Janet, an office cleaner in Manchester, lives a quiet, sad life full of guilt over the tragic accident that killed her little girl years ago. If I Let You Go by Charlotte Levin is a deeply moving and gripping portrayal of a woman coming to terms with loss. The main characters were well developed and believable; I particularly empathised with the main character, Janet. If I Let You Go is a story that quietly worms its way under your skin, gradually revealing the details of its protagonist’s life. I felt so heartbroken for poor Janet for everything she'd dealt with and all the things she was still dealing with and I needed to see her make her life better.

Mia and Robbie were vacuous and the fast and furious dynamics between the couples seemed inauthentic given the circumstances of how they all met. The main character, Janet, was completely flawed, and her actions were just not right, but she was a grieving soul, so vulnerable, and I had so much empathy for her from the get-go.

Her debut novel is one of my all time favourite books and so when I heard she had written a second book, I knew I had to read it. As for the ending, it couldn’t have been more perfect; quietly teasing before finishing on the gentlest, most satisfying of flourishes.

I absolutely loved Charlotte’s debut novel If I Can’t Have you, so I was excited to read this new story If I Let You Go. Janet is famous overnight, and it might just be her way of getting out of her mundane, and somewhat claustrophobic life with Colin.

She becomes embroiled in a series of events where she makes some questionable choices, led by both her grief, a bout of memory loss and influences both good and bad, she is left with a huge choice to make. There is no doubt in my mind that Charlotte could be the next “Mistress of Misery” or “Dame of Dysfunction” because she creates the most incredible characters and puts them in situations that make my sphincter clench! One day Janet finds herself thrust into the spotlight after saving a celebrity chefs daughter from the wreckage of a train crash - she sees this as her chance to start over and finally be forgiven. When Janet wakes in hospital with a head injury, she is thought to have been involved in a serious train crash.

At its heart, this is a poignantly sad story, but it is told with such humour and warmth that one cannot help but enjoy every nuance drawn through the perfectly written prose. Janet’s character was flawed , but I could totally understand why and I was really rooting for her the whole time , her husband Colin is an abuser in the form of coercive control and mental abuse , I found his character sickening, he was a disgusting human being .

She can remember little of the evening, but footage emerges of her helping to rescue the daughter of a local celebrity.