This is possibly Lisa Jewell's best book yet. The twists and turns come thick and fast, and the ending took my breath away. At first there are so many people watching each other it seems a bit contrived, but it's all there for a reason. The characters grow in depth, and the plot thickens. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, though at times it is unsettling in the way it gets under the skin of disturbed individuals.

Lisa Jewell can certainly hook her readers; she is very good at choosing a few choice details or a shocking scenario to lead us down a particular path before making us understand that we have not been reading the map carefully enough. Nowhere is this more apparent that in ‘Watching You’! This is a tale of misguided passions and misunderstood people, most of whom are recognisably human if, occasionally, rather sketchily drawn. In this novel the most believable character is the likeable, flawed Joey Mullen who has convinced herself that getting married means that she is now grown up and responsible. Back with her husband from their previous holiday-rep jobs in Ibiza, the couple are living with her brother. Joey recognises that her husband is not really the love of her life, loathes her work in a children’s soft play centre in Bristol and is looking for distractions. Hey presto – enter one charming older man, the local head teacher no less. But is he as interested in Joey as he appears to be or is he actually inappropriately interested in his pupils’ lives? One of his pupils, sensible, kind Jenna thinks so.
In some chapters this appears to be a novel which explores the horrors of grooming whilst in others there is a serious exploration of mental health issues. We are also given an insight into the world of teenage bullying. Less successful is the portrayal of Asperger’s syndrome which over-relies on the stereotypes we all recognise.
All in all, however, both major and minor characters are very well delineated. The structure of the novel gives us just enough information at the right moments to stay intrigued and the denouement is plausible even though it is extraordinary! I defy anyone to cast this novel aside once a few chapters in. Another very effective psychological thriller from Lisa Jewell!
My thanks to NetGalley and Century Penguin Random House UK for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

It isn't often that I read a book in one or two sittings but Watching You is so riveting that, after a slow start and a large number of characters to get to grips with, I couldn't put it down. At first we are led to believe that Tom Fitzwilliam, a middle aged head teacher, is too good to be true: charismatic, warm and charming he has everyone, especially young women in his thrall. But this is a tale of twists and turns when we learn that he was involved with the death of a pupil many years before and someone is now out to take revenge. Thanks to NetGalley and RandomHouse/Cornerstone for the opportunity to read and review Watching You.

Love Lisa Jewell’s writing and could not wait to read this one. Slightly confusing and slow to start, but once I had got into it it was a brilliant read!

Although this was an enjoyable read it didn’t capture me as much as Ms Jewell’s earlier novels like Vince and Joy. I found the story to be lacking in suspense and at times confusing over which was Jenna and which Joey.. It all felt a little rushed and contrived with stereotypical characters but an easy summer read.

Lisa Jewell you have a new fan right here. I thoroughly enjoyed Then She Was Gone, and now this. This intense novel, full of creepy characters and more twists and turns than a day out at Alton Towers!

The book opens with a bang smack in the middle of a murder crime scene, but who is the victim? And who is the culprit? All will be revealed and I almost guarantee you will not see it coming.

We then skip back to 3 months earlier with one of our main characters. Joey Mullen, a bit of a disaster case, can’t seem to find a decent job and is living in her brother Jack’s spare room. Married to the lovely Alfie Butter after a whirlwind romance in Ibiza, Joey notices a handsome, older man, Tom Fitzwilliam who lives a few doors down and her obsession begins.

As well as Joey, this story is told from several other characters point of view, in fact, there are quite a lot of characters in this book, however, I didn’t find it too confusing to keep up with them all. The characters are all very different and some are definitely slightly creepy. There is a diverse range of characters and topics within the story, such as mental health, Asperger and domestic abuse. Not many of the characters are likeable, pretty much everyone seems to be up to something, creeping around, watching someone.

Throughout the story, we are given dialogue from police interviews involving different characters. This really helps to keep you guessing, reminding you that a murder has taken place, and leaving you trying to figure out “whodunnit”. Several times I thought I had figured it all out but then I would read the next chapter and have a completely different view. It is very cleverly written, taking your mind in one direction only to reveal that in the end, you really had no idea what was going on.

Lisa has written a fabulously gripping, suspenseful thriller that pulls you in and doesn’t let go until the very last chapter. There are some very tense moments and I read this book mostly in one sitting, unable to put it down.

This book will hook you in and keep you guessing the whole way through, warning, you will not be able to put it down!

I give this book 5/5 stars and highly recommend it!

Everyone is watching everybody else in this excellent, page turner of a novel with a gasp out loud final twist.
The opening chapter describe a murder scene but it isn’t until much later that you discover who is the victim. Joey Mullen is back from Ibiza with a brand new husband in tow and living with her brother and his pregnant wife. She finds herself very drawn to the very charismatic local headmaster who lives two doors away. Jenna and Bess are best school friends and while Bess swoons over the same headmaster Jenna is coping with a mother who thinks she is being watched and stalked. Freddie, the headmaster’s son, is watching everyone.

This is a really enjoyable thriller. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from NetGalley and publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.

I Love Lisa Jewell's books and you should read this next.  That's basically my review.  You know you are guaranteed a page turner full of interesting characters, a clever plot line, several red herrings and quite a few moments of oooohs and aaaahhs along the way.

Watching You is Lisa Jewell's latest novel and this one is slightly darker than her previous novels.  The main character Joey (Josephine) has returned to the UK after living abroad, now 27 years old and bringing her new husband, she moves in with her brother Jack and his pregnant wife.  Told through alternating characters and points of view, plus the police interview transcripts we learn from the start that there has been a murder, but we don't know who has been killed or why until quite far into the story.

I have to admit that at 90% through the book I still didn't quite know who or why although I did have my suspicions and will admit I was half right.  This is a story of obsession and secrets, infatuation and deceit and if you are looking for something to keep you guessing throughout then Watching You is definitely a book you should read.

I’m a huge fan of Lisa Jewell and this didn’t disappoint at all! Grabbed me from the get go and didn’t release me until I’d finished hours later.

Jewell is going from strength to strength. Highly recommended.

I have heard so much about Lisa Jewell that I was over the moon to receive this book so this is my first read by her but certainly not my last!

The book was a bit slow to start but soon picked up, it is told from a number of viewpoints which is sometimes confusing but once you have it straight in your head, its get easier, I am a huge fan of psychological thrillers and this one certainly lived up to my expectations. Very well written and cleverly put together plot full of twists and turns, some you can guess, others you can't, just what I love about a book. Its certainly an eye opener in this modern age as to how easy it is to find out about someone's life.

Those of you who love a good fast paced psychological thriller, this one is up there, highly recommended.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was super excited to be sent this book as Lisa Jewell has always been one of my favourite authors.
This book didn’t disappoint and I really enjoyed it. It’s much darker than her most recent books which gave it an intriguing element.
The plot was quite predictable but still engaging.

Having heard great things about Then She Was Gone, I had high expectations of this latest Lisa Jewel novel. However I found it incredibly slow to get going and there were a lot of characters to get to grips with. It was only halfway through that the pace began to pick up and I could begin to sense the dovetailing of the different storylines. From the dysfunctional families, obsessions, the abusive marriage, school bullying and Asperger's the themes explored in this novel were absorbing and the finale was both a great twist and rather sad. Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin - Random House for an e copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

With thanks to Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.


I thoroughly enjoyed this book - I felt like the characters were believable and the plot was incredibly well crafted.

Josephine (Joey) and her new husband are back home from working abroad and now living with Joey's brother and his pregnant wife. Joey finds herself inexplicably attracted to married, charismatic headteacher Tom Fitzwilliam, who lives two doors away. Tom's son Freddie is a 'watcher'; he snaps photos of his neighbours' comings and goings through his digital binoculars.

Mentally unbalanced Frances lives with her schoolgirl daughter Jenna. Frances is convinced Tom Fitzwilliam is hiding a secret. She recognises him from a coach trip several years earlier when he was attacked by two women who very clearly held a grudge. But when Jenna confronts him, he claims to have no idea who the women were. Something isn't adding up. What is Tom hiding and more importantly, WHY?

I really enjoyed Watching You by Lisa Jewell. Although slow to get started, once it did, it really took off. I was completely immersed in these peoples' lives. These seemingly innocuous neighbours all had secrets to hide. There were twists and turns aplenty, red herrings and a scattering of clues along the way. It's a story of love, obsession, betrayal, lies and ultimately, murder. There's an underlying uneasiness throughout - the feeling of tension and creepiness. You know all is not as it appears.

Whilst character development is excellent, be prepared for a cast of many. At first I had difficulty keeping track of everyone, but once I'd settled into the book, it became less of a problem. In fact I found it a bonus - more tangled webs to be unraveled and more suspects to suspect! Towards the end it became a little obvious which direction the story was taking, but oh boy, I really enjoyed the turbulent journey getting there!

Absolutely bloody brilliant! Talk about revenge being a dish best served cold! For me this one just kept getting better with every page I turned. The book jumps from character to character, and it becomes apparent that all is not as it seems and there is a lot history and intertwined lives, which as first glance looked completely normal. What REALLY got me was the last page and what was revealed, the new impression/perspective/twist whatever you want to call it, that was insinuated throwing a whole new light on what had gone on making you rethink the conclusion you had come too. Very cleverly written! Buy the book, read it, but do NOT read the last couple of pages first- it’ll spoil it for you.

Wow!! From the start, where you wonder whose body was lying in a pool of blood on a kitchen floor, to the end, where the victim and murderer are finally revealed, this is a real page turner. Told from a number of points of view you can see how different characters make assumptions, and come to different conclusions, based on their experience and knowledge of the other protagonists. All in all the sort of accomplished writing that one has come to expect from Lisa Jewell.

Lisa Jewell’s last book, Then She Was Gone, traumatised the heck out of me. It was a seriously good read, but, blimey, bits of it were harrowing. So while I jumped at the chance to read her latest, I did approach it with a wee bit of trepidation.

It took me a little while to get into, perhaps because there is a large cast of characters who are all interconnected in various ways, and this took a bit of sorting out in the mind. There’s Joey, back in Bristol after working in Ibiza, living with her brother and his pregnant wife and working in what sounds like one of the world’s worst jobs, at a soft play centre. Joey’s brand new husband, aspiring painter and decorator Alfie. Their neighbour, fourteen year old Freddie Fitzwilliam, who continually watches people in the local area - including Joey, and teenagers Jenna and Bess. Freddie’s strangely attractive dad Tom, a “superhead” parachuted into the local previously failing secondary school to turn things around, and his unhappy-seeming younger wife, Nicola. Jenna’s mentally unwell mother, who constantly fears she’s being watched.

At the start, we learn a body has been found - though not whose - and snippets of police interviews are scattered throughout, . But it’s only very gradually that the whole story unfolds.

Watching You is a very cleverly constructed story in which watching is a theme throughout - the observations people make, the conclusions they come to, justified or otherwise. Often, people are not what they seem even to the most determined watchers. It’s clear that Jenna’s mum Frances filters what she sees to feed her own paranoia, but she may not be the only one misinterpreting the evidence.

I’ve enjoyed all of Lisa Jewell’s books and while it was initially a bit of a slow burner, this was no exception. All the characters were believable, and I found the teenagers particularly well written and especially enjoyed Freddie’s storyline, which had some really delightful moments. The final outcome was a complete surprise, but also made perfect sense. And the very end is a killer, leaving you with a dropped jaw.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

Another cracking good read from Lisa Jewell! I have read this in less than a day as I didn't want to put it down (the downside is that I now have to wait ages for her next release!)

A twisty-turny plot, full of sinister undertones - who's watching who, and why? Is everyone as sinister as they seem, or are there other explanations in play? You'll have to find out for yourself - but all becomes clear eventually...

Once again my thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for my honest review.

Footnote: I did actually guess some of the twists and turns (including the final one) but that's probably because I've read a lot of psychological dramas.

Watching You by Lisa Jewell is a story of schoolgirl crushes, creepy teenagers and adults who should behave better. I like Lisa Jewell books but this one was slow to start and I had to reread certain parts because there were are lot of characters to remember. I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Joey and Alfie are newlyweds, moving in to Joey's brother's and sister in-laws as they resettle back in Bristol. However, headteacher Tom an older man is the sight of Joey's sudden new found obsession he lives two doors down with his wife and son.



There's Freddie, Tom's son and who watches Joey whilst taking photographs of Jenna and others whom he's watched...



Then Jenna who's friends and her laugh over Tom and finding him attractive especially Bess while her mum remembers him despite her issues...



You won't see some of it coming at all, for the twist ending I managed to guess the guilty party at about twenty five percent left of the book due to the various action happening. The characters each had something doubtable about them for instance their actions from watching to photograph taking!



Overall it was a very well plotted book and for a while you consider every character guilty of something, it's a riveting read, perfect for any fan of thrillers and murder mystery books.



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!