If I Can't Have You: A Compulsive, Darkly Funny Story of Heartbreak and Obsession

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One thing it does have in common with others of its purported genre is its readability. There is a creepy compulsiveness to the story, a sense from the start that things are going to go tits up. You just don’t know how and when. In this sense it shares something in common with Harriet Lane’s Alys Always which also features a woman insinuating herself into the lives of others. What makes this protagonist’s journey so seductive, however, is both its plausibility and its possibility. We might like to believe that Constance Little is none of us, but in reality she is all of us, for who can tell what lies around the corner of our lives, what particular synergy of experiences, or accidents of birth will presage the perfect storm towards tragedy? Jennifer went into the master bedroom. Despite the clutter, she noticed Susan's blue leather purse on a table by the foot of the bed. It contained her wallet, credit cards, and keys. There was no cell phone. The house was messy, but that was normal. There was no sign of forced entry or a robbery, home invasion, or struggle. Susan's red nylon snow boots, which she wore whenever she left the house, were in the living room. I really liked Constance and so many times I felt like reaching out to her. Bless her heart. The ending was satisfying though, and I can't give it any less than 5 stars. EM: What do you think? I mean we've talked quite a bit. What are you thinking? You thinking, where do you think she's … you think she's at a friend's house, think she's okay? Before Namey shot and killed Sarah and show and paralyzed Matt he'd been no stranger to police. A few highlights of his criminal career:

At 5:43 P.M. Josh called Susan's phone again to say he was in the parking lot of the Wells Fargo building where she worked and asked if she needed a ride home. Let's be clear here: the victims of Josh's horrific acts are Susan's family and her friends. Josh never was a victim, even though some might try to scapegoat his father for Josh's behavior. This is wrong. Though Steve is clearly an evil man and a horrible father and human being who deserves to spend the rest of his life in jail, Josh is wholly responsible for what he did. There are many, many cases of people who overcame massive personal struggles to become good and successful people. Josh obviously did not try to rise above his tortured childhood. He not only was a narcissistic, cowardly, monster, he reveled in his evilness. He chose to kill his entire family. Though his sister and father will doubtlessly keep trying to convince the media that Josh was the victim of a conspiracy by the media and the LDS church (which is, yes, just as ridiculous as it sounds), they are wrong. Josh was purely evil.Asked to relate the events of Sunday, a nervous Josh couldn't remember what Susan was wearing, and explained again how she had been tired and had laid down. Later she had gotten out of bed and they had hot dogs and watched The Santa Clause 2. Or maybe it was The Santa Clause 3. Braden had fallen asleep, so Josh took just Charlie sledding at a park near Whittier Elementary School, although in one version of his story both boys went sledding. When they got home, Susan was watching TV. Josh read the boys a story, then he began to clean the couch with his new Rug Doctor, a vacuum cleaning system he had spent several hundred dollars on a couple of weeks before.

This is a debut! But you would never know. The writing is flawless - some stunning sentences that showed an intelligent side to Constance that she was not credited for by her peers. Different but relatively enjoyable, IF I CAN'T HAVE YOU is the literary cross of "Fatal Attraction" and "Gone Girl" that is truly imaginative and compelling. Recommended though it may not be for all. Women do find the rape scenario attractive and appealing and exciting... women want to be raped by Robert Redford."

If I Can’t Have You is Charlotte Levin’s superb debut novel and is part thriller and part human interest story which is a smart and heart-breaking read. It poses the question: how far would you be willing to go for the one you love? So this is a story about obsession, grief and cruel manipulation. Constance has recently lost her mum to the big C (cancer, not covid) it wasn't pretty, and her young mind has been ruined by it. At first there was a sense of relief: Josh and Susan and the boys were not dead in their beds. But something was wrong.

But JoVonna Owings had seen the family. She'd been with them Sunday afternoon and would be critical to piecing together Susan's last hours.This character driven, dark story is told from Constance's viewpoint. Even though her behaviour was frenetic and disturbing and she clearly had some issues, it was difficult to not feel for her. The author cunningly made good use of this making me feel very torn, with mixed emotions. This is a raw and compelling story with many thrills and it is also one of deep provocation. If I Can’t Have You is a remarkable début. I would like to thank #CharlotteLevin, #Netgalley and #PanMacmillan for an ARC of #IfICantHaveYou in exchange for an honest review. My favourite character would have to be the irascible Edward. And his inscription in the copy of "Wuthering Heights" he gave to Constance for her birthday brought tears to my eyes... Jennifer called Kiirsi Hellewell, Susan's best friend, who lived down the street from the Powells. Kiirsi hadn't talked to Susan since Sunday, when they had walked home from church together. In some ways IF I CAN'T HAVE YOU was too literary for me as I prefer my thrillers to be rollercoaster rides of explosive twists and excitement. I guess a lot of this book missed the mark with me as I felt it was meant to be more of an exploration of sorts...into what, I'm not sure. But I can still appreciate part of the idea if not the entire concept.