Watching You
Fiction
Atria Books
December 26, 2018
Advanced Reader Copy
336
Free from publisher
The instant New York Times and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the “riveting thriller” (PopSugar) Then She Was Gone delivers another suspenseful page-turner about a shocking murder in a picturesque and well-to-do English town, perfect “for fans of Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train, and Luckiest Girl Alive” (Library Journal). Melville Heights is one of the nicest neighborhoods in Bristol, England; home to doctors and lawyers and old-money academics. It’s not the sort of place where people are brutally murdered in their own kitchens. But it is the sort of place where everyone has a secret. And everyone is watching you. As the headmaster credited with turning around the local school, Tom Fitzwilliam is beloved by one and all—including Joey Mullen, his new neighbor, who quickly develops an intense infatuation with this thoroughly charming yet unavailable man. Joey thinks her crush is a secret, but Tom’s teenaged son Freddie—a prodigy with aspirations of becoming a spy for MI5—excels in observing people and has witnessed Joey behaving strangely around his father. One of Tom’s students, Jenna Tripp, also lives on the same street, and she’s not convinced her teacher is as squeaky clean as he seems. For one thing, he has taken a particular liking to her best friend and fellow classmate, and Jenna’s mother—whose mental health has admittedly been deteriorating in recent years—is convinced that Mr. Fitzwilliam is stalking her. Meanwhile, twenty years earlier, a schoolgirl writes in her diary, charting her doomed obsession with a handsome young English teacher named Mr. Fitzwilliam… In Lisa Jewell’s latest brilliant “bone-chilling suspense” (People) no one is who they seem—and everyone is hiding something. Who has been murdered—and who would have wanted one of their neighbors dead? As “Jewell teases out her twisty plot at just the right pace” (Booklist, starred review), you will be kept guessing until the startling revelation on the very last page.
Another riveting, page turner of a novel from Ms. Jewell! Before my review, I would like to point out my favorite book from this author, that is not in the same style as her most recent work. If you enjoy her writing, and are open to a more character driven plot, please pick up The House We Grew Up In! As much as I enjoy her latest books, this one is still my favorite. Now on to this review. The title of this one is spot on! Throughout the story, there are multiple people all watching others. The crazy mom who thinks she is being stalked, the young teenage boy spying on girls of interest in the neighborhood, and even the newly married woman who can't seem to stop watching the new school admin. We know right from the beginning that someone is murdered, and then the story goes back and gives us the details of how we got there. I loved the snippets of police interviews thrown in as the reader is trying to make up their mind 'who dunnit'. The writing is crisp, the chapters are short and broken up into various characters telling their story, and there was a twist at the end (of course). I have to say that the end was the only thing that didn't work for me. It was a bit too convenient that things fell into place the way they did, but I honestly didn't mind because the rest of the book was engrossing enough to overlook such a small fault.
Another winner from Lisa Jewell, this one will keep you guessing until the very end. Definitely an author who can write engrossing material no matter what genre she is in.
