The Watcher in the Wall

[The Watcher in the Wall] by Owen Laukkanen
Stevens & Windermere series Book #5
5★'s

From The Book:
Kirk Stevens and Carla Windermere of the joint BCA-FBI violent crime task force have handled shocking cases before, but this one is different. Stevens’s daughter, Andrea, is distraught over a classmate’s suicide, but what the two investigators find is even more disturbing—an online suicide club of unhappy teenagers, presided over by an anonymous presence who seems to be spurring them on. Soon, it becomes apparent that the classmate wasn’t the first victim—and won’t be the last, either, unless they can hunt down this psychopath once and for all.

My Thoughts:
It appears that there is someone encouraging teenagers on a suicide show more website to enter into a pack with the administrator of the site to not only kill themselves but are encouraged to film their death. This person leads them to believe that they are also suicidal and will die with them. Stevens and Windermere realize that there is a very sick and evil internet predator that is preying on susceptible youngsters and selling these recordings on the black websites.

A back story is taking place at the same time. A 15 year old boy is brutally abused by his alcoholic step-father. For some reason he feels that he has the right to prey on his step-sister and encourage her to kill herself. He has been watching her for several months and seeing her die is the high point of his life and he tries again and again to reach this high point again by watching others die.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, the reader needs to be aware that it is a vey, very dark topic. You will want so badly to tell the 16 year old girl that is on a bus from Tampa to Louisville to meet, what she believes is a 16 year old desperate boy named Brandon…to just turn around and run…DON”T get off the bus. Unfortunately the story has so much truth to it that it should scare every parent to watch what and who your child is meeting on line. Don’t be too busy or too trusting…they are children and don’t always have good judgment. show less

In the fifth book of a series featuring agents, Kirk Stevens and Carla Windermere, aare pursuing an Internet troll who encourages teenagers to commit suicide, while recording their final moments on a webcam to sell on the dark web. Adrian Miller, tired of being tormented at school, hangs himself while home alone. One of his schoolmates is Steven's daughter, who begs her father to hold someone responsible.

In the beginning Stevens and Windermere aren’t sure a crime has been committed. They soon realize that they have an online predator on their hands, and it looks like the he is already working on two more victims who are ready to kill themselves. If you are a parent who is afraid of who your children are socializing with online, this show more novel will only make you more nervous. Windermere is almost out of control in this book because of her own culpability in an incident in her past, where she stood by as a fellow classmate was bullied in school. Laukkanen based the book on the real-life case of online predator William Melchert-Dinkel, a Minnesota man whose online emails drove an Ottawa teen to commit suicide in 2009, and who is suspected of entering into fake suicide pacts with at least five other victims.

Laukkanen continues his tradition of quick, short chapters with high-octane action that compel the reader to keep turning pages. I'm a big fan of this series but this was probably my least favorite of the five books. Stevens takes more of a backseat in this one, because the case is so personal to Windermere. For much of the book she is almost out of control, even threatening a judge in order to get a search warrant. I don't recommend this your first look at a Windermere/Stevens book but fans will find it an intriguing story with emotionally invested characters. show less

I found this hard to read....just so gruesome but I have really liked his other books so I kept going and I'm glad I did. The Acknowledgements were particularly important because Laukkanen describes how this book came about---in part because of his own experiences with depression and suicidal thoughts. It explains a lot about FBI agent Windermere's thinking --- why don't all of us make the effort to stand up for what we believe is right when we see things that are so definitely wrong? I'm late to the fact that Stevens and Windermere are in his former books and maybe I began with the wrong one.

Looking at the date of the first time I rated this book, it was one of the first ones I rated on Goodreads. WAFF over here. Makes me smile. I remember exactly why I rated it that way and what I was doing and thinking, too: I was writing a story that had a tough female homicide cop in it, and this book reassured me. It didn't inform the character in any way, but I was glad nonetheless to learn it could be done well. Meaning, my writing was totally different and amateur. I thought then, that this book was a page-turning, pulse-pounding read. I was too shy to put up a review on here and would continue being shy until a few years later, so yeah, just seeing the four star rating brought back a lot of positive reading memories and being show more reassured about attempts at my own writing

A year or so later, I found out about someone named Antoinette Conway, of the Dublin Murder Squad. I have an enormous crush on her. Steven Moran, her partner of the Dublin Murder Squad, is pretty cool too. There's--no disrespect, but this review ain't gonna end well since the Dublin Murder Squad is my standard. This book was shockingly boring the second time around. The chapters seemed to be little more than vignettes, and such choice did not increase the pace or enhance the characterization. There were a variety of viewpoints, chunks of white space everywhere, and it was just annoying. Tons of cliche villains with backstories we can all expect at this point. Even the lonely teenagers seemed like cardboard cutouts. As someone who -was- that lonely teenager and was logically able to relate a lot, the previous sentence breaks my heart. Emotionally, though, I was just sort of sighing. Like, yes, you have lots of teenagers you're terrorizing. How about the author makes me care about one? It didn't happen this time around. But the first time I read this? I cried at the end. I bit my nails, I huffed and puffed a little, and I cried. Second? "Oh, the book's finally over. (sigh of relief)"

Windermere just seemed--I've seen her type written much better. I've seen her partner's and her boyfriend's types written much more interesting, and better. This was so flat for me, and a lot of the plot elements towards the end seemed so convenient. Too bad. show less

Stevens and Windemere are still wrapping up their last case when a student in Stevens' daughter's class commits suicide. Adrian had been communicating with a girl in a suicide chat room and the FBI team is determined to find her before she can harm herself. The new case raises an ugly memory for Carla Windemere about a classmate being bullied who later committed suicide. Carla's lingering guilt over the incident is a bit hard to believe but the case is a compelling combination of technological methods of investigation, the psychology of abuse and teen suicide, and the hideous prospect of people who profit from the pain of others. Disturbing subject matter but a fast-paced, action-packed crime/psychological thriller.

Holy Moley! This book was a definite 10 on the reader scale for me. Some of the characters wer4e hard-core FBIies, others were very very scary predators and victims.

In the world of snuff films, there aren't many good people and the main character of this book certainly isn't one. His childhood was horrible, we get that - but some kids end up okay. Not Randall Gruber, who - at fifteen - made his step-sister commit suicide as he watched. That was the beginning.

FBI agents Stevens and Windermere are brought into it by Steven's high-school daughter who knows a boy who had just killed himself and she had done a little searching. What she found will create a new kind of hell for Carla Windermere and several victims of this predator.

Couldn't show more put it down. show less

I've been a fan of Owen Laukkanen right from the beginning, with the release of his debut novel, The Professionals. His newest book, The Watcher in the Wall, is the fifth in the Stevens and Windermere series. (It can be read as a stand-alone)

Kirk Stevens and Carla Windermere are partners on a joint FBI and BCI task force. It's Stevens' daughter who brings their latest case to them. A classmate has committed suicide. Tragic enough on its own, but the death is being shown on the internet. The boy was a member of an online suicide forum, where members share their thoughts, tips and ------ encouragement.

A bit of a difficult and dark premise, but one that is unfortunately real. The antagonist that Laukkanen has created is truly despicable show more and twisted. And just like the suicide forums, not that far from the truth. Who are you really talking to in chat room? And how do you know that photo is real? Ugly, chilling and oh, so very creepy.

The relationship between the two lead characters has evolved and changed over the course of the books. They have very different personalities which bring a different view, attitude and approach to their cases. The Watcher in the Wall sees Windermere take the lead - and some risky moves. This case has become personal for her, triggering memories from her teenage years. (But I have to admit, the cooler headed Stevens remains my favourite)

The action doesn't stop and the pacing is frantic as the pair race to save another teen before they make a terrible, final decision. As I read the final run up to the ending, I was envisioning an action film. (and it would make a good one) But, some of the final plot situations do ask the reader to suspend disbelief. So, I did. Here's an excerpt of The Watcher in the Wall.

The author's notes at the end were compelling:

"The Watcher in the Wall is inspired very loosely by real-life incident, but it's also a fairly personal book for me. I've dealt with depression and suicidal thoughts since I was a teenager, and it's only now, two decades later that I've started taking real steps to deal with it. In some ways, this book is a response to the dark stuff......Please don't suffer in silence. There's no shame in speaking up and I promise, you're not alone."

There's a nice little cover blurb from John Sandford..."Laukkanen is slam-bang brilliant." And yes, if you like Sandford's books, you're going to like Laukkanen. show less