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.

It's rare that a book has me on the edge of my seat or a bundle of nerves until the very end but Lisa Jewell did that with this one. Even now, after finishing, my stomach is still in a knots.

Unraveling how everything and everyone was connected was probably the best part of this story. At times it did get a bit confusing on who we were reading, mostly because there were so many, but by the end it all made sense. The police interviews thrown throughout the story made it all that more intriguing and seemed to really make you wonder if any of your guesses on what was happening and who did it were correct. I have to say that I changed my mind multiple times while reading and not until probably the last 80-85% did I have a solid guess on who it was.

The only big issue I had with this book was Joey and her husband. I just really felt they were more like teenagers, even more so than the actual teenagers in the book, than almost 30 year old adults. They seemed a bit immature and this really turned me off from them. I seemed to be annoyed with Joey for most of the book but maybe that was the point of the author. I liked her the best at the very end when she finally seemed to becoming who she said she wanted to be. Overall though all the characters were pretty solid and intriguing.

All in all this was a fun, page turning read and Lisa Jewell is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine. I think I may end up binge reading all her work very soon.

Publication Date 26 December 18
Five stars for WATCHING YOU, by Lisa Jewell! I haven't read her previous work, but I certainly will now!
Jewell's story features a large and colorful cast of characters, from school kids, to married couples and a mom who is suffering from a mental illness. It is a tightly woven, complex story, set in a small, but chic, neighborhood in Bristol, England. Its definitely a slow burn - Jewell takes her time to really build her characters and story, and subplots. The narrator's voice has a fascinating and very clever shift in tone from one character to another - almost as if its written in the first person, the personalities are so distinctly voiced. Grabs your attention and keeps you guessing the entire way through - to the very end! I absolutely loved WATCHING YOU!

Thank you NetGalley, Lisa Jewell, and Atria books for the ARC of WATCHING YOU, in exchange for my honest review.

This was a psychological thriller like no other that I have ever read. Just when I thought I had things figured out, the author threw in another unexpected twist. The characters were good and evil or innocent and unassuming. My favorite character was Joey who metamorphosed into a lovable sister by the end of the book. Her brother Jack was almost an absent character, but he played a big role in the actual plot. I heartily disliked Tom Fitzwilliam from the beginning because he seemed such a shady character. His son, Freddie, seemed to be a neglected loner, so he is another one that the readers will need to watch carefully as the plot unfolds. This book’s plot is developed like a thread that is unraveling from a garment. You see the thread and you pull on it and think that you have found the problem. The author is a master at misleading clues and innuendoes. This is a fantastic book for those who enjoy psychological suspense! It is so good that you will want to buy it on a weekend and plan to spend the weekend absorbed by it!

Firstly, huge thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.

Tom Fitzwilliam is the charismatic headmaster at a local school. His son is a socially awkward young boy who creepily watches his neighbors and takes pictures of them. Joey Mullen is a newlywed who finds she is intensely attracted to Tom Fitzwilliam. And then there’s a whole host of other characters, all related to one another in some way.

This book was great. Many twists, and an ending I did not see coming. It did get consisting at times going back and forth between the various POVs, but this was a solid novel that keeps you guessing to the very end.

Thank you to Altria Book and NetGalley for a copy of an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tom Fitzwilliam is a headmaster an an elite school; Joey is the woman next door that becomes infatuated with him. Tom's son Freddie loves observing people. Jenna and her mother live in the neighborhood and is convinced that Freddie is watching her.

The twists and turns in this book and the final conclusion keep you guessing to the very end.

Fast paced and well written, fans of Girl on the Train and Gone girl will like this one!

Lisa Jewell is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors and this latest installment did not disappoint. I find her books to be compulsively readable and I just love her writing style. The way she slowly teased out the story and connected the characters at the end of this book was brilliant. 5 stars!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book before its publication.

Joey Mullen thought that marrying Alfie and moving back home from Ibiza would make her automatically feel like an adult, but instead, she still felt like a screw up. Living in her brother Jack’s attic, with a demanding and low paying job, Joey noticed the neighbor two doors down and was instantly infatuated.

Jenna Tripp was both frightened and embarrassed by her mother’s behavior, especially when it came to Mr. Fitzwilliam. Jenna’s mother was obsessed with the idea that Mr. Fitzwilliam and a group of people he commanded were gang-stalking her, and it was becoming increasingly obvious that her mental health was deteriorating, leaving sixteen-year-old Jenna effectively alone to deal with the situation.

Tom Fitzwilliam, the headmaster at a local private school, was handsome and charismatic, able to draw people in with just a smile. He lived with his brittle, fitness obsessed wife Nicola, and their teenaged son Freddie, whose favorite hobby was watching the neighbors from his attic window and recording their activities. Tom was a fixer, brought in by different schools to improve their situations, and then he and his family moved on. Twenty years earlier, though, a schoolgirl had written in her diary about her adoration for Mr. Fitzwilliam, and she was found dead – an apparent suicide.

Lots of characters, lots of action – just the kind of mystery I like. I’ll admit I did figure out “whodunit” before the reveal, but that didn’t lessen my enjoyment at this involved and intriguing story. I appreciated the blend of storylines between the adults and the teens, with Mr. Fitzwilliam alternating between savior and villain, depending on the situation and the other characters involved.

This was pretty fabulous, well paced mystery. Like a 4.5 for me. Although the whodunnit doesn't take you by surprise (if you're following the clues, you'll figure it out before the cops), the "why" might.

Although "watching me" is the most generic sounding thriller title ever, for this book it's extremely apt. This is a book about appearances--what we show the world on the outside and the secrets we hide behind closed doors. Some characters are conducting actual surveillance, while others (like Jenna and Josie) are just trying to figure out what's real. The result is a book that keeps you off kilter and guessing (in a good way.)

For me personally, the investigation interviews with the detective interspersed throughout the book didn't add much to the story. The detective appears only briefly at the top and the bottom of the story. So, it's not a book about finding a murderer. Instead it's about understand WHY people murder. I would have been cool narrowing that focus even tighter.

I also thought at times we got heavy into the school-side drama and I kept forgetting that Joey was a part of the narrative. In other words, the book seemed a wee bit structurally imbalanced.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Watching You is one of those beach/vacation reads. You’ll tear through it, enjoying every minute.

The book is highly suspenseful and I found myself wondering exactly what was going on – and who was doing what!

It’s an effortlessly entertaining read and perfect for those times you just need to decompress and enjoy yourself.

Just plain fun.

*ARC Provided via Net Galley

Watching You by Lisa Jewell is an upcoming psychological thriller, which takes place in the Melville Heights neighborhood within Bristol, England. I was lucky to receive an ARC from NetGalley, Atria Books and Simon & Schuster before it's released December, 26 2018.

Tom Fitzwilliam is a headmaster with a knack for turning around schools and everyone seems to be enamored with him. A family man, he has moved from town-to-town with his wife and son improving schools that need his help along the way. Joey, who lives across the street, can't shake the undeniable attraction and pull she feels towards him despite being married herself. Then there's Jenna, one of Tom's students who also lives on the street and suspects there may be something much more sinister behind Mr. Fitzwilliam's facade after watching his interactions with her best friend. Meanwhile, journal entries surface from twenty years past where a former student writes about her obsession and infatuation with none other than Tom Fitzwilliams. Finally, when a murder occurs in Melville, everyone seems to have something to hide.

I really enjoyed this book and it was the first from Lisa Jewell I had read. I had really been looking forward to this one so I was thrilled when I scored a copy. The suspense definitely builds as you go along and every time I thought I had figured out the ending something shifted and revealed I was wrong. This is not your heart-pounding, thumping, psychological thriller. The way Jewell teases out each reveal is much smarter than that. The story unravels at a deliberate pace and even when I thought I had figured out the final twist, Jewell shocked me once more on the very last page. I totally didn't see it coming. Lovers of smart, deliberate thrillers will really enjoy this one. Make sure to pick up a copy of Watching You when it comes out December 26, 2018!

I got an advanced copy of Watching You in exchange for an honest review.
I wouldn't call this a "gripping psychological suspense" read. I didn't find it suspenseful at all. The story was slow in the beginning and the characters at times were little confusing but overall I enjoyed the story.