Dark, weird, creepy and full of fear, this book certainly delivers in spades. Mercy is to the outside world an oddball. Not that many people encounter her. She lives in the shadows, only coming out at night and speaking to as few people as possible. With a dark history that has left her with a brain injury she has some odd habits and lives in a virtual prison of her own making. She watches people, obsessed by their lives, while hers is empty. She gives these people invented names imagined by their quirks or lifestyles. She wants to help those in need but with limited resources can only do small things. Then a chance encounter with Louis, a complete charmer has the potential to change her life. Can she trust him and let him in? He seems to have similar values to her and little by little she opens up and finds he too wants to help people. However his methods may be a little more direct and Mercy wonders if she is doing the right thing by getting close and she knows she will never be able to tell him everything about her past. A completely original book that I genuinely couldn’t put down and one that has me checking the blinds are firmly closed at night. Thoroughly recommended. The book that is, not the blinds.

I really enjoyed The Memory Wood was was excited to get this arc from Netgalley. Mercy Lake has a phobia, she is afraid of the light and has become a Night Person. She also suffered an horrific head injury some years before which has left her with crippling vertigo. But, Mercy has a mission. She is a people watcher and when she finds someone that she thinks needs help, she offers a little touch of kindness anonymously. Then she meets Louis and he wants to help her, the thing is, his approach is not so much giving kindness but rather giving fear. Mercy is drawn to him, after spending so long alone, she now has a 'friend'. But is he really a friend or is there something more sinister about his interest in Mercy? Throughout we are given little nuggets about Mercy's backstory and the pace does not really falter as different strands start to come together - and of course, there are twists and shocking violence. I loved reading about all of those that Mercy watches, learning their stories and seeing how some of them are tied into Mercy's mission. She is a character that you have huge sympathy for - well I did. As for Louis - this charismatic person who seems to have brought some light into Mercy's darkness - is he really all he seems? The author certainly keeps you guessing and you enjoy trying to figure him out. A gripping read.

Thank you for letting me read this brilliant book in advance of its release, It’s another gripping book written by Sam Lloyd. The plot and characters kept me hooked and the pages just kept turning. The main character Mercy is a survivor and we hear about the battles she has had in the past and those which she is facing in the present. Highly recommend reading this.

Deserves readers attention as it dares,and succeeds to be different,some very interesting things covered,it is not your run of the mill crime book by any means,parts are uncomfortable and maybe irritating at times but being challenged deserves recognition,not for everyone am sure but if you are prepared to read something unique then you will enjoy

Wow what a brilliant book! Peopled with some unique individuals it held my attention from the first page to the unexpectedly twisted ending. Seen through the eyes of Mercy, who suffered a traumatic brain injury in her past, it is a jagged, visceral story with kindness, love and violence closely entwined in a story of revenge and redemption
Thank you to netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book

Mercy Lake is a bit of an eccentric. Suffering from a head injury from a horrific event in her past which has left her with a fear of daylight. She only goes out at night and likes to watch people, giving them nicknames, studies their backgrounds and tries to find small ways to help them.

One night on her rounds she meets the charming and charismatic Louis, and slowly she grows to trust him and tell him about the people she watches.

Louis is something of a watcher too, but it soon becomes apparent that he is a little more hands on in his approach and Mercy begins to worry about the lines he is willing to cross.

Mercy is an interesting main character, and you find yourself intrigued to find out more of her backstory. We learn from the first chapter that she has a darker side and you aren’t really sure if you should be rooting for her or not as the story progresses.

This book had some clever ideas but I struggled with the slow pace and felt that the ending was rushed.

A decent read but expected a bit more.

This was a gothic, haunting and atmospheric story that I couldn’t put down. It was gripping and engaging the whole way through with a level of suspense and unpredictability that added an extra layer to the storytelling. It was a chilling read that has stayed with me since I read it. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

I loved The People Watcher and the story of Mercy Lake. She was pretty amazing, a survivor who never gave up. I became so invested in her story, I couldn’t put the book down and I wanted so badly for things to turn out well for her. This is a must read.

This book was a gripping thriller that I honestly could not put down. The storyline was completely different than anything I’ve ever read before and I thought all the twists in it were brilliant. The entire storyline and all the characters were well fleshed out and there was definitely characters I liked / disliked / found a little creepy.

This was the first book I have read by Sam Lloyd and it was a really gripping thriller. It follows a young woman whose life is completely controlled by her phobia. She never leaves her house during daylight and spends the nights spying on the people who live around her.
Then suddenly she is joined by a mysterious man who also likes to watch people but for very different reasons. It makes for a very tense read and I was gripped to find out the connections of the people living in the town to the 2 main characters. I would definitely read more from the author.

A great story with a very alternative twist, sitting on the edge of the seat for the whole time!!

A must read.

Sam Lloyd is the King of the rollercoaster read…

The People Watcher was totally not what I expected, and like nothing else I have read. Part a Good Samaritan tale, part “grab you by the throat” thriller, and packing an ending to rock you to the core.

Half of me wanted to devour the book, another part wanted to savour it. Either way, like his other novels in previous years, The People Watcher is my book of the year, and I very much look forward to Sam’s next offering.

Whatever his next book is, it will be unexpected, and a neat dodge away from the generic thrillers of recent times. Just brilliant.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.


**Triggers - contains descriptions of animal suffering and abuse, I normally abandon books when I get a whiff of this coming, but on persevering (and trusting this particular author to not use the subject matter for the sake of it or being too detailed) - it was actually ok. As an animal lover and with friends who feel the same, I always like to be alerted if a book contains anything offensive in this manner, **potential minor spoiler** - and the perpetrators got their just deserts. And nothing further happens to the featured puppy.

Beautifully dark and utterly intriguing from the first page to the last.
I love the premise of someone, on the cusp of society, only venturing out by cover of darkness and meticulously studying others, taking people watching to a new level as an outsider very much looking in. I also loved the way that she has her own names for her cast of characters, which is so relatable. This is where it all becomes so surreal, so original and sinister. She meets by chance it seems a like minded character who joins her on her quest for random acts of kindness, but his darker side all too often surfaces. Little by little she allows him her trust, even slowly opening up the tragic backstory of her health, injuries and her slaughtered family.
The level of ingenuity with the storyline, the food for thought around karma and the slow building threat and atmosphere and pretty much the whole bundle is deliciously compelling. An excellent, if very unsettling, read, highly recommended.

Received arc from Transworld Publishers and Netgalley for honest read and review,this review is my own.
I have read a previous book from Sam Lloyd , The Memory Wood,and this one sounded really interesting as well. I was hooked from the beginning.
Centred around main POV of Mercy Lake.
She is a very withdrawn character , with some phobias,who does not like daytime, but helps people at night.
This story takes on a few different lines, but all come together at the end.
Really interesting and enjoyable read.

Wow ! What a roller coaster of psychological story , just as you think your beginning to understand the characters & how they are inter-twined ,another twist is thrown into the plot ! I highly recommend this but only if you don't have a nervous disposition .#NetGalley, # GoodReads, #FB,#Amazon.co.uk, #Instagram,#<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/8a5b541512e66ae64954bdaab137035a5b2a89d2" width="80" height="80" alt="200 Book Reviews" title="200 Book Reviews"/>,#<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/ef856e6ce35e6d2d729539aa1808a5fb4326a415" width="80" height="80" alt="Reviews Published" title="Reviews Published"/>,#<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/aa60c7e77cc330186f26ea1f647542df8af8326a" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>.

A wholly original and gripping thriller which shocks and surprises until the end.

This is going to be a very positive review, not least because when I reviewed the author’s previous novel I suggested that it shared a few features with his first novel (which had some points of contact with one by John Fowles) and the next one needed a clean slate.

The People Watcher got that clean slate all right! It benefits from this.

Most of the story is seen through the eyes of a brain-damaged person and some of the tension comes from this character’s inability to really know her own next move or even face her past. The bulk of the tension, though, comes from an accelerating sequence of ever more fraught and frightening events in the present and revelations about the past. Some of the relationships and actions depicted in this novel are spectacularly unwise and unhealthy, but are realistic in that murder is a perverse response to any situation, especially when that situation is normal life. What Sam Lloyd gets so right is the bell-curve of perversity that follows such an inappropriate and disproportionate response, where everything goes from bad to worse for quite some time until a catastrophe allows normality to begin to force her way back in.

There are moral challenges, too, for the reader as well as the main protagonist (who strives to right serious wrongs with small acts of kindness and is shocked when darker methods seem to work.)

It took me a while to get into this story, nearly gave up but glad I didn't as things started falling in to place. Mercy Lake has moved into a new town. Nobody knows her, she has a phobia of the sun and only goes out at night, travelling on her Jorvic tricycle and watching many of the locals and doing small acts of kindness to help them..She has one family in particular that she watches often Simon Rafferty and his partner Nadia especially Simon's son Ollie who she visits at night dressed as a fairy and often leaves small gifts for. One night she is at the local Texaco where she does her shopping when some teenagers start mocking her, a man comes over and they leave her alone. This is Louis and they have things in common and both like righting wrongs and they start to meet regularly at night. However it turns out Louis has a more forceful way of sorting things than Mercy that leads to a dramatic climax as he uncovers Mercy's life story.

I previously enjoyed Sam Lloyd’s debut of The Memory Wood, but was a little disappointed with his next book The Rising Tide. As both of them were standalones I was excited to read his next offering – The People Watcher.

Our main character Mercy Lake is somewhat eccentric and weird - she suffers with a head injury that has resulted in vertigo and a fear of the daylight. She watches people at night – giving them nicknames and studying their backstories, trying to find small ways to help them. Mercy is a really interesting main character and learning more about her certainly kept me hooked into the narrative, wanting to find out more. We learn from the first chapter that she has a darker side as well and you aren’t really sure if you should be rooting for her or not as the story progresses.

The pace is kept quite high throughout, and the reader is constantly being drip-fed information, particularly regarding Mercy’s backstory as the story progresses. I’m afraid much of the plot was very predictable, some even from the outset which kept this from being a 5-star read for me. It was interesting to see all of the strands come together though and even the smaller stories about the people Mercy watches were interesting. I was a little disappointed with the ending which felt a bit too abrupt and there were some holes in the backstory which didn’t make too much sense with hindsight.

Overall, The People Watcher is a solid read, it kept me gripped and had a really unique main character – just a few things kept it from being a 5 star read. Sam Lloyd certainly is an author to watch out for and I’m excited to see what he writes next. Thank you to NetGalley & Random House UK, Transworld Publishers – Bantam for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Very dark, very different thriller that involves some very damaged people. Confusing to start with, it hooks in the reader but I never really got to grips with Mercy, a person of the night. Keeps the pages turning though.

Another pretty decent slow burner from Sam Lloyd, with plenty of intrigue and mystery to keep me going. I liked the characters, good and bad, and the way it was written, with little breadcrumbs being gradually dropped along the way to keep the reader turning the pages. I was able to root for Mercy the main character, and found her quirks and medical history intriguing. I really enjoyed this one, Sam Lloyd is fast becoming a favourite, and I'll very much be looking out for his next offering
Many thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for the opportunity to read this ARC.