Are You Watching Me?: DS Claire Boyle 2: a totally gripping story of obsession with a chilling twist

A mixed review of this book from our group.
Many enjoyed the crime at the heart of the book but felt the back story and home life of the detective almost got in the way of the crime narrative.
It provoked heated debates about the role of working women and stay at home husbands. The twist a the end was universally liked and took most by surprise which made it a good read.
A good book for a group to share as it generated many discussion points.

Woodlands Pop-Up Reading Club read this book after receiving some copies through this site. We all enjoyed the book. It was a quick read. We felt that it was not really as thrilling as the book jacket led us to believe. We were expecting more. We did not think it was particularly original, and the people who had read more widely in this genre commented that it was a little tame and predictable compared to other examples. However, we did not see the end coming or guess who the culprit was, so that has to be a bonus. It came across clearly that it was part of a series and we speculated about what might happen to the characters, so again this seemed successful. With its diverse characters and Dublin setting, it seems ideal for a tv series.

I read this book in a little under 4 hours, not because I was enthralled and could not put it down but because it was such an easy read. If you do not want to become deeply engrossed in a book then this is for you.
The prologue contains an attempt at misdirection - 'the dark cylinder' and 'the barrel' - as does Chapter 1 - 'the bulky package that was securely strapped to her chest' - neither of which work as a means of enticement further into the book.
Throughout the book the author tries to convey a sense of the rhythm and lilt of the Irish people, in places this works but a lot of the time it interferes with the flow of the book.
The story itself was OK. Intriguing in places and the identity of the perpertrator being a reasonable twist.
The description of a woman struggling with motherhood and a job is reasonable, although to my mind the job wins. I am sure that many readers would appreciate a mother and mother-in-law able to step in as they do too.