Watching You: A Novel

Lisa Jewell

Dec 2018 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

“Quickly and assuredly, Jewell builds an ecosystem of countervailing suspicions…Tricky, clever, unexpected.” —New York Times Book Review

“Brace yourself as Jewell stacks up the secrets, then lights a long, slow fuse.” —People

“A seize-you-by-the-throat thriller and a genuinely moving family drama.” —A.J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

The instant New York Times and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the Then She Was Gone delivers another suspenseful page-turner about a shocking murder in a picturesque and well-to-do English town, perfect “for fans of Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train, and Luckiest Girl Alive” (Library Journal).

You’re back home after four years working abroad, new husband in tow. You’re keen to find a place of your own. But for now, you’re crashing in your big brother’s spare room.

That’s when you meet the man next door. He’s the head teacher at the local school. Twice your age. Extraordinarily attractive.

You find yourself watching him. All the time. But you never dreamed that your innocent crush might become a deadly obsession.

Or that someone is watching you.

In Lisa Jewell’s latest “bone-chilling suspense” (People), no one is who they seem—and everyone has something to hide. Perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn and Ruth Ware, Watching You will keep you guessing as “Jewell teases out her twisty plot at just the right pace” (Booklist, starred review) until the startling revelations on the very last page.

Ratings and reviews

Passion, paranoia, and obsession- In her novel Watching You, Lisa Jewell depicts the tragic misunderstandings that can result from their controlling influence. The main character, Joey (Josephine) Mullen, thinks she may have finally escaped her impulsive tendencies now that she has married and returned to settle down in her hometown. She hopes that a rewarding career and all the trappings of a stereotypical suburban life will propel her into mature adulthood. She soon discovers, however, that personal change is not so easily attainable. Forced to live with her successful brother and expectant sister-in-law, Joey takes an entry-level job while her husband tries to drum up work as a home painter. Dissatisfied and disappointed, she yearns for the excitement they had during their whirlwind courtship. When Joey sees an elegant, attractive older man during her commute, she feels an instant but unwelcome attraction. She keeps running into him, since he lives nearby and is the new headmaster at the local public school. Tom Fitzwilliam emerges as a central figure in the book, and much of the action revolves around him. Joey is not the only one drawn to this man. The schoolgirls are besotted with him, a paranoid neighbor is convinced that Tom is spying on her, and his wife seems to acquiesce to his every need. Only Tom’s own son and one female student at his school seem to be resistant to his charms. Tension builds as these two teens begin to uncover secrets from Tom’s past and temptations between certain characters prove irresistible. Interspersed throughout the book are police interviews, hinting that a deadly crime has occurred. Jewell uses the different perspectives and flashbacks to tantalizingly reveal the details. She keeps the reader guessing all the way to the end and turns assumptions upside down in a satisfying resolution. Watching You is a welcome addition to Jewell’s already admirable collection of fast-paced and deservedly popular novels. Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for an Advanced Review Copy of this book.

Watching You is touted as a domestic thriller, and the opening scene does suggest that, but then it changes. Ever play that game where you sit in a busy mall, plaza, etc and pick random people from the crowd, guessing what they're lives are like? This book brought that to mind. Everyone has a secret, and everyone seems to know or guess something about everyone else. The thing is most of these people just aren't that interesting. It felt like a bunch of nosy neighbors peeking past the curtains at everybody else. There are a lot of characters, some more important to the story than others, but they're all pretty easy to figure out, and none of them are particularly likable. There is a murder, but I had a lot of it figured out by the halfway mark, which left me with finishing it just to see if I was right. I never did get a sense of urgency, that thrill that should come with a good thriller. Instead, this one is more a meandering stroll through a neighborhood I certainly wouldn't want to live in. In the end, I would say that Watching You is a decent domestic drama, but the pacing is too slow and the story is filled with entirely too much of the mundane for the tension needed for suspense, let alone a thriller. It's one of those that is okay while you're reading it, but not something I'll remember a month from now.

I read this book over a weekend, really felt like i could not put it down! Lisa Jewell has created an awesome psychological thriller that speaks to our own self doubt, and our need for new affirmation, new experiences, to break out of routines and to question our past choices. The protagonist is caught in a past prison, and this uneasiness leads to obsession. I highly recommend it to anyone that enjoyed The Girl on the Train, and Gone Girl. The cover art is really cool, it contains more to it than meets the eye, take a close look! Lisa Jewell's prose style is really unique, it flows and keeps the reader compelled, the suspense is awesome. It's hard these days to hold attention and she knows how!

About the author

Lisa Jewell is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of nineteen novels, including The Family Upstairs and Then She Was Gone, as well as Invisible Girl and Watching You. Her novels have sold over 10 million copies internationally, and her work has also been translated into twenty-nine languages. Connect with her on Twitter @LisaJewellUK, on Instagram @LisaJewellUK, and on Facebook @LisaJewellOfficial.