I chose I Am Watching You by Teresa Driscoll as my Kindle First book last September. It seemed the most appealing of the choices, and honestly, it’s the only Kindle First book I’ve read out of the handful residing on my e-reader. I needed a quick easy read after struggling through my previous book, and I can usually get sucked into good suspense.
I Am Watching You tells the story of a missing girl, Anna, from the perspectives of a witness, her father, her best friend, a private investigator, etc. Driscoll developed her characters and showcased their flaws enough to feel realistic. It is through the eyes of these characters that we watch the ripple effect Anna’s disappearance, and the events surrounding it, have on their lives.
The story opens with the witness, Ella. A shop owner, wife and mother, and a bit judgemental, Ella is on the same train to London as Anna and her best friend. The two young girls attract the attention of two young men recently released from prison. The girls flirt and get invited out to a club. Ella’s maternal instincts wish her to intervene and protect the girls until Ella witnesses unsavory (gasp!) behavior from Anna’s friend. The next morning Ella discovers the news that Anna has gone missing.
We jump time to a year later when the anniversary special is broadcast in the hopes of drudging up new leads or information on Anna’s whereabouts. As the reader, we visit each character and bit-by-bit the mystery seems to be unfolding. Everyone had a secret they were hiding but only one (the last one revealed) was the key to solving the crime.
I get it. It’s human nature to hide our mistakes and shames. And sometimes finding those truths and revealing the secrets can add up to a revelation – the ah-ha moment. Not so much in I Am Watching You. Driscoll included too many red herrings.
Driscoll’s writing was mostly easy to read (my kindle needs a British slang dictionary added), and I did find the overall story compelling. But after investing the time to read this mystery and paying attention to the details and clues, I was disappointed with the out-of-nowhere never-even-a-suspect reveal. Initially, I liked this novel, but as I’ve been writing this review and examining it more thoroughly, I’m not sure. Perhaps it’s a good book as long as you don’t think about it too much.