Member Reviews

You cannot pick up a book by Lisa Jewell and expect to put it down and with this one I couldn’t.
Absolutely gripping loved it.
Can’t wait for more.

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An interesting and twisty tale of the comings and goings of a group of people in one street/ town. Lots of creepy people and it's a wonder they all found each other! Basically it centres on someone from this group being murdered and chops and changes between the present and then to figure out who did it.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Great gripping read of lives being destroyed by obsession and secrets.

A family move in to a new village where everyone is either watching or being watched, but the real question is who is hiding what and who has hidden motives.

A good holiday read that keeps you turning the pages to find out if there even is a mystery to be discovered

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Really enjoyable read, with the story leading you in all different directions. I felt that the ending didn’t quite tie it all up for me.

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So many twists and turns, keeps you guessing about what is going to happen and who is the bad guy. I got closer and closer to the end and just had to keep on reading, through the night until I got to the very end.

Great book, great characters, great twists and turns, keeping you in suspense, well worth a read and a recommended 5 stars from me, now I want to read another book from her list.

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Lisa Jewell has done it again. I absolutely adored Then She Was Gone, and Watching You was equally as good. Jewell seems to have a way of keeping secrets until the very last moment and unleashing them in a way that is both shocking and totally enjoyable for a reader. Another incredible read. My favourite book of the year thus far.

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This is not the first book by Lisa Jewell that I have read. I’ve read quite few of her work and have always enjoyed them, so I didn’t hesitate to request this title when I saw that it was on offer but I just didn’t enjoy it. The plot was fine but I knew from fairly early on what was going to happen and a lot of it seemed rather forced to me.
The characters were all very shallow and unlikeable, which is fine. I certainly don’t always like the people that I am reading about but this bunch were horrid and as a result I found myself switching off and not really caring about how the book was going to end.
There was of course a twist but it wasn’t really shocking and there were so many characters to keep track of. I found myself having to re-read parts of the book as I had found it confusing and took me a long time to get into it.

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Having read Ms. Jewell's previous book, I thought this book would be better than the previous. With much enthusiasm, I got down to reading the book, till I got into the maze of characters and got totally confused by them and their relationships to each other. It took numerous tries to get into the book.
The characters were all a bit dark and creepy and to me, everyone gave off stalkerish vibes, especially Freddie who watched people via the telescope and clicked their pics.
The ending had its twist, but getting to the ending gave me an icky feeling with this gang of characters so I had to hop, skip, and jump through the pages.
This book was definitely not for me with too many characters, slow pace, and creepy ambience!!

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Wowsers. What a read.
I love this author, Lisa never fails to deliver. Exceptional read that once you start reading you won’t be able to put it down.

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Lisa Jewell is one of my favourite authors and this was another brilliant book by her. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

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Another fantastic book from Lisa Jewell whose books just keep getting better and better. This had me hooked from pretty much the first page and I practically devoured the pages. Loved all the different characters and how their stories intertwined. A fantastic thriller which keeps you guessing until the final chapters.

Joey is newly married to Alfie and they have moved in with her brother and his wife (Jack and Rebecca). Two doors away live Tom and Nicola with their teenage son, Freddie. Tom is headteacher at a local school which best friends Jenna and Bess attend. Jenna lives with her Mum who is convinced she knows Tom from an earlier episode in her life. I am not going to go into any further detail as I am worried anything I say reveals too much. It really is a fantastic book and one that you will not want to put down.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of the book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

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Yet another brilliantly written book by Lisa Jewell. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this superb tale. Wonderful characters, totally engaging. I would highly recommend you read this book. 4.5* from me. My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance reader copy.

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Suspicion and paranoia make uneasy bedfellows

This is a murder story focussed on the people living around the victim, rather than on the police investigation. The victim is secondary in that we do not learn their identity until the very end.

On the 24th March 2017, a body is found in the kitchen of a house rented by ‘Superhead’ Tom Fitzwilliam and his wife Nicola and teenage son, Freddie. Tom has recently moved into Bristol to turn around an Academy school which has been put under ‘special measures’. Darkly handsome he is the subject of his teenage schoolgirls’ and most other women’s fantasies. His reputation is impeccable, but does he have a darker side which merits Jenna Tripp’s mentally unstable mother Frankie staking out the house and warning anyone who will listen that he is a dangerous stalker?

Two houses away, Joey Mullen has just returned to Bristol from Ibiza with her new husband Alfie and is living with her brother Jack and his enigmatic wife, Rebecca. Joey soon falls under the Fitzwilliam spell and becomes the police’s main suspect for the murder.

Meanwhile, Freddie, a somewhat troubled teenager is also watching the comings and goings around Melville Heights and drawing his own conclusions.

This is a clever story where suspicion of Tom Fitzwilliam rests on an incident on a coach trip in the Lake District in 1996. Several sub-plots emerge as rumours arise about Tom’s interest in teenage schoolgirls, and the local residents see more and more of the woman watching him.

The relationships are complex and credible, especially those between the teenagers who are struggling to make sense of this difficult period between childhood and adulthood.

Suspicion moves from person to person, and the suspense is maintained until the final denouement. I really enjoyed it.

Pashtpaws

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

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An excellent book, the plot kept the reader guessing right to the end. Loved it. The storyline was exciting, a real page turner. Highly recommended. Five stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Lisa Jewel for the copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

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Brilliant book with a story of school girl crushes and complex family relationships emanating from a row of houses in one neighbourhood. I found it very gripping and could not stop reading it.

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Lisa Jewell is rapidly becoming my go-to author when I want escapism, to be hooked from page one and to sit back and enjoy the ride. This one opens with a murder scene and then goes back in time to examine all the characters and strands that lead towards this event. Lots of red herrings, three very different narrators, totally engrossing. A satisfying ending which I didn't see (all) of it coming although I had my suspicions. Good stuff.

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I have read Lisa Jewell's previous titles and really liked them – this is why I was sure I was going to enjoy this one but Watching You didn't really do it for me. I found the plot interesting but I certainly knew what was going to happen from an early stage. The situations and scenes didn't make a lot of sense and it seems the plot didn't develop naturally for me – it seemed to be forced and incoherent.

I did finish the book though because Lisa's writing is fantastic and I will definitely keep reading her work.

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loved this book but then again I always love Lisa Jewells books if I'm honest... always full of good characters and t we i she and turns on the story line.

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A fast-paced solidly-plotted page-turner with a fantastic cast of complex characters and enough twists and turns to really keep the reader guessing right til the end.

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*Thanks to NetGalley and Century for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.* I have read a number of Lisa Jewell's books previously, so was expecting good things from 'Watching You' and it did not disappoint. Joey Mullen has returned from working abroad and settled in to life in Bristol with her new husband, Alfie. Then the local headmaster catches her eye and nothing will be the same again. Freddie Fitzwilliam likes to watch people. He knows he is different, but he doesn't know why. And he knows something isn't right with his parents. Jenna and Bess seem to be typical teenage girls, best friends for years. However, Jenna's home life is not all as it seems. So many threads to this story, that all come together in an action-packed and thrilling climax. I read this book voraciously, keen to know the next piece in the puzzle. An enjoyable and fast-paced read.

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