Watching You: A Novel

book as described

This novels opens with a murder - but who was the victim? And, of course, who was the killer? Thus begins a complex story told from the viewpoint of many characters, both young and old, in Melville Heights. Neighbors are watching neighbors, and each has a different reason for doing so. And each could be the murderer - which will only be revealed in the surprise ending. Every time you think you know who was killed and who might have done it, the plot twists in a different direction. A well written, fast paced book with generally well-developed characters. And there are a lot of characters which (for a change for me) were not difficult to follow.

This is a review of Lisa Jewell's WATCHING YOU: A Novel. I found this book hard to put down. As with all this author’s books, they always grab me from the start. This book was no exception.This story starts with a murder and evidence found. It introduces Joey Mullen and her husband Alfie Butter, in the beginning as major characters in the book. They are moving into her brother’s home, to live temporarily with him, Jack Mullen, a heart surgeon at Bristol General Hospital and his wife, Rebecca. Their lives soon intertwine with neighbors in the posh Bristol community of Melville Heights, a row of 27 Victorian villas, which were all painted bright colors. Jack and Rebecca live in the cobalt blue house #14. Joey was so moved and excited to take Jack up on his offer of moving into their attic room and helping Rebecca with the baby. Rebecca is several months pregnant. Joey had always admired the homes that graced Melville Heights. As a young girl they were a sign that she was close to home. She fantasized about living up there and now found herself doing just that in the cobalt blue house.As the story goes on, it introduces you to several of the neighbors who are key to this mystery of subterfuge among the locality of Melville. A headmaster of their local state school, Tom Fitzwilliam, an elder, nice looking, gentleman and his family, wife Nicola, with their son, Freddie. They live in the canary yellow villa, two doors down from the Mullens. Another neighbor in the vicinity, who lived in the village, with her daughter Jenna was Frances, a small blonde middle aged woman who is obsessed with fear that she is a target of stalkers. Tom Fitzwilliam being one of them.As the story goes on we are drawn into the drama of these neighbors, each dealing with issues of their own, until towards the end, when they all come together tied up in a neat little bow. This novel keeps you guessing until its conclusion about who is the victim and who is the murderer.Simply a joy to read. Kept me up quite late last night, trying to finish it. I gave this book a rating of 5 out of 5 stars because I thoroughly had a good time reading it. Examine it and determine if you concur with the same conclusion.

There was nothing wrong with Lisa Jewell's new Brit-Lit thriller, <i>Watching You</i>, I just didn't love it. I had a hard time rating it because some parts were a bit trite and unrealistic but there were a few parts that were almost brilliant. I settled on <b>3 Stars</b>.<b>SUMMARY</b>Josephine "Joey" had just returned to her hometown after an adventure of a lifetime, she has been living abroad, working in a tropical island resort. When she returns, she's not alone; she has brought her new husband Alfie, who she has only known a couple months.Her brother, Jack has recently bought a house in an iconic neighborhood, often referred to as The Painted Houses. Jack generously invites Joey and Alfie to live with him and his wife Rebecca until the newly weds can get on their feet.Although life in the painted houses looked ideal from the outside, that impression was far from reality. The book opens with police examining a murder scene in one of the houses.When the story begins with a murder investigation, it's not surprising to find that Joey had some <i>interesting</i> neighbors. Next door was a man dubbed <i>the super headmaster</i>, he was well known across the UK for fixing troubled schools. Nicknamed <i>The Super Head</i>, he and his family moved every two years or so, as soon as he fixed one school, it was time to move to another school in another city. There seemed to be something a bit off about his family, was it maybe his teenaged son who was a bit of a voyeur? Or his much younger wife who just didn't seem to fit in? Or is there something inappropriate about all the attention he gives his female students, many of whom develop crushes on him... And then there is another neighbor, a mother of one of the Super Heads students, who seems to think the Super Head and some of his <i>associates</i> are out to get her. She believes Super Head has a secret gang and they are messing with her by constantly moving things around her house or watching her. With all this craziness, it's no surprise when someone ends up dead.Told from several points of view, the book starts with the police examining the crime scene and then flips back to the events leading up to the murder.WHAT I LOVEDThis story had a lot going on; several got topics such as domestic abuse, inappropriate relationship between students and teachers , infidelity and mental illness. It was never dull.I, of course, love my Brit -Lit. I can never get enough of it.The best part of the book were a couple of well placed twists. They were where the story was at its best. What is a thriller without the twist??WHAT I DIDN'T LOVEIt's hard to specify what I didn't love about the book. I think it just didn't stand out to me as a book to remember. Am I being too tough on it? Maybe. Probably. But, as stated above, I did not love it.OVERALLIt's very readable, but not outstanding.

This one took me a few chapters to get into. When I realized something bad happened and most of the book was a flashback leading up to the event, I had to see what happened and why all the characters were connected. Then when we learned about some events that happened long ago, I needed to know more. Then near the end when all the pieces of the puzzle finally were being placed, I was shocked.

If you like twists and turns, read this. This book kept me guessing through the whole thing. I really enjoyed it.

I could not put this one down! Another excellent read from Lucinda Berry! I genuinely liked many of the main characters and appreciated their development. There were several twists that surprised me. The book was very clever and well written. 5/5!

Leaves us going in one direction in the book suspecting one person, only to find we must look elsewhere for the villain.