“The plot is more twisted and knotted than a ball of string after the cat’s been at it”
THEY SAY
YOU HAVE SIX SECONDS TO READ THIS MESSAGE…
The body of a 15-year-old is found hours after she sends a desperate message to her friends. It looks like suicide, until a second girl disappears.
This time, the message is sent directly to the Metropolitan Police – and an officer’s younger sister is missing.
DS Nasreen Cudmore and journalist Freddie Venton will stop at nothing to find her. But whoever’s behind the notes is playing a deadly game of hide and seek – and the clock is ticking.
YOU HAVE 24 HOURS TO SAVE THE GIRL’S LIFE. MAKE THEM COUNT.
I SAY
The Social Media Murders series is a bright, fresh idea that is totally modern – and really terrifying. It kick-started with Follow Me, and this second instalment, Watch Me, is even better.
This time the plot concentrates on ‘revenge porn’. Investigating are Freddie, a former journalist who is a whizz with social media, and Nas, an ambitious detective sergeant. Freddie is chaotic and emotional, ruled by her heart rather than her head. She is perfectly complemented by Nas, who is all about the head and following rules – no matter what the personal cost. The way the two women’s characteristics bounce off one another is absorbing, and they get stronger with each outing.
Be warned, though: open an Angela Clarke book at your peril, because once you start you will not be able to stop. Her novels grab you, shake you around with twists and turns, then spit you out at the end, gasping. Your only regret is that it is over. I only picked up Watch Me for a quick five minutes. When I looked up again, the day had disappeared.
Was the book well-written, with beautiful turns of phrase? Got to be honest, I couldn’t tell you, because the plot is more twisted and knotted than a ball of string after the cat’s been at it, and I was speeding through the novel eager to discover how on earth it would be untangled. Which goes to show exactly how well written it is. Each chapter is headed with a countdown, to add to the tension – and there is a lot of tension!
I can’t wait to read the next instalment in the Social Media Murders series.