Lisa Jewell's new book, Watching You, keeps the reader in suspense as they realize that no one is who you think they are and everyone is hiding something. The book is skillfully written and Jewell continues to unfold the story and keep the reader guessing until the very last page!
It took me a while to keep all of the characters and their stories straight, but I was hooked very quickly trying to figure out what was going on. Highly recommended!

*I received an advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 Stars

Watching You is not particularly suspenseful or thrilling, but more of an observational novel of a community told from the perspective of those that live there and who like to take community watch a little too far at times. It is slow building but the payoff is worth it.

It's told from three POVs, Joey, a mid-20s girl living with her husband at her brother's and sister-in-law's house, Jenna, a teenage girl who's mom suffers from paranoid delusions, and Freddie, an introverted teen who likes to take pictures of the people in his neighborhood from his window. Besides living on the same street, they are all tied together by Tom Fitzwilliam. He's head teacher at Jenna's school, Freddie's dad, and Joey's crush. Tom exudes a magnetism that draws people to him (like Joey) but can also make people suspicious of him (like Jenna).

As Joey, Jenna, and Freddy navigate changes in their lives things slowly start to unravel as past secrets revolving around Tom come to light. This is where Jewell's writing really shines. She throws in small details and some red herrings that you don't think much of until the climax when someone in their community is murdered. A few more twists happen before we discover the truth behind the murder and the past. It is a satisfying end that made the earlier lack of suspense worth it.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for my ARC of this book!

I am a huge thriller/suspense fan, but this is the first Lisa Jewell book I have ever read. The chapters are all narrated by different characters, none of whom I found particularly likeable. This, coupled with the fact that I thought I could see where the story was going, made it difficult for me to become invested in the book. I kept picking the book up and putting it down.

Jewell did a good job of tying everything together in the end, and although the book didn’t head in the direction I thought it was going to initially, I am sad to say I still didn’t love it. I didn’t hate it either, this story just wasn’t for me. Jewell’s writing was good though and I would be open to reading more of her books in the future.

With more twists and turns than San Francisco’s famed Lombard Street, WATCHING YOU by Lisa Jewell takes the reader hostage with a rollercoaster ride of a novel where everyone is watching everyone and no one is quite what they seem. This is a tale where stalking, sociopathy, devotion, secrets and betrayal play roles in the tangled plot and just when you think you have it all figured out you are blindsided by another development.

Jewell is at her page-turning best —not only providing an engrossing story but also examining the long lasting effects of the evils of bullying while taking a close look at Asperger’s and untreated mental illness and human nature in general. All of her characters are well developed and all of them are confronted by complications and obstacles, presenting an intriguing premise that completely involves the reader.

I like the author's writing style and the way she develops not only the story but the personalities and problems of each of her characters. Ms. Jewell gives you a clue here in there about what’s really going on but she doesn't disclose which parts you should be paying particular attention to.

WATCHING YOU is most definitely the ticket for lovers of well written and engrossing psychological thrillers that portray what happens when worlds collide.

Lisa Jewell usually delivers on her books and this one is no exception. I thought it started off slow and it had many POVS which can be annoying but eventually worked for the story. I was guessing up until about 75% when it clicked who did the murder but the remaining story was still good. She tied it up nicely.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

Watching You by Lisa Jewell is a creepy thriller that will make you feel genuine chills. At least, it did for me.

The story is about a group of very different people living in the Melville Heights neighborhood in Bristol, England. It’s an upscale neighborhood so while it’s perhaps not the place where criminal activity is expected, everyone sure has a secret. While there are several characters throughout the novel, there are four main ones: Tom Fitzwilliam, the local school headmaster that everyone seems infuriated with, including his neighbor Joey Mullen who develops an obsessive crush. Then there’s Tom’s teenaged son Freddie who adopts an odd hobby of spying on the entire neighborhood. Lastly, we have Jenna Tripp, who also lives on the same street, and she’s not convinced her teacher is as squeaky clean as he seems.

Sometimes when you read suspense novels, you can see right where the story will go. There’s been several novels where I’ve predicted how it will end fairly early on. Safe to say, that did not happen with story. Jewell definitely uses plenty of misdirection and when the reveals come, I was surprised. And that’s exciting! We want stories to take us on our ride and this one definitely does. The reveals come even at the very last page.

There’s lots of twists and turns that happen throughout this read and plenty to discuss. This is a great book club read.

This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love staying up late, finishing a Lisa Jewell novel. I was unsure who was responsible to the very end, I was engrossed with every turn and tangle. I really enjoyed the writing style and would high recommend this thriller of Lisa Jewell fans!!
Thank you for an advanced copy of this novel1

I love Lisa Jewell's writing - she is one of my favorite authors. I liked this book but didn't love it as much as I liked her previous book Then She Was Gone. This book was an interesting murder mystery but I figured out who done it way early on but I didn't figure out why or who was killed until it was revealed in the story. This book started out a bit slow for me as all of the characters were being introduced but it gradually took steam and I enjoyed seeing how the characters connect into the story. Excellent writing by Lisa Jewell. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book to review.

WOW, the ending of this book is not one I could have seen coming. Even as it started to unfold towards the end, I wasn't sure how it would all come together. The chapters jump back and forth between different characters narrating and there are some "official documents" in between some chapters so you get an inkling as to where it's going to end up but you can't quite get all the pieces to fit! This was a quick, page turning read!

Watching You by Lisa Jewell begins in Melville Heights in England, at a crime scene with a dead body and a red shoe tassle. We don't know who it is, why it happened, or what led up to this. But you will certainly find out.

The weeks leading up to the murder introduces many characters, that I seriously don't think I would want to call my own friends. Tom Fitzwilliam is the headmaster at the local school, his much younger wife, Nicola absolutely loves her husband, and their sometimes odd son Freddie. Freddie seems to be wise beyond his years and like to 'see' the goings on in the neighborhood. Next door, you have a heart surgeon, his wife Rebecca, who works from home, and their newly married sister, Joey with her husband also living there. Joey can be described as a hot-mess. Bring on Jenna, a student in Tom's school and her mom, who clearly has some mental health issues.

Even though the book starts with a mystery, we soon learn of the many secrets of each character. Some are secret crushes, some worry they are being stalked, there are secrets about situations adults and children should never be part of. Each person seems to be watching the other, waiting for the pieces and truths to be told, and when they do...it will surprise the pants off of you. It was a little slow in the beginning, but the pace picked up throughout the story.

I enjoyed this book. I would like to thank Netgalley and Atria Books for an ARC of this book.

20-something Joey is desperately trying to grow up - moving home with her new husband that she married on a bit of a whim, the newlyweds move in with Joey's successful husband and his aloof new wife. Joey soon meets the neighbors, including the respected school headmaster that lives a couple doors down. She is inexplicably drawn to him, which does not go unnoticed by his teenage son, Freddie. Thus begins a tangled web of neighbors watching neighbors, all with their own stories and angles...

I delved into this book and finished it within the weekend! It was definitely a new take on the classic, common psychological thriller that is ever-so-popular. Lisa Jewell found a way to tell numerous different stories from a point of view that oversees all. I was honestly wondering how all the characters would interact and come together when suddenly - they did. It was a slow burn kind of read, one that draw you to the flame and keeps you up and interested. I truly enjoyed the surprising end, and I only discovered the "who did what" a few pages before it was actually revealed in the novel.

Excellent read for anyone that loves a psychological thriller with a bit of romance from a full cast of characters.

It was gripping story. Even though there were a lot of characters to remember the story comes together. I am a true fan of this author and can't wait until her next book comes out.

4 stars.*

This is the second Lisa Jewell book I've had the pleasure of reading, and I have to say...I really enjoy her writing style. I enjoy psychological thrillers in general, but I'm stingy with my ratings unless a book truly surprises me. Watching You definitely kept me guessing right up until the afterword. This one earns a full four stars.

Watching you is a story that takes place in Melville Heights, an upscale neighborhood of Bristol, England. It is the story of neighbors living in the idyllic painted Victorian homes at the peak of the village.

It contains a cast of interesting characters:

Tom Fitzwilliam-the headmaster of the local school, brought in to turn things around. He's either utterly charming and truly wants the best for the students or he's abjectly grooming young girls for his own despicable desires. He's bright, good-looking, and radiates sexual heat to women of all ages.

Joey & Alfie are unsettled, MIllennial newlyweds living 2-doors down in the home of Joey's successful older brother Jack and his pregnant wife, Rebecca. Joey develops an infatuation with Tom after running into him at the neighborhood pub and after a few drinks, she attempts to seduce him. He deflects her attention, but somehow maintains an air of flirtatiousness and encourages her crush.

Tom has a beautiful, enigmatic wife, Nicola, and an odd teenaged son, Freddie, who sits and looks out of his upper-story window, taking photos and writing the "Melville Papers" about his neighborhood observations. Is his behavior innocent or menacing? Is his interest in the teenaged girls (students at Tom's school) the normal wishful watching of a socially awkward kid, or is he dangerous?

Add a few well-crafted side characters, and you have a really terrific, gripping thriller. I will certainly recommend this one to my fellow psychological thrillers.

*With thanks to Netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.

I’ve read a number of Jewell’s books in the past, and I’ve always loved them, so I was excited to have the chance to read an ARC of her upcoming release. Sadly, I was disappointed.

I found the beginning extremely slow, and I just couldn’t get into it or connect with the numerous characters. I thought it’d get better as I read on, but it didn’t. There was certainly a creep factor to it, but it just wasn’t enough to change my initial impression. A lot of themes are covered, including obsessions, dysfunctional families, bullying, and an abusive marriage. It felt like a bit too much was going on to do some of them justice. By the end, I didn’t even really care whodunit. Though I was disappointed with this one, I’ll still check out future books by this author.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy, but I wasn’t required to leave a positive review.

Lisa Jewell does it again this time with a psychological thriller. Joey and her husband move in with her brothers and his wife in Melville Heights . She becomes attracted to their next door neighbor Tom Fitzwilliam . Tom is the charismatic headmaster at school with a wife and son . This book cleverly weaves the teen characters from the school with the adults in the story .Lots of twists and secrets and past coming to play in the present makes this another page turner by Lisa Jewell

I am a huge fan of Lisa Jewell's books and this one did not disappoint. Lots of plot twists, lots of unpredictable characters, and lots of intersecting story lines. While none of the characters are especially likeable, they are captivating and engaging. This is a mystery not to be missed.

Thank you NetGalley, Lisa Jewell and Atria Books for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Melville Heights is the nicest area in Bristol and where everyone wants to live, not the sort of place where people get murdered. Everyone in the area has their own secrets and someone is always watching. Tom Fitzwilliam is loved by everyone, especially his neighbor Joey who becomes infatuated after a choice encounter. Jenna Trip, one of his students lives in the same area and is not convinced that Tom is as clean as he appears. Jenna’s mother believes he is stalking her, but her mental health has been worsening over the years, so no one believes her. Tom’s son Freddie is an aspiring spy and has been observing things that people would rather people not see.

I loved the way Lisa wrote this novel from every characters different perspectives and even the interviews from the police officers of the characters. I loved most of the characters and the different struggles that they were going through and what lead them to this specific point of their lives. Every character is so different from the last and each one has a different story to tell, but what I loved about the novel is how each story feels equally important. I loved how everything starts to tie together the further into the novel you get and how every character’s life, the killer has impacted in some way.

I loved that most chapters gave us a little more insight into what was going on and how you knew whose voice was telling us chapter without anything to tell you because each character had such a distinctive voice. I really enjoyed the lead up to the ending and how you start to guess who it is that has committed this crime, only to find out that you have been wrong all along and have judged certain characters unfairly. I really didn’t see the ending of this novel coming and was pleasantly surprised by the different ending. I would definitely recommend this one!

Out December 26th!

Okay, maybe it was just me but I guessed whodunnit around 40% of the book and I just read the rest of it cos I wanted to confirm my guess. This book was tagged as a psychological suspense, it did a good job of doing the psychological part, not good enough for the suspense part.

Melville Heights is a nice neighborhood in Bristol, England. There are watchers everywhere, so who is watching who and what does everyone see? Tom Fitzwilliam is a school headmaster and someone that everyone loves - he's good looking and charismatic, and someone that everyone is attracted to upon meeting him. But is he really all that he seems? People are seemingly obsessed with the guy!

This is another story where everything is not exactly as it seems. We have the point-of-view of various people living in Melville and they all see things a little differently.

A police investigation and the corresponding interviews are intermingled in the chapters, as we (the readers) are presented with what went on in the previous few months. There was also an event that happened 20 years ago that many of the people in Melville seem to remember. Is it a coincidence that they all end up living here?

It was a little hard to get a handle on all the different characters, but once I did I found the story very intriguing. There are a lot of clues that lead to who committed the murder and if you pay attention, you can pick out whodunit.

Watching You by Lisa Jewell,
for me this was a pretty interesting book, nothing really riveting but it flows along and kept my attention. I liked how the author used the various characters POV's this keeps it fresh and definitely kept me flicking that kindle to see what was going to happen next. Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for letting me read this in exchange for my opinion.