Catherine McKenzie

When the game is deception, nothing is as it seems in this novel of cunning psychological suspense by the #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of I'll Never Tell. Do you want to play a game? Twelve years ago Jessica Williams escaped a cult. Thanks to the private detective who rescued her, she reintegrated into society, endured an uncomfortable notoriety, and tried to put it all behind her. Then, at an airport bar, Jessica meets a woman with an identical name and birth date. It appears to be just an odd coincidence--until a week later, when Jessica finds her bank account drained and her personal information stolen. Following a trail of the grifter's victims, each with the same name, Jessica gathers players--one by one--for her own game. According to her plan, they'll set a trap and wait for the impostor to strike again. But plans can go awry, and trust can fray, and as Jessica tries to escape the shadows of her childhood, the risks are greater than she imagined. Now, confronting the casualties of her past, Jessica can't help but wonder... Who will pay the price?

You Can't Catch Me

Briar's Reviews

You Can't Catch Me by Catherine McKenzie is an epic thrill ride that had me hooked at every word!

Catherine McKenzie is an author I stumbled upon and fell massively in love with (in reader fashion). The books Catherine writes are thrilling, engaging, fast paced, and always have me glued to the book. Now, this is only the second book I've picked up, but it was love at first sight (or read...). I ended up putting every book she has written on my Wishlist for my Kobo and lucky me... You Can't Catch Me came on sale! I scooped it up like any loyal reader, and then waited for the perfect time... Which was the other day! I had an appointment where I knew I was going to be waiting a while and knew I needed something to read. I was worried I'd lose an actual book so I brought my Kobo, which I could hide away in my purse when I wasn't glued to it. And... what did I do? Not lose it, thankfully, but completely binge this book. Did I intend to? No. Did I do it because the book was far too addicting for my own good? Yes. 

Now for the actual book: Jessica Williams is our lead. She escaped a cult years ago thanks to a private detective who worked to get many kids out of the crazy land she was forced to live in. Jessica finds herself a job, but unfortunately gets fired due to an interesting string of events. The lucky part? Her severance package was AMAZING. She becomes rich, which is pretty much everyone's dream. But, that doesn't go too well for her. 

She is ready to go on a trip and decides to take a break at the airport bar. There, she meets another woman with the exact same name as her! It's wild when she learns they even have the exact same birthday, down to the year! And just like that, she thinks she has another friend. THINKS being the key word. After this meeting, suddenly all of her personal information is stolen and her newly acquired money is completely drained. 

Now, Jessica is a strong cookie. This woman grew up in a cult that was pretty darn hard to live in. So what does she do? Decide to track this lady down, and every other Jessica Williams that this Jessica-Jerk screwed over. The game unfolds, and secrets are uncovered... And maybe, people aren't just what they appear to be...

The drama. The suspense! The mystery! W-O-W. I didn't see the ending coming, which is truly rare for me. I was ready to get up, jump around, and high five the author (who obviously was not in the same room as me, but virtual high fives are good too). The ending was such a great "twist" (I'd hardly call it that, but I don't have a better word at the moment), and made the entire book worth it. The end really fits the narrative and makes you just want to go "Yes... This was the only way to end it. Yes."

This book does have a lot of sad parts, mostly because of the whole cult thing. Cults can be dangerous, and the way Catherine describes Jessica 1's journey... it's tough. It will make you want to give her a hug. And then drama with Jessica and Jessica and Jessica and more Jessicas... What a thought! The whole title alone - You Can't Catch Me - should give you a good idea of the plot of this book. They are going to catch Jessica-Jerk, and there's going to be some difficulty in doing it.

Overall, this book is fantastic and is one of my top reads. Catherine McKenzie will continue to be one of my fave authors and I'm going to have to grab every book I can of hers. 

Five out of five stars. And a bonus sixth one!

Ioanna

A riveting new novel of suspense about a disgraced young journalist caught up in a grifter’s game, and the trail of identically named victims she uncovers, from the instant bestselling author of I’ll Never Tell and The Good Liar. Assumed identities. A con game. Unwitting victims. After being fired from her investigative journalism job for plagiarism, Jessica Williams is looking for a break from the constant press coverage. She decides to escape for a week to a resort in Mexico boasting no connections to the outside world. While waiting at the airport for her flight, she encounters a woman with the exact same name, who she dubs Jessica Two. Drawn together by the coincidence, they play a game of twenty questions to see what other similarities they share, and exchange contact information. A week later, Jessica returns home and discover that large cash withdrawals have been made from her bank account. Security footage from the bank confirms her suspicions—Jessica Two has stolen her money. She goes to the police, only to be told that the crime is a low priority. Frustrated, she meets up with a trusted old friend, Liam, who is an investigator. When the two Google “Jessica Williams,” they get thousands of hits—Jessica was the most popular girl’s name in 1990 and Williams is almost as ubiquitous as Smith. Convinced that this isn’t the first time this scam has been run, Jessica is determined to catch the imposter, and writes a Facebook post hoping to chase down some of Jessica Two’s other victims. When she gets a number of responses, she sets a plan in motion to catch the thief, encountering a string of identically named victims along the way. Then, the threatening messages start arriving. Filled with incredible twists and turns, You Can’t Catch Me is a tantalizing, character-driven exploration of how far people will go to get revenge.