When I Was You

June 15, 2020
Depressed, lonely Kelly Medina, the principal narrator of this clever psychological thriller from Garza (Play Safe), misses her son, Aaron, who’s away at college, and sees little of her emotionally distant professor husband, who prefers to stay near campus instead of their Folsom, Calif., home. One day, Kelly is surprised to receive a call from Aaron’s pediatrician about an appointment. When Kelly looks into this mistake, she discovers that the town is home to another Kelly Medina, who has an infant son. Kelly goes out of her way to meet this other Kelly, in whom she develops an unhealthy interest. Believing that the younger woman’s son looks remarkably like Aaron at the same age, she sets out to take charge of the baby’s upbringing. When the point-of-view shifts to that of the younger Kelly, the plot takes some murderous turns along the way to the unexpected ending. Through the skillful use of the second-person, Garza makes it tantalizingly unclear at times which Kelly is which. Fans of tricky tales of obsession and revenge will be well satisfied. Agent: Ellen Coughtrey, Gernert Co.