REVIEW: You Love Me by Caroline Kepnes

You won’t see this coming. You, who followed Joe for so long. Documenting his every move. Watching. Waiting. Listening. Keeping tabs on his every indiscretion. You, the one who let him in. You never expected this.

You Love Me is the third instalment in Caroline Kepnes You series, which has a Netflix adaptation of the same title. This thriller follows the intense observations of the mysterious and bookish Joe Goldberg, who becomes fixated on a series of women to the point of obsession.

Joe has always seen his behaviour as chivalrous, rather than manipulative, and welcomed by social media which has become a platform where he is encouraged, in a way, to take a peek into the lives of the individuals who choose to post online. This is the way he rationalises every intrusive decision he makes – the information is there, so why wouldn’t he utilise it?

Caroline Kepnes (Photo by Ace Photography)

For returning readers, the third novel sets itself apart from the previous two, as Joe appears to have matured. How, you may be asking? Simple: Joe has grown emotionally. Does he still have the same self destructive and controlling tendencies? Yes, indeed he does, but not to the same degree. He has learnt from his dark and unsavoury past. He is more forgiving, more understanding, more patient. Well, at least he is trying to be.

After moving away from the city, and into a small town in the Pacific Northwest, Joe finds himself a job at the local library. It is here where he meets Mary Kay, a librarian and his incognizant soulmate. In the beginning he tried not to get too involved, to not to get ahead of himself – he wants to do things right. He will win Mary Kay over the old fashioned way, by being the nice guy, the shoulder to cry on, the friend.

This is a nice change of pace from the previous books, which were gripping in their intensity but also only scraped the surface of Joe’s psyche. This instalment continues the internal conversations Joe has with himself, wherein he has developed more of a moral compass, showing a large degree of character development. Although this book does not reveal as much about his past as you would expect, it does focus on Joe’s current development into a less destructive and resentful character. He sets out to find true happiness, but his past corners him at every turn. Nevertheless, Joe is more invested in the long term game and is willing to wait, something that was not an option in the previous books.

Further, one of the most interesting twists is that Joe himself has the opportunity to feel what it’s like to be stalked. To be constantly watched. His social media is being tracked. Someone is following him and always seems to just turn up wherever he goes. Following, waiting, taking notes. This new dynamic where the predator becomes the prey attempts to make you almost feel sorry for him. I did think it was interesting for Joe to realise what it must have felt like for all those people that he himself had watched.

Conversely, Mary Kay is also different from the other women Joe has been involved with previously. She is older, she is responsible, she is good at reading people the way she reads books, she is level-headed. She cares about her job, she cares about her friends, and of course she cares about her daughter. Mary Kay also provides an insight into her own mind – what she thinks of Joe and why she makes the decisions she does. There are points where she can see through Joe just as well as he sees through her, which is interesting and provides another angle for the narrative to progress with more tension.

Inevitably it all comes down to choice: the ones Joe has to make, the ones made for him, and the ones he made in the past which have ultimately decided his future for him. Find out for yourself in You Love Me …

—You Love Me by Caroline Kepnes (Simon & Schuster Australia) is out now.

You Love Me

by Caroline Kepnes

Joe Goldberg is done with cities, done with the muck and the posers, done with Love. Now, he's saying hello to nature, to simple pleasures on a cosy island in the Pacific Northwest. For the first time in a long time, he can just breathe.

He gets a job at the local library – he does know a thing or two about books – and that's where he meets her: Mary Kay DiMarco. Librarian. Joe won't meddle, he will not obsess. He'll win her the old fashioned way . . . by providing a shoulder to cry on, a helping hand. Over time, they'll both heal their wounds and begin their happily ever after in this sleepy town...

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About the Contributor

Renae Adolfson