Someone Is Always Watching by Kelley Armstrong (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Someone Is Always Watching by Kelley Armstrong Natalie Berglind Armstrong, Kelley Someone Is Always Watching. Tundra, 2023 [368p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780735270923 $18.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780735270930 $10.99 Reviewed from digital galleys Ad Gr. 9-12 When her friend Gabi has a breakdown in class, straitlaced Blythe is understandably concerned—and then obviously panicked when Gabi murders their school's vice principal and then attacks Blythe. However, when Blythe wakes up, neither she nor Gabi have any recollection of what happened; like the rest of their classmates, they're told the vice principal committed suicide. Blythe knows something is off: she's having visions of blood and gore, Gabi is still acting erratically, and she and her friends' memories of past events aren't adding up. Prompted by an email from an unknown source, Blythe teams up with Tucker, the crush she cut off per parental demand after he meted revenge upon a boy who tried to harm her, to get to the bottom of what's going on and what the company their parents work for might have to do with it. An initially compelling mystery deteriorates into a convoluted [End Page 249] jumble in the last third of the novel, riddled with contrivances and cliches, and the bad guy is painfully obvious. Additionally, cases of murder and child sexual abuse are sprinkled in as backstory without addressing the weight of those issues. Even so, Blythe has a strong narrative voice, and her chemistry with Tucker feels impressively realistic as readers root for the two to overcome their problems and get together. The question behind the plot is an intriguing one, as it considers how both individuals and society deal with children who commit violent crimes at an age too young to understand what they're doing. Copyright © 2023 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois