Review by Evelyn Hussey
Tundra Books, April 2023
368 pages, Hardcover, $24.99 CAD, 9780735270930
Young Adult, Ages 12+, Grades 7+
Fiction, Mystery
I jerk back, my mind refusing to say what those bits look like. I stumble over something and twist to see Meeks lying on the floor. He’s facedown, the back of his head covered in blood. I realize he is not facedown. He’s on his back, and I can’t… I can’t even see his face. It’s a crater of blood and bone and brain.
A shriek. A banshee shriek from the corner of the room, and I spin to see Gabrielle flying at me, the bloodied trophy raised over her head. A shout sounds in the hall, just as she swings the trophy.
Darkness.
Memory is what makes us…us. It’s what helps define our worldview and self-concept. We rely on memory to tell us what is important, what makes us happy, and what causes us great pain. But what if you learned your life might be a lie, and everything you remember might not be real? Who can you trust when you cannot even rely on your own memories? In Kelley Armstrong’s new psychological thriller, Someone is Always Watching, protagonist Blythe Warren and her friends must fight to find the truth hidden amongst the lies– and uncover who is behind them.
Seventeen-year-old Blythe has a lot on her plate: between juggling her feelings towards her childhood best friend, Tucker, and new love interest, Callum, she’s also trying to keep up her perfect image. But everything changes when her best friend Gabrielle is found covered in blood, their high school principal dead on the floor. Gabrielle has no memory of what happened, and the authorities rule it accidental, but after Gabrielle disappears, Blythe, Tucker and his sister, Tanya, are determined to uncover what really happened. As they get closer to the truth, they begin to realize that their local research lab may be involved, and that they have come dangerously close to a truth that no one wants revealed– one that might mean everything Blythe and her friends know is a lie.
What I really appreciated about Someone is Always Watching is the strength of Blythe’s voice. As the main character, the story is told from her first-person point of view, and I could feel her feelings with her, moment by shocking moment. She is a fully realized and fleshed-out character who has both depth and authenticity. Armstrong also does a good job of characterizing the other two central characters, Tucker and Tanya, through Blythe’s eyes, although more effort is placed on Tucker as he is Blythe’s potential love interest. One thing I found interesting was that every other chapter or so was from another character’s third-person point of view. These shifts give the reader some insight into how the other characters experience events and feel about Blythe’s character. However, I do wish that Tucker had some chapters from his point of view, which would have added a welcome complexity.
This book definitely meets all the requirements for a psychological thriller and will have readers turning page after page trying to find the truth. I personally could not put this book down during the action-packed scenes and chapters that ended on cliffhangers. Some of the minor details did get lost in the twists and turns of the plot, but by the end, the story was tied up with a satisfying ending. Someone is Always Watching is a fast-paced psychological thriller that will enthrall readers from the first few pages. I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good thrill and wants to get their blood pumping.
Evelyn Hussey is a BA Psychology student minoring in Creative Writing at UBC. She loves reading memoirs/creative nonfiction as well as realistic fiction. When she is not reading or writing she spends her time rock climbing, binging true crime content, or with her beloved dog, Dipsea.
YOUNG ADULTING 