The Watcher
- Ross Armstrong
- Feb 12, 2017
- 2 min read
Having finished the book, I can see that some readers won't stick with this one, you really do need to go with the flow until it all fits into place. At just under a quarter of the way in I could so easily have decided it was a two star read and given up. At a third in I began to get some enjoyment, and at nearly three-quarters through, I got it. All was revealed, the reason why the beginning is so confusing all comes together. This really is a book that you just have to trust and go with, it doesn't matter too much that some things are a bit perplexing and you don't understand something, it all comes together later.
The chapters are written in the number of days countdown until 'it comes' starting at forty-two days before. I was guessing at all sorts of things 'coming' but I didn't guess the real outcome. Lily and Aiden live in an apartment block, Aiden barely leaving the flat because he's writing a novel and Lily spending nearly all her time 'bird watching' but with binoculars trained on the windows of her neighbours in the high rise opposite. She makes up stories about them and gives them nick-names, and then one day thinks she's seen a woman murdered. At the same time, there is unrest between neighbouring flats which are due for re-development and Lily gets herself involved with some of the residents who have not yet moved out. One such neighbour is Jean, an elderly lady who is found dead the morning after Lily has visited her.
Lily doesn't have good experiences with the Police, they fob her off, don't believe her, and even to us readers she blatantly tells a few fibs. She holds back information, does a bit of house breaking and who can blame the Police for not taking her seriously. She's certainly a strange and complex character. Once we've gone through the chapters counting down to the day 'it comes', things slot into place. Lily's father, who lives in France and she has been estranged from, comes to stay and then the action really takes off. I will say no more, but this really is a book you have to stick with and look back on for things to slot into place. By the end I did enjoy it but it's not one of my favourites.