Watching from the Dark
The gripping new crime thriller from the Richard and Judy bestselling author
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4.8 • 5 Ratings
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
It's the sound of her crying out that tells him something is wrong. Then the noise of a struggle. And then, worst of all, the chilling and endless silence . . .
'Gripping, multi-layered and fresh. Terrific' WILL DEAN, author of Dark Pines
'Starts with a real bang and keeps you guessing all the way through' ***** 5 Star Review
'I was gasping out loud from the SHOCKING reveals' ***** 5 Star Review
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You never saw him. But he saw it all . . .
Aidan Poole logs onto his laptop late at night to Skype his girlfriend, Zoe. But to his horror, he realises she is not alone.
Completely helpless, all he can do is listen to the sounds of a violent struggle.
And then a chilling silence.
He's desperate to find out if she is OK.
But then why is he so hesitant to call the police?
Watching from the Dark is an enthralling new thriller that you won't want to miss.
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'An absolute gem - I was hooked from the first page' JO JAKEMAN, author of Sticks and Stones
'A genuine page turner. It kept me guessing right until the end' CHRIS HAMMER, author of Scrublands
'A riveting new book, with such vivid characters' HOLLY WATT, author of To The Lions
'You are made to suspect EVERYONE! . . . The finale had me racing with my heart in my throat' ***** 5 Star Review
'Grabs you by the lapels and doesn't let go' ***** Five Star Review
'The twists just keep coming . . . addictive, dark, and impossible to put down' ***** 5 Star Review
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In the prologue of British author Lodge's gripping if flawed follow-up to She Lies in Wait, a panicky unidentified man makes an emergency call because he's worried that his art student girlfriend, Zoe Swardadine, has been attacked just out of range of the webcam on which he was waiting to Skype with her. At Zoe's flat, the Southampton, England, police find her dead in the bathtub, an apparent suicide, but a few forensic clues suggest otherwise. When Det. Chief Insp. Jonah Sheens and his team delve into Zoe's life, they discover that, though the vivacious young woman appears to have been widely loved, almost everyone in her circle including her boyfriend harbors secrets they're dead set on protecting. If anything, Lodge creates almost too many suspects, on whom she casts suspicion in turn. As a result, the big reveal feels about as arbitrary as Colonel Mustard in the library with a candlestick. Until then, fans of psychological thrillers will be more than content.
Customer Reviews
Nothing new to see
3.5 stars
Author
English. Studied English at Cambridge, then creative writing at Uni of East Anglia. Award-winning playwright, novelist, screenwriter, writer of video games, head of the copywriting team at a global translation firm, and single Mum blogger. Busy, busy in other words. This is the second in a three-book crime series she signed up to write in 2019. The third instalment comes out in March 2021.
In brief
The action takes place in Southhampton and Winchester. A 26-year-old female art student of colour (her skin as well as her paintings) from a middle class background gets dead in the bath. It looks like suicide but isn't. Investigation by DCI Sheens and his team unravels a multi-threaded plot involving dead chick's friends and family, her married lover/ex-lover, her landlord, the people at the coffee shop where she works, yada, yada. Plenty of realistic procedural detail. Red herrings strewn about willy nilly. The investigating team deal with personal issues on the side. Many hot and cold bevvies later, they nail the perp. The end, apart from some tidying up in an epilogue.
Writing
Crisp, clear prose that shuttles back and forth in time to fill in backstory. The metaphor of filling in background detail on our gal's prize winning painting is ever present.
Bottom line
Solid genre fiction. Gets the job done. Nothing new to see here though, folks.