Ten years ago, Jess's mother was murdered by the Magpie Man. She was his first victim, with many more to follow and he still hasn't been caught. Determined to get justice for her mother and catch the killer, Jess enters a YouTube reality series in an attempt to draw him out. Is he watching?

I didn't find the premise of this book very believable. Social media and vlogging is a huge part of everyday life nowadays, so it makes sense to incorporate this into the story, but I honestly don't know anyone who watches YouTube TV like the kind featured in this book. So, I chose to just accept and embrace this element of the story, but still came up with significant flaws to the plot. Firstly, it's incredibly convenient that the Magpie Man was indeed watching Jess's show, despite the fact that it wasn't in the news or anything to begin with. And maybe it's not all that surprising that he was, but Jess's confidence that he would was kind of weird. Secondly (sorry, small spoiler here), the killer could have been literally anyone. He murdered women in different locations and was never caught by the police. What are the chances that he turns out to be someone Jess knows? I mean, COME ON. 

Anyway, if you can get past these frankly lazy plot features, Are You Watching? is a decent murder mystery for the modern era. It's fast-paced and thrilling, while also managing to deal quite effectively with grief and internet fame.

Ten years ago, Jess's mum was murdered by Magpie Man. 

Jess is now a youtube star and is using her fame to try and catch the Magpie Man

The world is watching, so is the Magpie Man

This book was good, but it was a bit too much "young adult" for me.  As a 29 year old, I thought it would be perfect, but it was slightly unrealistic for me.

It was a fun read, but not the greatest psychological thriller.

Really interesting, captivating story. I liked the writing, characters, and plot. Kept me turning the pages. 
Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

A well constructed, pacy and thoroughly engaging mystery thriller which keeps the reader guessing right to the end. This is a great debut with stacks of teen appeal and I'm already looking forward to the next one from Vincent Ralph!

Particularly recommended for fans of Karen M McManus and Holly Jackson.

Very interesting book and story. I really enjoyed in this one! Writing is amazing and characters are great!

This is labelled as a Y.A read, the protagonist is 17 year old Jess, but I think it is suitable for adults to read as well. There is a lot to engage with and mature plotlines. Jess' mother has been murdered when she was seven , and the killer never caught. The nature of trauma, grief and loss is explored in detail throughout.

Without her father''s knowledge, she applies for, and is accepted onto, a 'Big Brother' style television show where she and 4 other teens will compete to be filled for a full 3 months.

This means she has a narrow window to generate enough interest in her life, by wearing head and body cams to record her movements, to win the extra time.

The time will be crucial for her to try and link herself in the minds of the public and refocus attention on the killer who took her mother's life-and just as surely, took her father's, as he has never recovered from the loss.

Since the first murder he, 'The Magpie Man', has taken another 13 lives and has proven to be unstoppable. Will Jess manage to bring the killer out from hiding, and if so, will she be prepared to deal with the consequences?

My biggest issue with so many YA writers, especially male ones, si that they tend to write female protagonists as they think girls would act/talk/think. Not having the lived experience of a teen is understandable, but on many occasions they end up as parodies of gender stereotypes. With Jess, Vincent has truly captured the nuances and character so well, he really excels at making her a believable, and sympathetic character.

You could be forgiven for thinking that Jess is selfish, and headstrong, playing taunting games with a serial killer is never a great idea, but as the book progresses, she really comes into her own as a strong young woman who is trying to rescue her father whilst he still has time to live a life.

Jess lost both parents on the day her mother was murdered, her father has given up on life and the love she feels for her dad is achingly transparent. By being in the public eye, she is reminding others that her mother was a living, breathing person before she was cruelly snatched away.

What she does not expect, and struggles to deal with, is the attention she gets from the viewers , including text messages, being followed and articles about her mother appearing in places that very few people have access to...

Maybe The Magpie Man has always been a little closer than she ever realised? Suddenly, suspects are at every turn and reality begins to blur the line between wish fulfiment and viewing figures for a tv show...

This is a 5 star read, a mystery, I loved Jess and enjoyed 'seeing' a sense of growth and determination which escalates through short, sharp chapters which read like diary entries and helps create a sense of pace which I loved.

A whodunnit, a whydunnit and a gripping thriller, I recommend this unreservedly!

Unfortunately I did not enjoy this book because I found it to es difficult read.  Difficult for several reasons _ the young girl, Jessica, was unbelievable and her actions never rang true.  The other characters were also strange and "unlifelike".  The story itself is disturbing but not to my taste.  Perhaps others will like this tale and I  not dismissing it out of hand so perhaps give it s go!

This is a great books, I started it last evening and finished it just now! I couldn’t put it down. 

I am not normally a thriller / crime lover but there was something about this book that grabbed me. I was expecting a little more futuristic interaction with technology from reading the description but the book is very much about a normal girl living in the regular world trying to figure out what happened to her mum. 

I would totally recommend!

I received a copy of this book via net galley and its publishers Penguin Random House UK / Penguins children's books. 

Five people are recruited to go on You Tube and tell stories that influenced their lives. Each have one month to become the biggest internet sensation - if they do their You tube lives will be extended to 3 months. One of these Is Jess whose mother was the first victim of a serial Killer 10 years after the event and 12 other murders on Jess is desperate to find the man responsible. 

For me there are flaws in the way the mystery is uncovered with a lack of connections that would make it more realistic. I felt like Jess made great leaps in her thinking without real evidence. However there was a good feeling of suspense at times.

I think it disturbs me somewhat that this is published as a children's book I wouldn't want my under 16 reading it. Classified as Young Auldt presumably because of the age of its protagonists this is really quite a dark mystery.

Are you Watching is the debut novel from Vincent Ralph and marketed for the YA audience which I didn’t realise until I started reading. Having read and thoroughly enjoyed One of us is Lying by Karen McManus,I thought the synopsis for this thriller sounded similar and intriguing.
I certainly think it’s a clever idea using social media as a central theme to this novel although maybe somewhat dangerous and foolhardy when the storyline develops. In a nutshell, Jess wants to catch her mum’s killer,killed by the Magpie Man a decade ago. He’s gone on to kill a total of thirteen women and so far eluded the police. She’s been given an opportunity to share her story online in a bizarre competition that will give the person,with the most viewing figures (after an initial four weeks) more airtime. Jess is desperate to bring the perpetrator to justice so that both her and her dad, who literally is a shadow of his former self, can perhaps move on with their lives.
Whilst this is an interesting idea, I found it unbelievable that this father would sanction something so risky for the slightest chance that his daughter could taunt and goad a serial killer into revealing himself when up till now he has evaded  capture. Of course I realise this is a piece of fiction so cannot expect the storyline to be completely realistic but I do think the bounds of incredulity are overstretched in this novel.
Despite this criticism, I strangely found myself caught up in Jess’s quest for justice and read the entire novel over the course of one day. So , as a debut goes, this author managed to engage my interest entirely. I did find some of the dialogue rather repetitive at times and there are a couple of scenes that I found overly sentimental but this was an enjoyable,easy read.In terms of revealing the killer, I was second guessing all the way, thinking one minute it was that person , then another so the author does a fantastic job in casting suspicion on quite a few individuals, throwing you off the scent. It is creepy in some places, adding to the tension and dangerous nature of the situation Jess has willingly put herself in and the pace of the novel is pitched just right. However I did think the ending was wrapped up rather quickly and conveniently.
I suppose in terms of role models, the author has created a strong, fearless young woman in the guise of Jess with her best best friends Emily and Hanna her trustworthy sidekicks, proving that nothing is impossible. The grief that is still so raw for Jess and her dad is wrapped up in almost every word so that you can only begin to imagine the heartache these two have had to endure, as have the other families who are victims of this serial killer.
Perhaps if I was a member of the audience this book is targeted at, instead of a middle aged woman, I might have read this thriller with a different set of eyes, rather than seemingly picking it to pieces. I appreciate what a labour of love it must be for any author to get their work published so I hope this debut is a success. Are you watching is worth a read and after all, this review is only one opinion!!
My thanks as always to the author and publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read in exchange for an honest review.

When Jess was seven, her mother was killed by someone who became known as the Magpie Man, a serial killer who went on to claim another dozen victims. Ten years later, Jess gets the chance to appear in an online show called the Eye, where every Monday for a month, cameras will follow her from waking up to going to sleep. Jess sees this as an opportunity to try and finally unmask the Magpie Man and stop his killing spree. But does she really know what she’s unleashing?

I enjoyed this story more than I anticipated. The premise is a little far fetched - a 17 year old tracking down a serial killer through YouTube, but somehow it mostly worked. There were times when I felt that the story wasn’t really moving on at all, but overall an enjoyable story. I didn’t see the ending coming, and the identity of Magpie Man was a surprise, but, again, it worked and was believable.

It’s a difficult story to categorise, however. It’s definitely a crime drama, with a serial killer on the loose, but because it’s written from Jess’s viewpoint, there is little coverage of the criminal investigation, and far more about Jess’s life and relationships with friends and family. Whatever the genre, it’s still a good read!

A very good debut novel, and an author to look out for,,

Are You Watching? is one of my favourite books I've read recently, once I started reading I didn't want to put the book down! The story is about a girl called Jess whose mum was killed 10 years ago by a person who is referred to as Magpie Man. All she wants is to get justice for her mum and find the killer so she decides to take part in a YouTube reality series to help solve the case. 

I really enjoyed this book and loved how it was so different to anything I'd read before. Having technology being involved in a thriller is a really interesting concept and it was great how this allowed you to see two sides to Jess, her on the camera and her not. I think by seeing Jess like this we got to see more of an insight into the character and how she felt and dealt with certain things. 

The story was at a good pace and I found myself always wanting to read another chapter (not great when the chapters are only a few pages long as I'd allow myself more than I had time to read!) As the book neared the end I was still intrigued to know how it would end, I didn't find it predictable which I liked. There were a lot of surprising twists and turns in the last fifty pages and I think it would have been nice if it was a bit more detailed. At times I thought the ending was seeming rushed, 

I think this is a fantastic book, one I really enjoyed but am sad I have finished reading. I'd love to read more books from this author in the future!

This is a YA Mystery novel surrounding Jessica who is trying to find the serial killer called "The Magpie Man" who killed her mum and 13 other women. 

It has 144 chapters but the chapters are quick and easy to read.

I'm glad I requested this and got to read this.

I don’t often read YA books, but the premise and idea behind this one drew me in with great interest. Whilst having to maybe take the idea with a pinch of salt, the story follows, to begin with 5 youths who are taking part in a YouTube show called the eye.

It’s a show that follows 5 youths , who each have experienced a trauma or have something interesting about them. Followed from morning until midnight the story focuses on Jess, a 17 year old girl who’s mother was killed by a serial killer 10 years prior. That being Jesses clique so to speak. She plans to use the show to help her hunt down ‘The Magpie Man’.

Jess has a close group of friends and the characters feel quite real, at least to me. It’s a fast paced read, it’s not too long and it’s never dull. 

It’s interesting and at times a compelling look in today’s youth, and use of Social media, and though i say to take with a pinch of salt, it probably won’t be too long until someone’s life is indeed streamed live online in a Truman show or big brother manner. 

A book I’d certainly recommended to the targeted audience and any older readers interested in a mystery rooted right in today’s world

When 17-year-old Jess applies to be part of a reality series on YouTube she is delighted to get chosen as one of the final 5, each having one day each week where every move they make is monitored and put outlive. The one with the most followers at the end of the first month gets the opportunity to carry on for a further two months. Each has a reason for wanting that air time, for Jess it is to catch the man who murdered her mum ten years ago and has carried on murdering ever since.
This is a super Y A read as it centres around six form, social media and finding that balance between parents and children growing up and learning to back off and when to be there for each other. Jess's dad is naturally more edgy than most at letting go but he knows that she is a young woman. Jess goes all out to taunt the killer out of the woodwork and did I cringe.
Vincent Ralph has definitely got a home run with this book as he ticks all the boxes to connect with that generation. He creates more than one hero for readers to get behind while at the same time raise the tension enough to snuggle more under the duvet. It has that scary movie feel about it, those jump at moments that come to nothing while as a reader I want to shout he's behind you. A brilliant round-up at the end, darn I was so close!
I wish to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an e-copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

a strange one about a girl who grew up knowing her mother was murdered by the magpie man, the man who was given the nickname by her dad....

jess was only 7 when this tragedy happened and her life changed that dad...her dad became lost in himself and though she had her nan, she was shaped by this event...

then she applies for a series that is based around following her life for a month...along with other contestants they film their day, jess uses her day to spark an interest in the magpie man and his murders which have happened over the years...

a strange book that follows this teenager around with the hopes of sparking enough interest so that the magpie man is unmasked...and maybe he is a lot closer than everyone thinks...

Fast paced YA thriller with a surprising twist. Jessica's mum was murdered by a killer dubbed The Magpie Man when she was a small child and he goes on to repeatedly kill so she takes matters into her own hands to catch him. 
I enjoyed how social media and reality streaming shows were used in this book. Jessica uses them to her advantage to hunt for the killer. Yeah it's probably not uber realistic and yet in some ways it could be with how connected we are these days.. 
Oh and HALLELUJAH for those short chapters!!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The blurb of this book caught my attention. I'm always interested to see how authors work social media and the huge effect of the internet into crime stories. Often, it's not great. But I liked the use of it in this book, and I could definitely understand Jess' decision to use such a potentially powerful tool to find her mother's killer. I didn't guess the killer's identity, but I found it a bit unsatisfactory - I still had questions afterwards.

Jess was a bit reckless at times, and wrapped up in her own situation -  but she is a teenager! I could relate to Jess' sense of grief, and how that led to her desire to do something. I liked the glimpses of how her mother's death affected other people too, and the different ways in which they dealt (or not) with it.

Unfortunately my copy of the ARC contained many errors, one of the main ones being the frequent disappearance of the letter combination "fi" - e.g. "first" became "rst" - which pulled me out of the story multiple times, but I assume these will be fixed in the final published edition.

Overall, this was a fast-paced, quick read, and is worth checking out.

A brilliant debut book, that gives a new take on a thriller book. 
I really enjoyed this. It’s fast paced, makes your heart pound and it’s constant mystery keeps you guessing until the very end. 
I really enjoyed the social media aspect. It felt very realistic in a world where people post their whole lives online for people to see.
I didn’t guess anything, I had so many theories but they all were wrong & I was nowhere close to guessing who the magpie man is.

Thank you to Netgalley for a ARC of this book

As soon as I read the first page of this, I knew it was going to be a great read. I was hooked from the first sentence. Are You Watching? I s a modern take on a murder mystery as it intertwines social media and serial killers in a story that unveils secrets and truths that no one dared believe.

Plot:
This book had a straight forward narrative that meant it was really easy to follow. Sometimes I find it hard to follow mystery/thriller books like this because it can jump back and forth so much, but this one didn’t. It focuses on a young girl named Jessica, whose mother was murdered by known serial killer: The Magpie Man. She takes part in a YouTube reality show that streams her life live in front of friends and strangers to make people more aware of these tragic events and to help find who is responsible. Jessica is a strong character in the novel, being young and extremely head-strong. She’s on a mission for justice and she doesn’t stop until she gets what she wants. It’s really insightful to see these types of characters in teen novels as it inspires younger audiences to be like her and be strong no matter what. People should fight for what they believe in. 

Style:
The writing style was very simple and easy, which made for a quick and easy read. It only took me a couple of days to finish this - which is a record for me this month - and I always say that if you can’t put it down, it must has been good. The mix of media, from texts, phone calls and print jumbles the world of multi-media and storytelling to appeal to a wider audience. If you want an easy teen thriller read, then this is the one for you.

Summary:
If you love thrillers, but aren’t a fan of the complicated narratives, I would really recommend this. It doesn’t take too much thought and the storylines are really easy to follow. There are a lot of twists and turns that you might not expect - I know I didn’t - and there were points when the atmospheric imagery made my heart beat a little quicker. It was a really emotional and thrilling read.

 ☆☆☆/5

Thank you to Penguin Books and NetGalley for the ARC!