Watching from the Dark by Gytha Lodge - OPTIONAL

Watching from the Dark (DCI Jonah Sheens #2) by Gytha Lodge, 352 pages. Random House, 2020. $27.

Language: R (91 swears, 26 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Zoe was the friend who took care of everyone else, putting her friends’ happiness above her own. So why would someone kill her? As DCI Sheens and his team take over the investigation of her murder, they discover that webs of deception are everywhere and everyone has something to hide.

I’m impressed with the skill it took for Lodge to mislead readers while still getting her characters to the correct answer. The ending was satisfying, though I felt that the story as a whole was slow moving. Both of these aspects could stem from how detailed Lodge is for every character and every scene, with the readers never knowing which parts are the important ones because every detail seems highlighted. While technically the second in a series, this book stands well alone; I only felt like I was missing a couple details about the personal lives of the investigators, and they were easy to brush over as irrelevant to the real story unfolding. The mature content rating is for alcohol use, innuendo, nudity, and mentions of sex. The violence rating is for blood, murder, and mentions of suicide.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen