REVIEW: SOMEONE IS WATCHING, BY JOY FIELDING

 

 

Bailey Carpenter believes that she is happy in her job as an investigator for a law firm in Miami. Surveillance is something she does well, and she especially loves testifying in court on the cases she has worked.

But one night, while watching an apartment for her target, she is attacked and raped. Her attacker was wearing a mask, and she has been unable to identify him.

Used to feeling in control, Bailey is ill equipped to deal with the aftermath, unable to leave her apartment, and most days, unable to leave her bed.

Meanwhile, after their father’s death four months before, a battle ensues between the half-siblings, as the older five, who were disinherited, file a lawsuit against Bailey and Heath.

So when her oldest half-sister, Claire, starts stopping by to lend moral support, Bailey has to wonder. Is Claire hoping to develop a sisterhood bond, or is there a hidden agenda?

Heath sinks lower and lower into a lifestyle of drugs, being no support to Bailey at all, as she deteriorates. She develops more signs of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, feeling as if someone is stalking her, calling in the night and hanging up, and everywhere she looks, she sees men who might be her rapist.

Is Bailey really seeing and hearing the things she believes she sees and hears, or is she hallucinating? Is she imagining the phone calls in the night, or is she dreaming? A surreal sense of unreality surrounds her days and nights, as she wanders sleeplessly through her world.

Bailey and Jade, Claire’s daughter, were the most interesting characters, while Heath was annoying and entitled. And the oldest half-brother, Gene, was pompous and bitter. As Someone Is Watching: A Novel unfolded, I was surprised by the inevitable reveals, even as I knew that something more nefarious than just the rape was going on. Definitely a 4 star read.