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Watching from the Dark by Gytha LodgeSeries: DCI Jonah Sheens #2
Published by Michael Joseph on February 6, 2020
Amazon UK
Goodreads
Also by this author: She Lies in Wait
Aiden Poole logs onto his laptop late at night to Skype his girlfriend, Zoe. But to his horror, he realises she is not alone.
Completely helpless, all he can do is listen to the sounds of a violent struggle. And then a chilling silence.
He's desperate to find out if she is OK. But then why is he so hesitant to call the police?
When his messages finally reach them, DCI Jonah Sheens and his team take the case - and discover the body. . .
It is PPPPPPUUUUUBBBBBBBLLLLLLLIIIIIICCCCCAAAAATTTTTTTIIIIIOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN DAY for Gytha and her new book Watching From the Dark, book two is fabulous DCI Jonah Sheen series! I am way excited to be sharing my review with you today so let us dive in!
✮ My Review ✮
When this little gem dropped through my door I was itching to get reading on this one! Boy, it did not disappoint at all. God, I love the way that Gytha tells her stories, with the now and then but not only that all the other stories at the same time.
We learn from the opening pages that Aiden has just heard/witnessed his girlfriend Zoe being murdered over a Skype call but does not report it straight away. But why? He makes the call and this case nearly gets swept under the carpet by the police as a hoax until Jonah reads the transcripts and queries the wording by the caller. What follows is a lot of misdirection, secrets and a flawed DCI trying to solve the mystery behind the murder of Zoe.
When I was given the peace to read this book, damn adulting, I flew through the pages, each chapter created new questions that I just needed answers to. How can there be so much going on without it being confusing at all? Well, that is due to the talent of Gytha! She makes you care about the side characters plus left you wanting to know more. How does this small pool of people have so much influence and where does the blame lie?
I love that you are made to suspect EVERYONE! And re-reading my review of She Lies In Wait, Gytha did it to me again! Although this time I did not suspect Jonah. But again, you have yourself caring so much for the murder victim because of the voice they are given, like Aurora in SLIW, Zoe has a distinctive voice.
Aaaaaah so much to tell you! I related to Zoe in so many ways, and not just namesake, and I felt protective of her, although I knew she was dead in the first couple of pages. She was headstrong and she fell in love with the wrong man but yet I still wanted to try and influence the outcome somehow and change her future. Certain characters I had absolutely no time for and I wish they got a harsher time than they did. I can’t specify who because it would ruin it for you but when you know you know.
That ending too, where most of the book is like a game of chess, the final chapters is like a racing game as we get to the end. Where the story unfolded at a steady pace, each secret revealed creating new questions and threads to follow. The final had me racing with my heart in my throat as we discover the truth. Would the team make it on time or will there be another victim? When you look back on the story you have just read, you wonder how you have missed some vital clues but some, oh yes some, were very hidden and I loved that. Just a slight word, or a nod out of place and it all made sense!
I have been dying, not literally, to get back with Jonah and the team and loved the mention of Jojo from Book 1! I hope she features in the next book! Plus seeing the team again made me smile! O’Malley, Lightman and Hanson, no longer the newbie all working together like a well-oiled team led by Jonah. Each has their personal life slowly trickling in and I am soo looking forward to seeing how these will impact everyone in the next book!
Gah!!!!!!!!! I can’t wait for the next one! I can always sing about Gytha’s book, I have been a champion for Jonah from the start and her book was my joint Book of the Year 2019 so I expected high things and I really was not disappointed. The only thing I am disappointed about is how quickly it is all over! Aaaah! I really could gush all day, her stories are like one of those knots you get in a necklace, where you finally unravel one bit, another knot turns up! She had me in tied up in knots but it is a fun place to be! I am never bored when with Jonah and the team, I just want to spend more time with them.
If you do anything with your day, on Publication Day, pick up this book!
Until next time xxx
OH BUT WAIT!
I have a GIVEAWAY!!!! When I was sent my ARC of Watching From the Dark, I was kindly sent a finished copy of She Lies In Wait!
On a scorching July night in 1983, a group of teenagers goes camping in the forest. Bright and brilliant, they are destined for great things, and the youngest of the group—Aurora Jackson—is delighted to be allowed to tag along. The evening starts like any other—they drink, they dance, they fight, they kiss. Some of them slip off into the woods in pairs, others are left jealous and heartbroken. But by morning, Aurora has disappeared. Her friends claim that she was safe the last time they saw her, right before she went to sleep. An exhaustive investigation is launched, but no trace of the teenager is ever found.
Thirty years later, Aurora’s body is unearthed in a hideaway that only the six friends knew about, and Jonah Sheens is put in charge of solving the long-cold case. Back in 1983, as a young cop in their small town, he had known the teenagers—including Aurora—personally, even before taking part in the search. Now he’s determined to finally get to the truth of what happened that night. Sheens’s investigation brings the members of the camping party back to the forest, where they will be confronted once again with the events that left one of them dead, and all of them profoundly changed forever.
So! All you have to do to win this absolutely fantastic frigging book is answer one small question (You can thank Eva @Novel Deelights for this as I was completely stumped what to ask!?) …………….
What would YOU lie in wait for?
You can either comment below ⏬⏬ or comment on my review on Twitter! Best answer wins of course! I will keep this open until 13th February! Good Luck to you all. <3
Thank you to Gytha and Michael Joseph for a copy of the book in return for my honest and unbiased review
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Kelly says
I should have known it was Eva who came up with that question ? I really need to get a move on with this series ?♀️
Zoé says
Maybe answer the question and you might get the chance ???
Kelly says
I did on Twitter!
Zoé says
Oh yeah! Sorry ??♀️ I am totally not with it !!!