Lisa Jewell

With every twist and turn you don’t know what’s going to happen. 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.

A Novel

Watching You

Selena Rivera

brie

reading this felt like a fever dream because i was reading it at the most random moments during bar exam prep and don’t remember much except that the creepy teacher angle could have been better and more sensational.

I really enjoyed this whodunnit. It kept me guessing for a long time. What a wild story. I think I'm a Lisa Jewell fan now. 

Saffia

haleigh

Nothing is more fun than trying to solve a mystery before the truth is revealed, and honestly, that's the only thing that kept me turning the pages on this one. While there were several things that I liked about this book -- for example, intertwining narratives and interrogation transcripts inserted throughout -- there were several things that put me off as well -- such as the many (and obvious) red herrings. I felt as though Jewell's efforts focused more on trying to throw the reader off the trail than developing the actual plot and backstory of the crime, leaving them underdeveloped and somewhat unresolved. The things that held this book together for me were the easy-to-read chapters, my sense of superiority after figuring out whodunnit, and my infatuation with the British colloquialisms found within the writing. Jewell mentions in her acknowledgements that this was her sixteenth novel to be published, perhaps leading to the formulaic developments within the book. I might take it upon myself to give her a second chance and read one of her earlier pieces for comparison!

Recommended For: those looking for British mystery

** spoiler alert **
           Rating: 4.1 🌟
Warning: This review contains spoilers, do not read on if you have yet to read the book.

I enjoyed listening to this audiobook but majority of the time, my eyebrows were raised as though I couldn't believe what was going on. The teacher was said to be attractive but by the way the author described him was... foul and something I wasn't fond of looking at. He wasn't attractive in my mind and I thought, how could many women (and girls) fall in love with a guy like him? At his 50s, and then I thought that maybe it was possible for other people, especially those that were never given the chance to be loved by someone. He was nice and kind, yes, but majority of what he's done is questionable, I couldn't fathom him. Additionally, the adults in this book act more like children than adults, they are unlikeable, from Joey's irrational "let's get married!" attitude to her sudden infatuation on the teacher (whatever his name was, I forgot). I couldn't empathize with her nor do I understand why she did what she did. Alfie was nice, but felt more like a cardboard cut-out of a person whose existence doesn't really matter. Nikola is supposed to be a subservient "nice" wife and mother but she somehow turned into a 180 halfway or quarterway through the novel. I couldn't "excuse" Freddie's actions because of his condition but whatever he's done is wrong. Taking pictures and spying on his neighbors? No wonder the Jenna's mother was gradually turning delusional. As for Bess and Jenna's friendship, it was a whole lot of nice. The particular kind of friendship wherein they are children, yes (teenagers, but still the same) and I can see why they acted immaturely such as fighting over the teacher. All in all, I don't believe the teacher is innocent, in fact, thoughout the novel, he has always been suspicious. So I have no idea how his manipulative acts of "charm" were brushed aside and placed Rebecca on a pedestal as the "only villain in the story" when in fact, the teacher was just as guilty for overstepping boundaries. I think halfway through the novel the author wanted to incorporate a plot twist but didn't naturally laid it and instead, threw a random "you thought you were right but guess what!" when it's plainly obvious that there was a lack in preparation for outing the "true villain". Rebecca was thrown to the mix haphazardly and without thinking, which made me lose a few numbers on the rating score. This had potentional if the author didn't rush on the writing and planned wisely for how things would pan out to the end. I didn't quite appreciate that it was all haphazard.

This book had me from page one. Complex, thrilling, dark and packed with suspense

Kate B-L

Lane Hokanson

Truly delightfully twisty. Love this author!

Steffi J

I didn’t expect to like this book, actually. I almost DNF’ed because I felt the narration was a bit too monotonous. I pushed through it, and I’m glad I did, because things got a lot more interesting in Part II. There’s a lot of misdirection and the book keeps you guessing about what happened, who’s done what, and who did it.
The best thing I love about this book is the ending. It gave off severely creepy vibes and kept me up all night thinking about it, googling about the meaning of it.

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.

Watching you

Jacqueline Englund

This was a well crafted thriller, that kept me guessing. I really enjoyed the multiple perspectives and the overall story line. Although it was a bit slow at times, the last hundred pages were well worth it.

Kristen Claiborn

This one was twisty! I felt connected to the younger characters but not so much the older ones. The ending was far less of a surprise than I was expecting, but it was still an enjoyable read.

Izza

Cheri McElroy

I inhaled this book. It was creepy and twisted and I loved it. My minor beef is that the guilty person was mostly in the background until the end and I like all my suspects to be equally visible, a la Christie. 🙂 And there was some info dumping in the Afterward. But the extra twist at the end helped make up for it. 

A solid, enjoyable read.

Varshh

People at Melville are not what they seem. If you peel those layers, you would see the dark and forbidden desires inside them. If you visit Melville, make sure no one's watching you.

A brilliant novel exploring the darkest corners of the human mind.

Mysterious and hard to put down, but the intrigue wore off in the final quarter. Brownie points for essentially tying up all the loose ends

Michelle Guo

5 stars. Didn't see the end coming and somehow, even the epilogue had a twist. Time and time again, I'm shocked at how mean high school girls can be.

Charlee Boone

I listened to this as an audiobook and think it would have been better if I physically read it. it was hard to keep up with so many characters. casual vacancy vibes

With every twist and turn you don’t know what’s going to happen. Another Lisa Jewell classic...... 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.

Alex Flagg

2.5 stars. Felt like I knew this plot twist was coming about 30% of the way through the book. Finished it just to make sure I was right. Kind of boring :/

Lisa Jewell does not disappoint again. This book is full of thrilling twists and turns and has you looking in every direction for who was killed and who did the killing. It had great pace and keeps you pulled in at every part. The characters are very compelling and have some serious moral intricacies that have you wondering if you should root for them or hide from them. A very fun and fast thriller to read.

Madhuri Sridhara

4.25- Way better than " Then she was gone", this novel is a page-turner with interesting characters and a plot that comes together nicely.

Skye Sherman

Took me forever to get through because I was traveling, so I kept losing my place and forgetting what the book was about and who the characters were (and there were a lot of characters to keep straight in this one!), but I have to say I never saw the end coming. Crazy! And once I got to about 3/4 of the way through the book, I couldn’t stop. So it hooked me once I got everything straight! And everything you think you know unravels by the end... so just hold on. ;)

Cindy Lieberman

People in this neighborhood are watching each other intently, but most see only what is happening on the surface — or what they think is happening — until long-buried secrets and hidden motivations are revealed.

Alexa

Absolutely loved it. Covers different points of views and throws a few curve balls. Loved all the twists and turns. Great mystery/murder/investigation story. 

Sophie Hutchings

Was actually recommend this book by my nan!! She loved it, we just got off the phone chatting about how much we enjoyed the story line and how it flowed. Really liked!

Samantha Kalany Hughes

Holy moly!! I love Lisa Jewell!! Always putting out some great thrillers!

Watching You A Novel

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