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Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Bailey review: Not quite as thrilling as expected

By Alexandria Ingham

Jessica Graham, owner of independent book shop Primrose Hill Books, poses for a photograph in west London on November 6, 2020. - Some 250 small independent bookshops have joined forces to compete with online giants such as Amazon during the second coronavirus lockdown in England. Unlike other countries such as Belgium, sales of books are not deemed to be essential, despite studies indicating more people turned to reading in the first lockdown earlier this year, and outlets have had to close their doors until December 2. Bookshop.org, which was launched in the United States earlier this year, is now available in Britain and in just a few days has generated £60,000 for the retailers taking part in its "click and collect" service. (Photo by Hollie Adams / AFP) (Photo by HOLLIE ADAMS/AFP via Getty Images)
Jessica Graham, owner of independent book shop Primrose Hill Books, poses for a photograph in west London on November 6, 2020. - Some 250 small independent bookshops have joined forces to compete with online giants such as Amazon during the second coronavirus lockdown in England. Unlike other countries such as Belgium, sales of books are not deemed to be essential, despite studies indicating more people turned to reading in the first lockdown earlier this year, and outlets have had to close their doors until December 2. Bookshop.org, which was launched in the United States earlier this year, is now available in Britain and in just a few days has generated £60,000 for the retailers taking part in its "click and collect" service. (Photo by Hollie Adams / AFP) (Photo by HOLLIE ADAMS/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Bailey is now available to buy. It doesn’t quite hit the mark of Bailey’s first novel, Woman on the Edge.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Bailey thanks to NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I’ll admit that I was very excited to check out Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Bailey. I loved her first novel Woman on the Edge. In fact, I got through that book in one night. I just couldn’t put it down.

I can’t say that was the case for this second one, though. In fact, it took me about a month to get through the book. It just wasn’t as thrilling as I hoped for.

The plot of Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Bailey

The novel is a bit of a genderswap of the Police song “I’ll Be Watching You.” Sarah Goldman has moved across the company with her husband Daniel and six-year-old son Jacob. They want to put events from their past behind them, which involved a 22-year-old babysitter called Holly.

That arrangement the previous summer started off as perfect. Sarah was the mother figure Holly always wanted and Holly was a childminder Jaob loved. However, things took a turn for the worst, and all Sarah could do was flee with her family.

She thought it was all in th epast. That is until she finds hidden cameras in her new home. Who is watching her, and why? Is Holly really gone from their lives?

Too much of a slow burn

I appreciate that novels need to have a slow burn element. In fact, I love that. I love to get to know the characters so that I can feel for them when it comes to the situation. However, Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Bailey was too much of a slow burn.

The chapters were much longer that I’d expect from a thriller. I’d lose track of some things that were shared, and sometimes it felt like we were just being told the same things over and over again, especially in the earlier part of the novel. It wasn’t until around the halfway mark that I started to really feel something tense for the characters.

The problem is when it got to the halfway mark, I just couldn’t feel anything for Sarah. I didn’t care about what she was experiencing. I get that people with money and opportunity can have bad lives, but she just complained about everything. She was also very inconsistent in her actions. While I love a female protagonist with flaws, consistency or something likable is still important.

I did start to feel something for Holly, though. Whenever I was in the chapters for her story, I happily engaged and felt sorry for her.

I actually think if it wasn’t for getting it from NetGalley to review that it would have been a DNR. I don’t often DNR a book, but that’s just the way I felt throughout the book.

This doesn’t mean I’ll never read anything by Bailey again. I do think as an author it can be difficult to follow the success of a first novel, and many do have a second novel that doesn’t quite hit the mark. I’ll be on the lookout for the next release. This one just isn’t something I’d recommend to my friends who love psychological thrillers.

Star rating: 1 star out of 5.

dark. Next. The Marriage by K.L. Slater review

What did you think of Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Bailey? Will you read more of her novels? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Get Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Bailey on Amazon.

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