Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - Watching You

Even with figuring out "who dun it," I still raced through this thriller. I tried listening to this on audio, but with characters named Jenna and Joey, I couldn't follow it. It was much easier to read in print.

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jcaron43's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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grace33's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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bek_p87's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is my third Lisa Jewell this year and I found it enthralling. Very twisty and not in ways that I saw coming.

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minimicropup's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Setting the Scene: 🇬🇧 A Bristol neighbourhood of colorful terraced homes on a hill.
POV: We follow a handful of characters January to March 2017. We have the perspectives of a sporty teen dealing with a mentally ill mother, an introverted teen crossing the boundaries of observation vs peeping, and a newlywed couple living with family while struggling to adult. Every few chapters we have excerpts of police interviews investigating a murder.

Mood Reading Match-Up:

Community and family analysis peeking behind closed doors, the-secrets-we-keep dramas
Contemporary fiction with visceral not-all-is-as-it-seems character studies and connections
Coming-of-age coming-to-truth of family history and dynamics
Exploring themes of friendship, assumption, judgement, student-teacher dynamics, self-discovery, secrets, shame, lies, first impressions, and irony.

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🐺 Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags 🐕

🎬 Tale-Telling: Third-person perspective that felt as intimate as reading someone’s diary. We witnessed the characters’ most private moments, fears, and desires. The storytelling was zippy, with lots of insights and snippets into the lives of the community. I couldn't help but make judgements, and loved having my assumptions challenged at the next turn.

🤓 Reader’s Role: Analyst and Observer: As a reader, one could choose to be a passive onlooker and/or invest in piecing together the puzzle, trying to read between the lines of what’s said and unsaid.

👥 Characters: I like that each character was crafted to blur the lines between victim and villain, observer and participant. And it didn’t feel contrived or over-the-top, more like what you’d expect the day-to-day struggles of a community of people if you could sneak behind closed doors. There were elements strategically left out for understanding the peripheral characters, but their actions weren’t hidden behind ‘if only you knew’ baiting. Rather they were wrapped in layers of moral ambiguity, which could be good book club discussion fodder for questioning our various perceptions and biases.

🗺️ Ambiance: The neighbourhood was well-established, with a mix of modern renovations and dated homes, mirroring the diversity and complexity of most urban neighbourhoods and inhabitants. I had trouble imaging how it could tower over so many streets until I checked out Google Earth of the area, and then it all came together.

🔥 Fuel: The story thrived on unraveling friendships and murky motivations. I don’t think you need to like any of the characters to enjoy the story, but if it doesn’t spark your curiosity, then I imagine it could feel meandering. The suspense leaves lots of room for speculation, discussion, and predictions. It often subtly asked the question of how well we really know those around us – and ourselves.

🚙 Journey: Reading this was like taking a stroll through a neighbourhood while glancing in the uncovered windows and seeing snippets of everyone’s life. The build-up to the ending was steady and suspenseful, with emotional depth, psychological intrigue, and twists that unfolded with precision and surprised me.

Random Thoughts
🤓 What worked: Brilliant character crafting. Eerie and questionable actions that were surprisingly relatable. Flipping conventional perceptions and the examination of human behaviour.
🫠 What didn’t: The resolution was a touch idealistic. I noticed that as secrets came to light for the reader, perspectives of some characters seemed to shift even though they didn’t yet know what we knew.

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Content Heads-Up: Mental illness (paranoia, delusions). Infidelity (emotional, physical). Pregnancy (brief; not graphic). Stalking/peeping/tracking. Adult/minor relationship (insinuation, discussion). Domestic abuse (spouses and parent-child; physical, verbal). Suicide (recall, discussed; off page). Bullying (recall, discussed; off page). Murder. Fatphobia (calorie restriction; comments). Codependent/toxic relationships.
Rep: White and ambiguous Brits. Neurodivergence (autism spectrum; disorganized thinking). Cisgender. Heterosexual relationships.

👀 Format: Paperback

(First read this Dec 27, 2018; re-read Feb 4, 2024. Still loved it!)

“Reviews are my musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶 refined by my AI bookworm bestie ✨”

Content Warnings

emeraldsanto's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I really enjoyed how the story was paced, I'm mostly used to novels where a crime is committed very early whereas in this case you stay in the dark until the very end.

I can't help but highlight how great the author was at playing hints throughout the whole thing, all the pieces are given to you at just the right intervals to make connections less obvious.

Additionally I was pleasantly surprised at the very prominent place "gang-stalking" took in the plot, it's definitely not a theme that is often referenced in popular culture.

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dejathor28's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I enjoyed the different storylines, it helped keep the story interesting. I started this novel at the beginning of the year and could not get past the first few pages and shelved it. Last month, I decided to give the book another chance and I’m glad I did. The book was pretty predictable at times but it wasn’t unbearable.

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books_in_badgerland's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The wife of a well known school headmaster in a suburban neighborhood is murdered. We experience the days before the event through the eyes of her neighbor, her son, and one of her husband’s students as all the pieces come together in this whodunnit. What the neighbors think they see and what’s really happening don’t always match up. The short chapters and multiple POVs are always a win for me. I loved the flow and pacing of this book and finished it within two days. (5⭐️)

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