I am delighted to share my review today for a wonderfully twisted psychological thriller. Watch For Me by Martin Bodenham is the first book I have read by this author.

My huge thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for my copy of the book and for a spot on the Blog Tour.

Tom Harper, a Vancouver Island realtor, has the client from hell, Ali Page, a beautiful and intelligent young lawyer returning from the mainland to take up a job with an island law firm. Trouble is there’s always something wrong with the properties Tom shows her, always a reason not to commit. Finally, after they find a condo she likes, he receives a text thanking him for his help. Ali signs off: I’m sad we won’t get to spend more time together. Often cold and withdrawn throughout their weeks of searching, Ali’s words seem strangely out of character.

The texts keep coming, increasingly incoherent and disturbing. What does Ali mean by: we have a special connection, and why on earth would she say: I’ll be here for you when you leave your wife? Happily married, Tom cannot understand why a woman not much older than his teenage daughter is suddenly obsessed with him. When he rejects Ali’s unsolicited advances, Tom soon discovers the sinister depths to which a delusional mind will sink to obtain what it wants. Isolated and seemingly abandoned by the police and legal system, this is the story of one man’s struggle to rescue his marriage, his family, and his sanity in the face of overwhelming psychological and physical torment.

My Review…

Wow-what a journey this book was. This is the first time I have read a book by this author and what an introduction it was. this is such a dark and twisted psychological thriller that it had me spitting feathers at times!

I do tend to get emotionally invested in books and I have been known to cry, but my goodness this one had me so angry. Oh! I should clarify these emotions are not for the story but for one of the characters. I’m still not explaining this well, am I? The author has created a character that is so evilly twisted and vindictive it makes one’s blood boil, well it did mine at any rate.

I understand that I am waffling at this point, it is because I am still trying to get my head around how I can write a review for this book that does it justice, but without giving too much away. The synopsis does a great job of introducing the reader to the main plot of this story. How the author deals with this plot and then twists it, and twists it some more and then twists it again makes for fabulously addictive reading.

I suppose some part of this story is a twist in itself, often stalkers are male, female stalkers tend to be those who have been “scorned”. This is partly down to how society perceives stalkers and the victims. It is where the author lays down such a good base for the story that follows. It also highlights the injustice for male victims and how they’re often not believed. the author has created such a believable plot and added so much to it, I found it hard to put down. If I didn’t have to go to work I would have easily read this in one sitting.

This is a very tense read and I do admit, that even though I had no reason to doubt Tom, there was a flicker. After all, even those closest to him had doubts! This is why I think this story worked so well. It was easy to follow and the pacing was just right.

This is a brilliantly woven story, it is strong on the psychological thriller side and also has a good crime and mystery edge to it. I adored this book right the way from start to finish, and that finish!!! It is a book I would definitely recommend.

About the Author…

Martin Bodenham is the author of the crime thrillers: Crime And Justice, The Geneva Connection, Once a Killer and Shakedown. Watch For Me is his latest novel, published 16 August 2021 by Down & Out Books, a US-based publisher of crime fiction, founded in 2011.

After a thirty-year career in private equity and corporate finance in London, Martin moved to the west coast of Canada, where he writes full-time. He held corporate finance partner positions at both KPMG and Ernst & Young as well as senior roles at several private equity firms before founding his own private equity company in 2001. Much of the tension in his thrillers is based on the greed and fear he witnessed first-hand while working in international finance.

Visit Martin at his – Website – Twitter – LinkedIn – Publisher Page

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