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A review by davisek223
With My Little Eye by Joshilyn Jackson
3.0
Wow, there's a lot going on in this book. Two villains, two climaxes happening simultaneously, multiple red herrings, a few twists I saw coming and one I didn't. It feels like the author has crammed at least three novels, possibly more, into one, and the effect is very . . . busy.
Meribel Mills is a C-list celebrity -- famous enough to have a stalker, but not famous or wealthy enough to have a security team or a gated compound. When her stalker in LA gets too close for comfort, she makes the odd choice to move to Georgia, as if that will somehow protect her. This is the whole basis of the book, but it doesn't make any sense -- she's an actress, and she has a part on a new show, and social media and Entertainment Tonight are a thing, so it's not like her move is going to keep her stalker away from her. She gets a couple of weeks of peace before the guy realizes she's moved and follows her. Duh. Who didn't see that coming?
Then we meet A) the neighbor down the hall, B) the ex-husband, and C) the new boyfriend, all of whom are suspicious in their own ways. But more importantly, they are also characters in three different novels that are all happening here at the same time. Neighbor Dude seems great at first but turns out to be starring in his own thriller. Ex-husband and Meribel are having a small Lifetime movie on the side, and New Boyfriend is Brooding, Tough, Mysterious, blah blah blah -- clearly the hero in a Jack Reacher movie or something. It's a lot to keep up with.
Oh, we also have Homeless Girl, Daughter with Autism, Surly Teenage Neighbor, and Surly Neighbor Mom. Not to mention the stalker, who we haven't even met yet. I'm exhausted just thinking about it.
The book held my interest and was a quick read, but the characters are one-dimensional and/or eye-rollingly ridiculous. Neighbor Dude's backstory is completely ludicrous, and we never learn what made Stalker Guy latch on to Meribel to begin with, or how he had the means or the wherewithal to follow her across the country. He doesn't come across as dangerous -- just sad and not very threatening. The ex doesn't even need to be there -- that whole side story adds nothing to the book. And Neighbor Dude and Homeless Girl really should have their own book.
All of this would be forgivable, though, if it weren't for the ending. It just . . . stops. The climax happens, we know everyone is safe, and four sentences later, it's over. Can we at least get an epilogue?! It was like the author reached a word limit and said "Nope. That's it. Can't write one more word."
The first Joshilyn Jackson book I read was Almost Sisters, and I loved it. Nothing else of hers has quite lived up to that one. I'll continue reading her stuff, though, in hopes of finding one that does.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Meribel Mills is a C-list celebrity -- famous enough to have a stalker, but not famous or wealthy enough to have a security team or a gated compound. When her stalker in LA gets too close for comfort, she makes the odd choice to move to Georgia, as if that will somehow protect her. This is the whole basis of the book, but it doesn't make any sense -- she's an actress, and she has a part on a new show, and social media and Entertainment Tonight are a thing, so it's not like her move is going to keep her stalker away from her. She gets a couple of weeks of peace before the guy realizes she's moved and follows her. Duh. Who didn't see that coming?
Then we meet A) the neighbor down the hall, B) the ex-husband, and C) the new boyfriend, all of whom are suspicious in their own ways. But more importantly, they are also characters in three different novels that are all happening here at the same time. Neighbor Dude seems great at first but turns out to be starring in his own thriller. Ex-husband and Meribel are having a small Lifetime movie on the side, and New Boyfriend is Brooding, Tough, Mysterious, blah blah blah -- clearly the hero in a Jack Reacher movie or something. It's a lot to keep up with.
Oh, we also have Homeless Girl, Daughter with Autism, Surly Teenage Neighbor, and Surly Neighbor Mom. Not to mention the stalker, who we haven't even met yet. I'm exhausted just thinking about it.
The book held my interest and was a quick read, but the characters are one-dimensional and/or eye-rollingly ridiculous. Neighbor Dude's backstory is completely ludicrous, and we never learn what made Stalker Guy latch on to Meribel to begin with, or how he had the means or the wherewithal to follow her across the country. He doesn't come across as dangerous -- just sad and not very threatening. The ex doesn't even need to be there -- that whole side story adds nothing to the book. And Neighbor Dude and Homeless Girl really should have their own book.
All of this would be forgivable, though, if it weren't for the ending. It just . . . stops. The climax happens, we know everyone is safe, and four sentences later, it's over. Can we at least get an epilogue?! It was like the author reached a word limit and said "Nope. That's it. Can't write one more word."
The first Joshilyn Jackson book I read was Almost Sisters, and I loved it. Nothing else of hers has quite lived up to that one. I'll continue reading her stuff, though, in hopes of finding one that does.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.