Watching You, a review by Joanna

posted in: Joanna, June, Thriller | 0

Watching You

Lisa Jewell

320 pages

Published 2018

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Watching You is a gripping domestic suspense story set in Bristol, England, about a young woman whose crush on her older neighbour threatens her marriage and more. I’d only read one of this author’s previous novels, years ago, but glowing reviews of her more recent offerings pop up all the time in my Goodreads feed, so I was happy to find this in a holiday park book exchange and ended up finishing it in a couple of sittings.

Charming slacker Joey Mullen, still unmoored by the death of her mother several years ago, has returned to the UK after working in a Spanish resort for several years. With a handsome husband in tow, but no prospects or money, they have moved in with her successful brother and his pregnant wife while they find their feet. Joey develops an unhealthy obsession with Tom Fitzwilliam, the handsome headmaster from next door, but doesn’t realise that different people are watching them, until there is a shocking murder.
The trope of the mystery victim in a crime novel has become ubiquitous in recent years, but would probably have still been relatively unusual when this was published in 2018. Working out who’s been killed and why is more interesting and surprising than who the perpetrator would turn out to be. This had plenty of characters – most unlikeable, and various subplots, but also various possible triggers for those sensitive to them. Despite this I was gripped and enjoyed the way it all played out, so will be looking for more from Ms Jewell.

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