Someone Is Watching by Joy Fielding: Book Review and Summary
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This is a book review of the novel Someone Is Watching by Joy Fielding, one of my favorite authors.
If you enjoy psychological thrillers that keep you guessing, Someone Is Watching by Joy Fielding is a novel worth adding to your reading list.
Published in 2015, this suspenseful story is about fear, trust, and the unsettling feeling that someone may be watching your every move.
Fielding draws readers into the life of a woman whose world changes dramatically after a terrifying encounter.
Protagonist Bailey Carpenter:
The story centers on Bailey Carpenter, a successful private investigator at a prominent Miami law firm.
She is outdoors working on a case, binoculars focused on her subject, when a man accosts and rapes her. The man puts a pillowcase over her head, so she has no idea what he looks like and can’t identify him.
That’s when her life completely changes.
The attack leaves Bailey physically and emotionally traumatized. She becomes increasingly afraid to leave her apartment. Nightmares, anxiety, and the inability to trust strangers begin taking over her everyday life.
Every man Bailey sees, she wonders: Is this the man who raped me?
With her attacker still unidentified, Bailey finds herself constantly looking over her shoulder. Every unfamiliar man becomes a possible suspect, and the police have few answers.
She’s caught in a civil suit with her brother and their half-siblings over their father’s fortune, and now she’s thrown into personal chaos and fear.
She Becomes Reclusive:
Bailey becomes reclusive. She cannot bring herself to leave her condo. Bailey takes a knife and checks every nook and cranny of her home several times a day. She no longer feels safe in her own home.
Bailey cannot work and wears pajamas day after day. Her love life falls apart. She cannot bear the thought of a man touching her.
Once a young woman who reveled in her career, she now wanders her condo with a knife in hand. She is searching for an unseen, unknown enemy.
While spending long hours in her high-rise apartment, Bailey discovers a new way to pass the time. Using binoculars, she begins watching the neighboring buildings and the people who live in them.
Her curiosity turns into something much more disturbing when she becomes fascinated by a handsome man living across the street. What begins as innocent observation gradually develops into a frightening suspicion that he may be watching her, too.
Could this mysterious neighbor be connected to the attack that changed her life?
A Story About Fear, Suspicion, and Trust:
One of the novel’s most compelling aspects is how Joy Fielding explores the psychological effects of trauma.
Bailey is no longer the confident woman she once was. Her sense of security has disappeared, and she struggles to distinguish between genuine danger and the fears created by her traumatic experience.
We are left questioning what is actually happening. Is Bailey seeing something others cannot, or is her fear beginning to cloud her judgment?
Her growing suspicions create an atmosphere of uncertainty that keeps the story moving.
The Supporting Characters:
Bailey’s half-sister Claire and Claire’s outspoken teenage daughter, Jade, become important parts of her recovery. Although Bailey has not always had a close relationship with her half-sister, their connection begins to change as Claire offers support during a difficult period.
Jade brings a different personality to the story. Her boldness and willingness to question things make her an especially interesting character.
Together, the women try to uncover the truth behind Bailey’s suspicions.
Why You Might Enjoy This Book:
Someone Is Watching has many of the elements that make a psychological thriller enjoyable.
- An intriguing premise: Watching someone from a neighboring apartment building takes an unexpected and unsettling turn.
- A complicated main character: Bailey is flawed, vulnerable, and determined to regain control of her life.
- An atmosphere of suspense: Uncertainty around the mysterious neighbor keeps readers wondering what will happen next.
- Unexpected developments: Fielding introduces twists that challenge what readers think they know.
About This Book’s Theme:
The novel also echoes Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film Rear Window. Particularly its theme of observing neighbors and wondering whether something sinister is happening just out of sight.
This book makes you think about how vulnerable we are as women, no matter how physically strong we may be.
Rape is a crime of hate, and rape is not just about one’s body. It’s also a crime against their trust, their happiness, and their peace of mind.
Bailey is forced to rethink who she is as a woman, a lover, and a friend. She learns that those who smile and say they care about you can also be wolves in sheep’s clothing.
About Author Joy Fielding:
Joy Fielding is a bestselling author known for suspenseful novels with complex characters and psychological tension. Her storytelling often explores the darker side of ordinary life, where familiar situations can become frightening.
Her ability to create suspense around everyday circumstances makes her books appealing to readers who enjoy mysteries with a psychological edge.
Final Thoughts on Someone Is Watching:
Someone Is Watching is a strong choice for readers who enjoy psychological suspense and stories that make them question what happens behind closed doors.
Bailey’s journey is not simply about identifying the person who attacked her. It is also about learning to trust herself again and finding the courage to reclaim the life she once knew.
Joy Fielding takes an ordinary setting, a woman looking out the windows of her apartment, and turns it into an unsettling story filled with suspicion and uncertainty. Much like a deer caught in the headlights.
If you enjoy mysteries where appearances can be deceiving, and not everyone is who they seem, this novel may be one to add to your reading list.
My Thoughts:
The novel Someone Is Watching is well-written and moves at a fast clip. I read it in a couple of nights and savored every page.
You will not see the end coming.
About the Author:
Joy Fielding is from Canada. She also has a home in Palm Beach, Florida. She says she has a fairly American sensibility, though it’s tempered by her Canadian upbringing.
Joy Fielding is my favorite author and I love nothing more than cracking open one of her new books, even on the Kindle!
Sounds like a good read… Very emotional. Thanks for the review, Brenda. Have a great evening ♥
Joy Fielding's latest book, She's Not There, is one of her best books. A few years ago, I stopped reading her books because I lost interest in her writing style. This new one held my interest from the beginning.
Sounds really good! I too love psychological thrillers! I'm ordering this one from my library right away. You should read all of the first books written by Mary Higgins Clark (not her daughter)… as her first 5 or so were awesome and I could NOT put them down.. even when I was working I would read until 3:00 in the morning, even though I had to get up at 6:00 for work!
Sounds really interesting. xo Laura
Joy Fielding is one of my all time favorites! Do you read Catherine Coulter (FBI series) or Iris Johansen (Eve Duncan series)?
I like her books also and just added this one to my wish list!
Oh boy, this sounds like a great book – add another one to my list!!