Book Review: Watching from the Dark

An unidentified man makes an emergency phone call to report the murder of his art student girlfriend Zoe, which he says happened while he was on a Skype call with her. But as DCI Jonah Sheens begins to investigate, it becomes evident that Zoe's circle of close friends, including her supposed boyfriend, aren't exactly what they claim to be, instead turning to be manipulative and controlling, and harbouring dark secrets and buried resentments against one another, forcing him to uncover the mystery behind the bizarre death. As far as police procedurals go, Watching from the Dark is propelled along by a likeable cast of characters, particularly succeeding in an empathetic portayal of Zoe as a 20-something woman who realises her friends' true colours and whose problematic choices leads her life to come undone, but trips up by conjuring too many suspects that dilutes the suspense and an overriding sense of familiarity that exudes a been-there-done-that vibe despite a few surprises in reserve.