Watching from the Dark

Watching from the Dark by Gytha Lodge is a highly recommended police procedural and the second in the DCI Jonah Sheens series.

Late one night Aidan Poole is on Skype to his girlfriend Zoe Swardadine. He doesn't actually see Zoe, but he hears her moving around her apartment and starting a bath. Aidan hears her get into the tub, but then he also hears someone enter her apartment. He sees no one but he hears a struggle, someone leave, and then nothing from Zoe. Aidan listens to the silence for a couple hours. He is sure she has been killed, but he waits to contact the police. When he finally does contact them, it is an odd message and he doesn't leave his name.

Detective Chief Inspector Jonah Sheens and his team take the case after Aidan show more sends a second follow-up message later. They find her body. It looks like a suicide, but clues point to murder. As they look into Zoe's life, they see that Zoe was a beloved friend who had a whole host of friends who relied on her for emotional support. They also uncover Aidan's identity and the reason for his reluctance to contact the authorities immediately and leave his name. It seems during the investigation, everyone loved Zoe but they are all harboring secrets.

The writing is excellent and the plot is perfectly executed as the investigation uncovers secrets and motives. Chapters alternate between the present day investigation and recounting the final 20 months of Zoe's life. The alternating narratives work well in Watching from the Dark as they help establish Zoe as a real, complicated character. Zoe's backstory starts with her meeting Aidan and works up to the present. All the suspects are met, developed, and their actions followed in Zoe's story and the present day investigation.

The investigators are also established as well-developed characters. Following along with the investigation into Zoe's death is just as interesting as her backstory. This leaves readers with many suspects in this procedural that veers into psychological thriller territory. Astute readers will likely know whodunit early on, but the journey is compelling.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Penguin Random House.
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https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3203322128 show less

So imagine this. You’re on the computer late one night, waiting for your girlfriend to appear on your Skype feed. You can see her empty living room & it sounds like she’s in the bath. Suddenly, in the corner of the screen, you see the edge of her front door slowly open. Soft foot steps echo down the hallway. The next thing you hear is the sound of splashing water. Minutes later, you watch in horror as the front door quietly closes. Silence.

Aidan Poole doesn’t have to imagine it. He’s left staring at the screen, terrified by what he just witnessed. Clearly Zoe needs help ASAP. So then why is he strangely reluctant to call 999?

Now THAT’s how it’s done, folks. If this prologue doesn’t grab you, you’re…ungrabbable. Or show more possibly in a coma. If you read “She Lies in Wait”, you’ll be familiar with the returning cast.

DCI Jonah Sheens is back & as the story begins he receives a weird message at the Hampshire Constabulary: some guy called about some girl somewhere in the area who might be in trouble. Or dead. Huh? After consulting the records (and Google) he finally comes up with a name & address. A quick visit confirms that yes, Zoe Swardadine is in fact very dead. Time to gather the team.

Domnall O’Malley, Juliette Hanson & Ben Lightman make up his close knit squad & they waste no time assembling a list of Zoe’s nearest & dearest. Let’s see….there’s Aidan, the boyfriend with everything to lose. Angeline is a close friend who clearly has some issues. Maeve is her former room mate with a complicated love life. Victor is the co-worker who quietly carried a torch for her. And then there’s Felix, the older man who was her landlord.

What follows is a layered story full of people with something to hide. The challenge for the squad is figuring out which of their secrets are related to the murder. As little snippets of information surface, each of the people in Zoe’s life will top the list of suspects at one time or another.

Alternating with the present day investigation are chapters that begin 20 months before her death. Here we get the history of how Zoe & Aidan met & the complex relationships between the gang. As these progress, they begin to inform the present & change how you view each of the characters. You’ll find yourself giving one of them the side-eye & thinking Aha!. Then you read the next chapter & suddenly someone else becomes your prime suspect.

This is not an action packed, shoot-em-up kind of procedural. It’s a twisty psychological suspense story that touches on the darker sides of human nature such as obsession, jealousy, deception & the damage people do to each other. The middle section showcases the grunt work cops endure that makes or breaks a case. It’s also where they (and the reader) pick up the clues that ultimately point them in the direction of Zoe’s killer.

By the end of book #1, I knew the regulars were characters I wanted to meet again so I really enjoyed this. It’s a pleasure to come across a police force portrayed in a way that avoids the usual tropes of office politics & backstabbing. Instead you have distinct characters who actually get along & each brings something different to the table. Domnall is the elder statesman of the squad with a dry wit. Juliette is smart, keen & there are hints of a developing subplot concerning her past. Ben is a quiet guy who is bit of an enigma. And holding them all together is Jonah. He’s a likeable man who’s only really comfortable when he’s on the job. As for his personal life…well, that needs a little work.

All in all, a creepy & intricate story with an ending that may surprise many readers. Job done. show less

Watching From the Dark is the 2nd book in the DCI Jonah Sheens series - the 1st book is She Lies in Wait which I read and loved last year. This book was just as good as that first book which has me bumping this series to the top of my highly anticipating list! I love a good police procedural and I especially enjoy books like this that also take the time to develop their characters well! This book is actually told from two different viewpoints: one is the investigation into Zoe's death done by DCI Sheens and his team and the other storyline is Zoe's life and the events that led up to her murder. I really appreciated the fact that we were able to get to know Zoe's character so well with the way that the story was told. It almost made me show more sad though at the end because the loss of her life and her potential felt like such a waste. It's rare that an author is able to make me care so much about the murdered character but that's exactly what Lodge did with this book. I also really enjoyed the fact that we got to know DCI Sheens and his team a bit more. They all work together well and complement each other despite their differences. I'm eager to read more books in this series when they release because I really enjoy all of the characters so much. This book is a slow build which fit my reading mood perfectly. I am pretty sure that I suspected almost everyone involved at least once in Zoe's murder. The book kept me guessing until the end - and even the ending left me with a bit of surprise. This is both an author and series that has jumped to the top of my must read list!

Overall, I really enjoyed my time with this book and am eagerly anticipating more books in this series! It's going to be a long wait for that 3rd book but I know that it will be entirely worth it. I'm so glad that I gave this author a try last year because I would have been missing out on this series otherwise. You definitely don't need to read the series in order as this one stands alone well - it just will add to the reading experience if you do choose to read both. I would recommend this book to fans of police procedurals, those who enjoy a good mystery, and those who enjoy suspenseful reads that keep you guessing until the end. I highly recommend!

Bottom Line: This author and series has jumped to my favorites list!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher and NetGalley. I ended up reading a copy from my local library. Honest thoughts are my own. show less

Watching From the Dark by Gytha Lodge is a 2020 Random House publication.

When Adrian Poole logs on the internet to accept a Skype call with Zoe, his girlfriend, he’s annoyed to discover she’s not in the camera’s view.

But, as he continues to watch, he believes something bad has happed to
Zoe. But, because of the circumstances of their relationship, instead of calling the police, like any other concerned person would, he leaves an anonymous message, instead.

It’s not until DCI Jonah Sheen happens across the report that Zoe’s body is found. Once he’s gathered his team, the unit must determine why anyone would want to murder Zoe.

This means interviewing her friends, family, and neighbors. As they dig into Zoe’s life, a show more complex web of manipulations, secrets, and lies, creates a number of possible suspects and motives, which keeps the team- and the reader- guessing, second guessing, and confused until the bitter end.

The current investigation is alternated with the Zoe’s voice, detailing her life leading up to her death, including her interactions with friends, colleagues, and of course, Adrian Poole.

This approach is one also used in the first installment, and I think it adds a haunting, atmospheric quality to what is, for all intents and purposes, a police procedural- which seldom comes with many bells and whistles.

Lodge again keeps the primary focus on the murder victim and the suspects, although we do get a closer glimpse of Sheen’s complicated private life.

For some reason, the atmosphere here reminds me a bit of Deborah Crombie’s series, only without the personal touches and developed private lives of the star detectives.

I wouldn’t mind if this series added a little more of those personal asides, but since we are only two books in, I’m thinking the recurring characters will slowly develop as the series continues.

As to the criminal case, the plot turns into a fascinating drama, and like the detectives, I thought I knew for sure who the murderer was, only to waffle and change my mind multiple times. I was constantly trying to work it out.

Overall, a fantastic effort by Gytha Lodge. This series is very promising and is one I will not let myself get behind on! I’ve already queued up the next installment!!

4 stars show less

This was an excellent read: I enjoyed it even more than the first in the series (about which I can now remember only bits and pieces - story of my life!) Adrian watches what he believes to be the murder of his girlfriend Zoe over Skype, but is only willing to report this to the police anonymously...

There were chapters detailing Zoe and Adrian's relationship over the previous 18 months interspersed with the present day police procedural chapters. I liked police officers Juliette and Ben (I see from my review of the first book that I was hoping to get to the bottom of the mystery that is Ben, but he remains an enigma). Jonah's relationship with Michelle is something my memory has clearly decided to jettison, but none of the personal lives show more of the detectives really intruded into the plot: I thought the author had that well in balance.

I was sure different people were the murderer at different stages of the narrative and was guessing until the very end. The Zoe chapters did an excellent job of portraying her mindset on the last day of her life.

Highly recommended. show less

Aidan spies on his "girlfriend" through a Skype vulnerability. He gets a little more than he expected when he witnesses her murder although he cannot see the suspect. It puts him in a precarious situation. He phones an anonymous tip, but the police soon determine who called. He becomes a suspect in the case because his testimony does not add up. The author does a good job with character development, and others may find the mystery more appealing than I did. The alternating viewpoints between the deceased's past and the present investigation did not work for me. I tire quickly of that overused technique, particularly when it could come out in other ways during the investigation. I received an advance uncorrected proof months ago through show more GoodReads. While reviews are appreciated, they are not required. show less

Watching from the Dark is the follow up to She Lies In Wait featuring DCI Jonah Sheens. I loved She Lies In Wait and Watching From The Dark does not disappoint!

In this book, Zoe, a promising young art student, turns up dead in her flat. Her secret boyfriend appears to have heard her being murdered via an open Skype channel. This leads Jonah and his team down a series of pathways that eventually result in a nailbiting showdown with the real killer.

There's a lovely immediacy and authenticity in the characters and the way they are described, and you feel engaged in their emotions in a way that is all too often rare in crime fiction. Everything has a light touch and moves along at a breathless pace, and I finished it in about three show more sittings.

Would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone. show less