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A review by melanie_dc
Watching from the Dark by Gytha Lodge
4.0
This is more of a 3.75 book. It's book #2 in the DCI Jonah Sheens police procedural, a British series from a British author. I really liked the first book in the series, "She Lies in Wait," which I read in 2019. That one was slightly better, but I would recommend this series if you like police procedurals that truly focus on solving the mystery. This is a a whodunit that follows the painstaking work of tracking down leads, interviewing and reinterviewing suspects and people who knew the victim, and tracking down and watching CCTV footage. This is not fast-paced, nor a thriller.
In the book, Aidan Poole logs on to his laptop to Skype his girlfriend, Zoe Swardadine, late at night. But he soon hears a violent struggle off camera and Zoe never comes back into his view. He fears he's heard her murder and phones the police, hoping they believe him. But he's reluctant to give his name and doesn't seem to know Zoe's exact address. Luckily, after another cryptic message, police do a wellness check, only to find Zoe dead. Is it murder? A suicide? What happened? "The boyfriend always does it," right? But Aidan was at home on his laptop listening to the events unfold.
DCI Sheens and his team take the case and begin interviewing Aidan — who seems to be hiding more than one thing — and Zoe's terrible friends. I say terrible, but they're really just a bunch of lost, needy people who rely too much on Zoe. As Sheens and his team work the case, we get alternative chapters telling us what Zoe was doing up to 20 months before her death; as the book goes on, we get closer and closer to the day that Zoe dies. I found Zoe's story really interesting, as I tried to figure out what led to her death.
Zoe's friends, both in the past and present, are insufferable. What a mess of people. But I wasn't here for them. I was here to watch Sheens and his team solve the case and find justice for Zoe and her grieving parents. I like this series because Sheens is smart, thoughtful, reliable and ethical (at least in his police work), and he has a good investigative team of three other members. There's very little drama among the team members, and they are good at what they do, which I appreciate — you don't always get that in police procedurals and mysteries! I will definitely pick up book #3
In the book, Aidan Poole logs on to his laptop to Skype his girlfriend, Zoe Swardadine, late at night. But he soon hears a violent struggle off camera and Zoe never comes back into his view. He fears he's heard her murder and phones the police, hoping they believe him. But he's reluctant to give his name and doesn't seem to know Zoe's exact address. Luckily, after another cryptic message, police do a wellness check, only to find Zoe dead. Is it murder? A suicide? What happened? "The boyfriend always does it," right? But Aidan was at home on his laptop listening to the events unfold.
DCI Sheens and his team take the case and begin interviewing Aidan — who seems to be hiding more than one thing — and Zoe's terrible friends. I say terrible, but they're really just a bunch of lost, needy people who rely too much on Zoe. As Sheens and his team work the case, we get alternative chapters telling us what Zoe was doing up to 20 months before her death; as the book goes on, we get closer and closer to the day that Zoe dies. I found Zoe's story really interesting, as I tried to figure out what led to her death.
Zoe's friends, both in the past and present, are insufferable. What a mess of people. But I wasn't here for them. I was here to watch Sheens and his team solve the case and find justice for Zoe and her grieving parents. I like this series because Sheens is smart, thoughtful, reliable and ethical (at least in his police work), and he has a good investigative team of three other members. There's very little drama among the team members, and they are good at what they do, which I appreciate — you don't always get that in police procedurals and mysteries! I will definitely pick up book #3