The Watcher

Following on from the success of Gone Girl and The Girl On The Train, we're seeing an influx of psychological thrillers, coupled with unreliable narrators and shocking twists. I'm by no means complaining - I love a good thriller, especially one that takes me completely by surprise, as The Watcher did.

Lily has just moved into a block of new flats in North London. They're still knocking down some old flats across the way, making way for more shiny, expensive flats that have become the norm in places like London. Armstrong touches upon the very real theme of people being priced out of London, kicked out of their homes. The divide between rich and poor, young and old. In many places, you see old, decrepit buildings, split into tiny studio flats, with graffiti over the walls and broken windows; and just across the street are brand new, gleaming buildings, that will set you back a pretty penny. Armstrong describes London accurately, and should be commended for telling it true.

While watching through her binoculars, Lily sees something in one of the new flats that grabs her attention, and her imagination. She begins to obsess about this particular resident, and what they might be up to. When a lady in the old block of flats is murdered, Lily makes it her mission to find out who's responsible, even if it costs her her life. The Watcher is a psychological thriller and a classic whodunit rolled into one.

I'm usually pretty good at figuring out twists before they're revealed, so when a book manages to shock me, I rate it very highly. I did figure out "whodunit", but the other twists were excellent enough to make me gasp. In order to keep this review spoiler-free, I won't say any more, but Armstrong is excellent at keeping the reader guessing, throwing red herrings in your path and coming at you from all angles.

The style of writing is another one that seems to be becoming more popular at the moment. The book is comprised of Lily's journals, where Lily addresses the reader. You wonder for a long time who she's speaking to, and why she won't answer their calls or speak to them directly. It's a clever way of writing that, when done right, can have a huge impact on the way a story is told. Armstrong gets it right.

My only nitpick is that I didn't really get Lily sometimes. I know that saying, reality is stranger than fiction because fiction has to make sense, or something to that effect, but actually the thing about fiction is that it has to have characters who make sense, who readers can relate to. Lily is a female character written by a male author, and that does show through at times (what women wears a bra while pottering about the house, I ask you?!). But as an unreliable narrator, Lily is excellent, and that's where Armstrong's talent shines through.

Unfortunately, this proof copy was full of errors. It needs some strong editing before it's released. I don't usually comment on this when reviewing proofs, as they're not in the final stage, but there was a particularly large number of mistakes in this, so I thought I'd mention it.

If you're a fan of eerie thrillers, you definitely don't want to miss out on The Watcher. It's a quick read, but one that will grab hold and suck you in.

The Watcher By Ross Armstrong is a mystery and thriller read.
She’s watching you, but who’s watching her?
Lily Gullick lives with her husband Aiden in a new-build flat opposite an estate which has been marked for demolition. A keen birdwatcher, she can’t help spying on her neighbours. Until one day Lily sees something suspicious through her binoculars and soon her elderly neighbour Jean is found dead. Lily, intrigued by the social divide in her local area as it becomes increasingly gentrified, knows that she has to act. But her interference is not going unnoticed, and as she starts to get close to the truth, her own life comes under threat. But can Lily really trust everything she sees?
This was a fantastic read with brilliant characters. Lily reminded me of jessica Fletcher from murder she wrote. I loved the ending too. Highly recommended. 5*. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book from netgalley.

Clever, clever, clever. I read copious amounts of thrillers simply because it's one of my favourite genres, but as much as I enjoy them I always think there are 2 main problems facing authors - writing fully formed characters that we like enough to care about and not following a formulaic plot. Armstrong achieves this with the story of Lily, an unassuming inhabitant in a new build block of flats. Lily is a bird watcher and each chapter begins with her notes on what she's watching through her binoculars. Sometimes it's birds, but sometimes it's her neighbours. In amongst the new builds, the executives and the professionals are the old flats awaiting demolition, populated by tenants and squatters alike. When one of these neighbours is murdered, Lily becomes obsessed with finding out who the killer is. Her husband Aidan isn't much help, barely leaving his typewriter, barely speaking, so Lily is left to investigate alone. She is a thoroughly unreliable narrator - a technique I love in a book, because after all we are all only living our own reality. - but just how accurate are Lily's observations and who can she trust? A clever, dark and sad tale of a vulnerable young woman caught up in a series of events beyond her control.

I really enjoyed this book for so many reasons. Firstly it was something a bit different, the writing style, the plot, the whole concept broke me away from a lot of books read this year that had been a bit "same-same" for want of a better description. It intrigued me from page one and I was super curious as to where it was going to take me.

The book is written in the first person, almost like journal format but more free-flowing than just diary entries. For this reason we are in the main character's head right from page one and I enjoyed this in-depth aspect.

Lily Gullick lives with her husband Aiden in a new-build flat opposite an estate which has been marked for demolition. Using binoculars she becomes really obsessed with spying on the neighbours in other apartments and sees quite a lot of interesting things along the way. For a lot of the book I was unsure as to the relationship between Aiden and Lily but this becomes very clear in the book towards the end. The author does a fantastic job with some really big surprise moments in this book.

When one of Lily's neighbours, Jean gets murdered she becomes determined to find answers and is on one-heck of a mission to find out. Obsessed is an understatement. She is putting pieces together, looking for clues, looking for suspects and using her "birdwatching binoculars" to help. You can be forgiven for wondering a little bit as you read this book where it is going but that is the whole clever point of it....it's meant to read that way.

The reveals are brilliant!

I am not even going to hint at them in this review except to say that this book shocked me and thrilled me with it's clever moments of allowing me into Lily's mind and her world and the ongoing flow towards the last third of the book where you really start to have everything come together in the most entertaining of ways. It's got a suspenseful and dark undertone to it and the pace is fast towards the end.

I grew to really like Lily as a character a lot and by the end of the book I had a million feelings towards her. One of the more memorable book characters I have read for some time and I am surprised somewhat at some of the 3 star and average reviews that this book has got. I would recommend reading this with zero expectations and just let the words take you on a flow with them. I loved where the book ended up taking me and it was one hell of a ride on the way.

4.5 stars for me for The Watcher. An unexpected story with a very unexpected ending.

Lily Gullick has just moved into a gentrified part of London. A keen birdwatcher and an even keener neighbour watcher, she keeps a log of her observations on both species.

One morning, Lily wakes up to the news that a resident of one of the council estates in the area has been found dead at home. What better opportunity to put her nosiness to good use?

The Watcher is written in first person, and it feels like Lily is having a chat with the reader. She is sharp, funny, not always easy to understand but immensely likeable.

Ross Armstrong has penned an original thriller with spot-on social commentary and a main character with a remarkably strong voice. A debut that shows much promise.

(Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy!)

Lily watches her neighbours - they are all laid out like a snapshot of Celebrity Squares - each in their own square. Using her bird watching experience she categorises them and makes notes on each of them in the form of field notes. Even at one point making a grid to record their sightings and habits. Each chapter is prefaced by the field notes for the particular person she is currently watching. Together with a chilling heading "42 days till it comes" which slowly counts down through the book. She's watching them, but soon she will be doing much more than just watching.

There is a Council block of flats earmarked for demolition opposite the new build Lily lives in. One of the tenants living there until the end is Jean, who Lily decides to visit - in the middle of the night which I found a little strange, even if it is because she can't sleep, that she sees her light on and wants to connect. The next morning Jean is dead! Lily gets ushered right into Jean's flat to pronounce her dead because people think she's a Doctor......... but she isn't.

I found the book really absorbing and also with a little dark humour. So many little nuances - what do they all mean?
Lily with her wash bag pretending to be a Doctor because people think she is one - how would that happen?
Her husband Aiden who seems to do nothing but stay in the flat undermine her confidence and demand he be made coffees!
Her neighbours who she knows so much about apart from their real names and the ability to strike up a conversation with them because they don't even know her.

Lily narrates the book through the form of a what seems to be a very long letter to someone - whom we do not know. She questions her sanity - I question it - is any of this real? Two thirds into the book we begin to get some answers and I inwardly congratulate myself on having sussed this book out from the beginning. Except - I didn't- I really didn't and that's when the book changes again. A twist on a twist. A heart racing finale - what is going on with Lily - what are her neighbours up to?

I don't do spoilers so you will have to read this very original book for yourself to find out.

I'm giving it 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks go to Netgalley for an advance copy to review. The Watcher is out on 29 December.

Loved this book thought it was totally different to some of the books that have been out lately that all seem a bit "samey"...it's a fast paced and tense read which will keep you guessing until the end, I couldn't put it down a great book and fab read!