I must admit that Watching You was slow to start for me, but it didn’t take very long for me to get very wrapped up into these characters – all of which had major issues. There is a great deal of eluding to the fact that Tom may or may not have some inappropriate relationships with students over the years. Joey is uncomfortable living with her brother and sister-in-law because she just doesn’t get warm and cozy vibes from Rebecca. Joey is also struggling with a huge crush on time, all the while trying to ward-off Alfie’s desire to discuss and possibly start trying to have a baby. Jenna’s mom is completely nuts, her friend Bess is being weird, and then there’s Freddie… Oh, Freddie, what a strange little stalker you are! This child creeped me out from beginning to end, despite some later insight into his behavior. If he wasn’t watching people out of the window or opening the window to listen, he was following a girl all around town and secretly buying her clothes. The child needed help.
However, all of the craziness and chaos results in a wonderfully suspenseful novel! Unfortunately, I was about 95% sure “whodunnit” much earlier than was revealed, but this one still had me completely addicted until the very last line. Told from multiple points of view, Lisa Jewell beautifully set the stage for suspense as she alluded to so many shady things going on from so many different characters. Out of the entire novel, there was only one character that I truly felt was a normal, well-adjusted, and good person that also remained so for the entire book. Everyone else appeared guilty or weird or untrustworthy at one point or the other from beginning to end.
The characterization in Watching You is incredible, however, it also makes several moments very cringe-worthy with Jewell’s honest and detailed writing. I will warn that there is some difficult narrative regarding bullying, but other than that, prepare yourself to be curious, excited, and eager as you rip through this very engaging, yet disturbing novel that stresses that we just because we think we know who someone is or what they’re thinking, doesn’t mean that we are even close to reality.
*Thanks to Atria and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
However, all of the craziness and chaos results in a wonderfully suspenseful novel! Unfortunately, I was about 95% sure “whodunnit” much earlier than was revealed, but this one still had me completely addicted until the very last line. Told from multiple points of view, Lisa Jewell beautifully set the stage for suspense as she alluded to so many shady things going on from so many different characters. Out of the entire novel, there was only one character that I truly felt was a normal, well-adjusted, and good person that also remained so for the entire book. Everyone else appeared guilty or weird or untrustworthy at one point or the other from beginning to end.
The characterization in Watching You is incredible, however, it also makes several moments very cringe-worthy with Jewell’s honest and detailed writing. I will warn that there is some difficult narrative regarding bullying, but other than that, prepare yourself to be curious, excited, and eager as you rip through this very engaging, yet disturbing novel that stresses that we just because we think we know who someone is or what they’re thinking, doesn’t mean that we are even close to reality.
*Thanks to Atria and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.