Book Review: Watching Eddie by Camilla Way

Beautiful, creative, a little wild… Edie was the kind of girl who immediately caused a stir when she walked into your life. And she had dreams back then—but it didn’t take long for her to learn that things don’t always turn out the way you want them to.

Now, at thirty-three, Edie is working as a waitress, pregnant and alone. And when she becomes overwhelmed by the needs of her new baby and sinks into a bleak despair, she thinks that there’s no one to turn to…

But someone’s been watching Edie, waiting for the chance to prove once again what a perfect friend she can be. It’s no coincidence that Heather shows up on Edie’s doorstep, just when Edie needs her the most. So much has passed between them—so much envy, longing, and betrayal. And Edie’s about to learn a new lesson: those who have hurt us deeply—or who we have hurt—never let us go, not entirely…

Whatever book I might have called “Creepy” before; I was wrong.

Watching Edie is the creepiest book I have had the fortune of encountering and reading – told in the POVs of “Past” and “Present”; this is the story of two women whose friendship ended messily; the reader has the opportunity to unravel the Past to understand the Present situation of the women.

Heather & Edie were once friends – in the Past when Edie was the new girl in the school, and Heather was the lonely girl, never understood but always bullied. An unsettled home life, chilling childhood, makes Heather latch on to Edie, a bold and brash beautiful girl. Soon, though something devastating happens that destroys not only their friendship but also Edie’s relationship with her own mother.

17 years later, when a pregnant Edie opens up her door to find Heather standing on her doorstep. Even though, she is reticent about it, she still ends up allowing more autonomy to Heather in her life, especially after the baby comes, despite whatever happened to drive a wedge between them years before.

But I am sure you would like to know why this book is creepy? – Because for the most part, the author made sure that the readers go through the chapters, the suspicions never seem to stay on one single target; thus, culminating in an ending that leaves the readers satisfied and justified as well.

All in all, a very satisfyingly creepy psychological thriller that got me over the disappointment of The Magpie Murders (Read My Review).