Watching You: A Novel

Watching You (2018) is a psychological thriller set in Bristol, England, by the bestselling British author Lisa Jewell. The text explores themes such as Fantasies of Adulthood, Social Appearances/Deceptive Façades, and Complex Identities and the Power of Labels.

This guide refers to the eBook, published by Atria Books in 2018.

Content Warning: This novel includes domestic violence, stalking, child abuse, the sexual abuse of minors, bullying, and death by suicide.

Plot Summary

The novel begins as Detective Rose Pelham examines the scene of a murder on March 24, 2017. The victim is Nicola Fitzwilliam, but the text initially conceals her identity, leaving open the possibility that the body belongs to any one of the three members of the Fitzwilliam family. A third-person narrative, the text primarily moves between three point-of-view (POV) characters: Joey Mullen, Freddie Fitzwilliam, and Jenna Tripp. The three characters are primarily connected by the way that each of them fixates on a fourth character: Tom Fitzwilliam, Freddie’s father and the victim, Nicola’s, husband.

The main storyline starts before the murder, on January 2. Joey Mullen is a 27-year-old woman who has recently moved back to Bristol with her new husband, Alfie Butters, after the death of her mother.