I Saw You

Author: Julie Parsons

I got this book issued from British Library, Pune about a month back. I had never heard of the writer, nor the book prior to that, so deciding to read it was a pure experiment. I won’t say the experiment turned out to be a miracle, but yeah, it managed to occupy my mind in the way I prefer it to be occupied. The tag-line of the book says, “A past haunted by secrets.. A future filled with fear”. I know, sounds cliche and kind of depressing, but I thought I’d give it a go.

This is a story of a recently retired police officer and his search for clues behind a young girl’s death. Though the girl’s body is found with a suicide note, the girl’s mother is convinced that her daughter couldn’t commit suicide. She is devastated by the very thought of her child’s death and is helpless because no-one believes her when she says there is more to her daughter’s death than the suicide note. The retired police officer is compelled by his friend to look into the case, and though he initially feels its an open and shut case, the truth beneath a deep layer of lies and conspiracy reveals itself.

The retired officer is Micheal McLoughlin and he is compelled by his friend Jimmy to look into the case of Sally Spencer’s daughter, Marina’s death. Initially McLoughlin is reluctant to step into the case. He has learnt it the hard way, that grieving mothers are very tough to handle. And he knows this because about 5 years ago he got involved in the investigation of a similar case where he was trying to solve the case of Margaret Mitchell’s daughter, Mary’s rape and death. During the course of the investigation, his sympathy for Margaret and her helplessness at having to accept her young daughter’s brutal death had changed into a deep attachment. He had fallen in love with Margaret.

So much had he fallen for her, that even though he knew Margaret had a husband, he still looked out for her and cared for her. Margaret was so hurt by what had been done to Mary that she had hunted down the perverted man who had so savagely raped her daughter and then beaten her to death. Margaret had avenged her daughter’s death by killing her murderer, Jimmy Fitzimons. Chained him inside the barn of an abandoned house, with his mouse taped. Left to die of hunger and thirst. McLoghlin kad come to know about this, and even though he was the investigating officer on the case, his love for Mary had made him do the unthinkable. He had actually gone to where Jimy was tied, but instead of helping him, he had wiped off Margaret’s fingerprint from the tape and chain.

He had been through it once, and didn’t want the pain again. He didn’t want to get involved in the case of another grieving mother. He knew he couldn’t handle their constant beliefs that their daughter couldn’t die just like that. That there was more to know. But his friend had left him no choice.

While investigating her death, McLoughlin discovers many aspects of Marina’s life that even her mother didn’t know about. One by one, during a course of about 3-4 months from Marina’s death, people from her group of friends at school begin to die. While investigating, McLoughlin receives threats and unexpected obstacles keep arising which make him all the more convinced that somewhere something was terribly wrong.

I won’t reveal everything here, simply because I’d like you to discover it yourself. Quite an interesting read after all.