Watching You by Lisa Jewell may well be her best novel to date. Jewell is often referred to as a mystery author and while many of her novels have to do with mysteries and crime, she is a novelist who writes character driven tales of people whose secrets and past impact the pivotal moments in their present lives and the consequences that follow. Consequences that end up with death.

"...It's an innocuous room, bland even. A kitchen like a million other kitchens all across the country. A kitchen for drinking coffee in, for doing homework and eating breakfast and reading newspapers in. Not a kitchen for murdering someone in.
But there, on the floor, is a body, splayed face down inside a large, vaguely kidney-shaped pool of blood. The knife that had been used is in the kitchen sink, thoroughly washed down with a soapy sponge. The attack on the victim had been frenzied: at least twenty knife wounds to the neck, back, and shoulders. But little in the way of blood has spread to other areas of the kitchen-no hand prints, no smear, no spatters-leading Rose the conclusion that the attack had been unexpected, fast, and efficient and that the victim had had little chance to put up a fight..."

In Bristol, England, Melville Heights is one of the best and most sought after neighborhoods to live in. It is home to lawyers and doctors and professionals from all walks of life. It is not the kind of neighborhood where people are brutally murdered in their own kitchens. But Melville Heights is the kind of place where good people live with old and dark secrets. Melville Heights is the kind of place where people are always watching each other.

Tom Fitzwilliam is the headmaster at one of the local schools with a reputation of turning struggling schools into institutions of higher learning. Unfortunately Tom has another reputation, that of a man who encourages young women to become infatuated with him. Living in Melville Heights with his teenage son and much younger wife, Tom is garnering plenty of attention from young women and even some of his students as well.

One of the young women who find Tom so appealing is Joey Mullen, a newly married neighbor who finds herself in lust with this older man. She thinks she is hiding her desire well but Tom's son, Freddie, an aspiring stalker in his own right, has noticed Joey. There is also Jenna Tripp, a student of Tom's who lives on the same street, who is convinced that Tom Fitzwilliam is not the wonderful man everyone thinks he is. That there is something horrible going on between her teacher and one of his students.

What none of them are aware of is that twenty years prior, another young school girl had written about her desire for her teacher Tom Fitzwilliam in her diary and that this girl had ended up dead.

As a reader, we often come across novelists whose work we enjoy so much that we start to hunt down and devour all their prior novels and then when we have done that, eagerly wait for the next morsel to come along. Too often, not all the novels are on the same level as the ones we fell in love with, and became such raving fans of the writer for. Even more rare, is the novel that is levels above the prior work. The novel that demands to be read and loved. The novel that leaves the fan, who thought they knew the author and her work so well, blown away.

Watching You is that novel.

Each character is on a journey and each one has great and terrible moments of discovery. About others and about themselves. The narrative of the story is driven by multiple characters as they weave a history around the strange events that led to the corpse stabbed to death in the Fitzwilliam home. Several of the characters have a motive to kill and Jewell is masterful at diversion and feints as the reader is led down path after path and when you are sure you know who the killer is, you are left with a sense of wonder as to whether you are sure of anything about the mystery at all.

With Watching You, Jewell has taken her craft to the next level and as a fan, I am excited for what is next to come!

A really good read!

After reading Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell, I was left with all the feels. TSWG had it all; mystery, suspense, tragedy, and the resilience of a determined Mother (who doesn't love a kick-ass mom story??) I wondered, "how can she top this book"? When allowed to request an ARC copy of her latest novel Watching You, I jumped at the chance. I can say this story did not disappoint.

Usually, I have a hard time following books that aren't based in the of USA. The towns, language, and mannerisms throw me for a loop. Lisa Jewell is a master storyteller. Her writing style puts you right in the middle of the story as if you are watching these events unfold before your eyes.

The book opens with a Detective, a graduation tassel, and blood. You think this will be a run of the mill mysteries, but it isn't. It will make you think about your own lives and the people in it. I became a little more aware of my surroundings after reading this ditty. To leave some intrigue, I will tell you only about Tom Fitzwilliam, the creepy Headmaster. He gave me the chills and not in a good way. *Was* he having an affair with a student or was it all in *her* imagination? Is Tom a victim of circumstance or a predator? One thing for sure, he isn't Mr. Bradley, and these aren't the students at Eastland (For you Facts of Life fans)

The first half of this dragged and I had a bit of trouble getting into it because there were so many characters. However around the midway point it steadily picked up, and even though I figured out “who dun it” pretty early on, I needed to know how all the pieces (and people) fit together.

I had never read a Lisa Jewell novel before reading Watching You, boy, was I missing out, this was fantastic! Going in, I really wasn't sure what to expect, I had just heard, based on others books I've read/was interested in, that I should check out Lisa Jewell.

Lisa Jewell does a superb job of giving the reader a full view of the story little by little and revealing throughout how all of the characters involved interact with one another and their eventual true importance to the story at hand. This story had me captivated throughout and I was thoroughly impressed and surprised by the conclusion. Loved the fact that not everything was as it seemed and felt that Lisa Jewell knew the story she wanted to tell and did a bang up job of revealing it in the way she did. I loved this much more than I thought I would and look forward to reading most, if not all of Lisa Jewell's back catalog to date.


Full Disclosure: I received an ARC Kindle copy of Watching You through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Excellent as always. Lisa Jewell is one of of very few authors who is as spot on with creating three-dimensional characters as she is with developing intriguing, twisty, yet entirely true-to life plots. Never a false note, nothing overly sensationalized. Dark at times, sad at others, but very, very satisfying, as always.

Audible note: Listened to this one as well as read it. Did not LOVE the narrator, who read everyone as middle-aged, even though the ages ranged from teenagers to early fifties. But minor frustrations with narration did not take away from the plot.

A big thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book.

I give this book a rating of 4/5. Intrigue, suspense, pristine character development, and unexpected plot twists made this read one that the reader is not soon to forget.

I have ready books by this author before, and Watching You is my favourite book written by her thus far. The characters in this book are interesting and the author combines relatable characteristics with dark and twisty ones. The author's character development allows the reader to easily enter this world where everyone has secrets and everyone is in each other's business. Suspense oozes out of the book at every page turn and leaves the reader constantly wondering how the book is going to end, and who is in fact the villain. Highly recommend this book for lovers of the psychological thriller genre. I will definitely continue reading books by this author!

I have now read three books from Lisa Jewell and I desperately want to read more from her. She is masterful at completely bringing you into the story immediately, an amazing crafter of believable and interesting characters, and girl can weave together a mystery!

Watching You starts off strong: There’s a murder investigation going on and Jewell gives us some clues that, at the time, you may not realize are clues. When these clues pop up later in the main story, you’re brain is going 100% trying to connect it all together.

First, we meet Joey Mullen, a woman in her late twenties that recently had a whirlwind marriage to Alfie and moved back to Bristol to live with her brother and his pregnant wife. Joey is a “misfit”, doesn’t know what she wants out of her life. Her brother, Jack, is a heart surgeon and his wife, Rebecca, works in IT. Joey is trying to figure out who she is, who she married, and where she should go. Joey eventually meets a neighbor and becomes…obsessed, is probably the only word for it.

Then, we meet Freddie Fitzwilliam. Freddie is in his early teens and son of Tom Fitzwilliam — Joey’s obsession and the head teacher at a local school. Tom was brought to Bristol to “fix” the school; Tom, his wife Nicola (a person who still doesn’t know who she is; someone who tries to fit in at every town they move into) and Freddie move every few years for Tom to work at a new school that are about to be shut down. When we are introduced to Freddie, he is busy using binoculars to watch local girls, Jenna Tripp and Bess Ridley, best friends and students at his dad’s school. We learn that Freddie uses his attic room to observe the world around him, taking pictures and keeping logs of the different goings on around him. The Fitzwilliam family lives in the iconic painted houses of Bristol, neighbors to Joey and her family.

Third, we meet Jenna Tripp. Jenna has it hard. She lives with her mom who believes she is being stalked — gang stalked. She is paranoid about constantly being watched, about people coming into their home and moving things. Jenna was probably my favorite character in this story and I loved reading from her perspective.

The story is told from their perspectives, with the occasional police interview thrown in. The way Jewell is able to bring the different story lines together in a cohesive manner, one that flows together seamlessly and beautiful, makes the story just amazing.

This book is a solid 4 stars from me. I loved this book and highly recommend it to any mystery fans. I recommend Jewell as an author, in general.

Thank you, Netgalley and Atria Books for a free copy for review. You can find this book on Goodreads and Amazon.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book for an honesty review.
It was a good story but got a little lost on trying to focus on different psychological issues. There were many twists along the story line which kept the story moving and interesting.

I absolutely loved this. It might be a bit of a stretch to call it a thriller because the pacing is maybe a little slow for that. But it was very well done, and I will definitely be checking out the books by Lisa Jewell that I haven't read yet.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a copy of the ARC.

Over the last couple years Lisa Jewell has truly made a name for herself in the mystery/thriller genre. Several book-lovers have been recommending Jewell’s books to me for years and I decided it was about time I dive into one of her loved novels. Watching You is packed with neighborhood gossip and terrifying secrets – these are the perfect ingredients for a great mystery. Even though we follow several stories with a lot of characters I was never confused and the story flowed perfectly. It was the perfect amount of darkness and unexpected twists. I look forward to reading Jewell’s backlist novels soon.

Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for an e-arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book and could easily have lost myself in its pages and finished it in a day if not for this crazy little thing called Life. Solid build up, great twist (not some crazy far-fetched-only-for-shock-value twist), and an ending that leaves that little voice in your head questioning a thing or two. Overall four solid stars from me and an author I will definitely read more of.

I finished this book ten days ago—and yet my mind is still hovering between a 4 and a 5 star rating. There were some twists that were quite predictable for thriller addicts such as myself —those who cant get enough twists and turns— but with this story, just when you think that you’ve figured it out, you are forced to start back at the beginning. There was one curveball in this story that I couldn’t have seen coming from a mile away; it was THAT good! Every few chapters you will find yourself questioning everything that you know and having to reasses what were once your SOLID speculations.

We start out with a diary claiming “ There’s no way...No. There’s no way. But oh God. I wish there was.” You won’t know just how much this diary means to this story until your entire thought process has been unraveled and your left picking up the pieces of your brain matter off of the floor. I won’t tell you anything about these characters, to do so would be a waste because not one of them is reliable.

While the ending wasn’t EXPLOSIVE—leaving me taken aback or astounded— it left me with a shit-eating grin on my face! ( Excuse the language, but had I looked in the mirror at that moment I am certain that is the expression I would have seen.) The ending, especially the last page, was absolute perfection!

In my ARC copy Libby McGuire, Senior Vice President & Publisher of Atria Books challenges readers to... “ Go ahead— read twenty pages of Watching You right now. I’ll bet you won’t be able to stop there.” Correct. Libby also boldly proclaims that “ Lisa Jewell is a true master of domestic suspense. She is equally adept at...unpooling a story that keeps you hooked until the very last page, and then smashes all of your theories by delivering a finale with utterly unexpected and stunning twists.” When I put the book down I found myself nodding in agreement with her yet again; a job well done.

For me, I’ve decided that this book is not a perfect 5, a few things could have been wrapped up a bit tighter...but it’s a solid 4.5.

Having read previous novels by Lisa Jewell, this is easily my new favorite. You will be sorry if you don’t pick this baby up!

Thank you SO VERY MUCH to Bookish First & to Netgalley for choosing me to review this book.

High on a hill in Bristol, England there is a street of colourful houses. The neighbourhood is called Melville Heights. It is here, in this affluent, innocuous location, that a brutal murder took place...

We meet some of the people who live there...
Tom Fitzwilliam - a 'super' head teacher who has made a reputation for himself turning around schools who have fallen below expectations. Charismatic, Tom is in his early fifties and is married with one son, Freddie. Tom is watching Freddie.
Nicola Fitzwilliam - Tom's wife. Much younger than her husband, Nicola seems besotted with him and does everything to please him - often to the detriment of her relationship with her son. Nicola is watching Tom.
Freddie Fitzwilliam - Fifteen years old, fiercely intelligent, and friendless, Freddie lives at the top of the house. It is here that he uses his digital binoculars to 'watch' everyone. He keeps a journal he calls the Melville Papers. Nothing escapes his notice. Freddie watches everyone.
Joey (Josephine) Mullen - is a twenty-seven year old newlywed who married in haste and is now questioning her decision. She is very fond of her handsome husband, Alfie, but she treats him like a puppy - and doesn't want to break his heart.... She and Alfie live with her brother Jack and his pregnant wife, Rebecca . Joey works at a children's daycare centre and is lusting after her attractive neighbour, Tom Fitzwilliam. Joey is watching Tom.
Jenna Tripp - a schoolgirl who attends the school where Tom Fitzwilliam is the head. She lives with her mentally ill mother, Frances who is paranoid and thinks she is being 'gang-stalked' and spied upon. Jenna is watching her mother - and her best friend Bess.
Bess Ridley - Jenna's best friend also lives alone with her mother. She has a schoolgirl crush on the new head teacher. Bess is watching Tom.

MY THOUGHTS
You have to admire this author who can create a myriad of characters, keep them all distinct, and create a convoluted scenario that works magnificently.
The teenagers are the stars in this novel. Freddie and Jenna were my favourite characters. Freddie, with his first crush (with which his brilliance cannot help him) and Jenna with her struggles to maintain a normal life living with her paranoid mother. I even became fond of Joey, despite her poor life choices.
As a naive adult, I was astonished at how much the teens used 'Snapchat' to communicate and to track each other with 'Snap Map'. It was an eye-opener.
This novel has many themes in addition to it being a crime thriller. It tells of conflicted teenagers in the age of advanced social media. It explores people who feel 'trapped' by their choice of marriage partners. It gives credence to the idea of 'grooming' adolescents by adults in positions of authority.
I liked the way the story was told via flashbacks which were interspersed with police interviews following a brutal murder.

This is Lisa Jewell's sixteenth novel and she has honed her craft to such an extent that she is now one of my automatic buy/read authors. I need not even read the blurb, I'm sure to enjoy her work. Highly recommended!

Where Watching You starts off and where it ends are in two completely different places, but you can be sure to feel the hair on your neck raised the whole time as you wonder "who is watching me?" A quaint street in Bristol where neighbors know each other (and watch each other obsessively, apparently) becomes the scene of a grizzly murder. We don't know who is dead, but the young Joey Mullen is a prime suspect due to her infatuation with the owner of the house, a married Tom Fitzwilliam, and the fact that the police found one of her boot tassels on scene. As we alternate between present day police interviews and scenes from the past few weeks as Joey and Tom get to know each other, the image of what might have happened starts to crystallize, until new details emerge and it gets all blurry again. This is truly one of those books that will leave you uncertain until the very end.

This was definitely a one sitting read that still has me feeling unsettled and paranoid. I feel like we can all relate to the idea of our neighbors being on the bad side of how they seem, and the author does an excellent job of playing on that as the plot unfolds. If you like thrillers, be sure to pick this one up!

This book!!


I've been pushing myself to read for a bit over a year. This book actually made me want to read.
It had nosey neighbors, a bad thing that happened,twists done actually right and some flawed ass characters that you can't look away from....so much juicy goodness.



That's all the review you getting from me on this one. I'm going to go bask in my book hangover.

Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review

I was so excited to be able to read another book by Ms. Jewell. I really enjoyed this book. I will be adding her to my "Must Read" shelf.

Watching You is a gripping book that will keep you reading and reading until you find out what is really going on.
I started the book looking for something diverse, a different genre between heavy readings and it worked out perfectly.
The plot was interesting and I must admit it made me doubt my initial and even intermediate thoughts. You really do not know what is happening at some point and even when you start piecing everything together there are some revelations you might not have guessed. The characters were well built, I did not like Joey, and I could not understand her but as a character, it worked very well. I kind of like Freddie and Tom, and really liked Jenna and Jack.
The story is fast-paced and you can finish it in one sitting, I read it in two because I sneaked the book at work and read only when I was free but there were some chapters, especially towards the end, that just demanded to be finished and when I realized I had finished the book.
The only thing I did not entirely like was the ending, I needed more, much more than that and it let me with several unanswered questions. Overall, I enjoyed the book and I would definitely love reading more books by the author.

So good! I really loved this book. So many weird and creepy characters, and even mystery about who exactly was dead for most of the book! So glad the kids all seemed better off by the end of the book. I will definitely read more by this author.

I enjoy Lisa Jewell's writing and while this isn't my favorite of hers, it was entertaining. The story begins with a murder in the town of Melville, although the reader doesn't know who has been killed only that a read tassel was found. The narrative features alternating perspective and it's important to know there are a lot of characters. When I only had a few min to read I often found myself trying to figure out who was who when I returned. The story is heavy on the psychological aspect, particularly perspectives and the fact that different people had different perspectives and who's was correct. Especially when it came to Tom, shining light in education. Overall, I can't say I found the story unique but would recommend to people who really enjoy slower paced psychological thrillers