**4.5-stars rounded up **

This was everything I wanted it to be. Gytha Lodge, you have made me a happy girl.
Signing on to his standard 11 o'clock Skype date with his girlfriend, Zoe, Aidan Poole can tell right away something is off.

For one, Zoe isn't in front of the camera. He observes her, but then she goes into the bathroom and starts running a bath. Anticipating something kinky may be in the works, he sits back and watches.
Things take a disturbing turn however, when he observes a shadowy figure entering her apartment and then the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Next he hears sounds of a struggle. Zoe is being attacked and there is nothing he can do!
Well, you're probably thinking, he could call the police. But he doesn't. Not right away, anyway. He ultimately does end up calling the next day, but if Zoe were brutally attacked, wouldn't he want to get her help as soon as possible?

If you think this sounds like an intriguing way to a kick off a story, you're absolutely right!

When his odd crime report makes its way to the desk of DCI Jonah Sheens, he and his team decide to take on the case. Soon they discover, Zoe didn't survive the attack. Now tackling a murder investigation, Sheens and the team dig deep into her life, friend group and mysterious relationship with Aidan.

I really enjoyed the first installment to the Jonah Sheens series, She Lies in Wait, and was highly anticipating this release. I am happy to report this exceeded my expectations. I feel like Lodge's writing has matured in such a pleasant way. The investigatory aspects of this were so strong.
I loved being back with Sheens and the other officers. They work so well together as a team and that is nice to see. Often there can be a lot of drama within investigative units, so it is nice to see a group that works together in a supportive way.

I do think this can be read as a standalone, so if you haven't read the first book, please don't let that keep you from picking this one up. If the premise sounds good to you, jump on it. I have a feeling you'll be adding the first book to your TBR after. As you should, because it is great too!

As for me, I am so excited about the potential for this series. I hope it lasts a long, long time. I know I will be picking up every single one that gets released. Thank you so much to the publisher, Random House and NetGalley, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I truly appreciate it. I am looking forward to reading so much more from Gytha Lodge in the future!

This was a complex mystery with lots of facets. And lots of suspects!! A murder, cyberstalking, friends and frenemies, suspicious people, and a good cast of police officers at work to catch the murderer. The pacing of the narrative was good, the characters were interesting, and the plot a good one! Plenty of red herrings before the ending that I should have seen coming!! A good thriller!

Aidan is on Skype with his girlfriend Zoe when he hears the sounds of a struggle. He's concerned about Zoe, but his call to the police is cryptic. The police investigate and find Zoe has been killed. Their investigation leads to a unique group of people each connected to Zoe.

This is the second book in the DCI Jonah Sheens series, but Watching from the Dark can be read as a standalone. I've read the first book, and found this second book to be a little better. Both are good reads for fans of British police procedurals.

There is an assorted group of characters that the police must interview and investigate to solve who the killer is. It seems none of the characters is quite as innocent as they appear, and everyone has secrets.

An entertaining crime read. Well paced and it's not a super obvious mystery. Twisty and interesting.

I received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Watching from the Dark is the second book in the DCI Jonah Sheens series. An engrossing look at modern friendship, it’s a timely reminder that smiles and laughter can often hide a damaged heart.

Aidan Poole is logged on to his computer late one evening, anxiously awaiting a glimpse of his girlfriend Zoe on Skype, when he hears someone open the door to her apartment. He listens as they walk across the room and as there is a struggle off camera, the sound of a single set of footsteps leaving and then silence. He doesn’t want to involve the police, but he doesn’t want Zoe to be without help. Hesitantly, he makes the call that will forever change his life.

Aidan’s phone call is brought up during the end of a rather long and boring Friday morning caseload meeting. There’s something about the caller’s phrasing that Detective Chief Inspector Jonah Sheens finds unsettling but he’s happy to let the uniformed division take it on; his team has plenty of other things to keep them occupied. It’s the online crime report, filed later that morning and referencing the same information as the phone call that has him changing his mind and sending two of his squad out to investigate. What they discover has the whole team shelving their other work and rushing to their aid. The scene is meant to indicate a suicide but from the beginning everyone is agreed it’s a murder. As Jonah, Hanson, Lightman and the rest of the squad begin to peel back the layers of Zoe’s life, they discover a bright, cheerful, sweet young art student surrounded by needy friends who are all keeping some pretty dark secrets. The question is, which of them has something to hide worth killing over?

Reviewers Shannon and Maggie sat down to discuss Watching in the Dark and are here to share their thoughts on the novel.

Maggie: I enjoyed the first book in this series – She Lies in Wait – and that made me very excited to read this one. What drew you to this story?

Shannon: I liked the first book too, but it was a little slow for my taste. Even so, I was intrigued by the characters, especially Jonah, and I was eager to see where the author would take them in the second installment.

Maggie: This book is told in dual timeline format, with half the chapters taking place in the present and the others telling the story of Aidan and Zoe’s year-plus relationship. I’m a big fan of this layout.

Shannon: I’m always drawn to stories told in this way. I love the extra layers of insight we’re given into Zoe’s life, things we might not have known if Jonah’s perspective was the only one we saw. Getting to know Zoe as a person helped me to care about her murder in a way I might not have if she was just a character I never really knew.

Maggie: I agree, seeing her perspective made the crime much more personal. We get brief glimpses into the personal lives of the officers, and of course, the format ensures we have a clear picture of Zoe’s life before her death, but the focus here is on the solving of the crime. I found that aspect of the book pretty compelling; I don’t have the talent Jonah does to put the clues together, nor his attention to minute detail but I still enjoy reading about the process. Are you a fan of police procedurals and how did you feel about this one in particular?

Shannon: Police procedurals aren’t my favorite type of mystery, but I do find myself drawn to quite a few of them. Tana French and Jane Harper are examples of authors who really stand out in this arena, and it looks like I’ll be adding Gytha Lodge to my lists of authors to watch. I love the glimpses we get into the lives of the various officers. It makes them feel more human rather than one-dimensional beings who exist in a sort of vacuum.

Maggie: Zoe is drawn as a very giving, generous, big hearted person. What were your thoughts on her character?

Shannon: My initial impression of Zoe was pretty much as you described, but as the story progressed, I began to see her a little differently. She genuinely cared about her friends, but it did seem as though she felt a little smothered by their constant neediness. She seemed to have a hard time asserting herself, even when those around her were taking advantage of her big-hearted nature. She’s pretty used to her own needs being put on the back burner, and I wondered if that selflessness was more of a front than anything else.

Maggie: I got a real sense of care giver burn-out from Zoe at the end of the story. She never learned the balance of giving/receiving you need to have to do this long term and I think she just couldn’t give anymore.

I suspected Aidan’s situation from the first chapter of the book, which didn’t endear him to me, but I found myself liking him less and less as the story went on. He was manipulative and selfish in my opinion.

Shannon: I guessed certain things about Aidan pretty early on as well, but there were still a few twists in his situation that surprised me. He’s not at all likable, but then I don’t think he’s supposed to be. I felt absolutely no sympathy for him, especially as more of his deceits were revealed.

Maggie: Zoe’s friendship circle plays a big role in the book. They were, to me, all a bit unsettling.

Shannon: The author excels at writing complicated relationships. Zoe’s circle of friends had a fair amount of dysfunction that seemed to keep certain people connected, even if it might have been better for them to be more on the fringes of the group. I loved that people weren’t written in a black-and-white way; no one is all good or all bad. Instead, they dwell in that gray area so many of us are familiar with from our real-life experiences.

On a similar topic, I was fascinated by the way Jonah’s team members related to one another. Everyone has distinct strengths and weaknesses, making them a cohesive investigative unit. We don’t see much competition between the various detectives, something I really appreciated since that kind of pettiness gets on my nerves in a big way. How did the make-up of the team work for you?

Maggie: I love the makeup of this team and feel they work well together. I’ll be interested to see if that continues since everyone seems a bit frustrated by Lightman’s secrecy.

Maggie: I love Jonah’s calm, methodical approach to work and life and I think the author does a great job of balancing information about the private lives of the police officers while keeping the focus on the investigation.

Shannon: I’m hoping we’ll learn more about the detectives’ private lives as the series progresses. As it stands right now, we’re given tiny glimpses of who they are when they’re not working, just enough to keep us coming back for more. I have questions about all of them, but I’m confident they’ll all be answered in due time.

Maggie: The ending was a bit of a twist. Were you taken by surprise or did you see it from the start?

Shannon: I was very surprised by the ending. I’m usually pretty good at figuring out who the killer is, but I was so wrong this time.

Maggie: For me this was a B+ read. Enjoyable and well done, a bit low key with some moments that seemed to drag a bit, but for the most part a good example of this genre of books. What about for you?

Shannon: I’m also going with a B+. The story was more engaging than the first book in this series, but I do agree that it’s pretty low-key compared to other procedurals I’ve read. It’s a good example of that old saying about slow and steady winning the race. We don’t get much in the way of nail-biting suspense, but I still found myself utterly drawn into the story.

Aiden Poole is sitting with his laptop waiting to Skype with his sort-of girlfriend, Zoe. He's waiting for her to get out of the shower, when he's horrified to see that someone is in her apartment. Did she have company? Or is this an intruder?

He hears fighting coming from the bathroom ... and then there's silence ... utter silence. . He is desperate to find out if Zoe is okay. But then why is he so hesitant to call the police?

DCI Jonah Sheens and his team take the case. The phone call they received was a little sketchy. The caller wasn't sure of her address and he stated he had not seen the intruder's face. He denied knowing if she was hurt.. or dead. It takes some excellent police work to track down her residence .... and find her body.

Sheens and his team can find no one who has an unkind thing to say about Zoe. According to family and friends, she was the one they turned to for help, support. Was she privy to something she should not have heard ... or seen? . Has one of her so-called “friends” been driven to murder? Or does Aidan have the biggest secret of them all?

Nicely plotted, the story takes the reader from the here and now, following the police investigation, to the backstory of Zoe. Who was she really? What made her tick? Who wuld want her dead..and why? The suspense starts at the very first page and never lets up until the unexpected ending. Twists and turns will have you forgetting breathe.

Many thanks to the author / Random House Publishing Group - Random House / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction/psychological thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. The many different personalities of the characters in this book make for a very intriguing mystery when one of them, Zoe, ends up dead. The plot runs through the reporting of the death as well as the suspicions by the detectives about why each of her friends may have been the one to commit the crime. There is a little bit of a twist in the "whodunnit" but I had it figured out before I finished reading. I will be looking forward to others in this series.

Yeah, seriously don't start this book before bed. One it's a story that will have chills dancing up and down your spine and it'll make you wonder if your doors and windows are all locked. Two it's a story you just can't stop reading because you just have to find out what's going on and who did it. Pick it up though. It's awesome! Happy reading!

This one has me covering up the camera on my laptop! The premise may be the creepiest, most relevant one I’ve come across in a thriller and it has left me feeling a bit paranoid. Did you know that people can turn on your camera without your permission and without the little light coming on? Me neither and I am rather disturbed by this knowledge. In this story Aiden is on Skype with his girlfriend when hears what appears to be her murder just out of sight of the camera. Despite fearing for her life he seems strangely reluctant to go to the police and contacts them anonymously giving minimal information. The story unfolds from there.

There were so many suspects. I felt bad for Zoe that all of her friends were at least a bit awful and seemed to be likely murderers. All had some kind of serious issue and poor Zoe was the most normal one in a group of duds. My initial guess about the identity of the killer was correct so I wasn’t really surprised but there were so many red herrings thrown in that I questioned my theory constantly and I was never totally sure that I was going to be correct. I never could have anticipated just how messed up all Zoe’s friends were! They all had such crazy stories and I ended up not trusting or liking any of them.

This is a police procedural and DCI Jonah Sheens and his team of investigators from book one continued to be the most compelling element of this series. I want to see more of their camaraderie as a team and go deeper into their personal lives. I enjoy the ribbing and joking between the team, especially with dependable O’Malley. It was great to learn a little more about Lightman and his life. I don’t want to be lumped in with his female fan club but he is a fascinating guy. Hanson’s hot mess of a past seems to be coming back for her and I’m worried about where her story will lead. It was great to connect with these characters again and I anticipate a long continuation of their stories.

Thank you to Random House for providing an Electronic Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley for review.

Lodge does a great job with her writing of Police Procedurals. In this second book, Aidan has a secret. When he witnesses what he thinks is a murder on a Skype call to his Girlfriend, he‘s reluctant to call it in, but why? Now Zoe is dead, but who killed her? Could it have been Aidan, or was it one of her needy friends, or a complete stranger? The list of suspects is long, but as the pages turn we get closer and closer to the truth as DCI Jonah Sheens and his team carefully put all the pieces together to solve the case.

This was an interesting mystery that kept me guessing until the end. It starts with Aidan Skyping his girlfriend, Zoe, and seeing someone sneak into her apartment, then hearing signs of a struggle, while he can only listen in horror. This sets off a whole chain of events where we get to learn more about Zoe, her friends, and her relationship with Aidan, told in alternating chapters from the past and current time.

We also get introduced to the police detective, Jonah Sheens, who is assigned to the case and we learn along with him the dynamic between Zoe, Aidan, and their social circles. Without giving too much away early on, there is a lot more to the Zoe and Aidan relationship than it first seemed.

I felt like I got to know Zoe and Aidan fairly well, but still not enough to understand why they did some of the things they did. I was never able to get into the heads of Zoe's acquaintances, including her 2 best friends, Maeve and Angeline, as well as her landlord, other friends, and boss, and couldn't figure out what even brought them together as a friend group. This made it hard for me to truly engage, and to come up with theories on who might have been involved in Zoe's murder and why. There were a lot of characters in the story and I would have rather seen less characters with more depth. .

I had come up with a really complex chain of events in my head that I thought solved the mystery, and it turns out that what really happened was far less convoluted, but really surprised me. I thought it was a clever ending to the story and love finding books where I don't figure it out on my own first.

All in all, it was a good read but I couldn't fully engage because I didn't feel like I really knew the characters that well. The premise was really interesting, though, and the ending was a twisty surprise. I would describe this book as a mystery tied with a police procedural, and would recommend it to those who enjoy those genres.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What an awesome detective novel! I had a hard time putting this down. I loved how everyone seemed guilty but when they revealed who did it and how they did it, it was AMAZING! This story will stick with me for awhile. Thank you for the advanced reader for this!

I recommend this for anyone who wants a really good mystery/crime story.

Watching from the Dark is the second book in the DCI Jonah Sheens series. An engrossing look at modern friendship, it’s a timely reminder that smiles and laughter can often hide a damaged heart.

Aidan Poole is logged on to his computer late one evening, anxiously awaiting a glimpse of his girlfriend Zoe on Skype, when he hears someone open the door to her apartment. He listens as they walk across the room and as there is a struggle off camera, the sound of a single set of footsteps leaving and then silence. He doesn’t want to involve the police, but he doesn’t want Zoe to be without help. Hesitantly, he makes the call that will forever change his life. 

Aidan’s phone call is brought up during the end of a rather long and boring Friday morning caseload meeting. There’s something about the caller’s phrasing that Detective Chief Inspector Jonah Sheens finds unsettling but he’s happy to let the uniformed division take it on; his team has plenty of other things to keep them occupied. It’s the online crime report, filed later that morning and referencing the same information as the phone call that has him changing his mind and sending two of his squad out to investigate. What they discover has the whole team shelving their other work and rushing to their aid. The scene is meant to indicate a suicide but from the beginning everyone is agreed it’s a murder.  As Jonah, Hanson, Lightman and the rest of the squad begin to peel back the layers of Zoe’s life, they discover a bright, cheerful, sweet young art student surrounded by needy friends who are all keeping some pretty dark secrets. The question is, which of them has something to hide worth killing over?

Reviewers Shannon and Maggie sat down to discuss Watching in the Dark and are here to share their thoughts on the novel.

Maggie: I enjoyed the first book in this series – She Lies in Wait – and that made me very excited to read this one. What drew you to this story?

Shannon: I liked the first book too, but it was a little slow for my taste. Even so, I was intrigued by the characters, especially Jonah, and I was eager to see where the author would take them in the second installment.

Maggie: This book is told in dual timeline format, with half the chapters taking place in the present and the others telling the story of Aidan and Zoe’s year-plus relationship. I’m a big fan of this layout.

Shannon: I'm always drawn to stories told in this way. I love the extra layers of insight we're given into Zoe's life, things we might not have known if Jonah's perspective was the only one we saw. Getting to know Zoe as a person helped me to care about her murder in a way I might not have if she was just a character I never really knew.

Maggie: I agree, seeing her perspective made the crime much more personal. We get brief glimpses into the personal lives of the officers, and of course, the format ensures we have a clear picture of Zoe’s life before her death, but the focus here is on the solving of the crime. I found that aspect of the book pretty compelling; I don’t have the talent Jonah does to put the clues together, nor his attention to minute detail but I still enjoy reading about the process. Are you a fan of police procedurals and how did you feel about this one in particular?

Shannon: Police procedurals aren't my favorite type of mystery, but I do find myself drawn to quite a few of them. Tana French and Jane Harper are examples of authors who really stand out in this arena, and it looks like I’ll be adding Gytha Lodge to my lists of authors to watch. I love the glimpses we get into the lives of the various officers. It makes them feel more human rather than one-dimensional beings who exist in a sort of vacuum.

Maggie: Zoe is drawn as a very giving, generous, big hearted person. What were your thoughts on her character?

Shannon: My initial impression of Zoe was pretty much as you described, but as the story progressed, I began to see her a little differently. She genuinely cared about her friends, but it did seem as though she felt a little smothered by their constant neediness. She seemed to have a hard time asserting herself, even when those around her were taking advantage of her big-hearted nature. She's pretty used to her own needs being put on the back burner, and I wondered if that selflessness was more of a front than anything else.

Maggie: I got a real sense of care giver burn-out from Zoe at the end of the story. She never learned the balance of giving/receiving you need to have to do this long term and I think she just couldn’t give anymore.

I suspected Aidan’s situation from the first chapter of the book, which didn’t endear him to me, but I found myself liking him less and less as the story went on. He was manipulative and selfish in my opinion.

Shannon: I guessed certain things about Aidan pretty early on as well, but there were still a few twists in his situation that surprised me. He's not at all likable, but then I don't think he's supposed to be. I felt absolutely no sympathy for him, especially as more of his deceits were revealed.

Maggie: Zoe’s friendship circle plays a big role in the book. They were, to me, all a bit unsettling.

Shannon: The author excels at writing complicated relationships. Zoe's circle of friends had a fair amount of dysfunction that seemed to keep certain people connected, even if it might have been better for them to be more on the fringes of the group. I loved that people weren't written in a black-and-white way; no one is all good or all bad. Instead, they dwell in that gray area so many of us are familiar with from our real-life experiences.

On a similar topic, I was fascinated by the way Jonah's team members related to one another. Everyone has distinct strengths and weaknesses, making them a cohesive investigative unit. We don't see much competition between the various detectives, something I really appreciated since that kind of pettiness gets on my nerves in a big way. How did the make-up of the team work for you?

Maggie: I love the makeup of this team and feel they work well together. I’ll be interested to see if that continues since everyone seems a bit frustrated by Lightman’s secrecy.

Maggie: I love Jonah’s calm, methodical approach to work and life and I think the author does a great job of balancing information about the private lives of the police officers while keeping the focus on the investigation.

Shannon: I'm hoping we'll learn more about the detectives' private lives as the series progresses. As it stands right now, we're given tiny glimpses of who they are when they're not working, just enough to keep us coming back for more. I have questions about all of them, but I'm confident they'll all be answered in due time.

Maggie: The ending was a bit of a twist. Were you taken by surprise or did you see it from the start?

Shannon: I was very surprised by the ending. I'm usually pretty good at figuring out who the killer is, but I was so wrong this time.

Maggie:  For me this was a B+ read. Enjoyable and well done, a bit low key with some moments that seemed to drag a bit, but for the most part a good example of this genre of books. What about for you?

Shannon: I'm also going with a B+. The story was more engaging than the first book in this series, but I do agree that it's pretty low-key compared to other procedurals I've read. It's a good example of that old saying about slow and steady winning the race. We don't get much in the way of nail-biting suspense, but I still found myself utterly drawn into the story.

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In what must be the best opening chapter ever, a man, Aidan Poole, logs in to his computer, opens a webcam spy app and begins to watch a young woman prepare to take a bath. As he looks on in horror, a door opens and a shadowy figure enters, slightly out of his view. He hears the sounds of a struggle, then silence.

The next day, DCI Jonah Sheens investigates an anonymous voicemail warning of a possible attack on Zoe Swardadine, an aspiring artist. The warning is valid. Zoe is found dead in her bathtub with injuries suggesting suicide. After the death is confirmed to be murder, Jonah and his team search for the killer and there are many suspects. Aidan is hiding layers of secrets. Zoe’s friends Maeve, Angeline and Victor have flaws of their own. Her landlord Felix is possessive of his tenant. Slowly, secrets are revealed leading to a surprise arrest.

Watching from the Dark by Gytha Lodge is one of the best police procedurals I have ever read. The story shows how tedious police work can be and how following up on every tiny piece of the puzzle leads to solving the crime. Each member of the team is described vividly as Lodge gives us glimpses of their lives outside of the plot. I loved, loved this book. I could write so much more but I want you all to read it so no spoilers. 5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley, Random House and Gytha Lodge for this ARC

I realized partly through this book that one of the reasons I have enjoyed this series is the quality of the characters. In so many police series, the main character is an alcoholic or drug addict of overcoming some catastrophic childhood. Here we have DCI Jonah Sheens who runs, cycles, will not do a triathlon because he won't do the swimming portion, eats healthy, and has good supportive relationships with his coworkers. Sure there is an ex-girlfriend lingering in the background. But she isn't a psychotic serial stalker or killer or anything. That doesn't mean there aren't troublesome parts of the recurring characters that will need to be explored like DC Juliette Hanson's abusive ex-boyfriend. But in the meantime, Ms. Lodge has done a terrific job of offering unique and interesting story lines along with her less stereotypical characters. I will be keeping an eye out for future books in this series!

For me this book was very hard to get into. It propels very fast through the start and I found myself wondering if I had read the first book, would I be able to connect more to what was happening. Also, police procedural is not exactly my thing, but this blend of psych thriller and police procedural was definitely interesting. I really wanted to like this book, but I think ultimately it was my fault because I didn't realize it was the second in a series. As such the characters were difficult to like or relate to.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Penguin/Random House, and Gytha Lodge for the opportunity to read the second book in the DCI Jonah Sheens series. 4.5 stars for another great read! Loved getting back into these characters and am already anxious for the next book.

Aidan Poole logs onto Skype to talk to his girlfriend, Zoe. However, tonight, all he sees is that someone else is in Zoe's apartment and a violent struggle takes place in her apartment. Fearing the worse but afraid, he contacts the police but doesn't leave his name. Jonah's team gets the case and find Zoe dead in her bathroom. Once they start investigating, they discover that Zoe was the one in her group of friends that helped and supported everyone else. But there are a lot of people keeping secrets here. The book switches from the active investigation to Zoe's story from about a year and a half before the murder.

I suspected everyone of the murder - the author did a great job of keeping me guessing until the very end. Great read!

Watching from the Dark by Gytha Lodge is a highly recommended police procedural and the second in the DCI Jonah Sheens series.

Late one night Aidan Poole is on Skype to his girlfriend Zoe Swardadine. He doesn't actually see Zoe, but he hears her moving around her apartment and starting a bath. Aidan hears her get into the tub, but then he also hears someone enter her apartment. He sees no one but he hears a struggle, someone leave, and then nothing from Zoe. Aidan listens to the silence for a couple hours. He is sure she has been killed, but he waits to contact the police. When he finally does contact them, it is an odd message and he doesn't leave his name.

Detective Chief Inspector Jonah Sheens and his team take the case after Aidan sends a second follow-up message later. They find her body. It looks like a suicide, but clues point to murder. As they look into Zoe's life, they see that Zoe was a beloved friend who had a whole host of friends who relied on her for emotional support. They also uncover Aidan's identity and the reason for his reluctance to contact the authorities immediately and leave his name. It seems during the investigation, everyone loved Zoe but they are all harboring secrets.

The writing is excellent and the plot is perfectly executed as the investigation uncovers secrets and motives. Chapters alternate between the present day investigation and recounting the final 20 months of Zoe's life. The alternating narratives work well in Watching from the Dark as they help establish Zoe as a real, complicated character. Zoe's backstory starts with her meeting Aidan and works up to the present. All the suspects are met, developed, and their actions followed in Zoe's story and the present day investigation.

The investigators are also established as well-developed characters. Following along with the investigation into Zoe's death is just as interesting as her backstory. This leaves readers with many suspects in this procedural that veers into psychological thriller territory. Astute readers will likely know whodunit early on, but the journey is compelling.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Penguin Random House.
Review on Barnes&Noble and Amazon after publication

Watching from the Dark is a great thriller! I was hooked from the beginning and didn't want to stop reading. This is definitely a whodunit and kept me guessing until the end. Gytha Lodge, in my opinion, did a great job bringing each person to life.

Aiden is logged onto Skype waiting for Zoe to emerge. When she finally appears, she heads towards the bathroom. Aiden is frustrated at first until he sees somebody else come in. Before he has time to react, Zoe is heard being attacked. Aiden wants to know if she's okay, he loves her after all, but he hesitates calling the police.

Hours later, a cryptic message comes through to the police department. Following the clues, they discover her body. Nobody close to Zoe has anything bad to say. She was kindhearted and loved everyone close to her. Soon, secrets begin spilling and resentments come to the surface. Anyone could've had a motive, but who did this and why?

Watching from the Dark is suspenseful and creepy. You'll be checking the camera on your phone and computer for a while. I recommend reading if you like thriller/cop and crime thrillers!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this ARC.

this book was pretty good, interesting enough, not mind blowing in the twist or the mystery or the emotion. There were at times what felt like too many characters, but maybe none of them were different enough to really identify with them . so it felt like the people the chapters kind of ran together.

"Watching from the Dark" is another excellent murder mystery from the author Gytha Lodge, and is part of the "DCI Jonah Sheens" series. I thought the plotline was captivating: a young woman is murdered while on a Skype call with her boyfriend. Is any part of the previous sentence true? You'll have to read "Watching from the Dark" to find out! I would recommend this book to any murdery/mystery book fans, and to fans of Gytha Lodge.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.