Review: Watching You by Lisa Jewell

Title: Watching You
Author: Lisa Jewell
Edition: E-book
Pages: 320
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Publication Date: December 26, 2018

Plot:

Melville Heights is one of the nicest, coziest neighborhoods in England and is home to the coveted painted houses on the hill.  Those in Lower Melville look upon these painted houses from below and fantasize about the lives of those living in these colorful houses. They would never imagine violence or even about someone being brutally murdered in their own house up there.  What they don’t realize is that someone is watching them back.

Tom Fitzwilliam and his family moved to Melville Heights two years ago so Tom could take post as Head Master at the local school and turn it around.  Tom is quickly beloved by everyone, and not just for reforming the school.  The woman around the village cannot resist his charm, none more than Joey Mullen, his newly married neighbor.

One of Tom’s students, Jenna, begins to suspect that there may more to him than he is letting on especially when she notices that he begins paying extra attention to her best friend and her mother becomes convinced that he is stalking her.

In researching her teacher Jenna discovers that twenty years ago a young girl wrote in her diary about an obsession she had with her teacher, a Mr. Fitzwilliam.

My Thoughts:

This was my first Lisa Jewel book, though I have Then She Was Gone at home to read and have heard nothing but good about it.

From the very start Watching You had my attention.  I love stories that have dark secrets and twisty plots.  At the start we are introduced to Tom Fitzwilliam, who everyone in Melville Heights is enamored with.  He came to town to fix the school and just so handsome and charming, but not everyone falls in line with this line of thinking.

Jenna’s mom swears she is being stalked by Tom and his friends, but her crazy accusations have her mental stability being questioned, so no one pays any attention to her.  Then Jenna herself notices odd behavior between Tom and her best friend in school.  Is Tom really the upstanding citizen the village believes him to be?

All of this culminates in a brutal murder in one of the painted houses on the hill.  Did Tom have role in this murder?  Did a secret from his past contribute?

Watching You is told in alternating narratives including police transcript from the murder investigation.  I really enjoy when there is an alternate story telling method used, such as the police transcript.  I feel like it gives an extra layer to the story that can’t be given though the story alone.

This one kept me guessing until the end, I did not see the end coming until right before the end.  Jewell did a great job with this one!  I am looking forward to reading more by her in the future.

Thank you to BookishFirst and Atria Books for the advanced copy.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐