This is actually quite a good thriller for a novel aimed at young adults! The use of social media was nicely done and the anger of the bereaved was loud and clear.

Short and sweet but definitely worth a read. Decently written and a thumping story.

When Jess was seven her mum was killed by a killer dubbed The Magpie Man. Ten years later he still hasn’t been caught, killing every nine months. She’s determined for justice, so she joins a YouTube reality series that will follow her around one day every week.

She wants to provoke a reaction, get him out of the shadows but is she ready to face him? 

What a fantastic debut Are You Watching is! 

I absolutely devoured Are You Watching. It combines two of my favourite genres, mystery and young adult, to make an absolutely sensational story. There’s the sort of young adult contemporary aspect where we have a damaged character who goes on an emotional journey of self discovery, then we have the mystery which was both intriguing and nail biting to satisfy a crime addict like myself.   

I warmed to Jess from the start. Yes, she was a little selfish and reckless but losing her mum at a young age in such a violent way is bound to have a bad effect on someone. I also appreciated that the author showed the ripple effect of how a crime can affect someone, especially if they’ve had no sort of justice. 

A nice surprise for me was I had no idea who the Magpie Man was until it was revealed which is a hard thing to do to an avid crime reader like myself!

Are You Watching is utterly compelling and addictive, I just couldn’t get enough! I can’t wait to read more from this author.

A fast-paced thriller for the social media age. Like Nerve, it has its flaws but it hooks you in, draws you in, twists and turns until spitting you out at the end.
Jess has lived for years defined by the events that happened when she was seven. Her mother was brutally murdered in an alleyway less than a minute from her home. She was the first victim of the killer who has been dubbed The Magpie Man. A solitary magpie has always been seen as bad luck, but this moniker stemmed from her father’s attempts to protect his daughter and make sense of something brutal - he told Jess his mum was taken because she was beautiful and magpies like to collect shiny things.
Now, Jess is determined to step out from the shadows. She wants to find the killer...he has thirteen victims to his name so far, and Jess believes it’s only a matter of months until he tries to find another victim.
So Jess signs up to take part in a reality TV show streamed on You Tube. Each person chosen is filmed one day a week for a month. Whoever gets the highest views will then be watched for a further three months. Jess is determined to take her chance to catch her mother’s killer.
What follows is highly improbable. Jess does some very stupid things. People who should know better allow stupid things to happen. But it all adds up to a jumpy tension-filled story. Highly enjoyable.
Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for my review.

I’m sure this book could have been a really good read, unfortunately my enjoyment was marred by the dreadful editing of the ARC Kindle copy, which had half finished words, after a while I found this hindered my read as I had to keep second guessing the missing words, for me this constant second guessing really spoilt the read for me. I’m sure the publishers will have by now edited the book,  but although I do expect to find errors in an ARC I do also expect it to be readable and not have glaring errors that make a read ‘unreadable.’ Saying that I will definitely buy the book as I was intrigued and the first part of the book really drew me in and I need to find out how the story ended.

Such a unique concept with the web show. This was so fast paced and easy to read, I would definitely recommend.

Really great teen thriller even though I’m not I loved it. Loved the characters especially Jess. I found this book to be a just one more page one more page I didn’t want to put it down until it was finished! A gripping skilfully written thrilling book and in this modern age totally possible. I would recommend this book. 
Many thanks to both the author and net galley for allowing me to read this book.

Are You Watching follows Jess as she applies to be part of a YouTube reality show, her plan is to use it to catch the serial killer who killed her mother. 

Although this story is completely unrealistic, I was gripped. I read it in just one sitting because I wanted to find out who the Magpie Man was. Usually with these types of books I can guess the bad guy but I didn’t with this one. 

A fast paced, well written thriller, with a great group of characters. I would recommend.

It was a very insightful novel, with a strong cast of characters. I enjoyed the story line very much and would definitely recommend this book.

5 Stars from me

This little belter of a book had me utterly hooked. I read it in one day and found it incredibly hard to put down.

Jess is a likeable character and her little family are filled with charm despite the obvious hole in their lives left behind by Jess' mum who was murdered by 'The Magpie Man'.

There is a nice balance of tension, emotion, relationships, peril and intrigue throughout the story and a good solid whodunnit with a few clever red herrings, some clues and satisfying outcome!

I loved the use of the YouTube reality show as the platform for Jess to try and find her mother's killer and thought the concept was very well described and enacted - perfect for the YA audience but I have to say I read this book without realising its target market and I absolutely loved it. So I would say it is perfect for the not-so-young-adult market too!

Synopsis: A page-turning new YA thriller for the social media age, perfect for fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and One Of Us Is Lying.

Ten years ago, Jess's mother was murdered by the Magpie Man. She was the first of his victims but not the last. Now Jess is the star of a YouTube reality series and she's using it to catch the killer once and for all.

The whole world is watching her every move.

And so is the Magpie Man.

I felt that this was a good, suspenseful read, which not only was well written, but also very important for our social media addicted society.  A story that I felt was chilling, because it could and likely has or will happen.  Chilling, tense, thrilling, and shocking!  Grab a copy today, if you love those books that use social media to scare you!  
Will make sure I buzz it up.

My thanks to Penguin Random House U.K. for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Are You Watching?’ by Vincent Ralph in exchange for an honest review. It was published in ebook and audiobook editions on 19 December with its paperback edition due to be published on 6 February.

I quickly realised that I was enjoying this story and so bought its audiobook edition, narrated by Rosie Day, to listen alongside reading the eARC.

This thriller is marketed for Teens & YA and its main character and narrator is 17-year old Jess.  While I am outside of this demographic, I adore crime thrillers and found this to be an engaging story.

Ten years ago Jess’ mother had been the first victim of a serial killer, nicknamed the Magpie Man. Since then he has killed twelve more women, carving a number on each body and leaving no forensic evidence behind.

Now Jess has applied to be one of five young adults, who have experienced something extraordinary, chosen to be part of an online reality show. Jess hopes that by telling her story it will generate interest in her mother’s death. It does this but also draws out the killer, potentially endangering Jess and those close to her.

This proved an intriguing whodunnit and its short chapters created a sense of immediacy with Jess’ experiences. There were a few times when Jess did something that made me wonder if she’d ever seen any crime or horror films. A certain lack of caution and mistrust of authority that naturally led her into dangerous situations.

I enjoyed the use of social media in the narrative and felt that it was an entertaining read that also had a serious underlying message. 

I also appreciated the inclusion of both the Q and A with the author providing background on aspects of the novel and the publisher’s notice about resources available to anyone who has experienced issues to those raised in the book.

An assured debut. I certainly will be on the lookout for his future projects.

Couldn't seem to get into this one at all for some reason. Sorry. Thank you for the ARC netgalley. Perhaps a second time reading it maybe.

Review

I tried so hard with this book, to work my way through what I now understand to be typos. I initially thought it was urban slang and spent ages with an urban dictionary trying to dissect the words. But no, it was terrible editing.

It overshadowed the book for me and sadly I gave up in frustration. I rate this book 1 star 🌟

Thanks

Thank you to the author Vincent Ralph and publishers Penguin for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an independent review.

Are You Watching is a well paced, exciting debut novel.  A Young Adult thriller, worthy of a read whether you’re an older teen or adult.   An easy book with lots of short chapters to keep you reading “just one more!”  Recommended. 

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

An excellent, suspenseful read about a young girl, Jess, who establishes an online YouTube series in an attempt to catch The Magpie Man, the man who murdered her mother years before. The online series takes hold and builds an impressive audience. However, one of the people watching is The Magpie Man and he’s closing in.

It’s in turn an exciting , scary and emotional read and I loved it.

I certainly don’t fit the target YA audience but, for me, this is a page turner that can be enjoyed by many ages. It’s fast paced with excellent, interesting characters and a fabulous ending. My enjoyment was only marred by the dreadful editing of the ARC Kindle copy, which had terrible half finished words, causing the reader to stop/start unnecessarily. However, I don’t feel that it’s fair to penalise the author for this lazy editing and so, for me, a fabulous 5*.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House children’s for the opportunity to preview in exchange for this honest review.

"Are You Watching?" explores both the positive and negative aspects of social media and having an online presence, the impact of grief and loss and the power of friendship. Protagonist Jess has a distinctive voice from the outset, though perhaps sounds a little young for seventeen. I found this a quick read and an enjoyable Young Adult thriller.

This was a fast paced and thrilling read I devoured the book in one afternoon. 

The main protagonist is 17-year-old Jess who has applied to be the star of a fly on the wall YouTube documentary all with the aim of getting justice for her murdered mum. 

Her mum was murderer when Jess was just seven years old and the serial killer is still at large. 

With the cameras rolling and the worlds eyes watching Jess pleads and goads the killer - will she finally solve the case when the police have failed to do so for so long? 

Is the killer someone close to Jess? Who is putting the old newspaper clippings in her bag? 

Jess’ friendship with her two best friends is really strong and reminiscent of my relationship with my besties. 

The use of social media, bullying and teenage angst works really well in this story making it a modern mystery. 

As with any whodunnit mystery there’s some red herrings as to the identity of the Magpie Man - I hadn’t worked it out so it was a surprise for me.

Great story with twists galore leaving you doubting everyone, did not see the ending though so really well done!

This is one of those books (few and far between) where giving a 5-star rating does not go anywhere near far enough to summarise the book.
It never flagged and had lots of differing events and emotions (although as you would expect happiness is an emotion that is sparse).  I never believed I would have been so engrossed in a book concentrating on social media and YouTube filming.  Nowadays (ok I am 73 so growing up in a very different world) everything seems to have to be messaged or videoed for any emotion to be displayed. You have to be seen to be upset or happy - not simply keep emotions to yourself.
I even read the Q&A section at the end with the author and this simply does not happen with me. He recommended 'A Good Girl's Guide To Murder' by Holly Jackson so on this recommendation it is my next read.
A slightly amusing anecdote is that in my Netgalley review copy any 'fi' or 'fl' combinations were missing so there were lots of new words to work out e.g. 'my rst time' and 'ghting'.  Still in no way did this hamper me
Superb and should be appreciated by all age groups.

Not for me I’m afraid. A long and dragged out novel that meant any suspense slowly withered away as the book went on, and a rushed ending that was quite unsatisfactory.

I’m not sure if the recurrent typo that other reviews have also commented on is intentional - if it is, I would advise removing it, as it is just irritating and adds nothing.