I Am Watching You

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I just ended up losing interest in everyone. I only kept reading to see if I was right about the villain in this one. I was off, but honestly, the author doesn't even lay out any clues for you to get this is the bad guy/girl (being vague on purpose). It comes out of left field and the wrap up is just ham-fisted. So, did I at least get a good payoff for my investment? NO!!!! When we finally find out what happened it was so ridiculous! It felt like it came out of no where, there was no build or set up to even think that would be the outcome. 😤😤😤 A year passes with an unyielding investigation. Everyone has secrets, and the search for answers continues when new leads are discovered. What really happened to poor Anna, who was behind it, and why? Could she still be alive? All the characters seem to have a questionable part in her disappearance. It’s not merely about solving a mystery of a missing girl but rather a tragedy that ties families together. It reminds us as well of the carelessness of the youth. This sin meant it took me a while to get into the groove, reading Shrines of Gaiety. Who are all these characters My only problem with Kate Atkinson is that in the gaps between her books, I make the terrible mistake of forgetting JUST how good she is!

The ending. As usual, it is always nice to feel that I am wrong about the villain. This book gives me that. However, it feels like the author rushed to reveal the villain and did not give enough time to give more plot about it or explore his character. Final Thoughts I'm genuinely salty AF right now 😒 Not only did a waste my very precious reading time on this awful book but I also broke my 2023 good book reading streak I was having! Some great points about this book, firstly I do enjoy the stories/chapters from all the different main characters in the book. This, however, is just the beginning of the harrowing tale. The girl is missing, the two men are missing, Ella is receiving threats and everyone has secrets. Perhaps because I, too, live in a small community but all aspects in this story seemed quite real. The inter-connectedness of everyone, the secrets and lies. Told from multiple view points we, the reader, see how each person's involvement overlaps and the butterfly ripples were created. I also now see that there were so many clues along the way that I completely overlooked! Most likely I will re-read it just to spot them all!A year goes by from that fateful night with Ella still upset that she hadn't done anything and possibly stopped Anna's disappearance and with the girl still gone someone else decides Ella is at fault and begins sending her threatening letters. Ella hires an investigator to look into the letters and with the anniversary of the disappearance a public appeal is planned but before long it becomes clear that others are also hiding secrets about that night and just what happened to Anna. I became frustrated when all of the side stories and perspectives led to nowhere; however, I do believe this was intentional. In the Author’s Note, Driscoll establishes her experience with real life crime when she explains that she worked as a journalist in England, specifically with cases related to crime. Teresa admits she was “deeply affected by the impact of crime on so many ordinary lives—not just innocent victims but also witnesses.” This sentiment is reflected throughout the theme of I Am Watching You, with the focus being primarily on how the disappearance of Anna haunted her friends and family so much that their lives were on standstill as they became blinded by their own trauma and guilt. Ella is on the train eavesdropping as we all do—except the tea she heard was exceptionally disturbing. Two fresh out of prison ex-convicts hitting on two teenage girls. Ella tries to forget what she heard, but that soon proves impossible when one of the girls, Anna, goes missing, and the two ex-cons are suspects. Already hated on by the media for being a bystander, Ella starts receiving mysterious hate mail. Why is this person so mad? And what really happened to Anna? Next, I didn’t really find this book to be all that grasping or mysterious. By the end, I was a little confused and the last chapter just tried to bring everything together. The writing definitely wasn’t my favorite thing, but it did have it’s moments.

Everyone has secrets, which we know because the story is told from multiple points of view. Sarah doesn’t tell the police the whole truth. Anna’s father isn’t telling the whole truth. Ella’s son has secrets. What’s initially ominous to Ella, however, is the series of threatening notes she receives—and also doesn’t tell the police about. She does let a private investigator know. Matthew quit the police force to become a PI for reasons that are kept secret to the reader for most of the book. Ella apparently got harassed when her name as a witness was released. People blamed her for not intervening. In the day of social media I can believe that something like this could have happened. It would have made sense if Driscoll showed that. Because a year later it seems most people have forgotten her except for Anna's family and the police. I read this for "Free Space/Creepy Raven". "I am Watching You" by Teresa Driscoll which is a thriller/mystery.

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Driscoll follows several people throughout the book. The chapters are titled "The Witness (Ella), The Father (Henry), The Friend (Sarah), The Investigator (Matthew) and Watching....no spoilers to who that is. THE PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR — Matthew Hills is the private investigator hired by Ella. His main job was to help Ella figure out the person who sent her the threatening letters. Throughout the story, we can get a glimpse of her personal life as well as his investigating skill in handling the case. I've read two other novels by the talented Teresa Driscoll, The Friend and The Promise (my favorite), which were both thrilling five star reads and this one is another winner!

HOWEVER; some ppl just don’t want the details. The gory details or the interesting stuff. I don’t know all that many of those ppl, but this is perfect for ppl who want to skip the grit. :D Fishing Gear · Tigr Safari · Scrap Metal · Eagle Eye · Humanitarian Supplies · The Cult - Part 1 · The Cult - Part 2 · Spa Tour - Part 1 · Spa Tour - Part 2 · Spa Tour - Part 3 · Spa Tour - Part 4 · Spa Tour - Part 5 · Spa Tour - Part 6 · Spa Tour - Part 7 · Cargo X - Part 1 · Cargo X - Part 2 · Cargo X - Part 3 · Wet Job - Part 1 · Wet Job - Part 2 · Wet Job - Part 3 · Wet Job - Part 4 · Wet Job - Part 5 · Wet Job - Part 6 · The Guide · Peacekeeping Mission · Lend-Lease - Part 2 · Mentor · Samples · TerraGroup Employee · Revision - Reserve · Revision - Lighthouse · The Cleaner · Classified Technologies · Special Equipment · Cargo X - Part 4 · Insomnia · Counteraction · Overpopulation · Trophies · Revision - Streets of Tarkov · Road Closed · Worst Job in the World · Your Car Needs a Service And then, of course, the wry smile as I remember. As we're treated to the little glints of her genius. The teasing. The answering of some questions just as she raises new ones. And yes - I remember exactly where we all are. In the glorious world of delayed connections that only a Kate Atkinson story can deliver with such aplomb. Because once you become a parent, you learn that love can involve more fear than you had ever imagined, and you never quite look on the world in the same way again. The CharactersTeresa lives in glorious Devon wit Teresa Driscoll is a former BBC TV news presenter whose psychological thrillers have sold over two million copies in more than 20 languages. Her first thriller I AM WATCHING YOU was kindle #1 in the UK, USA and Australia and has sold more than a million copies in English alone.