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Watching You

Lisa jewell.

320 pages, Hardcover

First published July 12, 2018

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WATCHING YOU

by Lisa Jewell ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 26, 2018

An engrossing and haunting psychological thriller.

A young newlywed's life is upended, and a picturesque neighborhood is shattered, when she is suspected of a savage murder.

At the beginning of a new year, Joey Mullen moves back to England from Ibiza with Alfie, her husband, whom she hastily married out of grief over the death of her mother. Jack, Joey’s older brother, invites the young couple to move into his painted Victorian house in the upscale Bristol neighborhood of Melville Heights so they can get on their feet financially and help with the baby that Jack and his wife, Rebecca, are expecting. Joey quickly becomes infatuated with their neighbor Tom Fitzwilliam, a new headmaster charged with improving the local school. Her crush only intensifies when Alfie suggests having a baby, and Joey begins to suspect her marriage was a mistake. Meanwhile, Tom’s wife, Nicola, struggles to fill her days and remains oblivious to their son, Freddie, who regularly spies on his neighbors and the village's teenage schoolgirls, taking their photos and keeping a detailed log of everyone's activities. This surveillance exacerbates the paranoia and mental illness of another neighbor, the mother of 16-year-old Jenna, one of Tom’s students. Jenna’s mother is convinced that she knows the Fitzwilliam family from a vacation incident years earlier (and that the family is now stalking her), but Jenna is more concerned that Tom may be having an inappropriate relationship with her best friend. After several months, tension in the neighborhood explodes, and Joey is suspected of a brutal murder. However, as the police gather evidence, it becomes clear how many secrets each family has been hiding. Jewell ( Then She Was Gone , 2017, etc.) adeptly weaves together a complex array of characters in her latest thriller. The novel opens with the murder investigation and deftly maintains its intensity and brisk pace even as the story moves through different moments in time over the previous three months. Jewell’s use of third-person narration allows her to explore each family’s anxieties and sorrows, which ultimately makes this novel’s ending all the more unsettling.

Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-5011-9007-0

Page Count: 336

Publisher: Atria

Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018

SUSPENSE | THRILLER | SUSPENSE | GENERAL & DOMESTIC THRILLER | GENERAL THRILLER & SUSPENSE

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New York Times Bestseller

by Max Brooks ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 16, 2020

A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.

Are we not men? We are—well, ask Bigfoot, as Brooks does in this delightful yarn, following on his bestseller World War Z (2006).

A zombie apocalypse is one thing. A volcanic eruption is quite another, for, as the journalist who does a framing voice-over narration for Brooks’ latest puts it, when Mount Rainier popped its cork, “it was the psychological aspect, the hyperbole-fueled hysteria that had ended up killing the most people.” Maybe, but the sasquatches whom the volcano displaced contributed to the statistics, too, if only out of self-defense. Brooks places the epicenter of the Bigfoot war in a high-tech hideaway populated by the kind of people you might find in a Jurassic Park franchise: the schmo who doesn’t know how to do much of anything but tries anyway, the well-intentioned bleeding heart, the know-it-all intellectual who turns out to know the wrong things, the immigrant with a tough backstory and an instinct for survival. Indeed, the novel does double duty as a survival manual, packed full of good advice—for instance, try not to get wounded, for “injury turns you from a giver to a taker. Taking up our resources, our time to care for you.” Brooks presents a case for making room for Bigfoot in the world while peppering his narrative with timely social criticism about bad behavior on the human side of the conflict: The explosion of Rainier might have been better forecast had the president not slashed the budget of the U.S. Geological Survey, leading to “immediate suspension of the National Volcano Early Warning System,” and there’s always someone around looking to monetize the natural disaster and the sasquatch-y onslaught that follows. Brooks is a pro at building suspense even if it plays out in some rather spectacularly yucky episodes, one involving a short spear that takes its name from “the sucking sound of pulling it out of the dead man’s heart and lungs.” Grossness aside, it puts you right there on the scene.

Pub Date: June 16, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-9848-2678-7

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine

Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020

GENERAL SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | GENERAL THRILLER & SUSPENSE | SCIENCE FICTION

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by Max Brooks

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THE SILENT PATIENT

IndieBound Bestseller

THE SILENT PATIENT

by Alex Michaelides ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 5, 2019

Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.

A woman accused of shooting her husband six times in the face refuses to speak.

"Alicia Berenson was thirty-three years old when she killed her husband. They had been married for seven years. They were both artists—Alicia was a painter, and Gabriel was a well-known fashion photographer." Michaelides' debut is narrated in the voice of psychotherapist Theo Faber, who applies for a job at the institution where Alicia is incarcerated because he's fascinated with her case and believes he will be able to get her to talk. The narration of the increasingly unrealistic events that follow is interwoven with excerpts from Alicia's diary. Ah, yes, the old interwoven diary trick. When you read Alicia's diary you'll conclude the woman could well have been a novelist instead of a painter because it contains page after page of detailed dialogue, scenes, and conversations quite unlike those in any journal you've ever seen. " 'What's the matter?' 'I can't talk about it on the phone, I need to see you.' 'It's just—I'm not sure I can make it up to Cambridge at the minute.' 'I'll come to you. This afternoon. Okay?' Something in Paul's voice made me agree without thinking about it. He sounded desperate. 'Okay. Are you sure you can't tell me about it now?' 'I'll see you later.' Paul hung up." Wouldn't all this appear in a diary as "Paul wouldn't tell me what was wrong"? An even more improbable entry is the one that pins the tail on the killer. While much of the book is clumsy, contrived, and silly, it is while reading passages of the diary that one may actually find oneself laughing out loud.

Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-250-30169-7

Publisher: Celadon Books

Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018

GENERAL THRILLER & SUSPENSE | SUSPENSE | THRILLER | SUSPENSE | PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER

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Watching You : Book summary and reviews of Watching You by Lisa Jewell

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Watching You

by Lisa Jewell

Watching You by Lisa Jewell

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Published Dec 2018 336 pages Genre: Thrillers Publication Information

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About this book

Book summary.

A suspenseful page-turner about a shocking murder in a picturesque and well-to-do English town.

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… In Lisa Jewell's latest brilliant "bone-chilling suspense" ( People ) no one is who they seem - and everyone is hiding something. Who has been murdered - and who would have wanted one of their neighbors dead? As "Jewell teases out her twisty plot at just the right pace" ( Booklist , starred review), you will be kept guessing until the startling revelation on the very last page.

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"Starred Review. Stellar domestic drama...Expert misdirection keeps the reader guessing, and the rug-pulled-out-from-beneath-your-feet conclusion' - coupled with one final, bonechilling revelation' - is stunning. Best not to bet on anyone. A compulsive read guaranteed to please fans of A. J. Finn and Ruth Ware." - Booklist "Starred Review. Jewell weaves a taut multiperspective, domestic/community suspense story that is sure to please fans of Ruth Ware and A.J. Finn." - Library Journal "Jewell does a masterly job of maintaining suspense." - Publishers Weekly "An engrossing and haunting psychological thriller." - Kirkus Reviews

Author Information

  • Books by this Author

Lisa Jewell Author Biography

book review watching you lisa jewell

Photo: Lucinda Chua

Lisa Jewell is the internationally bestselling author of sixteen novels, including the New York Times bestseller Then She Was Gone , as well as I Found You , The Girls in the Garden , and The House We Grew Up In . Her debut novel, Ralph's Party , was an instant Sunday Times (London) bestseller, and more recently her books have become #1 bestsellers in Canada and the UK. In total, her novels have sold over 2 million copies across the English speaking world. Her work has also been translated into sixteen languages. Lisa lives in London with her husband and their two daughters.

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Word of Mouth

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Curiosity, passion, madness, revenge: WATCHING YOU, Lisa Jewell’s latest psychological thriller, is all about what drives us to observe --- or you might say stalk --- another person. Privacy issues, however, are not the point here (no Big Brother disguised as Facebook); it’s an intimate story, mostly concerned with the mundane --- and mutual --- prowling and lurking and gossiping that always goes on in smallish neighborhoods. Yet the watchers aren’t necessarily innocent. The reader is immediately made aware that obsessions, once begun, can be dangerous.

On the very first page is an excerpt from a schoolgirl diary, a confession that she’s in love with her teacher. Next comes a police inspector’s appraisal of a crime scene, 18 years later. But we don’t yet know who is dead, much less who did it, nor how the girl was involved. What follows is a satisfyingly tense scenario in which the author (a) backtracks to the months just before the murder, expertly juggling three narrators, and (b) keeps us up to date on the murder investigation by dipping periodically into police interviews with suspects and witnesses. 

Joey Mullen, 26, has a foot in each of two (fictional) communities in the English city of Bristol. She grew up in the unclassy lower part of town but now lives --- thanks to her heart-surgeon brother --- in one of the posh, brightly painted Victorian terrace houses that overlook it. She and her husband are crashing there after returning home from their barefoot beach wedding (and other wild-child escapades) in Ibiza. The arrangement is temporary, just until they get themselves “sorted”; so far, though, neither has a decent job. Joey, knocked sideways by the sudden death of her mother, can’t quite figure out how to become a grown-up. Instead of getting on with life, she has graveside chats with Mum and, more important for the plot, develops a crush on an older man, one Tom Fitzwilliam. A crush that is reciprocated.

"It’s wonderful when a novel’s conclusion is not overly neat, when it spills over the boundaries of plot --- messily, like life itself --- into new insights and possibilities. WATCHING YOU is that best of reads: a mystery that goes beyond the same old cat-and-mouse game."

Fiftyish Tom, headmaster of the local state school, lives two doors down from Joey in a canary yellow house. He has had a brilliant career at educational establishments all over the country and is worshiped by his students and mousy, much younger wife. His son, Freddie, our second narrator, is a less ardent fan. This 14-year-old prodigy (he speaks seven languages) is the most annoying, sarcastic, vulnerable and poignant character of all. We watch him struggle to decode “the strange darkness at the heart of his family”: the fights, the marks of physical abuse, the “sour smell of secrets and lies.” Freddie has no friends; he spends his time spying on the denizens of the lower part of town. And he sees things he’s not meant to.

Among Freddie’s observational targets is a slightly older teenager named Jenna Tripp and her best friend, Bess, both students at Tom’s school. Jenna is the third narrator of WATCHING YOU. She lives with her divorced mother, who suffers from the paranoid delusion that there is a vast conspiracy to “get” her. Jenna bears Mum’s private fixations and public scenes with a mixture of adolescent despair and gallant maturity. Only a kid herself, she must mother her own mother.

It’s difficult to summarize the plot without giving too much away. As the suspense builds, our attention is drawn to a past incident involving the obsessive schoolgirl, and linking all three of the narrators. Could that be the key to the killer’s identity? We become watchers as well as readers, taking a deep dive into the daily life of the neighborhood and following a few false leads. Jewell, like any mystery writer worth her salt, strews the road to the solution with numerous red herrings.

Actually, I think she overdoes the misdirection a bit. The apparent villain is too obviously malign, and about halfway through the book I realized that somebody else --- I didn’t know who --- was probably the baddie. But that’s a minor flaw in a mystery whose narrative voices are quirky, honest and engaging.

Of all the characters, Freddie is the strongest and most eloquent. He goes from being a slightly creepy, highly defended observer of other people to an actor making choices about his own life. I cheered when he cut off his long, nerdy hair (“He looked fierce and fresh and feral”) and gained the confidence to ask a girl out for the first time. I wept when he seemed unable to make sense of the confusing signals in his family: “His giant brain was not helping him now. His ridiculous IQ was not showing up on a white steed to navigate him through this maze of weirdness.” It’s his father in particular who confuses him. Is he “an angry bear: dark and lethal, capable of anything,” or a mild, compassionate presence, more like a teddy?

One of Jewell’s trademarks is an ongoing commitment to the people she’s created, always giving them dimension and depth. In a way, this is a coming-of-age tale, for all three youthful narrators evolve as the story progresses, and I wanted to know what happened to each of them after the crime was solved (fortunately, the author obliges). Then, just when you think it’s safe to close the book, Jewell delivers her final twist: a jolting epilogue in which an episode from the past is revealed in a different light.

It’s wonderful when a novel’s conclusion is not overly neat, when it spills over the boundaries of plot --- messily, like life itself --- into new insights and possibilities. WATCHING YOU is that best of reads: a mystery that goes beyond the same old cat-and-mouse game.

Reviewed by Katherine B. Weissman on January 4, 2019

book review watching you lisa jewell

Watching You by Lisa Jewell

  • Publication Date: August 6, 2019
  • Genres: Fiction , Psychological Suspense , Psychological Thriller , Suspense , Thriller
  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Atria Books
  • ISBN-10: 1501190083
  • ISBN-13: 9781501190087

book review watching you lisa jewell

The Bookish Libra

Review: WATCHING YOU by Lisa Jewell

Review:  WATCHING YOU by Lisa Jewell

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Lisa Jewell’s latest novel Watching You is the thrilling domestic drama you need in your life.  It’s a murder mystery that is filled with suspense, complicated characters, and a myriad of plot twists that will keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat until the final piece of the puzzle is in place and the murderer is revealed.

Watching You is set in an upscale neighborhood in Bristol, England, and although several of the neighbors play important roles in the overall story, the novel primarily follows a character named Joey Mullen.  Joey apparently has a history of not always making the best choices in life and so when we meet her, she has just moved back to Bristol with her brand-new husband (who she has only known for a few months) and the two of them are living with Joey’s brother and sister-in-law while they try to find jobs and save up to get a place of their own.

One night Joey encounters Tom Fitzwilliam, the beloved headmaster at one of the local schools, and she, like most of the female student body at his school, develops a crush on Tom.  Even though he is happily married and therefore unavailable, Joey thinks about him all the time, makes up excuses to walk near his home to see if she can catch a glimpse of him, and goes out of her way to find ways to cross paths with Tom.  She thinks her secret crush is safe, but she doesn’t realize that Tom’s son, Freddie, has been watching her just as much as she has been watching Tom.

Ah yes, the watching.  That’s what it’s all about with Watching You .  Everyone in this novel is watching and spying on someone else.  It’s disturbing and yet also quite fascinating because none of them are as innocent as they would like for their neighbors to believe.  They all have secrets they’re trying to keep hidden, but at the same time, they’re almost desperate to find some dirt on their neighbors and in the end, everyone involved gets way more than they bargained for…

book review watching you lisa jewell

There’s so much to love about this book because Jewell just sets up the drama so perfectly.  She opens the novel by introducing us to Joey, Tom, and a few of their neighbors but then immediately hits us with a murder.  She starts building up the suspense immediately too because she doesn’t give the reader any details as to who the victim is or what has happened.  I was hooked right away and immediately started looking closely at the characters I had met so far, trying to figure out who might be the victim, who might be the murderer, etc.

Speaking of the characters, Watching You is filled with realistically flawed characters, any of whom seem capable of having murdered someone.  Each of the neighbors had messy, complicated lives and their individual dramas just added so many more layers to the story that made it so much more than just a murder mystery.  It was interesting to learn more about each of them and to watch them in action.  Fallible is probably the best word to describe them because mistakes and human error play a large role in the story.  As I’ve mentioned, these neighbors like to observe each other, but not only do they observe, they judge and make assumptions about people, they take things out of context and try to fit them into whatever narrative they’re trying to spin, and unfortunately, more often than not, they’re wrong.

All of these wrongs are what Jewell skillfully weaves into the narrative to drive the story along.  She presents the story to us from the viewpoints of several of the neighbors, so we get to see several perspectives as to what is going on in the neighborhood.  Those chapters move us forward toward the murder so we are able to see what tensions are mounting throughout the neighborhood – who might have been a likely target, as well as who might have the biggest motive to commit the crime.  Interspersed throughout, however, are also police interviews with the various neighbors to specifically give us their thoughts and theories about the murder.  The novel’s structure actually reminded me a lot of Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies , and it works here just as well as it did there. It really made for a fast-paced read that held my attention throughout, and the more I read, the more I desperately wanted to know who was dead and who had done it.

book review watching you lisa jewell

Overall, I really enjoyed Watching You .  I thought the pacing was fantastic and I loved how Jewell kept the suspense and tension building throughout the novel.  The only aspect of Watching You that fell a little short for me was that I didn’t really feel much of a connection to any of the characters.  Joey was probably the character I connected with the most, but even then, for the most part, I still felt like I was on the outside looking in.  Maybe that’s fitting since this is a story full of people watching each other, but that distance kept this from being a 5 star read for me.

book review watching you lisa jewell

Lisa Jewell’s Watching You is a riveting read that is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys domestic thrillers.  If you’re a fan of Liane Moriarty’s books, you would probably enjoy this one too.  This was my first time reading Lisa Jewell but I’m looking forward to reading more of her twisty thrillers!

book review watching you lisa jewell

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS: Melville Heights is one of the nicest neighbourhoods 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…

About Lisa Jewell

book review watching you lisa jewell

Lisa was born in London in 1968. Her mother was a secretary and her father was a textile agent and she was brought up in the northernmost reaches of London with her two younger sisters. She was educated at a Catholic girls’ Grammar school in Finchley. After leaving school at sixteen she spent two years at Barnet College doing an arts foundation course and then two years at Epsom School of Art & Design studying Fashion Illustration and Communication.

She worked for the fashion chain Warehouse for three years as a PR assistant and then for Thomas Pink, the Jermyn Street shirt company for four years as a receptionist and PA. She started her first novel, Ralph’s Party, for a bet in 1996. She finished it in 1997 and it was published by Penguin books in May 1998. It went on to become the best-selling debut novel of that year.

She has since written a further nine novels, as is currently at work on her eleventh.

She now lives in an innermost part of north London with her husband Jascha, an IT consultant, her daughters, Amelie and Evie and her silver tabbies, Jack and Milly.

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Fantastic review Suzanne! You make me want to read it yet I don’t usually read thrillers or crime but I am slowly changing my mind reading all my fellow bloggers reviews 😉 Just one problem: I need to connect with the characters to truly enjoy the story.

Suzanne

Thanks Sophie. I still really enjoyed it even though I didn’t connect with the characters. Have you tried Liane Moriarty’s books? They’re similar in style but I usually do feel a connection to her characters.

Erica Robyn

I cannot wait to read this one!! Great review!

Angela

I like your comparison to Liane Moriarty – I do enjoy her books, so might have to check this one out! Great review!

Thanks! If you like domestic thrillers, it should hopefully be a good read for you.

Jennifer Tar Heel Reader

I enjoyed this one, too, Suzanne, and you summarized perfectly why it wasn’t a five star read for me, too. I don’t have to have likable characters but I just couldn’t fully connect with anyone. I like your point about it being done for a reason- on the outside looking in. Terrific review!

Thanks! Yes, I really enjoyed it too and it could have easily been a five-star if I had felt a connection to any of the characters.

ShootingStarsMag

I need to read this! I’m so glad to see that you really enjoyed it and thought it was a good mystery.

It definitely kept me guessing all the way to the end.

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#BookReview Watching You by Lisa Jewell @lisajewelluk @SimonSchusterCA

#BookReview Watching You by Lisa Jewell @lisajewelluk @SimonSchusterCA

Melville Heights is one of the nicest neighbourhoods 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…

Dark, eerie, and spine-chillingly mesmerizing!

Watching You is a complex, intense, psychological thriller that highlights that every choice, good or bad, has a consequence and perspective is everything.

The writing is polished and crisp. The characterization is spot on with a multitude of characters that are multi-faceted, secretive, and vulnerable. And the plot told through a mixture of narration and interview-style musings builds steadily creating tension, suspicion, and unease as it unravels all the personalities, relationships, motivations and actions within it.

Watching You is, ultimately, a story of deception, obsession, desperation, vengeance, violence, manipulation, and murder. It’s shocking, satisfying, hard to put down and without a doubt another must-read novel by Jewell.

book review watching you lisa jewell

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Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

About Lisa Jewell

book review watching you lisa jewell

Lisa Jewell is the internationally bestselling author of sixteen novels, including the New York Times bestseller Then She Was Gone, as well as I Found You, The Girls in the Garden, and The House We Grew Up In. In total, her novels have sold more than two million copies across the English-speaking world and her work has also been translated into sixteen languages so far. Lisa lives in London with her husband and their two daughters.

Photograph by Andrew Whitton.

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2 Comments on #BookReview Watching You by Lisa Jewell @lisajewelluk @SimonSchusterCA

Sounds like my sort of story! Great review 🙂

Great review! I have had this title for a while but haven’t had time to read it yet. You just bumped it up the list!

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Watching You by Lisa Jewell

  • Publication Date: August 6, 2019
  • Genres: Fiction , Psychological Suspense , Psychological Thriller , Suspense , Thriller
  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Atria Books
  • ISBN-10: 1501190083
  • ISBN-13: 9781501190087
  • About the Book
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Book Club Questions for Watching You by Lisa Jewell

book review watching you lisa jewell

This post contains links to products that I may receive compensation from at no additional cost to you. View my Affiliate Disclosure page here .

Editorial Note – I was given a copy of Lisa Jewell’s Watching You in return for a review. 

Watching You by Lisa Jewell is a suspenseful page-turner about a shocking murder with plenty of twists and turns. The following book club questions will have spoilers  so if you haven’t read the novel yet, check out my preview and review first.

The story is about a group of very different people living in the Melville Heights neighborhood in Bristol, England. It’s an upscale neighborhood so while it’s perhaps not the place where criminal activity is expected, everyone sure has a secret. While there are several characters throughout the novel, there are four main ones: Tom Fitzwilliam, the local school headmaster that everyone seems infuriated with, including his neighbor Joey Mullen who develops an obsessive crush. Then there’s Tom’s teenaged son Freddie who adopts an odd hobby of spying on the entire neighborhood. Lastly, we have Jenna Tripp, who also lives on the same street, and she’s not convinced her teacher is as squeaky clean as he seems.

This one is definitely creepy!

Book Club Questions for Watching You

  • Watching You  is a suspenseful read, in what ways is the novel also a mystery?
  • The story is split into four parts, with also a quick diary entry, a prologue and an epilogue. What did you think about this story structure? Which section stuck out to you the most?
  • While there are many different characters, we read the story from the perspectives of Joey, Freddie and Jenna. Why do you think author focused on them? How would the story have been different if we would have also read it from Tom’s perspective?
  • What do you think everyone was infuriated with Tom?
  • What was your initial impressions of Freddie? Did this change at all as the book went on?
  • In what ways is Freddie similar to his dad and mom? In what ways is he is different?
  • A large portion of the book is the potential horror that Tom is in fact having affairs with his teenaged students. Did you believe that he was doing this or did you think it was a misdirection?
  • Who did you think was murdered and who did you think did it? Were you surprised that it turned out to be Nikki murdered by Rebecca?
  • What hints did the author include that showed Rebecca and Nikki both had their own secrets?
  • Even though it was revealed that Tom didn’t actually have an affair with Viva, do you believe that he still played a role in what happened to her?
  • At the end of the novel, Freddie finds a bunch of long, black hair hidden in an old envelope. Whose hair was this and what did that mean in the context of the story? Let’s talk about the ending.
  • How did Joey’s mother’s death impact her and her decision making? Why do you think she married Alfie? Why did she become so obsessed with Tom?
  • What was your impressions of Jenna?
  • What happens next to all the characters?

Next on my TBR (to be read) list

I think I’m good with thrillers for a while after reading this one. Next on my list is  The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Wedding by Jennifer Robson. You can read my preview here .

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Monday 27th of February 2023

Whose long black hair was it that Freddie found at the end of the book? What did it mean? I’m lost on that.

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Watching You

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About The Author

Lisa Jewell

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.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Atria Books (August 6, 2019)
  • Length: 352 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781501190087

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  • Fiction > Thrillers > Suspense
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Raves and Reviews

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

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

“Page one intrigued me. Page three hooked me. By page five, I was consumed. This compulsive, propulsive novel is both a seize-you-by-the-throat thriller and a genuinely moving family drama . Stellar.” —A. J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

" A twisty whodunit ." — Cosmopolitan

" Big Little Lies -esque small town drama with stakes as high as Amy from Gone Girl 's IQ, Lisa Jewell's latest thriller is not to be missed ." — InStyle

" Watching You takes the idea of obsession to chilling heights ." — PopSugar

" This suspense is going to have you turning the pages all night long. " — Bustle

"Stellar domestic drama... Expert misdirection keeps the reader guessing, and the rug-pulled-out-from-beneath-your-feet conclusion—coupled with one final, bonechilling revelation—is stunning. Best not to bet on anyone. A compulsive read guaranteed to please fans of A. J. Finn and Ruth Ware ." — Booklist (starred review)

"Jewell weaves a taut multiperspective, domestic/community suspense story that is sure to please fans of Ruth Ware and A.J. Finn ." — Library Journal (starred review)

"[A] spine-tingling thriller ...Lisa Jewell’s gripping novel Watching You unravels a tangled web of rumors—and a shocking twist ." — Real Simple

“Eerie and bone-chilling… this page turner surprises and stuns .” — Woman's World Magazine

" A juicy new page-turner ." — Brit+Co

“[A] crafty conundrum…the author smoothly juggles multiple story lines… prepare to be blindsided by the murder victim’s identity, not revealed until late in the game—and an even more stunning final surprise. Jewell does a masterly job of maintaining suspense.” —Publishers Weekly

“Jewell adeptly weaves together a complex array of characters in her latest thriller. The novel opens with the murder investigation and deftly maintains its intensity and brisk pace... Jewell's use of third-person narration allows her to explore each family's anxieties and sorrows, which ultimately makes this novel's ending all the more unsettling. An engrossing and haunting psychological thriller .” — Kirkus Reviews

" A master at unspooling tightly told tales , Jewell specializes in perfectly-pitched thrillers without sacrificing a drop of her characters’ complexities, secrets, and desires, and this latest one is no exception." — The Seattle Review of Books

" Jewell excels in creating complex characters, building tension and keeping readers in the dark yet riveted until the "Aha!" moments...this thriller unfolds and concludes in a very satisfying way." — Shelf Awareness

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Watching You

Watching You

  • Unabridged Audio Download
  • Unabridged Compact Disk

Table of Contents

Reading group guide.

  • Rave and Reviews

About The Book

Join our mailing list! Get our latest staff recommendations, award news and digital catalog links right to your inbox.

About The Author

Lisa Jewell

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.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Atria Books (August 6, 2019)
  • Length: 352 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781501190087

Browse Related Books

  • Fiction > Thrillers > Domestic
  • Fiction > Thrillers > Suspense
  • Fiction > Women

Related Articles

  • The 10 Most Popular Books of February - Off the Shelf
  • 10 Obsession Thrillers to Keep a Close Eye On - Off the Shelf
  • The 15 Most Popular Books of January - Off the Shelf
  • 9 Larger-Than-Life Books That Remind Me of Broadway Musicals - Off the Shelf
  • 7 Books With Striking Green Covers to Read This St. Paddy’s Day - Off the Shelf
  • 6 Books So Compelling We Almost Missed Our Train Stops - Off the Shelf
  • Readers’ Choice: Our Top 25 Most Popular Books of the Year! - Off the Shelf
  • The Best of 2019: The Top 10 Book Lists of the Year - Off the Shelf
  • 7 Domestic Thrillers to Binge-Read Right Now - Off the Shelf
  • Readers’ Choice: Our 10 Most Popular Books in August - Off the Shelf
  • 6 Must-Read Books New in Paperback This August - Off the Shelf

Raves and Reviews

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

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

“Page one intrigued me. Page three hooked me. By page five, I was consumed. This compulsive, propulsive novel is both a seize-you-by-the-throat thriller and a genuinely moving family drama . Stellar.” —A. J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

" A twisty whodunit ." — Cosmopolitan

" Big Little Lies -esque small town drama with stakes as high as Amy from Gone Girl 's IQ, Lisa Jewell's latest thriller is not to be missed ." — InStyle

" Watching You takes the idea of obsession to chilling heights ." — PopSugar

" This suspense is going to have you turning the pages all night long. " — Bustle

"Stellar domestic drama... Expert misdirection keeps the reader guessing, and the rug-pulled-out-from-beneath-your-feet conclusion—coupled with one final, bonechilling revelation—is stunning. Best not to bet on anyone. A compulsive read guaranteed to please fans of A. J. Finn and Ruth Ware ." — Booklist (starred review)

"Jewell weaves a taut multiperspective, domestic/community suspense story that is sure to please fans of Ruth Ware and A.J. Finn ." — Library Journal (starred review)

"[A] spine-tingling thriller ...Lisa Jewell’s gripping novel Watching You unravels a tangled web of rumors—and a shocking twist ." — Real Simple

“Eerie and bone-chilling… this page turner surprises and stuns .” — Woman's World Magazine

" A juicy new page-turner ." — Brit+Co

“[A] crafty conundrum…the author smoothly juggles multiple story lines… prepare to be blindsided by the murder victim’s identity, not revealed until late in the game—and an even more stunning final surprise. Jewell does a masterly job of maintaining suspense.” —Publishers Weekly

“Jewell adeptly weaves together a complex array of characters in her latest thriller. The novel opens with the murder investigation and deftly maintains its intensity and brisk pace... Jewell's use of third-person narration allows her to explore each family's anxieties and sorrows, which ultimately makes this novel's ending all the more unsettling. An engrossing and haunting psychological thriller .” — Kirkus Reviews

" A master at unspooling tightly told tales , Jewell specializes in perfectly-pitched thrillers without sacrificing a drop of her characters’ complexities, secrets, and desires, and this latest one is no exception." — The Seattle Review of Books

" Jewell excels in creating complex characters, building tension and keeping readers in the dark yet riveted until the "Aha!" moments...this thriller unfolds and concludes in a very satisfying way." — Shelf Awareness

Resources and Downloads

High resolution images.

  • Book Cover Image (jpg): Watching You Trade Paperback 9781501190087

Get our latest staff recommendations, award news and digital catalog links right to your inbox.

More books from this author: Lisa Jewell

None of This Is True

You may also like: Book Club Favorite Picks!

Mrs. Everything

More to Explore

Limited Time eBook Deals

Limited Time eBook Deals

Check out this month's discounted reads.

Our Summer Reading Recommendations

Our Summer Reading Recommendations

Red-hot romances, poolside fiction, and blockbuster picks, oh my! Start reading the hottest books of the summer.

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None of This Is True: A Novel

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None of This Is True: A Novel Hardcover – August 8, 2023

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  • Print length 384 pages
  • Language English
  • Publisher Atria Books
  • Publication date August 8, 2023
  • Dimensions 6 x 1.2 x 9 inches
  • ISBN-10 1982179007
  • ISBN-13 978-1982179007
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  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Atria Books (August 8, 2023)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1982179007
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1982179007
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.19 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.2 x 9 inches
  • #23 in Domestic Thrillers (Books)
  • #40 in Women's Domestic Life Fiction
  • #75 in Suspense Thrillers

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Must Read for Psychological Thriller/Domestic Thriller Fans!

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About the author

Lisa jewell.

LISA JEWELL was born in London in 1968.

Her first novel, Ralph's Party, was the best- selling debut novel of 1999. Since then she has written another twenty novels, most recently a number of dark psychological thrillers, including The Girls, Then She Was Gone, The Family Upstairs, The Family Remains and The Night She Disappeared, all of which were Richard & Judy Book Club picks.

Lisa is a New York Times and Sunday Times number one bestselling author who has been published worldwide in over thirty languages. She lives in north London with her husband and two daughters.

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  1. Watching You

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  2. Watching You by Lisa Jewell

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  3. Watching You by Lisa Jewell

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  4. Watching You by Lisa Jewell

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  5. Book Review: ‘Watching You’ by Lisa Jewell

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  6. Review: Watching You by Lisa Jewell

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  1. Twists, turns and suspense in the new Lisa Jewell

COMMENTS

  1. Watching You by Lisa Jewell

    Watching You by Lisa Jewell is a 2018 Atria Books publication. Remember to pull your shades and lock your doors- you never know who might be watching! Lisa Jewell's latest thriller examines the secrets and obsessions of a seemingly idyllic neighborhood. Melville Heights, an upscale neighborhood, home to professionals like doctors and lawyers ...

  2. WATCHING YOU

    Jewell's use of third-person narration allows her to explore each family's anxieties and sorrows, which ultimately makes this novel's ending all the more unsettling. An engrossing and haunting psychological thriller. 30. Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2018. ISBN: 978-1-5011-9007-.

  3. Book Review: WATCHING YOU by Lisa Jewell

    WATCHING YOU by Lisa Jewell. Atria Books; 8/6/19. CBTB Rating: 5/5. The Verdict: a juicy, voyeuristic "popcorn read". There are few things better than finding a book that you can completely lose yourself in—and that's exactly what I found in Lisa Jewell's utterly irresistible psychological suspense novel WATCHING YOU.

  4. The ending of Lisa Jewell's Watching You

    There have been quite a few requests for an explanation of the ending of Watching You, and in particular the owner of the hair so here's my take. Right up to the end of the book it is maintained that Genevieve Hart kills herself, as a result of the appalling bullying she endured from Nikki Lee and her sidekicks. The local paper report concludes.

  5. Summary and reviews of Watching You by Lisa Jewell

    This information about Watching You was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter.Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication.

  6. Watching You

    WATCHING YOU is that best of reads: a mystery that goes beyond the same old cat-and-mouse game. Reviewed by Katherine B. Weissman on January 4, 2019. Watching You. by Lisa Jewell. Publication Date: August 6, 2019. Genres: Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller. Paperback: 352 pages.

  7. Review: Watching You by Lisa Jewell

    By Heather Caliendo. Published: December 5, 2018. Editorial Note - I was given a copy of Lisa Jewell's Watching You in return for a review. Watching You by Lisa Jewell is a creepy thriller that will make you feel genuine chills. Join the Book Club Chat Newsletter. The story is about a group of very different people living in the Melville ...

  8. Review: WATCHING YOU by Lisa Jewell

    Watching You by Lisa Jewell Also by this author: The Family Upstairs, The Night She Disappeared Published by Atria Books on December 26, 2018 Genres: Mystery, Thriller Pages: 320 Source: Netgalley Amazon Goodreads. FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own. MY REVIEW: Lisa Jewell's latest novel Watching You is the ...

  9. Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Watching You: A Novel

    Watching You by Lisa Jewell is a suspenseful masterpiece that keeps you hooked until the very last page. From the intriguing characters to the gripping plot, this psychological thriller delivers a rollercoaster ride of emotions that will leave you wanting more. ... I heard so many great reviews about this book and I really like Lisa Jewell, but ...

  10. Review: Watching You by Lisa Jewell

    Title: Watching You Author: Lisa Jewell Published: December 2018, Atria Books Format: ARC Paperback, 320 pages Source: Publisher Summary: "Page one intrigued me. Page three hooked me. By page five, I was consumed. This compulsive, propulsive novel is both a seize-you-by-the-throat

  11. Book Review: Watching You by Lisa Jewell

    Melville Heights is one of the nicest neighbourhoods 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 […]Continue Reading

  12. Watching You: A Novel

    "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 ...

  13. Watching You

    Lisa Jewell's domestic thrillers regularly show up on bestseller lists, and her latest, Watching You, should be no exception. The mysterious murder at its center unfolds gradually, as piece by piece the past and present relationships between her intriguing cast of characters begin to fit together.

  14. Watching You: A Novel

    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 ...

  15. Watching You by Lisa Jewell

    Watching You. by Lisa Jewell. 1. WATCHING YOU begins with a diary excerpt from 1996. How does this passage set the tone for the novel? Now that you've finished reading, who do you think wrote it? 2. Lisa Jewell includes a number of red herrings that lead the reader to one suspicion and then another.

  16. Book Club Questions for Watching You by Lisa Jewell

    Watching You by Lisa Jewell is a suspenseful page-turner about a shocking murder with plenty of twists and turns. The following book club questions will have spoilers so if you haven't read the novel yet, check out my preview and review first.. The story is about a group of very different people living in the Melville Heights neighborhood in Bristol, England.

  17. Watching You: A Novel: Jewell, Lisa: 9781501190070: Amazon.com: Books

    "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 ...

  18. Watching You

    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.

  19. Amazon.com: Watching You: A Novel: 9781501190087: Jewell, Lisa: Books

    "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 ...

  20. Watching You: Brilliant psychological crime from the author of THEN SHE

    LISA JEWELL was born in London in 1968. Her first novel, Ralph's Party, was the best- selling debut novel of 1999. Since then she has written another twenty novels, most recently a number of dark psychological thrillers, including The Girls, Then She Was Gone, The Family Upstairs, The Family Remains and The Night She Disappeared, all of which were Richard & Judy Book Club picks.

  21. Watching You

    Watching You by Lisa Jewell - "Quickly and assuredly, Jewell builds an ecosystem of countervailing suspicions…Tricky, clever, unexpected." —New York Times Bo...

  22. Amazon.com: Watching You: A Novel: 9781508268628: Jewell, Lisa

    LISA JEWELL was born in London in 1968. Her first novel, Ralph's Party, was the best- selling debut novel of 1999. Since then she has written another twenty novels, most recently a number of dark psychological thrillers, including The Girls, Then She Was Gone, The Family Upstairs, The Family Remains and The Night She Disappeared, all of which were Richard & Judy Book Club picks.

  23. Amazon.com: None of This Is True: A Novel: 9781982179007: Jewell, Lisa

    Hardcover - August 8, 2023. From the #1 New York Times bestselling author known for her "superb pacing, twisted characters, and captivating prose" (BuzzFeed), Lisa Jewell returns with a scintillating new psychological thriller about a woman who finds herself the subject of her own popular true crime podcast.