Naomi Weisman is the writer of Nomi's Pics and the editor of the Rambler Cafe Blog. She is a Canadian-Australian and mother of three who loves to Ramble with her dog, cook for family and friends, and laugh whenever possible.
Watch Out for Her by Samantha Bailey brought a psychological thriller into our Book Club, and the reaction was decidedly mixed.
Some of us raced through it in a couple of days, pulled along by the short chapters, changing points of view, and steady stream of cliffhangers. Others found it predictable, far-fetched, or simply not very engaging. And there were quite a few readers somewhere in the middle: it was an easy read, it kept them turning the pages, but they weren't entirely convinced by the characters or the plot.
For those of us who don't normally reach for thrillers, it was also a chance to try something a little different. Whether it converted anyone to the genre is another question!
Summary of Our Thoughts
One thing most of us agreed on was that Watch Out for Her was quick to read.
The short chapters worked well for many readers, particularly when combined with the shifts between Sarah and Holly and between past and present. There was often just enough left unresolved at the end of a chapter to make it tempting to read one more. Several members finished the book in only a day or two.
How well the suspense worked was another matter.
Some readers genuinely didn't know where the story was going and were shocked by the ending. Others figured out important parts of it quite early and found the twists increasingly predictable. There were also several comments that the story became less believable as it went along, with characters making decisions that seemed designed to keep the plot moving rather than because they made sense.
For some, that didn't really matter. Taken as pure entertainment, it was an enjoyable page-turner. For others—particularly those who regularly read psychological thrillers—the lack of complexity was harder to overlook.
Sarah and Holly
Sarah and Holly were at the centre of much of our discussion, and neither was universally liked.
Some readers connected with Sarah's insecurity as a mother and her fierce desire to protect Jacob. Her loneliness, need for friendship and tendency to question herself felt familiar and believable. Others found her frustrating, overly neurotic or difficult to relate to. There was more than one variation of: Speak up, Sarah!
Holly also divided us. Her longing for a mother figure, love and belonging made sense to some readers, particularly given the lack of support she received from her father. There was real sympathy for how vulnerable and troubled she was.
Her family circumstances were harder to swallow. Several members found the relationship with her father and stepmother unbelievable, particularly the idea that they would involve their young daughter so heavily in securing business investors. One reader described that part of the story as having a slightly "Cinderella" quality to it.
There was also a broader frustration with the characters. Several readers felt that almost everyone was hiding something or behaving suspiciously, which eventually made it difficult to care very much about any of them.
Trust, Suspicion and Red Herrings
The book certainly succeeded in making us suspicious.
Neighbours, family members and friends were all presented in ways that encouraged us to wonder what they were hiding. For some readers, this worked exactly as intended. Each new piece of information changed their assumptions about whom they could trust.
For others, there were too many red herrings. Characters who seemed as though they might become important were never fully developed, while people who had been presented as suspicious suddenly became trustworthy. Some felt that the eventual revelations needed more groundwork earlier in the book.
That made trust one of the more interesting parts of our discussion. Sarah and Holly were both making judgments based on incomplete information, but so were we as readers. Appearances were rarely reliable, and nearly everyone seemed capable of keeping a secret.
Did the Ending Work?
This was probably where our opinions differed the most.
Some members loved the ending precisely because they hadn't seen it coming. The surprise made the whole ride worthwhile.
Others had predicted much of it and were disappointed. A few felt that the final twists were contrived or hadn't been properly set up, and there were practical details that didn't ring true. Several readers also felt the story was wrapped up too neatly after the arrest.
Interestingly, even some readers who weren't satisfied with the ending still described the book as a good, easy read. The journey worked better for them than the destination.
Key Takeaways
Underneath all the twists, Watch Out for Her had quite a bit to say about insecurity and the need to belong.
Sarah wanted to feel secure in her family and confident in herself as a mother. Holly wanted love, family, and acceptance. Those needs made both women vulnerable in different ways and affected how they interpreted the people around them.
Motherhood also came up repeatedly in our discussion. Sarah's protectiveness could be understandable one moment and excessive the next. The book played with that uncomfortable line between protecting a child and allowing fear to take over.
Privacy and surveillance added another layer. Who is watching whom? When does concern become suspicion? And how well can we really know another person when everyone is showing only part of themselves?
The book didn't explore all of these questions as deeply as some readers would have liked, but it gave us plenty to discuss.
Final Thoughts
Watch Out for Her probably won't go down as one of our most loved Book Club selections.
There were readers who thoroughly enjoyed it, readers who were disappointed by it, and quite a few who landed somewhere around "it was okay." But even many of its critics acknowledged that it was quick, readable, and knew how to keep the pages turning.
For those who love a complicated psychological thriller, this one may have felt a little too predictable or simplistic. For readers looking for an easy, suspenseful read with short chapters and plenty of twists, it worked much better.
And for at least one of us who doesn't normally read thrillers, there was another discovery: apparently, feeling anxious at bedtime is not a particularly persuasive reason to become a thriller fan.
Still, if a thriller's job is to make us suspicious of everyone and just uncomfortable enough that we need to know what happens next, Watch Out for Her certainly managed that.
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