Watch Me: A Gripping Psychological Thriller

4 chillingly creepy stars
What can I say about this addictively readable psychological thriller other than, “WOW!”SUMMARYAuthor / college professor Kate is going through a bit of a rough patch; her husband of 10 years has left her for a much younger woman, her BFF since college, Zoe, is recently married and very pregnant, Kate’s second book, which was already published several years ago, has not been as revered as her first AND she is unable to come up with anything for her third. With her tenure review around the corner, her department chair not exactly loving her and no new publications in the near future, Kate is beginning to feel insecure, irrelevant and invisible.When handsome, intense undergrad Sam Grist shows up in her writing seminar, Kate can’t help but notice the way he stares at her and takes in her every word. It’s hard not to find this kind of reverence flattering. Soon they begin to bump into each other at random times and places. They develop a bit of a bond which takes on kind of a flirty vibe.Since this story is told from the dual view points of both Sam and Kate, it isn’t long before the reader learns that Sam didn’t just accidentally end up in Kate’s seminar or even at Blackwood College. Sam has been working toward the goal of going to Blackwood and being in Kate’s class ever since he read her debut novel, which he credits with changing his life. Apparently, Sam has a case of hero worship. Actually, it isn’t long before the reader realizes that it’s not just hero worship, it’s more of an obsession. And Sam may not be 100% right in the head.Will Kate notice that Sam is not what he seems before it’s too late? Will her vulnerability effect her judgement? What is Sam’s end goal? Exactly how unstable is he and what is he willing to do to get what he wants?WHAT I LOVEDI have so much praise for this stalker love story BUT I have to say my favorite part was being inside Sam’s head. Particularly reading how Sam practiced making “normal” facial expressions. Here is one of my favorite highlights from Sam’s POV:”My face blends the right mixture of sheepish, contrite, and pathetic. I’ve practiced this look many times in a mirror. You’d be amazed how often it comes in handy.”I love that line because it shows how hard Sam has to try in order to just blend in, how he has to calculate his every move.Kate was surprise. As a published author of a well respected book and a college professor, I was expecting her to be more confident and sure of herself, to carry herself with an aura of authority but she was kind of a mess. Due to all the drama with her career and marriage, she was more susceptible than normal to the charms of Sam. She was also thrown off by things she should have figured out by this stage in her life; a meeting with her agent, her prickly department chair and her much younger student. I loved how author Jody Gehrman created this sort of bumbling, messy yet very loveable character. It made her more relatable. I have to say that Kate kept me guessing until the very end.Although she was just a minor character, Sam’s mother was intriguing. She was clearly not much of a mother to Sam and not much of a human being but I loved the idea of the mystical Native American connection she had to Sam. She seemed to pop up when least expected and know things she should have had no way to know. I also loved the way Sam described her before she was too far gone and how he was able to remember the good times even though they were heavily outweighed by the bad.WHAT I DIDN’T LOVEI would have given this book another star if it hadn’t been so darn similar to Caroline Kepnes’s books, “You” and “Hidden Bodies.” That statement is a bit ironic because I actually chose to read it based on a GR Friend’s recommendation and comparison to “You” and “Hidden Bodies.” There were just a few pages so similar that they almost felt borrowed.

Ok read
The book tended to drag for a bit. Some of the plot was unbelievable seeming unrealistic even for fiction. The book was still worth reading though.