Joe, you scallywag!” And I kept turning pages and devouring this story.
In You Love Me, Joe’s got a house on Bainbridge Island — an island that’s a ferry ride from Seattle with a town that reminds him of Cedar Cove (Debbie Macomber’s novel series) — and he’s stalking someone new. Like his other obsessions, Mary Kay DiMarco is not exactly available. But unlike Beck from You, Mary Kay is one of the central figures in this small, tight-knit community — librarian, book club member, glue of her friend group. And though Love Quinn — from Hidden Bodies (book two) — cares for her twin, Forty, like a child, Mary Kay actually has a child. Nomi is a mysterious seventeen-year-old who’s got her own obsession: Dylan Klebold and the book Columbine. Joe’s got a lot of work to do if he wants to be Mary Kay’s boyfriend.
But wait a minute. Isn’t Joe in jail? And isn’t he still in love with Love Quinn?
YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS ANY PART OF THIS THRILLING SAGA
If you’ve read Hidden Bodies, you know that Joe was arrested and that Love probably had something to do with facilitating it. These dramatic antics are what make Kepnes’ series a page-turning must-read. It’s also why you can’t skip any installments of Joe’s story.
You Love Me is no exception. Again, we have Joe’s obsessive and close first-person point of view, expressed in his unique way, calling the object of his obsession “you” in his thoughts rather than using her name. This novel takes the same tone, uses the same character archetypes and signature antics from the previous books, and ups the ante on Bainbridge Island. Also multiplied are Joe’s literary and cultural references. I felt like I needed to read more books and watch more classic movies to fully appreciate all Joe’s inside jokes. However, it didn’t diminish the reading experience.
While I fear I might give away the plot if I tell too much, I can give you some words of advice:
1. If you haven’t started this attention-grabbing series, read these in order. Each book makes references to and carries over from the previous books.
2. The Netflix series, while it’s close in plot, isn’t a replacement for the books. I had to go back to Hidden Bodies to connect events in You Love Me because in between I watched season two and was thrown off.
3. If you weren’t morally comfortable with rooting for Joe Goldberg in You (he is a stalker and a killer after all), this novel will remind you there are even more heinous evils in the world. One Joe Goldberg may be tolerable in comparison. But not less creepy.
