I Am Watching You

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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.” I read this for "Free Space/Creepy Raven". "I am Watching You" by Teresa Driscoll which is a thriller/mystery. The next day one of the girls, Anna, is reported missing, and Ella is beside herself, wondering if she could have helped the girl instead of turning away. Anna's friend Sarah is saying much about what had happened to them the previous evening and the police soon run out of leads. But what is Sarah hiding? Who else in the girls' families are keeping secrets? And who is sending Ella anonymous postcards?

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!Of course, I really shouldn’t listen in on other people’s conversations. But it’s impossible not to on public transport, don’t you find? So many barking into their mobile phones while everyone else ramps up the volume to compete. To be heard.” Unfortunately, this was a it of a meh read for me. So many people and POV's (which I usually enjoy), and shifts between first and third person muddled up the plot for me and even though the writing was good, I never felt the characters developed very much apart from Ella. I was definitely intrigued by the story, but by the half-way point, found myself a little confused and not terribly invested. Still, I wanted to know how it would end and what had actually happened to Anna, the missing girl. The resolution felt a little rushed after such a long build-up and a little unsatisfying at that. All the same, I didn't think it was a bad book, just not a great book either.

First, I had a really hard time with the characters. The characters intrigued me in the beginning with the story and how things were progressing, but as I got further and further in, I couldn’t find a character that I liked or related to. There were so many point-of-views that I found myself confused and having to restart. I was really intrigued after reading the description for "I Am Watching You". If I was on a train or other public transportation and I saw young women getting ready to head off with men just released from prison...would I intervene? First of all, I would probably have earphones in and wouldn't hear their conversation. But if I did hear it? I'm honestly not sure what I would do. But selective mutism is no easy fix; a child so anxious they are afraid even to hear their own voice in public.” LIBRA Today you must leave it alone. Walk away from it. Be strong, be sensible and above all else, be less bothered. Practise the art of ‘not caring’. There’s your solution.” 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?

Memes

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. It’s so hard to call what people are capable of. So many with dark minds live perfectly ordinary lives, holding down demanding jobs. Matthew’s learned to keep an open mind. Always.” I Am Watching You is about Anna, a teenaged girl who goes missing after going into the city with her friend. A witness sees the girls chatting with 2 men on the train who are recently out of prison, and despite her instincts to say something, decides to keep to herself only to find out the following day that Anna is missing.

When Ella wakes the next day after getting blitzed she is afraid she may have done something like call the girls mothers. Turning on the TV she is floored to see a broadcast talking about one of the girl's she saw on the train. have never forgotten the joy of learning to revive roses with fresh water and cutting the stems super sharp at an angle. The miracle of them lifting up their heads again as if saying thank you.” THE WATCHER — An unidentified person who had been watching Ella and was involved with what happened to Anna. It keeps you on the edge of your seat (somehow) as well as in the dark; so that you don’t know what happened until the end. Well, unless you can read between the lines and take hints OR unless you are super intuitive. This book was part of my #21readsin2021 challenge, where I’m trying to get through 21 books I bought/received in 2020 but didn’t get to. Progress is slow but I’ve finished 9/21 of those reads! I’ll certainly have a similar list for 2021 though.to his wife – to help her, to console her – but he knows also that it will make no difference and so is putting it off. The truth? He wants just a little longer like this, looking out on the lawn. In” 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 In addition to the main plot, there is a lot of other things going on. It's not only a thriller, but also a drama because we dive into the lives of other characters linked to the disappearance of the young woman and some parts were really touching. The ending wasn't phenomenal, but decent and satisfying enough. 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.