I am Watching You
by Teresa Driscoll
When Ella
Longfield overhears two attractive young men flirting with teenage girls on a
train, she thinks nothing of it—until she realises they are fresh out of prison
and her maternal instinct is put on high alert. But just as she’s decided to
call for help, something stops her. The next day, she wakes up to the news that
one of the girls—beautiful, green-eyed Anna Ballard—has disappeared.
A year later, Anna is still missing. Ella is wracked with guilt over what she failed to do, and she’s not the only one who can’t forget. Someone is sending her threatening letters—letters that make her fear for her life.
Then an anniversary appeal reveals that Anna’s friends and family might have something to hide. Anna’s best friend, Sarah, hasn’t been telling the whole truth about what really happened that night—and her parents have been keeping secrets of their own.
Someone knows where Anna is—and they’re not telling. But they are watching Ella.
A year later, Anna is still missing. Ella is wracked with guilt over what she failed to do, and she’s not the only one who can’t forget. Someone is sending her threatening letters—letters that make her fear for her life.
Then an anniversary appeal reveals that Anna’s friends and family might have something to hide. Anna’s best friend, Sarah, hasn’t been telling the whole truth about what really happened that night—and her parents have been keeping secrets of their own.
Someone knows where Anna is—and they’re not telling. But they are watching Ella.
The beginning of
this novel genuinely led me to some soul-searching. What would I do if I saw something that
wasn't quite right or some scene that gave me a bad feeling in the pit of my
stomach? Would I say something? Or just mind my own business? I've seen some interactions which prompted me
to speak up and ask, "Are you okay?" and others where I've kept mum.
Some of those opportunities have haunted me and I've beat myself up about it,
thinking what if something terrible had happened afterwards and I could have
prevented it?
This is the
fraught situation that faces Ella - and she decides to say nothing. Could she have prevented the tragedy that
soon followed? But first, the plot weaves in and out of secrets. It turns out
everyone connected has them and as the narrative progresses I was constantly
kept on my toes about who might have been responsible for Anna's disappearance
and why. To Driscoll's credit - I did not guess until her big reveal. In the meanwhile, I just kept turning the
pages with bated breath.