Please See Us - by Caitlin Mullen (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Winner of the 2021 Edgar Award for Best First Novel

This "beautifully written, thoughtful page-turner" (Chloe Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Immortalists) set in Atlantic City blends noir suspense, a missing persons mystery, and female friendship into a haunting, literary page-turner, as two young women become unlikely friends during one fateful summer when mysterious disappearances hit dangerously close to home.

Summer has come to Atlantic City, but the boardwalk is empty of tourists, the casino lights have dimmed, and two Jane Does lie hidden in the marshland behind the Sunset Motel. Only one person knows they're there.

Meanwhile, Clara, a struggling boardwalk psychic, gives tarot readings to make ends meet--until she begins experiencing disturbing visions that feel all too real. As reports of missing women spread through town, Clara suspects her clairvoyance may be tied to the growing danger. When she meets Lily, a former Soho art gallery assistant now working at a nearly abandoned casino spa while grappling with personal loss, the two form an uneasy bond. Together, they begin to uncover a pattern--but getting too close to the truth may put them directly in harm's way.

This "heartbreaking...riveting thriller" (Paul Harding, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Tinkers) explores the intersection of womanhood, power, violence, and survival, as two women confront buried truths and risk everything to stop a pattern of disappearance before it claims another victim.

Review Quotes

"Please See Us is riveting, the rare book that unpacks and deplores violence against women even as it depicts it. In Caitlin Mullen's hands, everyone has a voice, and the dead speak as loudly as the living. Please See Us is a beautifully written, thoughtful page-turner, as well as a tribute to the women-- not just victims, but full human beings--who so frequently go unseen."--Chloe Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Immortalists

"Please See Us is so good I don't even know where to start - it's brilliant and it's dark; it's heartbreaking and it's defiant; it's a riveting thriller and it's a literary gem. Here are true, beautiful portraits of girls and women whose lives might well otherwise pass by without notice, without proper human value. Caitlin Mullen brings us those lives magnificently- with subtlety, compassion, and utter dignity. This book is a stunner."--Paul Harding, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Tinkers

"A dark literary thriller about women who slip through the cracks. Disturbing, powerful, important."--Robyn Harding, international bestselling author of The Arrangement

"A dark, gritty, and cathartic debut with well-developed characters and a compelling plot that will appeal to fans of Attica Locke, Lou Berney, and Jennifer Hillier."-- "Library Journal (starred review)"

"At last, a 'woman in peril' thriller that doesn't involve a handsome, psychopathic husband. What Mullen's debut gives readers is a wrenchingly detailed, utterly credible story of women whose peril comes from poverty, either a slow slide or a sudden slip. Brilliant [...] Mullen builds almost unbearable suspense."-- "Booklist (Starred Review)"

"Confronting us with the darkest part of the city, Mullen beckons readers not only to see the women she writes about, but to really look at them and their stories. She writes with an unflinching eye... [her] prose is so beautifully rendered and her pace so careful that you almost forget there is a mystery at the book's core. Mullen is a bright new talent, and I was constantly in awe of the fact that this is her debut; she is so skilled and so cadenced, with every word chosen with the care of a poet. I foresee a long career for her, and I cannot wait to find out where she turns her literary eye next."-- "Bookreporter"

"Exceptional... Readers won't be able to stop turning the pages of this heartbreaking story as it touches on prostitution, drug abuse, and the fates of women who go unseen. Mullen is definitely an author to watch."-- "Publishers Weekly (starred review)"

"Finally, the Atlantic City mystery we've all been waiting for!"-- "CrimeReads"

"Kudos to Caitlin Mullen, the next big voice in crime fiction, on this gripping, innovative and finely written thriller. Please See Us takes the reader on a tense journey through the crumbling, seedy casinos and boardwalk of Atlantic City. Try to put this book down. You won't be able to." --Susan Scarf Merrell, author of Shirley

"Mullen's style is subtle, flowing... unexpected and well-rendered. A lyrical, incisive, and haunting debut."-- "Kirkus Reviews"

"The voices of the dead tell the unhappy story of Please See Us, Caitlin Mullen's spellbinding debut novel about a series of murders in Atlantic City."-- "The New York Times Book Review"