The Watcher By Kate Medina

‘The Watcher’ is the latest book by Kate Medina.

The Fullers are the picture-perfect family, a wealthy couple with a grand home in the middle of remote woodland. But even they have something to hide – and it will prove fatal. Psychologist Dr Jessie Flynn and DI Marilyn Simmons arrive at the Fuller’s home to find a suburban nightmare. A crime scene more disturbing than anything they have ever encountered. Jessie knows that this is no random act of violence. And if she can’t unlock the motivation behind the crime and shine a light into this killer’s mind, the Fullers won’t be the only family to die.

Like anyone else, I enjoy a good crime and police procedure book, but I have to admit that I did find ‘The Watcher’ to be an extremely unsettling and somewhat sad story.

The story is primarily is seen through the perspective of Psychologist Dr Jessie Flynn, as she tries to get into the head of a killer who has killed 5 people in a disturbing and gruesome fashion, with their eyes being removed and time is off the essence to prevent them for making another killing. But every time Psychologist Dr Jessie Flynn and DI Marilyn Simmons, think that they are getting somewhere with the case, they are thrown another curveball preventing them from making an arrest. The story is also seen from the perspective of the victims of the murderer and every time a new person is introduced, I found myself tensing up preparing for their unfortunate end.

This is the fourth book in the Jessie Flynn series but it’s actually the first book for me, but the author thoughtfully included some back story to the characters, so the reader wasn’t lost. Jessie is an interesting character and has had her own experience with tackling with mental health and that’s probably, why she chose that particular career path. But it’s obvious that this case isn’t going to be an easy one to solve, especially as the murderer doesn’t leave any clues behind. But as Jessie looks into building profile of the killer, she discovers that the killer has a connection with animals particularly dogs and she ends up adopting a Huskie called Lupo who was the pet of the killers’ first victim and this quiet dog becomes part of her small family and helps her solve some clues along the way.

Kate spent 5 years in the Territorial Army and studied Psychology and she has used her knowledge for both areas in this dark, psychological story. The story is filled with police procedures and a deep insight into the human psyche and what makes a person react in such a cruel way. This book is a tense and gruesome story from the start, with unlikable and sympathetic characters that made for disturbing reading but equally I found it hard to put down. A story of revenge and morality, ’The Watcher’ is a cleverly crafted story that is a perfect for fans of police procedures, but be warned, it’s not for the faint hearted!