Book Review: They're Watching by Gregg Hurwitz

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Gripping plot with main characters you care about; excellent writing

Cons: Foul language; plots seems a bit slow in the second quarter

The Bottom Line: 

No paranoia

Just an elaborate plot

That's well worth your time

It's Not a Paranoid Nightmare.  They Really are Watching

After meeting author Gregg Hurwitz, I had to try one of his books.  His thrillers aren't my normal genre, but after enjoying that first one so much, I bought They're Watching.  Having finished it, all I can say is what a ride.

Patrick Davis thought his ship had finally arrived.  After years of pounding away on his computer, he finally sold a screen play.  But after a run in with the star, he gets fired and sent back home to LA where his marriage is falling apart.  He takes a job teaching at a local college just to pay the bills.

But his life takes a dramatic turn for the worse when he wakes up one morning to find a DVD in his newspaper.  Curious, he pops it into his player to find that it is a video of him in the bathroom from the morning before.  Two more DVDs show up that night.  Who is stalking him and why?

I'd love to say this book grabbed me from the first page and never let me go, but that isn't quite true.  In the second quarter, there were some parts that seemed irrelevant and dragged things out a bit.  However, once I hit the half-way point, the pace picked up and never let me go.  I stayed up way too late two nights in a row because I just couldn't put the book down.  As a result, I read the second half in just over 24 hours while still spending time with my family over Thanksgiving.  And those parts that seemed irrelevant?  Pretty important to the plot (as I figured they would be).

The climax was a bit over the top if you stop to think about it, but as I was reading the book I was so caught up in the story I didn't take time to think.

As far as characters go, Patrick and his wife are the only two really allowed to develop.  They were definitely real, and I was so gripped during the second half because I cared deeply about what would happen to them.  The rest of the characters weren't around enough to truly develop.  They served their purpose to advance the story, however, and were real enough to keep me stuck in the story.

The writing wasn't the quick flowing prose I am used to, but that's a great thing.  By making me slow down, I got caught up in several intense scenes much more fully than I normally might have.  The writing is rich and rewarding, well worth the slightly slower page per hour rate.

The only thing that turned me off was the foul language.  I much prefer books with little to none of it, so I was put off by the use of it here.  I readily concede that it was realistic for these characters in this situation, but that's doesn't mean I had to like it.  But given a choice, I would read this book again.

If you are looking for a taunt thriller, forget the movies.  They're Watching will keep you turning pages far too late into the night.  Now if you'll excuse me, I need to catch up on my sleep.