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Someone's Watching
Five-year-old James Merritt lies in a hospital bed--the sixth victim in a series of accidents plaguing a peaceful Connecticut community. 'Maybe if he pretends to be asleep, the shadow man will go away. He sees the glint of the needle. The pain does not alarm him. In his wildest imagining, he has never dreamed death would come in such a tiny, innocent way.' Cinnie Merritt holds her son's limp and weightless hand, trying to explain away the injuries that don't add up, the strange medical reactions, the nonsense words he keeps repeating, the shattering sense of foreboding. Something is wrong. Something is very, very wrong. 'Please let my baby be all right. Please let him wake up and be fine.' At night, a stalking figure makes its silent way into the hospital room.
'You belong to me now, child of my salvation. Wellspring of health and healing. Sweet servant of the dark moon. From the dark corner of a mother's world nightmare . . . Someone's Watching .
'You belong to me now, child of my salvation. Wellspring of health and healing. Sweet servant of the dark moon. From the dark corner of a mother's world nightmare . . . Someone's Watching .
400 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 23, 2021
What a very different, unusual read. I could, in my imaginative mind, see Stephen King lurking in the background. What with the thin ice breaking where it had been over 3" thick, the hit n runs of only children, the blood "sipping" of the children in the neighborhood.
And then there's the doctor. The doctor that was so revered by the parents of the children. The high recommendations of one parent to another...little did they know!
Dr. Ferris, an evil, blood sipping, disgusting imposter....oh if only he'd been discovered sooner! And his sister....well let me tell you -she's a case for the Looney bin tucked away inside some deep hole somewhere, anywhere !
Oh I could go on, but fear I'd lose you -the reading this audience...
I have this 4stars, only because I found it grabbing me and shouting-"wait for it"-"wait for it"-"would you just wait? " You'll see.....And yes, I did see...on one hand-almost put it down to get to later...on the other hand, well, I just had to see who the hell Drum (detective working on the who, the why,) was gonna nab for this!!
So yeah, kinda liked the story....kinda thought "dribble"....so anytime you've got a space that needs to be filled for reading (because you're short of materials!), go ahead n grab this from the library, or borrow it....P/
And then there's the doctor. The doctor that was so revered by the parents of the children. The high recommendations of one parent to another...little did they know!
Dr. Ferris, an evil, blood sipping, disgusting imposter....oh if only he'd been discovered sooner! And his sister....well let me tell you -she's a case for the Looney bin tucked away inside some deep hole somewhere, anywhere !
Oh I could go on, but fear I'd lose you -the reading this audience...
I have this 4stars, only because I found it grabbing me and shouting-"wait for it"-"wait for it"-"would you just wait? " You'll see.....And yes, I did see...on one hand-almost put it down to get to later...on the other hand, well, I just had to see who the hell Drum (detective working on the who, the why,) was gonna nab for this!!
So yeah, kinda liked the story....kinda thought "dribble"....so anytime you've got a space that needs to be filled for reading (because you're short of materials!), go ahead n grab this from the library, or borrow it....P/
March 5, 2020
This was an ok book, I think I am being generous with 3 stars, it is more like 2.5 stars.
In this book, someone is going around harming kids, however, it is subtle so people don't really connect the dots.
When little James is knocked over by a hit and run, his mum realises there may be more to his accident. Although she doesn't realise enough to stay with him all the time.
What lets this book down is the reason for the children being hurt, particularly with the sister of the perpetrator as well. It just doesn't make a lot of sense and does really go into much detail on their motivations.
In this book, someone is going around harming kids, however, it is subtle so people don't really connect the dots.
When little James is knocked over by a hit and run, his mum realises there may be more to his accident. Although she doesn't realise enough to stay with him all the time.
What lets this book down is the reason for the children being hurt, particularly with the sister of the perpetrator as well. It just doesn't make a lot of sense and does really go into much detail on their motivations.
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March 11, 2018There had been quite a few accidents involving children in the Grove lately. Ricky Dolan fell through the ice, Jason Sanders found a firecracker that blew up his hand after his mother had cleaned out his sandbox, Billy Walker had disappeared for a week with no explanation and his memory had never been the same, and there were 3 car accidents.
Malcolm Cobb was a repairman that no one paid any attention to but he was watching the bus stop where kindergartener James Merritt got off his bus. Someone called to him to cross the street and he thought it was his mom. He was scared but he went to her and was hit while crossing the street. The ambulance arrived and he had a strange wound on his head and his heart beat was irregular.
Cinnie Merritt, James mother, worked in the hospital. She had a patient she was working with. Oliver London had had a stroke. He was a 40 yr veteran of the Stamford police department in NY. Cinnie was working with him to help him regain his speech. Dan Carmody was the police chief and he wasn't having any luck finding who had hit and run James. He contacted a suspended police officer, Jeremiah Drum, for help. The only tip they had was from Lydia Holroyd, who said she had seen a car drive off in a hurry from the direction of the accident scene.
Drum had taken in a kid, Booker, from off the street and asked for his help in finding the driver. Booker was a kid but had a few good ideas and he was good with computers. Drum and his wife couldn't have children and ended up adopting Booker.
Drum had left home at a young age. His uncle took him in and abused him after his parents died. This left Drum with a quick temper. London had taken him in and Drum had become a cop like London. Drum had tried to set his uncle house on fire to rid his uncle of the tape he had of what he had done to Drum.
Drum was persistent and didn't give up in his search. He figured out that Lydia couldn't have seen the car from the vantage point she said she had. She wouldn't answer the door whenever Drum went to question her either. Drum found the guy who had repaired the car that hit James and was told that he had a Brainquest magazine in the vehicle. Drum followed the lead and found the name of the members of the Brainquest. They were nicknames and with Booker's help, he found the real names and addresses. This led him to Malcolm Cobb after weeks of searching.
Cinnie and Paul, her husband, were having problems because he was spending too much time working in his music studio. They were having trouble communicating and had drifted apart. The accident had gotten them talking again.
Cinnie had hired the best doctors that she knew of to help James. He seemed to be getting better and then he took a turn for the worse after Cobb snuck back into his room and injected him with something. Cobb was drinking James blood thinking it would keep him young and renew his strength.
Cobb had brought a book to James that James kept asking his mother to read to him. It was about a brother and sister that got strength from each other. James speech was messed up from the accident and he tried to tell his mother about the shadow man that had come into his room at night. He wanted her to read the book for her to guess where it had come from. He tried to tell her that Dr. Farris was the shadow man but all he got out was Mr. Wheel.
It turned out that Lydia Holroyd was the older sister of Malcolm Cobb. Their parents had a history of schizophrenia and it had been inherited by them both. Lydia had convinced Malcolm that he needed the blood of children in order to survive. Malcolm was very smart and was playing the part of Dr. Ferris, James' doctor. Drum followed him the the hospital and the other doctors had made comments around London because of the fact that he couldn't talk. London heard things and knew that someone was trying to kill James. He was watching James room to stop him from getting hurt anymore. Someone had already broken into his room and London knew who.
London and Dr. Ferris were fighting the night that Drum had told the police that the man they were looking for was Malcolm Cobb. Drum got there in time to get the anti-venom into Cinnie that Cobb had injected her with. Drum had found out that Cinnie and first, James, had been injected with the seeds from a plant that grew in Africa. Cobb was arrested for the murder and injuring of the town's children.
Cinnie went home after Cobb was arrested and she was waiting for her husband to come home. She heard someone come in and thought it was Paul. It turned out to be Lydia who had come to kill her. Paul came home in time to fight her off. It was Drum that showed up to finish the job. She was arrested because she had been the instigator for what Malcolm had done. She was having him kill the children in town that were smart or smarter than her child to take away his competition for being smart. Drum and Booker had talked about the book Malcolm had written about the brother and sister and figured out that they were working together.
It was brought out with research that the pair had been in and out of various mental institutions.
Malcolm Cobb was a repairman that no one paid any attention to but he was watching the bus stop where kindergartener James Merritt got off his bus. Someone called to him to cross the street and he thought it was his mom. He was scared but he went to her and was hit while crossing the street. The ambulance arrived and he had a strange wound on his head and his heart beat was irregular.
Cinnie Merritt, James mother, worked in the hospital. She had a patient she was working with. Oliver London had had a stroke. He was a 40 yr veteran of the Stamford police department in NY. Cinnie was working with him to help him regain his speech. Dan Carmody was the police chief and he wasn't having any luck finding who had hit and run James. He contacted a suspended police officer, Jeremiah Drum, for help. The only tip they had was from Lydia Holroyd, who said she had seen a car drive off in a hurry from the direction of the accident scene.
Drum had taken in a kid, Booker, from off the street and asked for his help in finding the driver. Booker was a kid but had a few good ideas and he was good with computers. Drum and his wife couldn't have children and ended up adopting Booker.
Drum had left home at a young age. His uncle took him in and abused him after his parents died. This left Drum with a quick temper. London had taken him in and Drum had become a cop like London. Drum had tried to set his uncle house on fire to rid his uncle of the tape he had of what he had done to Drum.
Drum was persistent and didn't give up in his search. He figured out that Lydia couldn't have seen the car from the vantage point she said she had. She wouldn't answer the door whenever Drum went to question her either. Drum found the guy who had repaired the car that hit James and was told that he had a Brainquest magazine in the vehicle. Drum followed the lead and found the name of the members of the Brainquest. They were nicknames and with Booker's help, he found the real names and addresses. This led him to Malcolm Cobb after weeks of searching.
Cinnie and Paul, her husband, were having problems because he was spending too much time working in his music studio. They were having trouble communicating and had drifted apart. The accident had gotten them talking again.
Cinnie had hired the best doctors that she knew of to help James. He seemed to be getting better and then he took a turn for the worse after Cobb snuck back into his room and injected him with something. Cobb was drinking James blood thinking it would keep him young and renew his strength.
Cobb had brought a book to James that James kept asking his mother to read to him. It was about a brother and sister that got strength from each other. James speech was messed up from the accident and he tried to tell his mother about the shadow man that had come into his room at night. He wanted her to read the book for her to guess where it had come from. He tried to tell her that Dr. Farris was the shadow man but all he got out was Mr. Wheel.
It turned out that Lydia Holroyd was the older sister of Malcolm Cobb. Their parents had a history of schizophrenia and it had been inherited by them both. Lydia had convinced Malcolm that he needed the blood of children in order to survive. Malcolm was very smart and was playing the part of Dr. Ferris, James' doctor. Drum followed him the the hospital and the other doctors had made comments around London because of the fact that he couldn't talk. London heard things and knew that someone was trying to kill James. He was watching James room to stop him from getting hurt anymore. Someone had already broken into his room and London knew who.
London and Dr. Ferris were fighting the night that Drum had told the police that the man they were looking for was Malcolm Cobb. Drum got there in time to get the anti-venom into Cinnie that Cobb had injected her with. Drum had found out that Cinnie and first, James, had been injected with the seeds from a plant that grew in Africa. Cobb was arrested for the murder and injuring of the town's children.
Cinnie went home after Cobb was arrested and she was waiting for her husband to come home. She heard someone come in and thought it was Paul. It turned out to be Lydia who had come to kill her. Paul came home in time to fight her off. It was Drum that showed up to finish the job. She was arrested because she had been the instigator for what Malcolm had done. She was having him kill the children in town that were smart or smarter than her child to take away his competition for being smart. Drum and Booker had talked about the book Malcolm had written about the brother and sister and figured out that they were working together.
It was brought out with research that the pair had been in and out of various mental institutions.
May 8, 2024
DNF at page 170
I had a hard time getting into the story. The antagonist's perspective especially I found to be very confusing, made little sense to me. The other narratives were only a slight improvement.
As one of the Goodreads reviews gave more or less a summary of the main plot points, that satisfied what little curiosity I still had.
I had a hard time getting into the story. The antagonist's perspective especially I found to be very confusing, made little sense to me. The other narratives were only a slight improvement.
As one of the Goodreads reviews gave more or less a summary of the main plot points, that satisfied what little curiosity I still had.
September 19, 2024
The novel had a good premise, but I feel did not deliver. Many things did not make sense or connect up, like why was the character Drum seemingly the only person investigating the hit and run? Other characters were superfluous such as Drum's lady and the child Booker. Too much time was spent on them and the child was annoying.
There was also way took much real estate given to back stories - and this happened many times throughout the novel causing a disruption of flow.
I managed to finish it but will not read this author again.
There was also way took much real estate given to back stories - and this happened many times throughout the novel causing a disruption of flow.
I managed to finish it but will not read this author again.
September 6, 2025
A fairly good mystery, three, three and a half stars, about a community in Connecticut where several suspicious “accidents” have happened to children. The focus of the story is on the most recent, a five year old boy who is hit by a car, and his mom, Cinnie, who is convinced something nefarious is happening and these incidents with children aren’t accidents. I liked the characters James and his mom, they seemed believable, but the detective in the story is a bad combination of every fictional hard core, troubled detective, and that was annoying. Nevertheless, good story that I can recommend.
May 25, 2018
not quite 4 stars but better than 3. I was kept on the edge of my seat a number of times.
June 2, 2019
It was weird and I could not finish it!
December 22, 2019
The only reason I kept reading was because I liked Drum.
The other characters annoyed me and the story was boring.
The other characters annoyed me and the story was boring.
February 13, 2021
2.5*. Slow and drawn out. I don’t think the story was very well developed.
June 3, 2012
Someone's Watching by Judith Kelman is about a little boy named James Merritt who is in a coma after being struck by a car. Several other children have suffered similar instances. Some are no longer alive, others are injured and left with disabilities. No one can find any witness. A suspended policeman who bends the rules is offered the job of finding who was driving the car that hit James. He is offered his job back if he is successful. He uses unconvential methods to find the truth. There is a nice twist at the end of the book.
August 11, 2013
Story was too slow for me to get into. This book may be perfect for someone else, but I couldn't make it past the first few chapters. I may try another booby this same author, just to see what's what.
April 21, 2010
hard-to-put-down novel. Young kids have unexplained accidents. Rough, suspended cop solves the case.
October 14, 2012
Reasonably gripping book, with a surprising twist at the end that I was not expecting.
May 12, 2015
Took me awhile to read this one usually I have a book finished in a few days but I did not pick out who did it
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews