Happy Publication day to Joyce Schneider. To celebrate I would like to share with you my review of GIRL WATCHING YOU. This is new release in the Psychological Thriller genre and is an intriguing read that doesnt disappoint.
GIRL WATCHING YOU by J.A. Schneider
Available from AMAZON
A young woman, obsessed by a man she considers a predator, climbs a fire escape and thinks she sees a murder.
Out of work actress Ava Beck, reduced to working in a West Village flower shop, starts to watch womanizing hedge funder Peter Greer, who lives near. He likes to romance his girlfriends with flowers.
Ava notices bruises on his troubled-looking date named Chloe. Concerned, she follows them after work to Chloe’s studio, second floor in the rear of a brownstone. She hears them arguing, climbs up the fire escape just as Greer angrily sees her…and plunges into a world of stunning twists, murder and madness worse than any she could have imagined…
My Review
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I am a big fan of Joyce Schneider so was very pleased to read this new stand-alone thriller.
Ava, an out of work actress, is in a bad place. She has split up with her lawyer husband, Alex and is in the middle of a divorce. Her sister recently died and Ava suspects she was murdered by her actor boyfriend. When Ava makes her suspicions known Moore retaliates by using his power, money and contacts to make Ava an outcast in the acting world. Forced to find work where she can Ava is currently working in a flower shop where the owner has romantic inclinations towards her which are not reciprocated.
Suffering from depression and insomnia Ava spends the evenings climbing fire escapes and spying on women she believes are being abused. She manages to save one woman from her abusive landlord but isn’t so lucky with Chloe. Afraid she has been seen Ava slinks off home and Chloe’s murdered body is discovered the following morning. Adding guilt that she could have saved Chloe to her other issues and Ava is spiralling down into the darkness of despair.
Although this book is fairly slow moving during the first half as we get to know the characters it does pick up as the reader becomes engrossed in the tangled web of people, red herrings and clues. There are several characters in this story and the author builds them all very well so they become complex individuals each with their own history and unique personalities.
The story itself, although predominantly crime, has a little romance built in and several more aspects that make it a little different and a lot more intriguing. The suspects are many and my mind was changed many times as we followed the twists and turns of this case even when nearly at the end there was still the choice between a happy ending or more tragedy to keep the adrenaline pumping.
Another winner from the brilliant J.A Schneider.
Thank you to the author for the digital ARC of this book. These are my own, unbiased thoughts and opinions.
