This was an amazing book. I was gripped from the very first page.
The characters are believable and well defined and age scene is very firmly set of a murder. The question is who was murdered, who the perpetrator was and the motive.
Well, I correctly predicted the perpetrator but not the victim or the motive.
Even if you get all three predictions right, you need to read to the very end: there is a further revelation just as the book ends.

You will not be disappointed.

Lisa Jewell is one of a few authors who never disappoints. Watching You is rich with believable characters and beautifully evoked locations. The story begins with a murder and the rest of the novel leads us forward to the point in time when this happens. All too often publishers promise us a twist that never really surprises - this book doesn't promise twists but delivers them with just the right timing. No one is what they seem initially and the disconnect between assumption and the truth is central to the plot AND to our enjoyment of it. The more I think about this book, the more accomplished it seems to be. I just wish I could forget it all and read it afresh again!

I loved it and I love this author. I couldn't put it down, gripping from the first lines. Bring on the next one Lisa!

Omg lisa has gone and done it again what a fantastic read i love the way lisa makes all the characters in her books so believable its like they could be living next door amazing

Excellent story line which was gripping from start to finish. Great characters. I would highly recommend this book.

I've been devouring all of Lisa Jewell's recent books - I'm really enjoying her psychological thriller, almost more than After the Party etc. Watching You was very complex and told from several points of view, but Jewell handled them well and I didn't get lost. at all. The characters are well formed and build up the plot picture slowly. Unfortunately I guessed the plot twist fairly early on and so I read the rest of the novel fast to see if I was right. It was a good quick read but not as enjoyable as Lisa Jewell's previous thrillers.

Reading the second half of Watching You gave me unstoppable shivers of dread running up and down every inch of my body. Wonderfully twisted, brilliantly dark and TOTALLY traumatic.

Watching You by Lisa Jewell is a psychological thriller with a third-person omniscient narrative. The story starts with a flash-forward prologue announcing the discovery of a body, before chronologically structured chapters reveal events of the three months leading up to the murder. Just who has been murdered is something that isn’t revealed until much later.

Typical of this author, characters have a unique realness about them. Some likeable, some not, but all extremely believable. Whilst the narrative as a whole is omniscient, each chapter is from a limited perspective of various diverse characters. With the novel full of red herrings Lisa Jewell’s ability to head hop between male and female, old and young, and one social class to another, adds to the story’s intrigue as to who is telling the truth. As soon as you start to think one thing, another sets you off on another trail. Whether you see, Tom as a caring headmaster who protects and supports his students, or a creepy slime ball who hides under his professional status, depends on which character you believe. And his wife, Nicola, is she really as downtrodden as she makes out? Joey, the protagonist is no exception. With self-esteem issues that lead her on a path of self-destruction, can we really trust this character?

Although there are lots of characters, I still found the storyline easy to follow. With engaging characters and twists galore, the fast paced short chapters made for a page turning read that saw the novel read within two days. There is brilliant twist at the end, but heart-breaking at the same time.

I recommend this book for anybody who likes Louise Jensen or Jane Corry.

Under Literature Love’s rating scheme, this book has been awarded 5 out of 5 stars. A five-star review means:

I absolutely loved this book and couldn’t put it down. I recommend you stop what you’re doing and go and buy this book now! As well as having all the elements of a four-star review, the language is original and compelling; characters jumped off the page, and twists in the plot left me gasping.

To be honest, I didn't want another 'missing girl' book, and I had a preconceived idea that Lisa Jewell is popular with chicklit readers. WRONG! This is a superb mystery murder with brilliantly rounded characters and set in Bristol with houses on a hill looking down on others.-Totterdown? However, there are many twists which keep you guessing as to who the murderer is and the location matters little. I loved it, and will take more time to look at Lisa Jewell in a different light.

This was a fabulous book about what goes on behind closed doors, and also people that watch and spy on people to find out about what they are doing. I really enjoyed the book, well done lisa Jewell for another great story, thanks for letting me read the book ahead of publication.

I loved this intriguing book by Lisa Jewel. As with all of her books its another page turner with a great plot to keep you guessing. Recommended read as are her other books.

This is another page turner from Lisa Jewell. We spend the book with the neighbours in a small town while we try to learn who the dead body is that we meet in the opening pages.
This story is weaved in Lisa’s usual style; one that keeps us engaged and on the edge of our seats while exploring some interesting human nature.

Loved this new book by Lisa Jewel. I have read all of her books and am loving the change over to thriller.
This book is fast paced with great characters that you get to really know as the book goes on. I liked the twists and turns and how all the characters are linked. I kind of expected some of the plot but this did not ruin the book for me I just wanted to see if I was right.
I would definitely recommend reading this. Fab book that didn’t disappoint.

Loved it! The twist three quarters of the way though? Well, I didn’t see that coming! I thought I had the whole story worked out, I was wrong! Brilliant!

I have never read a Lisa Jewell book that I haven't really enjoyed and this book is no exception.
It was fast-paced and compelling, so much so that I found myself surprised (and disappointed) when I realised that the book was coming to an end. The story unfolds through the viewpoints of several characters, all living in and around the small town of Melville. Over the course of the novel, we begin to see connections between them and a mystery is gradually solved. The quick movement between characters means that you are kept fully on your toes but you don't lose any of the plot or any sense of character which is an achievement when dealing with so many. The plot is complicated enough to keep you intrigued but still easy to follow. A great read.

Another brilliant book by Lisa Jewell. You really feel you know the characters and you could be a neighbour watching from your living room window.
The narrative centres around a street in Bristol and the people who live in it. It starts with a murder having been committed and then goes back to a short time before the murder to set the scene so to speak.

I am a huge fan of Lisa Jewell, I’ve read and loved all of her other novels and so I was delighted to read an early copy of Watching You and let me just say wow…what a book!
This is one of those books that pulls you in from the first page and does not let you go until long after you have finished the book. I sat down on an afternoon intending to read for an hour or two but I was so engrossed by what was happening that I read the entire book in almost one sitting.
The characters are very-well written and everything is unravelled over the course of the book at exactly the right moment, I had no clue where it was going until the very end.
Lisa Jewell has written another brilliant suspensful and riveting story that will have you racing through the pages, I would highly recommend this to everyone.

This is brilliant! If you want an unputdownable, psychological, pacey, page-turner crime thriller that will have you burning the midnight oil, then look no further. It's a totally captivating and absorbing read. Lisa Jewell excels herself here.

Every character is beautifully drawn, completely believable and relatable, especially Joey, the protagonist. She's a newly married, almost thirty year old with the restless heart of a teenage rebel, who is unsettled inside and ripe for falling for an older guy who enters her orbit.

She hasn't yet got a grip on who she is and how she wants to live. Temporarily lodging in Melville Heights with her kind, successful elder brother, Jack, and his rather distant, pregnant wife, Rebecca, Joey and her husband Alex find local employment and get to know the neighbourhood.

Before long, Joey chances upon the charismatic local headmaster, Tom Fitzwilliam, whose suave charm proves to be her undoing. Physical attraction grows between them, enhanced by the secrecy they must maintain to hide their feelings from others, including his wife Nicola and reclusive teenage son, Freddie.

But Joey isn't alone in finding Tom irresistible. His friendly, easygoing and understanding manner makes him popular with the students. Though his history suggests not all is above board. There are levels of intrigue among the inhabitants. People are not all they seem and some are warily watching others.

The book opens with a murder having taken place. Suspects are interviewed as an ongoing background thread to the main narrative. Suspicion and tension mounts and it doesn't look good for Joey. Who is watching who? And who else is keeping secrets?

All is eventually revealed, though the epilogue leaves room for further enquiry. I loved the unexpected twists and turns and the way each person grows through the things they experience. Joey most of all. It brings out a depth, purpose and maturity in her that she lacked in the beginning. A great summer must-read. Highly recommended. Grateful thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this, fast and pacy with some great twists kept me hooked to the end.
The book starts with us finding out there has been a murder, but we are not sure whose. The book flicks skilfully between police interview transcripts and both past and present events until it reaches its’ climax.
Tom Fitzwilliam has been drafted in as the head of a failing school, he is charismatic and there is an instant mutual attraction between him and Joey, who is recently married, even though he is twice her age. She has moved in with her brother and his wife and started a dead end job which she hates.
Tom’s son is on the edge of the autistic spectrum, has no friends and spends his time in his room watching people through his window and logging their activities. But he is not the only one watching people, Frances, is watching too, convinced people are watching her.
Is Tom quite what he seems? Frances’ Daughter is convinced he has a past and that his behaviour with the female students is inappropriate.
Events move along quickly and we soon find out who is connected with who.

I absolutely loved the roller-coaster of a read. And OMG that ending - I keep thinking about it.

Joey has arrived back from working in Ibiza with gentle-giant hubby in tow. They are staying at her brother's and sister-in-laws until they get their lives sorted. Joey meets the neighbour, hot shot headteacher of the local high school and develops a crush on him. She can't stop thinking about him and imagines all things happening between them. Someone is watching Joey and others in the neighbourhood....there are lots of twists and turns and happenings. I simply loved it and never saw that ending coming! Brilliant.