With My Little Eye, by Joshilyn Jackson

Let’s be clear about one thing: I will always, always read anything Joshilyn Jackson writes. I’m not even going to link to my reviews of her previous books, because I’ve read them all and been reviewing them since before I started this blog; and a JJ novel has been on my top ten list for the year six times. I’m a die-hard fan.

That being said, with her last three books she’s taken a direction away from the kind of thought-provoking, upmarket women’s fiction that categorized her first several novels, and definitely moved into “psychological thriller” territory. I’ll be the first to admit I don’t love thrillers as much, but because the characters have been created by Joshilyn Jackson, I’ll follow them anywhere, even into fairly obvious and stress-creating danger!

With My Little Eye is the story of Meribel Mills, an actress whose role in a sitcom 20 years ago gave her just enough fame to keep her steadily, though not glamourously, employed ever since in various supporting roles and one-off appearances (often as a murder victim) on crime procedurals. It’s also just enough fame to have earned her a very scary stalker, who’s gotten close enough to Meribel’s real life — and to her daughter — that she’s decided to leave LA and take a job back in her hometown of Atlanta.

But Atlanta is complicated. There’s Meribel’s ex-husband, who she left under not the best of circumstances. There’s a new neighbour who might be more than just a friend, but he’s got a complicated situation with his own ex. There’s the guy she left behind in LA who she still has feelings for her — and worst of all there’s the stalker, who seems to be following her.

There’s a lot going on in this story, and I felt like it could have been a bit longer to fully develop all the plot lines, particularly the bit twist midway through that makes the reader realize we’re dealing not just with a single potential crime but possibly much more. I’d also love to have had an epilogue, or even a last chapter with a bit of space for denouement — once the crisis happens, everything unfolds so quickly and then wraps up so suddenly that I was left worrying about the characters I’d come to care for, particularly Meribel and her daughter Honor, who is such a great and lovable character I wanted to be sure she’d be OK! Jackson has always had the gift of making me care deeply about her characters, and while that kept me turning pages quickly throughout this novel, it also left me wanting a bit more at the end.