Are You Watching? ~ Vincent Ralph
Expected UK Publication Date: 6th February 2020
When picking up this book, I knew absolutely nothing about it. The proof copy doesn’t include a blurb anywhere on or in it. The front cover caught my attention and is one of the few books I said I would read without knowing anything about it.
Are You Watching? by Vincent Ralph is the story of Jess, whose mother was murdered ten years ago by a serial killer, the Magpie Man. Jess applies to be on a YouTube reality show to remind the world about the serial killer and hopefully flush out her mother’s killer. The novel follows Jess’ as she starts this YouTube reality show and how far she will go to find out the truth even when the Magpie Man starts watching and threatening her.
When I did eventually get around to reading the blurb, minutes before I started reading the book, I thought this was going to be about a vlogger who is vlogging her journey to finding the killer. It’s not. This YouTube series is a professional, almost YouTube Red style show with a camera crew and director even if they are following her around all day. I wasn’t one hundred per cent sold on that idea to start with. Once the story developed, the reasoning became clearer and it helped the flow of the story. It would’ve halted the pace of the narration if Ralph had to tell the reader that Jess was getting vlogger’s arm or she had to pause to focus the camera. Having it being professionally recorded took away the little details that we didn’t need.
It’s no secret that I love being surprised by the mysteries in whodunnit books, but in this one, I didn’t find that to be the case. Whilst I didn’t guess exactly who, I knew how they related to Jess and her friends. I saw some of the twists and misdirections coming from several chapters before the reveal. Despite all that, it was fun and I did read it pretty quickly to find out whodunnit.
This was a fun, easy read that I sped through very quickly. The chapters were short, sometimes a little too short, only being a page in length. Overall, I think this is a great four-star book for those who loved One of Us Is Lying and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (both of which are incredible and you should read if you haven’t already) and is expected to be published on 6th February 2020.
C🌙
