Watching You (Joe O'Loughlin Book 7)

First Sentence: When Marnie Logan was fourteen she dreamed of marrying Johnny Depp of Jason Priestly and living happily ever after in a house with a Gone-with-the-Wind staircase and a double-fridge full of Mars Bars.Psychologist Joe O’Loughlin’s patient, Marnie Logan, is trying to put her life together after the disappearance of her husband, Daniel. She trying to have him declared dead so she can access his bank account and life insurance for her, and her daughter’s survival. Otherwise, her only choice has been to perform as a call girl. As Joe, with the help of ex-cop Vincent Ruiz, works to help Marnie, he starts to realize that other people around her have disappeared/been murdered. Is it Marnie, or is there someone else?Robotham immediately captures the reader’s attention with a very creepy opening. He also creates very vivid characters. Marnie is interesting in that one doesn’t really like or trust her. Ruiz is the classic tough copper; you’d definitely what him on your side. Yet it is Joe who is the most interesting. He is not without his own baggage, which makes him human; and has a degenerative medical condition. It is Ruiz who describes him best—“You’re made differently from most men. …You understand more than most people. You look harder. You care more. You let things bruise your soul and question what’s wrong with humanity,…”.The plot is suspenseful, increasingly so. There is a major, very effective, plot twist one does not see coming. But one also questions whether it is true. Robotham also includes fascinating information on the psychology of stalkers versus voyeurs.“Watching You” is a wonderful, suspenseful read with a shocking turn, and an ending that leaves you questioning.WATCHING YOU (Psy Suspense–Joe O’Laughlin-England-Contemp) - VGRobotham, MichaelMulholland Books – Feb 2015

In this seventh novel in Michael Robotham’s Luiz/O’Loughlin series the sense of unease and anticipation builds from the opening lines. Marnie Logan, young, married, with two children, is struggling to survive since her husband Daniel simply vanished a couple of years earlier and it quickly becomes obvious that there's a lurking presence in her life that has been there for a long time:Marnie Logan often feels like she's being watched. Nothing she can quite put her finger on – a whisper of breath on the back of her neck, or a shadow in the corner of her eye – and now her life is frozen.It becomes increasingly hard to tell if the lurking presence is a portent of worse to come, something to do with her missing husband, or something more internal. Marnie’s struggling to cope with the legal and financial mess that Daniel’s disappearance has left her in, the personal consequences of his debts and the illness of her young son. Forced into prostitution by the gangster her husband owed a lot of money to, she is depressed, confused and grieving when she turns to her neighbour O'Loughlin for help.Sympathy, however, quickly turns to confusion and even mistrust as the discovery of an incomplete journal being prepared by her missing husband as a birthday present reveals a different side to Marnie Logan. It seems that this broken and grief-stricken woman was in the past feared, disliked, cursed and avoided: a woman known for sending the message ‘Payback is a bitch!’ to the people that she's got even with.‘It wasn't my weed. Someone put if there. A few weeks later I got a card through the post. Four words.“Payback is a bitch!”’ … Eugene glances past Joe.‘A month or so later, Debbie got a card through the mail. Same message: “Payback is a bitch!”’... ‘It arrived about a month after I started my sentence. No name, no return address, postmarked from London. It said “Payback is a bitch!”’ Mosley rubs at his bloodshot eyes.Logan is confused, but O'Loughlin is worried and he turns to Vincent Ruiz for his help. Not before time, as the violent and nasty stand-over man who delivers Marnie to prostitution appointments is found dead and she is a suspect. As Ruiz starts to dig deeper, there are other sinister revealtions and things start to look very damning for the woman who started out a victim.This author has got a way of ramping up the suspense very quickly and keeping you on the edge of your seat until the final page. His voices are authentic, the twists and turns elegantly presented, and his ongoing cast of characters engaging and involving. Some readers may connect more with O'Loughlin than Ruiz, or vice versa, and for both camps, WATCHING YOU is equally interesting. There's a particularly nice touch in the way O'Loughlin struggles with his relationship with his teenage daughter, in particular, to say nothing of his ex-wife; yet multi-divorced Ruiz is the voice of reason when it comes to women, and a strong support figure for the teenaged Charlie in particular.As the series has progressed, so has the relationship between O'Loughlin and Ruiz. There's a real sense of shared history and friendship now between the two of them, and something beautifully pared down and supportive about their interactions. The relationship allows for glimpses of humour, or trust and normality in a storyline that's anything but humorous, trusting or normal.It seems the idea for the novel came from a real-life scenario, which is particularly interesting as the way the story plays out in WATCHING YOU is very realistic and even more disquieting as a result. But there are other messages woven delicately into the threads of this narrative. Obsession is a powerful emotion and somebody in its grip can be powerless to break away. And the consequences of obsession can be devastating for anybody unlucky enough to get caught in the vortex, to say nothing of those directly impacted.[...]

I use reading as a relaxation, like gardening when not under pressure. Lordy,Llordy. get this book. Robotham is a wonderful author and his command of the English language makes his novels and their plots a pleasure indeed. So, cook your delicious meals ahead, hunker down and immerse yourself in his captivating imagination. His books are my reward for working hard and getting things done. Enjoy!

Once again Michael Robotham proves he is at his best when at least one of his characters is written in first person. This time we are in the head of the protagonist, who Robotham uses to take the reader down a path that has twists, turns, and finally a slight head scratcher. I can’t say who the protagonist is without this being a spoiler.Marnie Logan’s husband has disappeared and she goes to see Joe O’Loughlin for therapy. This puts Joe and his retired detective sidekick, Vincent Ruiz, in the middle of the story. Someone is eliminating or harassing people in Marnie’s life that have wronged her, and the question of who is doing this drives the plot.In the middle of the book, a secret about Marnie is revealed and Robotham wants the reader to think this will be the answer to the mystery, but then the twists and turns begin.In the end, I was left thinking, “Okay, this was possible, but it does stretch believability.” This is a good read and one of Robotham’s better novels.This one gets four stars.

I read Life or Death last year and loved it, being new to Michael Robotham.When Close your Eyes was published in p/back last month I tore into it and wasn't disappointed. Wanting more I then purchased the earlier work Watching You.I do love Joe O'loughlin's super intelligent psychologist with his troubled family life and coping with Parkinsons.Vincent Ruiz is welcome heavy to support Professor Joe and I always feel easier when he's in the picture should the opposition warrant; and in Watching You he's certainly up against a devious,ruthless and relentless adversary.The heroine of the piece is complex,vulnerable and not vulnerable by turns and Robotham weaves a clever plot throwing the reader a major red herring that has one wondering just how this will all turn out.You will not be disappointed.Always for me a denoument must be tied up with a giant ribbon and I get it here.Page turning great stuff.

Marnie Logan often feels like she's being watched. Nothing she can quite put her finger on -- a whisper of breath on the back of her neck, or a shadow in the corner of her eye -- and now her life is frozen. Her husband Daniel has been missing for more than a year. Depressed and increasingly desperate, she seeks the help of clinical psychologist Joe O'Loughlin.So I'm a huge fan of the Joe O'Loughlin books from Michael Robotham so I was very much looking forward to this one (And hoping that Ruiz would be involved so YAY!) and it didnt disappoint.Marnie has some godawful problems - a loan shark on her tale, a missing husband and a distinct lack of funds are making for a pretty poor existance. Struggling to cope she turns to Joe for help with her depression...and as things develop it becomes apparent that there is more going on in Marnie's life than initially meets the eye.One of the strengths of these novels is Mr Robothams ability to write multi layered, psychologically intriguing characters not only with his main protagonists but with those they encounter along the way - even peripheral or secondary characters have a certain depth to them and this makes every story different enough that the series never becomes dull.Certainly he has managed that here with Marnie, a damaged yet sympathetic woman who has had some major curveballs thrown at her in this game we call life and yet manages to still be standing, albeit rather unsteadily. You will feel for her and want things to start going her way.The story twists and turns, keeping you on your toes and you will metaphorically cheer when at last Ruiz turns up to keep Joe on the ball and offer some practical support - Joe's own ongoing battle with Parkinsons disease ( an extremely authentic developing character arc) continues to cause him problems and frankly he could do with the help.Ok so as usual for me I had it all in my head fairly easily as we went along and I was correct in all my assumptions but still I bow to Mr Robothams superior storytelling skills when it comes to turning things on their head at various points and giving me reason to doubt myself.All in all if you love these novels you will also love this one - the writing standard is as high as it has ever been and it was a highly enjoyable reading experience once more. Whilst there are references to previous events, you could easily pick this one up and read it as a standalone - although personally, as ever, I would say start at the beginning if you are new to this author - that would be "The Suspect".Happy Reading Folks!

Creepy and really thought provoking I found this read to be. Really enjoying reading books by this author and this one is dark creepy and had me looking over my shoulder on more than one occasion. No loose ends and for me with keeping me gripped all the way through it made it one of the best reads by Michael Robotham. Yes the blurb says quite a bit about the book but once reading it you realise it will be going somewhere where maybe you don't want it to go but no stopping it.

Had me gripped!! Cannot recommend highly enough. You won't guess...!!

How refreshing to read something that zigs-zags away from my expectations, not once, but half a dozen times before page 57. And then continues to keep me guessing and wondering for another 450, only to kick me in the gut with the penultimate but one paragraph.