Joe Goldberg, the protagonist of You and Hidden Bodies, has made his way to a quiet island in the Pacific Northwest. He’s a little older, a little wiser, and a little sadder, but he lands a volunteer job in—of course—a library. And then he meets her: Mary Kay DiMarco. She’s a LIBRARIAN.
But MK, as Joe refers to her, isn’t your typical librarian. She’s a short-skirt-wearing, fighting-with-her-teenage-daughter, flirty goddess, who is also a little older than Joe’s past, umm, relationships. He must have her. And she seems pretty into him, too.
This time, Joe is different. He’s not going to do anything impetuous. He wants happily ever after and it seems like MK wants it, too. There is the matter of her daughter, of course. And Phil, her aging rockstar husband. But Joe isn’t going to let that stop him. There’s too much riding on him following the right path. (As if.)
You Love Me is one of those books for which you need to read the prior books first in order to understand what’s going on. (I don’t watch television so I don’t know if watching the You series is enough of a catch-up.) If you’ve read the previous books, you know Joe is freaking crazy, and if anything, he may be crazier in this book than ever before.
While Caroline Kepnes gives you a different side of Joe in this book, it is such a slow burn that I just didn’t love it, despite the craziness and the twists that came later. I don’t know about you, but thrillers need to thrill me the whole way through. Anticipation is cool, but don’t make me wait too long for payoff.
Still, Kepnes has done a masterful job of creating an evil, crazy protagonist you can’t help but root for in a way. (Of course, picturing the face of Penn Badgley, who plays Joe in the television series, doesn’t hurt.) I know some have loved this book, so if you’re a fan and haven’t gotten to it yet, immerse yourself again in the world of Joe...and get ready for Book 4!
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