I Am Watching You, by Teresa Driscoll, is a well-written thriller that drawers you in from the start. The story follows Ella who witnesses two men strike up a conversation with two teenage girls on a train. What begins to worry her is that these men have just been released from prison. She plans to intervene but something deters her. The next morning, one of the girls is missing.
The book moves between four characters’ points of view, which, instead of being hard to follow or dreary, increased the intrigue and my connection with each person. The characters were so well-developed and had such interesting backstories that they could almost have their own book each! I really enjoyed this element that made this thriller, with its detailed focus on the characters, stand out against many others. The thoughts of someone who is watching Ella and sending her threatening letters are also weaved throughout the chapters and the various points of view. I did find that this element could have been a lot stronger. It did not seem a large feature of the plot at all, especially for a book called I Am Watching You and I did not find those sections interesting.
The pace of this story steadily builds throughout, which immersed me and kept me wanting to read on. The plot is suspenseful and complex and definitely had me guessing. Unfortunately, the ending did throw my overall feelings towards the book. Some of the thoroughly well-developed and compelling twists were resolved literally in one sentence, and despite it become more and more gripping, the ending involved coincidences that seemed a little too easy and surprising for such an extremely well-written thriller. That said, the book still remained one that provided me with a great reading experience.
Speaking of, I read this as another buddy read with Stephen from the blog, Stephen Writes, and yet again I thoroughly enjoyed our regular discussions throughout. He seems to be on a roll for great selections when it is his turn to choose!
I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars.
Sounds like an engaging read & I love thrillers, but what a disappointment about the ending. I hate when books feel rushed as things are either tied up way too quickly within a couple of sentences, or left feeling unfinished. Neat review =]