⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 Stars – A top tier smart and twisty Lisa Jewell mystery!
Format: Audiobook (BorrowBox)
Read: May 2024
After a streak of duds this was a welcome return to Lisa Jewell at her best! This was the well observed, smart and twisty psychological mystery I’ve come to expect from her. It had me on my toes right until the end!
When “super Head” Tom Fitzwilliam starts his new job at the local school he causes quite a stir in an upmarket Bristol neighbourhood. Impulsive 27-year-old newlywed Joe develops an intense crush on her new neighbour; 15-year-old Jenna is struggling with her paranoid mother and growing unease over the new Headmaster; and Tom’s awkward 15-year-old son Freddie watches the neighbours and local teenage girls from his bedroom.
Even beyond the POV characters, we realise that everybody is watching someone else, and what they think they are seeing is never the whole picture.
The plot twists in ways I saw coming but then it cleverly takes more turns to subvert my assumptions. Although I picked out the likely murderer very early, the motives and resolution definitely had me guessing to the end.
As ever with Lisa Jewell the characters are incredibly well observed and relatable, including the teenagers. The mystery is expertly paced, and I couldn’t stop listening even when I was starting to get very uncomfortable about where the schoolgirl plot was heading…
This is top form Lisa Jewell!
It feels like time to rank the ones I’ve read so far!
Then Night She Disappeared
Watching You
Invisible Girl
None Of The Is True
The House We Grew Up In
Then She Was Gone
The Third Wife
REVIEW SUMMARY
I LIKED
- As I expect from Lisa Jewell, sharply observed characters who are regular every day people.
- The most thematically strong book I’ve read by this author. Twists and turns that play with the theme of voyeurism.
- Addictive reading with building suspense.
I DIDN’T LIKE
- The scenes with Jenna and Mr Fitzwilliam were so well written I felt physically uncomfortable when reading!
