Melville Heights is one of the nicest neighborhoods in Bristol, England; home to doctors and lawyers and old-money academics. It’s not the sort of place where people are brutally murdered in their own kitchens. But it is the sort of place where everyone has a secret. And everyone is watching you.
As the headmaster credited with turning around the local school, Tom Fitzwilliam is beloved by one and all—including Joey Mullen, his new neighbor, who quickly develops an intense infatuation with this thoroughly charming yet unavailable man. Joey thinks her crush is a secret, but Tom’s teenaged son Freddie—a prodigy with aspirations of becoming a spy for MI5—excels in observing people and has witnessed Joey behaving strangely around his father.
One of Tom’s students, Jenna Tripp, also lives on the same street, and she’s not convinced her teacher is as squeaky clean as he seems. For one thing, he has taken a particular liking to her best friend and fellow classmate, and Jenna’s mother—whose mental health has admittedly been deteriorating in recent years—is convinced that Mr. Fitzwilliam is stalking her.
Meanwhile, twenty years earlier, a schoolgirl writes in her diary, charting her doomed obsession with a handsome young English teacher named Mr. Fitzwilliam… ~taken from Netgalley
As the headmaster credited with turning around the local school, Tom Fitzwilliam is beloved by one and all—including Joey Mullen, his new neighbor, who quickly develops an intense infatuation with this thoroughly charming yet unavailable man. Joey thinks her crush is a secret, but Tom’s teenaged son Freddie—a prodigy with aspirations of becoming a spy for MI5—excels in observing people and has witnessed Joey behaving strangely around his father.
One of Tom’s students, Jenna Tripp, also lives on the same street, and she’s not convinced her teacher is as squeaky clean as he seems. For one thing, he has taken a particular liking to her best friend and fellow classmate, and Jenna’s mother—whose mental health has admittedly been deteriorating in recent years—is convinced that Mr. Fitzwilliam is stalking her.
Meanwhile, twenty years earlier, a schoolgirl writes in her diary, charting her doomed obsession with a handsome young English teacher named Mr. Fitzwilliam… ~taken from Netgalley
Lisa Jewell is one of my favorite authors. I was so excited to be approved by Netgalley and Atria Books to be able to get my hands on this eARC! Once again Jewell did not disappoint!
This book was different from the others. It was a slow start for me and it seemed to take me awhile to actually get into it, despite the fact that from the get-go we knew a murder occurred.
This book alternates character viewpoints along with quite a few characters, so I quickly learned that reading it 15-20 minutes at a time when I had a chance was not an option. Normally I have no issues picking up where I left off in a book, but with this I was confused and had to re-read a few pages back from where I left off.
Once I found bigger chunks of time to devote to this thriller it was fun and exciting reading! The cast of characters is diverse, interesting and I think every reader can relate to one or more in the story. Over the course of the book we begin to see how all the characters relate to the murder and the wheels start turning as to who could have done it. The plot was complicated enough to keep me intrigued but not so much that it overwhelmed and confused me.
I was surprised to learn who the murder actually was! I had no clue up until the end! Once the murderer was revealed it was fun to think back on all the hints and clues that were dropped throughout the story.
This was a solid 4 stars for me. Not my favorite Jewell book, but a very good read!
Thanks to Atria Books and Netgalley for allowing me a copy to read and give my honest review.
Watching You is set to be released December 26, 2018 here in the United States! It makes for the perfect after Christmas reading so pre-order it now!
Happy Reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment