The Watcher by Jennifer Pashley

The Watcher (Kateri Fisher) by Jennifer Pashley

Release: September 8th, 2020
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Source: Suzy approved Book Tours.
Find it at Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, TBD.

From the award-winning author of The Scamp, Jennifer Pashley is back with a searing literary noir about what it means to live on the margins of society and what happens when no one is watching…

Pearl Jenkins is a nobody. Besides, she was a woman who lived as a hermit in the woods. One day, she’s nowhere to be found, and all that’s left behind is a pool of blood and a child no one knew existed, raised completely off the grid and in the grip of Pearl’s manic paranoia.

Also, Kateri Fisher is an outsider. Now, she’s the only female detective in the tiny upstate New York town of Spring Falls, where everyone knows everyone, but no one will talk. She should take the case that no one else wants. But as Kateri struggles to navigate the harsh rules of a new town while trying to learn the truth about the Jenkins family, only one thing becomes clear: neither she nor Pearl is as invisible as she first thought. Someone’s always watching.

About the Author:

Jennifer Pashley is the award-winning author of two short story collections, States and The Conjurer, and The Scamp novel. Her stories have appeared widely in journals like Mississippi Review, PANK, and SmokeLong Quarterly. She has been awarded the Red Hen Award for Fiction, the Mississippi Review Prize for fiction, and the Carve Magazine Esoteric Award for LGBT Fiction.

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The Watcher Review:

“The Watcher” is dark, atmospheric, and a book that slowly creeps up on you.

The first thing that captured my attention was how the author wrote the timelines—the chapters alternate between Kateri’s and Shannon’s perspectives. Shannon’s chapters take place a few months before the one in Kateri’s chapters, making the story stand out.

The characters made this story memorable. Shannon was my favorite! I loved how the author elaborately portrayed him. On the one hand, he struggles with his family financially, and on the other, he is falling into a dangerous relationship with Bear. Your heart goes out to him, where you wonder what will happen to him. In the same manner, Bear is unpredictable and mysterious, which makes you wonder what he has up his sleeve.

Moreover, the author writes the story in an eerie and calm manner, which slowly leads to a shocking climax. One of my favorite scenes is when Kateri and Hurt bring Shannon for questioning and pressure him to tell the truth. Furthermore, there are quite a lot of plot twists that I did not expect.

Probably my only minor criticism is Kateri’s character. She did not come across as a strong lead character in her profession, as she did not stand out. For me, the entire story balanced on Shannon and Bear, who I thought shined in their roles. Also, after reading the story, I felt that we did not hear from Birdie’s side. I would have loved to get her perspective on the events that transpired.

As this is the first book in the series, perhaps we will read about it in the next book! Overall, “The Watcher” is a gripping procedural, and I loved the various nuances that the author added to the tale.