A review by thegeekybibliophile
Watching Edie by Camilla Way
5.0
Edie, a 33-year-old pregnant waitress, is shocked when her childhood friend shows up at her door. She hasn’t seen Heather in 15 years, but she always expected—and dreaded—the day she would see her again. Heather seems overjoyed to have found her, but the feeling isn’t mutual. Edie gets rid of her as quickly as she can, reluctantly giving Heather her phone number in process. Over the next several weeks, Edie ignores Heather’s calls and busies herself preparing for the arrival of her baby. But when Maya is born, Edie feels nothing for her daughter. Left to care for her alone, Edie feels increasingly unable to cope. In the moment of her deepest despair, Heather reappears, offering to help. Numb with exhaustion, Edie gratefully agrees. Heather moves in, taking over every aspect of Maya’s care, and discourages people from visiting or calling, saying Edie wasn’t well and needed rest.
Months go by with Edie feeling incapable of caring for Maya. Every attempt she makes to do something for her daughter is met with Heather’s disapproving insistence that she do it instead. Then Edie discovers how far Heather went to keep everyone away from her, and finds out something disturbing about Heather, leading to a confrontation that drives Heather away… or did it? Edie is frightened when someone breaks into her home and trashes it. She immediately suspects Heather, and she keeps remembering a long ago night when something terrible happened, destroying their friendship and driving Edie away from home. Despite her fear, Edie knows she has to do whatever it takes to protect Maya… no matter what the cost.
Watching Edie is a riveting psychological thriller that you won’t want to put down. The story is told from Edie’s perspective in the present, and from Heather’s perspective in the past. Cryptic glimpses and references to a terrible thing that happened when Edie and Heather were young keeps you guessing, but is never done in such a way that it feels annoying. A constant, underlying sense of danger keeps you alert as you read, searching for clues into Edie’s past with Heather, and the tension builds to an astonishing finale guaranteed to leave your jaw on the floor.
I received an advance review copy of this book courtesy of Netgalley and Berkley/NAL in exchange for an honest review.
Months go by with Edie feeling incapable of caring for Maya. Every attempt she makes to do something for her daughter is met with Heather’s disapproving insistence that she do it instead. Then Edie discovers how far Heather went to keep everyone away from her, and finds out something disturbing about Heather, leading to a confrontation that drives Heather away… or did it? Edie is frightened when someone breaks into her home and trashes it. She immediately suspects Heather, and she keeps remembering a long ago night when something terrible happened, destroying their friendship and driving Edie away from home. Despite her fear, Edie knows she has to do whatever it takes to protect Maya… no matter what the cost.
Watching Edie is a riveting psychological thriller that you won’t want to put down. The story is told from Edie’s perspective in the present, and from Heather’s perspective in the past. Cryptic glimpses and references to a terrible thing that happened when Edie and Heather were young keeps you guessing, but is never done in such a way that it feels annoying. A constant, underlying sense of danger keeps you alert as you read, searching for clues into Edie’s past with Heather, and the tension builds to an astonishing finale guaranteed to leave your jaw on the floor.
I received an advance review copy of this book courtesy of Netgalley and Berkley/NAL in exchange for an honest review.