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With My Little Eye
The hair-raising story of a mother who moves herself and her daughter across the country to lose a dangerous stalker—only to discover that it will take more than distance to escape him.
It started with the letters…
For actress Meribel Mills, disturbing fan mail is part of the price of fame. So when she starts getting creepy letters written in fruit-scented marker she is mostly unphased and diligently files them along with her other messages from unhinged fans. After all, she’s a single mom approaching forty, not the kind of hot young celeb who sparks dangerous obsessions. But there’s something different about Marker Man…
He’s been in her home…
Meribel’s sheets smell of unfamiliar cologne, and objects have gone missing around the house. Plus, the letters have become more perverse, with drawings of a naked Meribel tied up or chopped into pieces. While the police insist that stalkers hardly ever escalate to violence, Meribel has played the dead girl one too many times on TV to risk becoming her in real life. She and her daughter move from Los Angeles to Atlanta for a fresh start—but no distance is great enough.
He’s watching her…
Years of being in front of a camera have given Meribel a superpower—she can feel eyes on her, a creeping sensation like bees inside her skin. And someone definitely has her in their sights. Could Marker Man have followed her all the way across the country?
Who else might be watching—her ex-husband? The lover she left behind in LA? Her new neighbor? Suddenly, every man in her life is a suspect, but she can’t keep herself and her daughter safe from a monster she can’t identify. When the paths of all of these men collide, Meribel will find herself alone in the fight of her life, desperate to protect those she loves as danger closes in from all sides.
It started with the letters…
For actress Meribel Mills, disturbing fan mail is part of the price of fame. So when she starts getting creepy letters written in fruit-scented marker she is mostly unphased and diligently files them along with her other messages from unhinged fans. After all, she’s a single mom approaching forty, not the kind of hot young celeb who sparks dangerous obsessions. But there’s something different about Marker Man…
He’s been in her home…
Meribel’s sheets smell of unfamiliar cologne, and objects have gone missing around the house. Plus, the letters have become more perverse, with drawings of a naked Meribel tied up or chopped into pieces. While the police insist that stalkers hardly ever escalate to violence, Meribel has played the dead girl one too many times on TV to risk becoming her in real life. She and her daughter move from Los Angeles to Atlanta for a fresh start—but no distance is great enough.
He’s watching her…
Years of being in front of a camera have given Meribel a superpower—she can feel eyes on her, a creeping sensation like bees inside her skin. And someone definitely has her in their sights. Could Marker Man have followed her all the way across the country?
Who else might be watching—her ex-husband? The lover she left behind in LA? Her new neighbor? Suddenly, every man in her life is a suspect, but she can’t keep herself and her daughter safe from a monster she can’t identify. When the paths of all of these men collide, Meribel will find herself alone in the fight of her life, desperate to protect those she loves as danger closes in from all sides.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published April 25, 2023
419 people are currently reading
21487 people want to read
About the author
Joshilyn Jackson
31 books6,723 followersJackson's latest, MISSING SISTER, pubs MARCH, 3, 2026. Pre-order now!
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Joshilyn Jackson writes both page-turning domestic suspense and Southern book club novels that revolve around timely women’s issues, raising questions about justice, motherhood, career, class, and the thorny mechanics of redemption. Her critically acclaimed work has been translated into more than a dozen languages, and Jackson is also an award-winning audiobook narrator. She lives in a gently haunted 150-year-old Victorian Rowhouse in upstate New York with her family.
A recent expat from the American South, she lives in a mildly haunted Victorian row house in upstate New York.
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Joshilyn Jackson writes both page-turning domestic suspense and Southern book club novels that revolve around timely women’s issues, raising questions about justice, motherhood, career, class, and the thorny mechanics of redemption. Her critically acclaimed work has been translated into more than a dozen languages, and Jackson is also an award-winning audiobook narrator. She lives in a gently haunted 150-year-old Victorian Rowhouse in upstate New York with her family.
A recent expat from the American South, she lives in a mildly haunted Victorian row house in upstate New York.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,388 reviews
March 28, 2023
Who moves across the country to escape a stalker??
Meribel does!
She is an actress and the so called Marker Man is the stalker. He keeps sending her disturbing letters and she is always feeling "watched". Everything about this one felt forced, the dialogue was often a
Awkward and the characters actions didn't ring true, they seemed childish and just silly!
Without chapter titles, the pov was often a bit confusing for me. I wasn't intrigued at all, at any point. This is sad because this author has been a favorite of mine.
This book was not for me and I only finished it because it was an advanced copy. Hopefully, the author's next will be back on track.
This is just my opinion, check out other reviews that have higher ratings if you enjoy a stalker story!
Thanks to NG for the Arc! OUT April 25, 2023
Meribel does!
She is an actress and the so called Marker Man is the stalker. He keeps sending her disturbing letters and she is always feeling "watched". Everything about this one felt forced, the dialogue was often a
Awkward and the characters actions didn't ring true, they seemed childish and just silly!
Without chapter titles, the pov was often a bit confusing for me. I wasn't intrigued at all, at any point. This is sad because this author has been a favorite of mine.
This book was not for me and I only finished it because it was an advanced copy. Hopefully, the author's next will be back on track.
This is just my opinion, check out other reviews that have higher ratings if you enjoy a stalker story!
Thanks to NG for the Arc! OUT April 25, 2023
April 26, 2023
3.5 stars, rounded down because the first half was too slow.
So for the first 58% of this book, there's a LOT of setup and round in circles slow burn storytelling. But once we get to that point, BAM! there's a twist that comes out of left field and then all of the various parts of the plot start to come together. I do think this is a decent book in the end, but I fear that many readers will get bored and throw in the towel long before that point.
The main premise is that Meribel, an actress known for her role on a teen show many years ago, is being stalked. She receives creepy letters written in scented marker, and has nicknamed the stalker "Marker Man." After he discovered where she lived, she broke up with her boyfriend Cam and gathered her twelve-year-old daughter Honor, who has autism, and moved from California to Atlanta. But did the stalker follow her?
There are many shortcomings of this book other than its slow start. To begin, there are far too many POV characters: Meribel, Honor, Cam, Cooper, and a couple of random others--homeless girl, stalker, maybe others but I can't remember. It's kind of silly. Then there are some throwaway storylines that are dumb and go nowhere. I could see if the author wanted to create red herrings, but let's be real here, not one reader will believe that Meribel's ex-husband from 20 years ago who lives in Atlanta and is married with three kids is her stalker. No one. The book was already too long and drawn out, we didn't need more.
That said, the last 40% of the book is pretty intriguing and part of it went in a direction that I absolutely didn't see coming. It takes a lot to surprise me and I was shocked when it happened. The book is worthwhile if you can get to that point, but I do think it could have used some more editing to make the story tighter and to flow better.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
So for the first 58% of this book, there's a LOT of setup and round in circles slow burn storytelling. But once we get to that point, BAM! there's a twist that comes out of left field and then all of the various parts of the plot start to come together. I do think this is a decent book in the end, but I fear that many readers will get bored and throw in the towel long before that point.
The main premise is that Meribel, an actress known for her role on a teen show many years ago, is being stalked. She receives creepy letters written in scented marker, and has nicknamed the stalker "Marker Man." After he discovered where she lived, she broke up with her boyfriend Cam and gathered her twelve-year-old daughter Honor, who has autism, and moved from California to Atlanta. But did the stalker follow her?
There are many shortcomings of this book other than its slow start. To begin, there are far too many POV characters: Meribel, Honor, Cam, Cooper, and a couple of random others--homeless girl, stalker, maybe others but I can't remember. It's kind of silly. Then there are some throwaway storylines that are dumb and go nowhere. I could see if the author wanted to create red herrings, but let's be real here, not one reader will believe that Meribel's ex-husband from 20 years ago who lives in Atlanta and is married with three kids is her stalker. No one. The book was already too long and drawn out, we didn't need more.
That said, the last 40% of the book is pretty intriguing and part of it went in a direction that I absolutely didn't see coming. It takes a lot to surprise me and I was shocked when it happened. The book is worthwhile if you can get to that point, but I do think it could have used some more editing to make the story tighter and to flow better.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
April 13, 2023
Yikes. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book this bad. 😐
It would almost be a mercy to not remember this book in the future because I have a feeling this book is going to stick with me for a while and not in a good way.
I mostly enjoyed Mother May I so I requested this because I thought I’d get another reading experience similar to that.
Sometimes Jackson’s writing is so all over the place I don’t entirely know what she’s trying to convey. Maybe this is because I read an ARC but the writing was terrible. Someone has some hefty editing with this book before publication.
The POVs also drove me bonkers. I was having trouble keeping them together since each chapter wasn’t labeled with the POV and you had to read a little bit to understand who was talking. What made this so confusing was that Cam and Cooper were so similar that I kept confusing them, especially without a headlined POV. And don’t even get me started on them talking about the previous relationships and marriages and our MC talking about hers. Too many irrelevant relationships to keep track of.
The daughter has a best friend whose mom is kind of crazy and dramatic and she plays such a useless role in this story that I’m not sure why she was really brought up at all. Same with the MC’s ex-husband. It added pages to the story without any sustenance.
There are many stories happening at the same time that you have to keep track of and by the end, most aren’t even relevant to each other. There was just wayyyyyy too much going on.
Mother May I was good but my biggest complaint was the POV confusion in that one too. I own Never Have I Ever and will give that a try but if I don’t give it at least 4 stars this probably isn’t the author for me.
A big thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This book will be published on April 25th, 2023!
It would almost be a mercy to not remember this book in the future because I have a feeling this book is going to stick with me for a while and not in a good way.
I mostly enjoyed Mother May I so I requested this because I thought I’d get another reading experience similar to that.
Sometimes Jackson’s writing is so all over the place I don’t entirely know what she’s trying to convey. Maybe this is because I read an ARC but the writing was terrible. Someone has some hefty editing with this book before publication.
The POVs also drove me bonkers. I was having trouble keeping them together since each chapter wasn’t labeled with the POV and you had to read a little bit to understand who was talking. What made this so confusing was that Cam and Cooper were so similar that I kept confusing them, especially without a headlined POV. And don’t even get me started on them talking about the previous relationships and marriages and our MC talking about hers. Too many irrelevant relationships to keep track of.
The daughter has a best friend whose mom is kind of crazy and dramatic and she plays such a useless role in this story that I’m not sure why she was really brought up at all. Same with the MC’s ex-husband. It added pages to the story without any sustenance.
There are many stories happening at the same time that you have to keep track of and by the end, most aren’t even relevant to each other. There was just wayyyyyy too much going on.
Mother May I was good but my biggest complaint was the POV confusion in that one too. I own Never Have I Ever and will give that a try but if I don’t give it at least 4 stars this probably isn’t the author for me.
A big thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This book will be published on April 25th, 2023!
May 30, 2024
The difference between stalking and courtship is so thin, I thought then. It all depends on if the person likes you back.--------------------------------------
...there was nothing I could do to shake my stalker’s avid interest. It wasn’t even about me, although Marker Man would say it was. I was a shape to him, the outline of an object, filled in by him, interpreted by him. Not a person. I couldn’t stop him from coming after me, my friends, my family, because he stayed hidden, watching me, inventing me.Meribel Mills has a problem. Well, a few, really, but there is a GINORMOUS one in particular, even without the age thing. Coming up on the big four-oh, getting work is increasingly challenging. Acting is not kind to anyone, but gets worse, especially for women, as they age. Meribel had been making a living in the biz, her big break playing a regular in a TV series some years back. She is the most fortunate kind of actor, a working actor. People still recognize her on the street “Hey, weren’t you on…?” but she is not hounded by paparazzi like real stars.
Nevertheless, someone in particular did notice her, and is, in fact, obsessed with her. (No doubt he considers himself to be her Number One Fan) He sends her letters in a distinctive hand, candy scented, and brighty colored. While professing undying love, the images he includes tend toward the homicidal. LAPD was not much help. Happy to step in once her body had been found, but short of that, sorry. No crime? No time. It became so bad that she accepted a role in her home town, Atlanta, a place she had sworn never to return to, leaving LA, friends, contacts, and a promising relationship. Maybe her stalker would lose the scent. As if. They call him Marker Man.
Joshilyn Jackson - image from her site – shot by Scott Winn
We follow Meribel as she tries to cope with the threat from this stalker. She is also trying to negotiate her relationships with the men in her life, her ex, the bf she left in LA, and a new acquaintance in her building. The pressure ratchets up as the killer becomes bolder and more terrifying. Could he be one of her real or potential love interests?
Meribel did not move east alone. Her 12yo adopted daughter, Honor, moved with her. Mother-daughter relationships are always a central element in Jackson’s novels. This one, though, offers a bit of a twist. Honor is on the autism spectrum. It is quite interesting following her trains of thought, and seeing how she copes with the world. There is a reason this piece of the novel works so well.
My daughter came to me in high school and was like, “Mom I think I’m on the autism spectrum…I’ve been reading about girls on the autism spectrum.” I’m like, “Honey, tell me why, what you think, because…that’s insane.” So she starts saying all these things and to every one of them she’s like, “well, girls on the autism spectrum do” this and this and this and this, and I would say, “Honey, that is normal. I was just like that. Every girl does that. OK?” No, they don’t! But the things she was describing were very very classic female autism, and seemed normal to me, because I was autistic…It’s cool that I was able to write Honor from a perspective of knowing what was really going on with her. - from Friends and Fiction interviewThe love between Meribel and Honor comes through dazzlingly. We really get to see what it might be like to parent at least one sort of neuro-divergent child.
Additional content covers several areas. Hollywood permeates as a background. We get a look at Meribel’s early days there trying to get work, and at the predation of those with power. She remarks about parties to which she is invited, girls and boys like me are there as party favors. We get a look at how the value assigned to age and beauty impacts an actor’s career options. Not just actors, either. Meribel is not the only woman here struggling to look as young and attractive as possible. There is at least some irony in the fact that Meribel, whose career success requires that people watch her, is afflicted by someone who became smitten via his TV screen, but who now watches in a very different way. He even enters her home. How can you hold off the obsessed when modern media and technology makes it so easy to find out about you, and worse, to locate you? There is further irony in the fact that, now in Atlanta, Meribel does some stalking of her own. And not just on-line. She, however, holds no psychotic views, and sends no terrifying letters.
…this book is about gaze, like who is watching you and how does that change the power dynamic. - from the Friends and Fiction interviewOr, I suppose, spying, if one extends the title. Privacy is tough to come by. Jackson also offers a look at fans and detractors, how they interact with an actor when they recognize one in real life. The book closes with a nod to events that are about to become a big deal back in LaLa Land.
Who can you trust? Several candidates are offered for the baddie. The guy she left on the West Coast has managed a trip to Atlanta. Is he just looking for love, or something darker? A neighbor in Meribel’s new apartment complex has an on-again-off-again girlfriend, but seems interested. He has some nice qualities, but some issues as well. Meribel is still attached to her ex, James, in her head, if not in reality, even though he is now married with kids. Was he the guy watching her from across the street in the rain recently?
This is my sixth Joshilyn Jackson novel. The first was Someone Else’s Love Story, her seventh, so I missed a fair bit. But I believe they were of a cloth in many ways. Her site identifies nine novels as Southern Fiction. I was smitten with SELS and with the two that followed, The Opposite of Everyone and The Almost Sisters. Jackson offered engaging characters, a strong sense of place, and considerations of religion, race, and culture that were smart and moving. With My Little Eye is the third novel she has written of a different sort, following Never Have I Ever in 2019 and Mother May I in 2021. All three are pretty good thrillers, and all have payload beyond the core story. But none of them, however entertaining, provide the deeper resonance and satisfaction of the three written before them. The change came about organically.
I think that what really happened was I’d been trying to say something about my family history and the South, this land that I love, and I feel ambivalent about and I wrote a book called The Almost Sisters. And I’m not saying that I said it perfectly. I don’t think you can ever…the thing I was trying to say, I’ll never be able to say it better than in The Almost Sisters. I felt like a weight had been lifted. So I just started writing my next novel…I got a third of the way through the book and we were in negotiations and I was like this is a thriller. I’m writing a thriller by accident, and I called my agent. I was like “we can’t sign that contract. I’m writing a thriller. And she’s like “You’re writing a what?” - from Friends and Fiction interviewDon’t get me wrong, I like her thrillers, including this one, just fine. I appreciate the content that arrives along with the more page-turning tales, and respect her feeling that she has said all she has to say about the South, for now, anyway. But I enjoyed her earlier work more. I may be in a minority on this, as sales of her thrillers, I am told, have been better than for her Southern books. It’s like ice cream, I expect. It is all wonderful, but everyone has favorite flavors.
In any case, Jackson will engage you with a special mother and daughter, make you smile at their connection, keep you turning pages as you try to figure out, along with Meribel, who Marker Man might be, and worry who may or may not be left alive by the end. Your eyes may or may not be little, but you would do well to put them to use reading Joshilyn Jackson’s latest spark to increased blood pressure and late-night-reading-induced sleep loss.
Q - How did you get into the head of a stalker and how did that affect you?Review posted - 06/16/23
AHe made me need to take a bath. I didn’t want to write him. I didn’t plan to write him in there. I started writing the book. I knew it would be mostly Meribel’s story. Meribel narrates probably 80 percent of the book, but there are a few other voices that come in, and I did not plan to let that man talk, and then I was like, ok. He has to be more present than this. Like I thought people aren’t gonna understand how, why would she leave her town. They would have to understand. Because I knew how bad he was, but it wasn’t appearing on the page. So, then I wrote his letters. I was like maybe I’ll just show his letters, but even that was not enough. People aren’t gonna understand why she makes these extreme choices until they understand how much danger she’s actually in and how bad this is. But yeah, it was gross and icky and he’s not a good person. - from Friends and Fiction interview
Publication dates
----------Hardcover - 04/25/23
----------Trade paperback - 4/30/24
I received an ARE of book name from publisher in return for a fair review. Thanks, folks, and thanks to NetGalley for facilitating.
This review will soon be cross-posted on my site, Coot’s Reviews. Stop by and say Hi!
=============================EXTRA STUFF
Links to the author’s personal, FB, Instagram, and Twitter pages
My reviews of other books by Joshilyn Jackson
-----2021 - Mother May I
-----2019 - Never Have I Ever
-----2017 - The Almost Sisters
-----2016 - The Opposite of Everyone
-----2013 - Someone Else’s Love Story
Interviews
-----Friends and Fiction - Joshilyn Jackson | Friends & Fiction #166 April 26, 2023 by Patti Callahan Henry, Mary Kay Andrews, Kristy Woodson Harvey and Kristin Harmel - – from 9:39
-----Military Press - Interview with Joshilyn Jackson by Elise Cooper
-----Decatur Church - 2023-04-25 Joshilyn Jackson “With My Little Eye” Book Launch - with Allison Law - video – 52:20 – start from 10:00 or so
Songs/Music
-----Billy Ray Cyrus - Achy Breaky Heart - Chap 20 – in the wave pool
-----Los Del Rio - Macarena - Chap 20 – in the wave pool
-----The Police - Every Breath You Take
Item of Interest
-----Wrote a Book - Book Club Questions for With My Little Eye by Joshilyn Jackson by Luka
February 10, 2023
I have to admit, this is one of the books I find hard to rate fairly. There are so many things I enjoyed about it during my reading, including the dangerous fan/stalker plotline, the mystery that kept me guessing about the identity of the culprit, and the author's well-executed twists that took me by surprise. I was also impressed by the brilliantly developed character of Honor, a 13-year-old adopted daughter of Meribel who is on the spectrum. Her interesting relationship with Sheila and the homeless girl she calls Princess Xena was a highlight for me.
However, there were also some parts of the book that had a telenovela style, with male characters competing for Meribel's attention, which made me roll my eyes. I also found myself getting irritated spending so much time inside the heads of psychologically damaged men, and the abrupt ending earned even more eye rolls. I was left wanting an epilogue or at least one more chapter to wrap up the characters' lives.
I went back and forth between giving it three or four stars, even though I was expecting to write a five-star review based on the book's description and the author's previous works. The high-quality parts of the book outweighed the parts that irritated me, and I ultimately rounded up my rating to 4 stars.
The plot was intriguing and captivating, beginning with Meribel Mills, a B-list actress, who is raising her nearly 13-year-old daughter Honor while dealing with her stalker, the "Marker Man."
Meribel is offered a role as a lawyer/ghost defender, which she initially resists because it requires her to move to Atlanta, where she is from and left her ex-husband decades ago. However, when the Marker Man starts to escalate his behavior, she decides to take the job and move to Atlanta.
She quickly befriends her neighbor Cooper and becomes involved in a complicated relationship with him, as well as her ex-husband and ex-boyfriend/bodyguard Cam.
Overall, this was a great psychological read that kept me on my toes, but I wish it had a more satisfying ending.
Special thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
However, there were also some parts of the book that had a telenovela style, with male characters competing for Meribel's attention, which made me roll my eyes. I also found myself getting irritated spending so much time inside the heads of psychologically damaged men, and the abrupt ending earned even more eye rolls. I was left wanting an epilogue or at least one more chapter to wrap up the characters' lives.
I went back and forth between giving it three or four stars, even though I was expecting to write a five-star review based on the book's description and the author's previous works. The high-quality parts of the book outweighed the parts that irritated me, and I ultimately rounded up my rating to 4 stars.
The plot was intriguing and captivating, beginning with Meribel Mills, a B-list actress, who is raising her nearly 13-year-old daughter Honor while dealing with her stalker, the "Marker Man."
Meribel is offered a role as a lawyer/ghost defender, which she initially resists because it requires her to move to Atlanta, where she is from and left her ex-husband decades ago. However, when the Marker Man starts to escalate his behavior, she decides to take the job and move to Atlanta.
She quickly befriends her neighbor Cooper and becomes involved in a complicated relationship with him, as well as her ex-husband and ex-boyfriend/bodyguard Cam.
Overall, this was a great psychological read that kept me on my toes, but I wish it had a more satisfying ending.
Special thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
May 8, 2023
With My Little Eye by Joshilyn Jackson tells the story of forty-something actress Meribel Mills, who had a popular part in a 90s sitcom.
When she finds herself the target of a stalker, she moves her tween daughter Honor and herself across the country, from LA to Atlanta, to escape the escalating and frightening situation.
Meribel is being stalked. She is also actively stalking her ex-husband. Yup, you read that right. And guess what? He just happens to live in Atlanta with his current wife and three children.
Okay, so that’s the basic premise for the story. Very basic, but you get the gist of it: woman being stalked, while also stalking. Um, yeah, it’s a twisty thriller.
I read a lot of thrillers. It’s one of my preferred genres.
Is With My Little Eye entertaining? Yes. Gonna win literary awards? Nope.
That said, it’s got some issues, some wtf moments:
▪️ It's poorly structured. Told from multiple POVs that are not labeled makes for some rather abrupt shifts and a lot of confusion as to who we are listening to.
▪️ Jackson introduces a second plot line with a very dark twist that comes out of left field midway through the book. A very wtf moment. I had to go back and reread to make sure I actually read what I thought I did.
▪️ All the puzzle pieces seem to fall magically into place a bit too easily in the end. The book ends somewhat abruptly, without a traditional resolution. I found myself asking, “Really, that’s it? Not even an epilogue?”
Alright, so at this point, you’re probably thinking, “WTF, Teres, why the four-star rating for a mediocre thriller?”
I’ll tell you why: Honor, an incredibly realistic tween on the autism spectrum. Jackson captures Honor’s literal wit and humor perfectly and it’s no wonder: a) the author once was a young girl on the spectrum and b) she’s raised two autistic kids herself.
Meribel’s adopted daughter Honor Mills is the bright shining light and real heroine of this story. I absolutely adore her and her unique perspective on the events in the book. All the stars for Honor.
With My Little Eye is an entertaining thriller that explores themes of privacy, consent, and vulnerability in the Instagram era, — just where is the line between curiosity and stalking? — as well as the joys and challenges of parenting a neurodivergent child.
When she finds herself the target of a stalker, she moves her tween daughter Honor and herself across the country, from LA to Atlanta, to escape the escalating and frightening situation.
Meribel is being stalked. She is also actively stalking her ex-husband. Yup, you read that right. And guess what? He just happens to live in Atlanta with his current wife and three children.
Okay, so that’s the basic premise for the story. Very basic, but you get the gist of it: woman being stalked, while also stalking. Um, yeah, it’s a twisty thriller.
I read a lot of thrillers. It’s one of my preferred genres.
Is With My Little Eye entertaining? Yes. Gonna win literary awards? Nope.
That said, it’s got some issues, some wtf moments:
▪️ It's poorly structured. Told from multiple POVs that are not labeled makes for some rather abrupt shifts and a lot of confusion as to who we are listening to.
▪️ Jackson introduces a second plot line with a very dark twist that comes out of left field midway through the book. A very wtf moment. I had to go back and reread to make sure I actually read what I thought I did.
▪️ All the puzzle pieces seem to fall magically into place a bit too easily in the end. The book ends somewhat abruptly, without a traditional resolution. I found myself asking, “Really, that’s it? Not even an epilogue?”
Alright, so at this point, you’re probably thinking, “WTF, Teres, why the four-star rating for a mediocre thriller?”
I’ll tell you why: Honor, an incredibly realistic tween on the autism spectrum. Jackson captures Honor’s literal wit and humor perfectly and it’s no wonder: a) the author once was a young girl on the spectrum and b) she’s raised two autistic kids herself.
Meribel’s adopted daughter Honor Mills is the bright shining light and real heroine of this story. I absolutely adore her and her unique perspective on the events in the book. All the stars for Honor.
With My Little Eye is an entertaining thriller that explores themes of privacy, consent, and vulnerability in the Instagram era, — just where is the line between curiosity and stalking? — as well as the joys and challenges of parenting a neurodivergent child.
January 21, 2024
3⭐
Genre ~ psychological thriller
Setting ~ Atlanta, Georgia
Publication date ~ April 25, 2023
Est page Count ~ 332 (p+ 40 chapters)
Audio length ~ 12 hours 33 minutes
Narrators ~ Maisy Jane, Graham Halstead, Jeremy Arthur, Jesse Vilinsky, Michael Crouch
POV ~ single 1st, multiple 3rd
Featuring ~ former actress being stalked
Meribel & 12 year old Honor move from California to Georgia to escape her stalker.
Cam provided security and some loving when they lived in LA.
Cooper is her new neighbor in GA.
We hear from the stalker and a homeless girl as well, which makes for a lot to follow along with.
The characters were all unlikable, except Honor. I do not have experience with autism first hand, but I felt that Honor was perfectly written. And I thought Meribel was a great mom to her.
Ugh with Meribel though. Not only is she being stalked, but she's stalking her ex-husband. I believe they've been divorced for an awfully long time, too, like 20 years I think, and that she thinks he might be her stalker is a bit absurd. And when the action really happens towards the end I just couldn't believe the decision she made, like really it made zero sense. There were plenty of other options she had. And really with who the Marker Man was, lame.
Overall, I was not in love with this one. There were too many unnecessary subplots and POV's going on. I have liked this author in the past so I'll give her another whirl.
*Thanks to the author, William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*
Hub's in depth review:
I couldn't get Renee Zellwigger out of my head due to one narrators voice. Enjoyed Honor's character. The ending has an interesting twist.
I was able to listen to a copy as well, so I went back and forth listening and reading.
Narration notes:
Unlike my hub I do not think she sounds like Renee at all, but I can't really say I liked her tone. The other narrators did a fine job. Honor's tone was perfect for a young girl.
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Genre ~ psychological thriller
Setting ~ Atlanta, Georgia
Publication date ~ April 25, 2023
Est page Count ~ 332 (p+ 40 chapters)
Audio length ~ 12 hours 33 minutes
Narrators ~ Maisy Jane, Graham Halstead, Jeremy Arthur, Jesse Vilinsky, Michael Crouch
POV ~ single 1st, multiple 3rd
Featuring ~ former actress being stalked
Meribel & 12 year old Honor move from California to Georgia to escape her stalker.
Cam provided security and some loving when they lived in LA.
Cooper is her new neighbor in GA.
We hear from the stalker and a homeless girl as well, which makes for a lot to follow along with.
The characters were all unlikable, except Honor. I do not have experience with autism first hand, but I felt that Honor was perfectly written. And I thought Meribel was a great mom to her.
Ugh with Meribel though. Not only is she being stalked, but she's stalking her ex-husband. I believe they've been divorced for an awfully long time, too, like 20 years I think, and that she thinks he might be her stalker is a bit absurd. And when the action really happens towards the end I just couldn't believe the decision she made, like really it made zero sense. There were plenty of other options she had. And really with who the Marker Man was, lame.
Overall, I was not in love with this one. There were too many unnecessary subplots and POV's going on. I have liked this author in the past so I'll give her another whirl.
*Thanks to the author, William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*
Hub's in depth review:
I couldn't get Renee Zellwigger out of my head due to one narrators voice. Enjoyed Honor's character. The ending has an interesting twist.
I was able to listen to a copy as well, so I went back and forth listening and reading.
Narration notes:
Unlike my hub I do not think she sounds like Renee at all, but I can't really say I liked her tone. The other narrators did a fine job. Honor's tone was perfect for a young girl.
Connect with me ➡ Blog ~ Facebook ~ Twitter
March 12, 2023
With My Little Eye is a 2023 thriller/suspense/mystery release from Joshilyn Jackson, a new author to me. I found the book on NetGalley and was lucky enough to receive an early copy; it hit my reading queue this week, which is generally about 6 weeks before publication. Set in Atlanta, the book follows a somewhat popular actress who has a young daughter and has recently left Hollywood to escape her stalker. I highlight these two facts because they are key components of the story, which overall had a lot of potential but for me didn't deliver well. Meri dumped Cam when she left LA and developed a new friendship with a potential love interest on the East Coast. Add to that Marker Man, her stalker, who finds her in Atlanta. Clearly he's connected to one of these two men, or thru her daughter, an autistic twelve-year-old who is depicted extraordinarily well. The first half of the book flew by, setting up the story and giving us a bunch of drama. By the middle, the POV begins to change more, and we hear from different characters including the stalker. Unfortunately, there are no chapter titles or headers to denote who is speaking... and as you change chapters, it's super easy to get confused once your head is still in that of the prior character which leads you to believe the new character might be the same person. When the stalker is talking, you think it's one person but then it becomes someone else... ultimately, there is extremely poor structure to the book which made a complete mess of the story. Definitely had lots of promise but was executed intentionally in a confusing manner which made for a difficult read as opposed to a "OMG, I must find out who this stalker is." In the end, the reveal was boring and had very little to do with the main story. The book ends with a second plotline coming forward and it has absolutely no follow-up to explain what happens to the characters we've gotten to know. Had the writing not been good and the premise intriguing, I would have given this two stars, sadly... I'll try another book by the author but this was on the disappointing side for me.
March 13, 2023
Actress Meribel Mills receives an escalating set of letters from a stalker she deems "Marker Man" thanks to his scented marker covered notes whose drawings depict her chopped up or in danger. Even worse, they come directly to her home in LA and seem to indicate he's watching her every move. So Meribel and her tween daughter pack up and move across the country to Atlanta. But before she knows it, Marker Man is back at it, with intimate knowledge of her movements in her new city. Meribel feels watched--but by whom?
Whew... this was a slow one at first! I usually love Jackson's thrillers, but EYE didn't have the usual zing. This felt like a version of YOU, but from the perspective of the stalked (mostly). The beginning is a lot of description and repetitive lead up with not a lot of excitement. The best part of the book was Honor, Meribel's adopted almost thirteen-year-old daughter. Autistic and awesome, Honor carries the book with her literal wit and humor. Meribel is a great mom, too, even if she makes some questionable decisions in other parts of her life. There's an ex-boyfriend, an ex-husband, and a new neighbor who all play roles.
EYE picks up as it goes along and gets exciting as it nears the end. There's a very dark twist that I quite enjoyed, as well. A lot goes on, for sure, even if at times it feels like a typical stalker novel. Where it rises above is the surprises and the lovely relationship between Honor and Meribel. The messages about exactly what the boundaries of stalking entail also make you think--is it stalking to look at someone's Instagram without them knowing? Looking up an ex online? How much does Meribel "deserve" her stalker by being a famous actress? When does someone cross the line?
Overall, I enjoyed this one and would recommend it, even it was not quite as thrilling as I'd hoped. 3.5 stars.
I received a copy of this book from William Morrow and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review. Look for WITH MY LITTLE EYE on 4/25/2023!!
Whew... this was a slow one at first! I usually love Jackson's thrillers, but EYE didn't have the usual zing. This felt like a version of YOU, but from the perspective of the stalked (mostly). The beginning is a lot of description and repetitive lead up with not a lot of excitement. The best part of the book was Honor, Meribel's adopted almost thirteen-year-old daughter. Autistic and awesome, Honor carries the book with her literal wit and humor. Meribel is a great mom, too, even if she makes some questionable decisions in other parts of her life. There's an ex-boyfriend, an ex-husband, and a new neighbor who all play roles.
EYE picks up as it goes along and gets exciting as it nears the end. There's a very dark twist that I quite enjoyed, as well. A lot goes on, for sure, even if at times it feels like a typical stalker novel. Where it rises above is the surprises and the lovely relationship between Honor and Meribel. The messages about exactly what the boundaries of stalking entail also make you think--is it stalking to look at someone's Instagram without them knowing? Looking up an ex online? How much does Meribel "deserve" her stalker by being a famous actress? When does someone cross the line?
Overall, I enjoyed this one and would recommend it, even it was not quite as thrilling as I'd hoped. 3.5 stars.
I received a copy of this book from William Morrow and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review. Look for WITH MY LITTLE EYE on 4/25/2023!!
December 21, 2022
Having worked on tv in my 20s-30s, getting creepy emails, letters, packages, etc is certainly a negative to being in the spotlight where people make such weird overly-personal assumptions about you and who you are, there’s a distinct uneasiness to losing your privacy (one of the reasons I changed careers), so I was immediately drawn into this story as actress Meribel Mills finds herself the target of a distinctly invasive “fan”/sociopath. Unfamiliar cologne on her sheets?!! Naked drawings of her by this creep where she’s disgustingly killed?!! This creep following her across the country?!! Yes, the Mama Bear is real as Meribel knows her children are important, but how do you protect them when even the police blow you off? Such a well-paced, well-written story that you can’t put down. So grateful this level of freak never bothered me—gasp!! Nail-biting thriller you’ll love and remember!!
A special thanks to William Morrow Publishers and Author Joshilyn Jackson for my ARC of “With My Little Eye” for an unbiased review.
A special thanks to William Morrow Publishers and Author Joshilyn Jackson for my ARC of “With My Little Eye” for an unbiased review.
February 27, 2023
The story centers around single mom and sitcom actress Meribel Mills. Meribel begins to receive creepy fan mail written in fruit-scented markers she just brushes it off. But soon after Maribel begins to suspect that someone has been in her home while she was gone: objects have been moved and she smells a strange cologne on her sheets. The letters she receives begin to get more disturbing with horrifying drawings of her on them. Maribel decides to move herself and her daughter from LA to Georgia, her home state for a fresh start.
When Maribel arrives in Georgia she constantly has the feeling that she’s being watched. Could her stalker have followed her across the country?
This extra creepy story had me on the edge of my seat! I thought at several points that I had figured out who the stalker was but Joshilyn absolutely blindsided me! The story starts slowly introducing the reader to the characters but halfway through the pace quickens up.
I loved Joshilyn’s characterization of Maribel’s daughter Honor as being on the spectrum. As someone on the spectrum myself, she did a fantastic job of not stereotyping her. I only had a minor complaint, I thought the ending was great but I would have loved an epilogue.
I’m a huge fan of Joshilyn Jackson’s thriller novels, Never Have I Ever, and Mother May I; I am constantly recommending both of them to thriller readers. So I am delighted to say that With My Little Eye lived up to my high expectations and I cannot wait to see what this brilliant author comes out with next!
With My Little Eye by Joshilyn Jackson Will be available on April 25. A massive thanks to William Morrow and Netgalley for the gifted copy!
When Maribel arrives in Georgia she constantly has the feeling that she’s being watched. Could her stalker have followed her across the country?
This extra creepy story had me on the edge of my seat! I thought at several points that I had figured out who the stalker was but Joshilyn absolutely blindsided me! The story starts slowly introducing the reader to the characters but halfway through the pace quickens up.
I loved Joshilyn’s characterization of Maribel’s daughter Honor as being on the spectrum. As someone on the spectrum myself, she did a fantastic job of not stereotyping her. I only had a minor complaint, I thought the ending was great but I would have loved an epilogue.
I’m a huge fan of Joshilyn Jackson’s thriller novels, Never Have I Ever, and Mother May I; I am constantly recommending both of them to thriller readers. So I am delighted to say that With My Little Eye lived up to my high expectations and I cannot wait to see what this brilliant author comes out with next!
With My Little Eye by Joshilyn Jackson Will be available on April 25. A massive thanks to William Morrow and Netgalley for the gifted copy!
February 10, 2023
Meribel Mills is an actress receiving creepy letters from a man, also known as "The Marker Man", since he writes these letters with a fruit scented marker. She is scared for herself and her adopted autistic daughter, Honor. Meribel decides to move from California to Georgia in hopes to escape him, but once she's in Georgia the letters don't stop coming. She feels she is always being watched, who is this Marker man and what does he want?
I found the concept of WITH MY LITTLE EYE intriguing. It was a bit slow to start, but I felt compelled to still read as I needed to know who this stalker was. I can't imagine this happening to myself if I were a single mom. How scary!! Overall, I did enjoy this book but I would have loved an epilogue.
Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This review will be shared to my Instagram (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.
I found the concept of WITH MY LITTLE EYE intriguing. It was a bit slow to start, but I felt compelled to still read as I needed to know who this stalker was. I can't imagine this happening to myself if I were a single mom. How scary!! Overall, I did enjoy this book but I would have loved an epilogue.
Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This review will be shared to my Instagram (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.
April 17, 2023
I have read Joshilyn Jackson’s previous work and was excited to get my hands on a copy of this one. The premise was amazing. An aging B-list actress moves back to Georgia to take a job but mostly to escape a stalker. But when the stalker appears to be nearby she knows she and her daughter aren’t safe. I thought the book got distracted a little bit from being a thriller and felt more like a drama, but the ending (while rushed) more than made up for the parts where I was less interested. I really liked Meribel’s adopted daughter Honor. She’s on the spectrum and totally the MVP of this story. The writing was good and it was a quick read, even the parts that dragged a little more went pretty fast. I will say that Joshilyn Jackson does a great job writing creepy. Definitely a story you want to read if you like thrillers.
May 26, 2023
2.5 ⭐️
“I’de stood out on my balcony, like Juliet pining like a stupid innocent for love, when only death was waiting in the garden”
Thought this was very intriguing because of how horrifying stalkers are and it was ominous to a point, but once you get to the end- it goes in a million different directions. I felt like there was too many storylines at the end going on and it felt forced. It wasn’t very fluid in the resolutions and I just got to a point that I didn’t care much 🤷🏻♀️ I think perhaps the most interesting plot point ( that doesn’t spoil anything) is she herself is also a stalker to some degree. Also, I felt like for the big reveal to go the way it did, it needed to be scarier from the jump for it to work. Trying to be vague, so I don’t spoil it!
“I’de stood out on my balcony, like Juliet pining like a stupid innocent for love, when only death was waiting in the garden”
Thought this was very intriguing because of how horrifying stalkers are and it was ominous to a point, but once you get to the end- it goes in a million different directions. I felt like there was too many storylines at the end going on and it felt forced. It wasn’t very fluid in the resolutions and I just got to a point that I didn’t care much 🤷🏻♀️ I think perhaps the most interesting plot point ( that doesn’t spoil anything) is she herself is also a stalker to some degree. Also, I felt like for the big reveal to go the way it did, it needed to be scarier from the jump for it to work. Trying to be vague, so I don’t spoil it!
May 17, 2023
I love a good stalker story and I love Joshilyn Jackson, so I figured I didn't have anything to lose with With My Little Eye. Although this may not be my personal favorite among her works and was a lot slower in the beginning than I would have liked it to be, I still really enjoyed this story. I didn't care that Meribel was an actress, and I loved her daughter who just so happens to be one of the many viewpoints that we get. Numerous subplots are unfolding simultaneously but they were not hard to follow, and they certainly kept things interesting although they don't all fully play out which was kind of weird.
For anyone who doesn't know, Jackson actually narrates her own audiobooks, and she was our MC Meribel. However, she didn't take this all on by herself (lots of viewpoints remember), and the other narrators were Maisy Jane, Graham Halstead, Jeremy Arthur, Jesse Vilinsky & Michael Crouch. As much as I love that Jackson narrates all her books, I actually didn't find her to be quite right for Meribel and I have to admit, she detracted a bit from the story for me. Reading this might be more enjoyable if you can push through the slower bits. The stalker really took me by surprise, and it wasn't anyone I would have expected but it did feel a little left field. I also wasn't truly satisfied with the ending, and it felt incomplete to me. Despite everything, I still consider this author a must-buy for me and I'm eagerly looking forward to discovering what she has in store for us next.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
For anyone who doesn't know, Jackson actually narrates her own audiobooks, and she was our MC Meribel. However, she didn't take this all on by herself (lots of viewpoints remember), and the other narrators were Maisy Jane, Graham Halstead, Jeremy Arthur, Jesse Vilinsky & Michael Crouch. As much as I love that Jackson narrates all her books, I actually didn't find her to be quite right for Meribel and I have to admit, she detracted a bit from the story for me. Reading this might be more enjoyable if you can push through the slower bits. The stalker really took me by surprise, and it wasn't anyone I would have expected but it did feel a little left field. I also wasn't truly satisfied with the ending, and it felt incomplete to me. Despite everything, I still consider this author a must-buy for me and I'm eagerly looking forward to discovering what she has in store for us next.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
April 29, 2023
Meribel had to move across the country because of a stalker.
She thought she had lost him, but he kept sending letters to her old address and then left a basket on the doorstep of her new apartment.
How could he have found her? She was being so careful.
WITH MY LITTLE EYE definitely kept the stalker's identity a secret as I kept reading to try to find out what was going on.
I do have to say I was not anxious to get back to the book or really interested in the confusing story line, but I kept reading because I wanted to know who the stalker was.
The ending was very suspenseful but not enough to raise my rating.
Even the revelation of the stalker wasn't that riveting and came out of nowhere.
I actually was disappointed because I always enjoy Ms. Jackson's books. 2/5
This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.
She thought she had lost him, but he kept sending letters to her old address and then left a basket on the doorstep of her new apartment.
How could he have found her? She was being so careful.
WITH MY LITTLE EYE definitely kept the stalker's identity a secret as I kept reading to try to find out what was going on.
I do have to say I was not anxious to get back to the book or really interested in the confusing story line, but I kept reading because I wanted to know who the stalker was.
The ending was very suspenseful but not enough to raise my rating.
Even the revelation of the stalker wasn't that riveting and came out of nowhere.
I actually was disappointed because I always enjoy Ms. Jackson's books. 2/5
This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.
April 13, 2023
first of all thank you to William Morrow bc they literally never approve me for anything so i was shocked to get this one
but yeah sadly this one was a stinker (read: dumb AF). reading thrillers always requires a certain suspension of disbelief, but damn Ms Jackson (if you’re nasty) threw it right out the window into the next country. a little too many coincidences used as convenient red herrings for my liking…
also girlie expects us to believe THAT many people still recognize an actress whose only notable role is a side character from a ‘90s sitcom in plainclothes on the street? not to mention said main character is about as interesting as stale bread to follow. and i literally LOL’d at one of the ‘big finale moments’ bc of how absurd it was.
trying to think of positives….uhhh….i really liked the character of Honor…
but yeah sadly this one was a stinker (read: dumb AF). reading thrillers always requires a certain suspension of disbelief, but damn Ms Jackson (if you’re nasty) threw it right out the window into the next country. a little too many coincidences used as convenient red herrings for my liking…
also girlie expects us to believe THAT many people still recognize an actress whose only notable role is a side character from a ‘90s sitcom in plainclothes on the street? not to mention said main character is about as interesting as stale bread to follow. and i literally LOL’d at one of the ‘big finale moments’ bc of how absurd it was.
trying to think of positives….uhhh….i really liked the character of Honor…
June 22, 2023
Yikes...
I don't like to write negative reviews especially for authors I normally enjoy, but needless to say this was my least favorite novel of Jackson's. This one just read very differently than her other works, and was notably much more adult in the sense that it had a lot more sexually explicit situations and discussions, which was definitely unexpected. I couldn't really connect with any of the characters, and I didn't really feel like the plot was very original, with an actress being stalked, so when the final reveals came at the end I didn't really care either way. I guess I can just save it this was just a big 'miss! for me. That being said, I'm still a fan of Jackson's and will continue reading her work, I guess you can't hit it out of the park every time!
I don't like to write negative reviews especially for authors I normally enjoy, but needless to say this was my least favorite novel of Jackson's. This one just read very differently than her other works, and was notably much more adult in the sense that it had a lot more sexually explicit situations and discussions, which was definitely unexpected. I couldn't really connect with any of the characters, and I didn't really feel like the plot was very original, with an actress being stalked, so when the final reveals came at the end I didn't really care either way. I guess I can just save it this was just a big 'miss! for me. That being said, I'm still a fan of Jackson's and will continue reading her work, I guess you can't hit it out of the park every time!
February 5, 2023
This book was quite different. The beginning seemed to be more about the adults, but as it went on, the teens took more of the center stage. Then the ending tied everything together in a nice, neat package.
Mirabel is our protagonist, an aging actress best-known for a character role on a show called “Belinda’s World”. People still recognize her as “Didi”, and while living in Los Angeles, she developed a stalker. “Marker Man” was named as such because for years, he has been sending Mirabel letters written in those old markers that smell of different foods.
These letters might be love letters in the Marker Man’s mind, but getting letters from a stranger that show drawings of her dying or cut into pieces is, needless to say, chilling. Mirabel packed up Honor, her adopted pre-teen daughter who is on the autism spectrum, and they ran to Atlanta to get away and hide. When she left, she left behind her boyfriend, Cam, but when letters start arriving in Atlanta, she wished she had the military veteran around for help.
She does meet a man in her building named Cooper, and while they have no romantic feelings for each other, they become fast friends and she now has someone close to depend on. She needs it, because the letters arriving in Atlanta aren’t being mailed from LA anymore. The postmarks are getting closer - Marker Man is obviously driving across the country to find her, and she’s desperate to keep herself and her daughter safe.
Speaking of her daughter, I thought the author did a great job of writing from the point of view of a person on the spectrum. From the lack of emotion, to not being able to recognize humor, to not knowing social cues, to the stimming, this was written very well and in a way that people who aren’t very familiar with autism can understand it.
I’d definitely call this a slow-burn mystery/thriller, which slightly turned me off at the beginning of the book. It picked up steam as it went along though, and soon I was invested in the story and who Marker Man may be. We meet a couple of other teenagers, and they added quite a bit to the story. The ending was tense and done very well. I’m giving this a solid four stars - it was far from formulaic and quite a good story!
(Thank you to William Morrow Publishing, Joshilyn Jackson, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on April 25, 2023.)
Mirabel is our protagonist, an aging actress best-known for a character role on a show called “Belinda’s World”. People still recognize her as “Didi”, and while living in Los Angeles, she developed a stalker. “Marker Man” was named as such because for years, he has been sending Mirabel letters written in those old markers that smell of different foods.
These letters might be love letters in the Marker Man’s mind, but getting letters from a stranger that show drawings of her dying or cut into pieces is, needless to say, chilling. Mirabel packed up Honor, her adopted pre-teen daughter who is on the autism spectrum, and they ran to Atlanta to get away and hide. When she left, she left behind her boyfriend, Cam, but when letters start arriving in Atlanta, she wished she had the military veteran around for help.
She does meet a man in her building named Cooper, and while they have no romantic feelings for each other, they become fast friends and she now has someone close to depend on. She needs it, because the letters arriving in Atlanta aren’t being mailed from LA anymore. The postmarks are getting closer - Marker Man is obviously driving across the country to find her, and she’s desperate to keep herself and her daughter safe.
Speaking of her daughter, I thought the author did a great job of writing from the point of view of a person on the spectrum. From the lack of emotion, to not being able to recognize humor, to not knowing social cues, to the stimming, this was written very well and in a way that people who aren’t very familiar with autism can understand it.
I’d definitely call this a slow-burn mystery/thriller, which slightly turned me off at the beginning of the book. It picked up steam as it went along though, and soon I was invested in the story and who Marker Man may be. We meet a couple of other teenagers, and they added quite a bit to the story. The ending was tense and done very well. I’m giving this a solid four stars - it was far from formulaic and quite a good story!
(Thank you to William Morrow Publishing, Joshilyn Jackson, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on April 25, 2023.)
June 5, 2023
Awful! Simply awful!
May 5, 2023
This is one of those sad cases where the audio narration actually takes away from the story. 😣 The female narrator for the MC wasn't the right fit for this one. She's not bad... but she's probably more fit to narrate a cozy mystery or women's fiction. Her voice was WAY too upbeat for a thriller.
The other narrators were great, but unfortunately the aforementioned narrator does the majority of the book. 🥴
The writing was mostly good (hence 3 stars), but it seemed to be trying too hard with all the "hip" lingo. 😬 Unfortunately it was the plot that lost me. I just wasn't invested and it all seemed so far fetched. I was just bored, TBH.
I'm bummed this wasn't the thriller I was hoping for, but I'll definitely give this author another shot. ❤️
Many thanks to William Morrow and Bibliolifestyle for my gifted hard copy. Audiobook via Scribd.
The other narrators were great, but unfortunately the aforementioned narrator does the majority of the book. 🥴
The writing was mostly good (hence 3 stars), but it seemed to be trying too hard with all the "hip" lingo. 😬 Unfortunately it was the plot that lost me. I just wasn't invested and it all seemed so far fetched. I was just bored, TBH.
I'm bummed this wasn't the thriller I was hoping for, but I'll definitely give this author another shot. ❤️
Many thanks to William Morrow and Bibliolifestyle for my gifted hard copy. Audiobook via Scribd.
April 25, 2023
The master of domestic suspense and queen of thrills, NYT bestselling southern (favorite) author Joshilyn Jackson returns following Mother May I (5 Stars) with her latest twisty suspense thriller, WITH MY LITTLE EYE —an actress/mother is forced to move herself and her daughter across the country to escape a dangerous stalker—only to discover he follows them.
July 2016 Los Angeles, CA: "I never thought I was famous enough to get murdered." —Meribel Mills
Meribel Mills is approaching 40, an actress — not a young celebrity who often sparks obsessive fans; nevertheless, she still receives fan mail and some not-so-good. Downright disturbing and CREEPY. However, this goes with being famous.
This one disturbing fan she and her daughter calls Marker Man, the unhinged guy (due to the cheap fruit-scented markers) he used for his letters. The envelopes were addressed in huge, jagged handwriting that glared cherry pink, lime green, or berry blue, which smelled of alcohol solvent and sickly-sweet faux fruit—a STALKER.
Meribel is a single mom of a delightful adopted tween (almost thirteen) daughter, Honor, through the foster system. She is on the autism spectrum. (loved her)
For their safety and her sanity, they are forced to move 2,000 miles away, across the country back to (Midtown) Atlanta, Georgia— to a furnished condo a year from the date of his first letter. A place she swore she would never return to.
She takes a new job that films in Atlanta, a recurring role on the second season of last year's breakout hit. Her character, the new lawyer at a firm specializing in representing ghosts, had a pickup option to become a regular series if it went well.
She had hired a forwarding service to send her Marker Man's letters. However, soon after she arrives in Atlanta, the letter postmarks are from towns closer and closer to where they live.
Marker Man is COMING for them.
Detective Johnson was making no progress while a psychopath edged closer and closer. His letters were arriving almost every day!
People still remembered her on the street from Belinda's World.
Meribel feels she is being watched and someone has been in her condo. She sees someone across the street. Was it James, her ex, or has the Marker Man already gotten closer?
Meanwhile, Honor was adjusting to a new school and a new therapist. She loved rules and memorized them. She also develops a friendship with a homeless girl, Sheila, whom she calls Princess Xena.
There are also men in Meribel's life.
~Cooper, her new neighbor in Atlanta
~James, her ex-husband (now married with three children)
~Cam, her LA ex-boyfriend-bodyguard
Told from POVs, Meribel, Honor, and the Marker Man, each intense and spine-chilling! Each letter includes an illustration and a violent threat. Meribel must protect her daughter. Honor is trying to protect her mom. How will they escape this madness? No one can escape social media and the internet.
Whom can they trust? Every man in her life is a suspect. When they all collide, Meribel fights desperately to protect her daughter as danger closes in.
A huge long-time fan, I have read all of Joshilyn Jackson's books, and WITH MY LITTLE EYE was spectacular!
Joshilyn is a master storyteller and always surprises you with every book, each unique. In WITH MY LITTLE EYE, she pulls out all the stops with a riveting clever psychological thriller, a strong emotional mother/daughter story, a fun beach read, and a compelling book club pick ripe for discussions.
A nail-biting thriller, well-paced, action-packed with dark humor, a well-written story, and unputdownable. Filled with suspense, courage, fear, obsession, revenge, and forgiveness.
The author highlights women, aging, and their role in business and as mothers. The pressure we are under to remain young and thin, how much our value is attached to our age, weight, and looks.
Readers will adore Honor — with all her quirks, the story's heroine.
AUDIOBOOK: Joshilyn is a former actor and a popular narrator of audiobooks. I have pre-ordered and am excited to listen to this audiobook, narrated by Joshilyn (Meribel) and her real-life daughter Maisy Jane, who is narrating (Honor)! With a full cast, I adore Michael Crouch—also performing: Graham Halstead, Jeremy Arthur, and Jesse Vilinsky. Assured it will be an award-winning performance as the characters come alive.
INTERVIEW: Check out my #AuthorElevatorSeries QA with Joshilyn, where we go behind the scenes of the book & teh author!
Thanks to #WilliamMorrowBooks for a gifted ARC via #NetGalley for review purposes.
Blog Review Posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollis | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: April 25, 2023
April 2023 Must-Read Books
July 2016 Los Angeles, CA: "I never thought I was famous enough to get murdered." —Meribel Mills
Meribel Mills is approaching 40, an actress — not a young celebrity who often sparks obsessive fans; nevertheless, she still receives fan mail and some not-so-good. Downright disturbing and CREEPY. However, this goes with being famous.
This one disturbing fan she and her daughter calls Marker Man, the unhinged guy (due to the cheap fruit-scented markers) he used for his letters. The envelopes were addressed in huge, jagged handwriting that glared cherry pink, lime green, or berry blue, which smelled of alcohol solvent and sickly-sweet faux fruit—a STALKER.
Meribel is a single mom of a delightful adopted tween (almost thirteen) daughter, Honor, through the foster system. She is on the autism spectrum. (loved her)
For their safety and her sanity, they are forced to move 2,000 miles away, across the country back to (Midtown) Atlanta, Georgia— to a furnished condo a year from the date of his first letter. A place she swore she would never return to.
She takes a new job that films in Atlanta, a recurring role on the second season of last year's breakout hit. Her character, the new lawyer at a firm specializing in representing ghosts, had a pickup option to become a regular series if it went well.
She had hired a forwarding service to send her Marker Man's letters. However, soon after she arrives in Atlanta, the letter postmarks are from towns closer and closer to where they live.
Marker Man is COMING for them.
Detective Johnson was making no progress while a psychopath edged closer and closer. His letters were arriving almost every day!
People still remembered her on the street from Belinda's World.
Meribel feels she is being watched and someone has been in her condo. She sees someone across the street. Was it James, her ex, or has the Marker Man already gotten closer?
Meanwhile, Honor was adjusting to a new school and a new therapist. She loved rules and memorized them. She also develops a friendship with a homeless girl, Sheila, whom she calls Princess Xena.
There are also men in Meribel's life.
~Cooper, her new neighbor in Atlanta
~James, her ex-husband (now married with three children)
~Cam, her LA ex-boyfriend-bodyguard
Told from POVs, Meribel, Honor, and the Marker Man, each intense and spine-chilling! Each letter includes an illustration and a violent threat. Meribel must protect her daughter. Honor is trying to protect her mom. How will they escape this madness? No one can escape social media and the internet.
Whom can they trust? Every man in her life is a suspect. When they all collide, Meribel fights desperately to protect her daughter as danger closes in.
A huge long-time fan, I have read all of Joshilyn Jackson's books, and WITH MY LITTLE EYE was spectacular!
Joshilyn is a master storyteller and always surprises you with every book, each unique. In WITH MY LITTLE EYE, she pulls out all the stops with a riveting clever psychological thriller, a strong emotional mother/daughter story, a fun beach read, and a compelling book club pick ripe for discussions.
A nail-biting thriller, well-paced, action-packed with dark humor, a well-written story, and unputdownable. Filled with suspense, courage, fear, obsession, revenge, and forgiveness.
The author highlights women, aging, and their role in business and as mothers. The pressure we are under to remain young and thin, how much our value is attached to our age, weight, and looks.
Readers will adore Honor — with all her quirks, the story's heroine.
AUDIOBOOK: Joshilyn is a former actor and a popular narrator of audiobooks. I have pre-ordered and am excited to listen to this audiobook, narrated by Joshilyn (Meribel) and her real-life daughter Maisy Jane, who is narrating (Honor)! With a full cast, I adore Michael Crouch—also performing: Graham Halstead, Jeremy Arthur, and Jesse Vilinsky. Assured it will be an award-winning performance as the characters come alive.
INTERVIEW: Check out my #AuthorElevatorSeries QA with Joshilyn, where we go behind the scenes of the book & teh author!
Thanks to #WilliamMorrowBooks for a gifted ARC via #NetGalley for review purposes.
Blog Review Posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollis | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: April 25, 2023
April 2023 Must-Read Books
April 13, 2023
Welp. There's that
https://www.novellives.com/2023/04/13...
https://www.novellives.com/2023/04/13...
July 19, 2024
Star Rating: ➳ 2.5 Stars
I’m regretting forcing myself to read this…
Unfortunately, this just did not work for me… the premise was fantastic, but the promise was a lieeee… this could’ve been INCREDIBLE with that blurb. But… 🥱😬😫😩🥺😔
I wanted it to… I really, reeeeaaaaallllllllllly DID, guys! But alas, t’was not meant to be ig 😭
& listen… I am liberal with my reviews & ratings a lot (all) of times, mmk… but I couldn’t give more than 2.5 ⭐️; I just couldn’t! I’m going to try another book by this author though! All hope is not lost lol. Any suggestions? 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼any & all are SERIOUSLY welcome lol.
I’m regretting forcing myself to read this…
Unfortunately, this just did not work for me… the premise was fantastic, but the promise was a lieeee… this could’ve been INCREDIBLE with that blurb. But… 🥱😬😫😩🥺😔
I wanted it to… I really, reeeeaaaaallllllllllly DID, guys! But alas, t’was not meant to be ig 😭
& listen… I am liberal with my reviews & ratings a lot (all) of times, mmk… but I couldn’t give more than 2.5 ⭐️; I just couldn’t! I’m going to try another book by this author though! All hope is not lost lol. Any suggestions? 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼any & all are SERIOUSLY welcome lol.
February 21, 2023
WOW. I'll buy anything (and everything) Joshilyn Jackson writes, but it was such a treat to get to read this one early: I could not put it down! WITH MY LITTLE EYE was simultaneously engrossing and unsettling in all the best ways: Every POV switch sent chills up my spine, no one was what they seemed (or were they?), and Jackson keeping me guessing until the very last page. Suspense at its most satisfying.
May 1, 2023
I just need to call it. This author just isn’t for me and I need to stop caving to social media and reading her books. It took forever for the story to get going, had way too many plotlines going on at the same time, had no viable suspects and a really stupid reveal.
The story follows Meribel who is an actress with a stalker. She moved herself and her daughter across the country to escape from this stalker but she starts to feel like someone is watching her in her new place as well. Not knowing who to trust or where to turn she must do everything she can to protect herself and her family.
I really trudged through this hoping for some big twist. While there is a reveal that I didn’t see coming, it ends up not being related to the main mystery at all. Don’t even get me started on the reveal of the stalker. This book also struggles with too many POVs that are entirely unnecessary. This whole book felt amateur and I’m not coming back for more.
The story follows Meribel who is an actress with a stalker. She moved herself and her daughter across the country to escape from this stalker but she starts to feel like someone is watching her in her new place as well. Not knowing who to trust or where to turn she must do everything she can to protect herself and her family.
I really trudged through this hoping for some big twist. While there is a reveal that I didn’t see coming, it ends up not being related to the main mystery at all. Don’t even get me started on the reveal of the stalker. This book also struggles with too many POVs that are entirely unnecessary. This whole book felt amateur and I’m not coming back for more.
May 7, 2023
This is the second book I have read from this author and once again I found it just to be an average read. I loved the representation of the spectrum through the character, Honor, but I found the other characters to be lackluster. I also thought the ending was too abrupt.
September 5, 2023
A gold star for Jackson....and honestly, myself...
Hear me out, I love myself a good dark thriller. They're my favorite. Hit me with all the creepy and uncomfortable vibes. I am in. "With My Little Eye" had all of that. Stalking. Creepy notes. Murder. Suspicious characters.
Queen Joshilyn had it all in her latest....but it was just too much.
Physically taking notes when reading a fiction book for pure enjoyment should not be a thing. That is a bookish red flag plus, it's tell-tale sign that there is an overabundance of plot lines and characters.
Is it bad that I wanted less?
I mean...my girl literally wrote two stories in one. She could have simplified both these mysteries. Focused on polishing "marker man" and Cooper's story into their own books. Bing Bang BOOM...two great thrillers.
Ugh, don't get me started on the reveal of who "marker man"....*sigh* Was anyone else frustrated by this?
The only beaming ray of light that this book had for me was Honor. I loved that we got a neurodivergent character who thrived. She was awesome. I loved that she was a hero in the end. I loved that she ended up with Xena and Shiela as friends. I loved that she was wicked into dungeons and dragons. I am just a big fan of her.
I would have loved more Honor and less Maribel. She was something else...her decisions just made me shake my head in deep frustration but we can't have a thriller without a human who just cannot get it together.
"With My Little Eye" was all over this place. There were too many characters. Too many plot lines. The reveal of the killer felt rushed and R A N D O M.
The idea of the story truly had great potential....but in the end, it was all T O O M U C H!
No offense to Joshilyn Jackson but this was not it for me...
Hear me out, I love myself a good dark thriller. They're my favorite. Hit me with all the creepy and uncomfortable vibes. I am in. "With My Little Eye" had all of that. Stalking. Creepy notes. Murder. Suspicious characters.
Queen Joshilyn had it all in her latest....but it was just too much.
Physically taking notes when reading a fiction book for pure enjoyment should not be a thing. That is a bookish red flag plus, it's tell-tale sign that there is an overabundance of plot lines and characters.
Is it bad that I wanted less?
I mean...my girl literally wrote two stories in one. She could have simplified both these mysteries. Focused on polishing "marker man" and Cooper's story into their own books. Bing Bang BOOM...two great thrillers.
Ugh, don't get me started on the reveal of who "marker man"....*sigh* Was anyone else frustrated by this?
The only beaming ray of light that this book had for me was Honor. I loved that we got a neurodivergent character who thrived. She was awesome. I loved that she was a hero in the end. I loved that she ended up with Xena and Shiela as friends. I loved that she was wicked into dungeons and dragons. I am just a big fan of her.
I would have loved more Honor and less Maribel. She was something else...her decisions just made me shake my head in deep frustration but we can't have a thriller without a human who just cannot get it together.
"With My Little Eye" was all over this place. There were too many characters. Too many plot lines. The reveal of the killer felt rushed and R A N D O M.
The idea of the story truly had great potential....but in the end, it was all T O O M U C H!
No offense to Joshilyn Jackson but this was not it for me...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 5, 2023
Meribel Mills is an actress that starts getting really creepy fan mail in scented markers from a man deemed Marker Man.
She uproots her and her daughter's life and takes a job across the country in hopes of putting some distance between her and the crazy man behind the mails.
But does that really stop her obsessed fan or only slow him down?
This book just didn't work for me. I didn't understand how the Meribel's move across the country was going to stop the man behind the letters. She takes on a new job, but she's an actress, so she doesn't even really lay low anywhere for a while. The contents of the letters were pretty down graphic and it takes everyone, including the cops a while to even believe her.
I didn't like the Marker Man chapters or his POV, those did not work for me.
I didn't even like the subplot between her and her name and the 'twist' that the author decided to throw into the midst of what was going on in the book. It felt kind of off and like a filler because there wasn't enough substance in the book otherwise.
The behavior of all characters felt childish in general, including her neighbor/new friends Conor's on-again, off-again girlfriend, who was extremely despicable. Her actions didn't feel warranted and the drama just felt patty.
Honor is an adopted daughter of Meribal and I wasn't a fan of her subplot with her two friends in the story either. Again, it has been just off-putting. Honor was suppose to be autistic - I think the author was trying to portray Aspergers, but as someone who has been around Autistic people, this just didn't work well for me in general - her entire subplot in the end just didn't sit well.
Overall, the book was a bit of a letdown. The big reveal at the end of who Marker is, in the end, did get me, I didn't see that one coming - but the story also ends abruptly, which I felt only brought my rating down of it even more.
I got this book from the publisher in exchange of an honest review.
She uproots her and her daughter's life and takes a job across the country in hopes of putting some distance between her and the crazy man behind the mails.
But does that really stop her obsessed fan or only slow him down?
This book just didn't work for me. I didn't understand how the Meribel's move across the country was going to stop the man behind the letters. She takes on a new job, but she's an actress, so she doesn't even really lay low anywhere for a while. The contents of the letters were pretty down graphic and it takes everyone, including the cops a while to even believe her.
I didn't like the Marker Man chapters or his POV, those did not work for me.
I didn't even like the subplot between her and her name and the 'twist' that the author decided to throw into the midst of what was going on in the book. It felt kind of off and like a filler because there wasn't enough substance in the book otherwise.
The behavior of all characters felt childish in general, including her neighbor/new friends Conor's on-again, off-again girlfriend, who was extremely despicable. Her actions didn't feel warranted and the drama just felt patty.
Honor is an adopted daughter of Meribal and I wasn't a fan of her subplot with her two friends in the story either. Again, it has been just off-putting. Honor was suppose to be autistic - I think the author was trying to portray Aspergers, but as someone who has been around Autistic people, this just didn't work well for me in general - her entire subplot in the end just didn't sit well.
Overall, the book was a bit of a letdown. The big reveal at the end of who Marker is, in the end, did get me, I didn't see that one coming - but the story also ends abruptly, which I felt only brought my rating down of it even more.
I got this book from the publisher in exchange of an honest review.
February 14, 2023
With My Little Eye by Joshilyn Jackson. Thanks to @williammorrowbooks and @netgalley for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Actress Mirabel leaves Hollywood to start in a new town with her daughter, and to escape her stalker whose notes are escalating. In her new town, she can feel eyes watching her. Is it her stalker?
Another great, unputdownable entertainer from Joshilyn Jackson! She sure knows how to draw a reader in from the first to last page. I loved the teenagers in the story and their plot line. I enjoyed how there were several contenders for “bad guy”, but we don’t know until the end who is for real and who has bad intentions.
“I wasn’t good at patience, but my whole life was now reduced to waiting. He was the watcher. He had the power. The watcher always had the power.”
With My Little Eye comes out 4/25.
Actress Mirabel leaves Hollywood to start in a new town with her daughter, and to escape her stalker whose notes are escalating. In her new town, she can feel eyes watching her. Is it her stalker?
Another great, unputdownable entertainer from Joshilyn Jackson! She sure knows how to draw a reader in from the first to last page. I loved the teenagers in the story and their plot line. I enjoyed how there were several contenders for “bad guy”, but we don’t know until the end who is for real and who has bad intentions.
“I wasn’t good at patience, but my whole life was now reduced to waiting. He was the watcher. He had the power. The watcher always had the power.”
With My Little Eye comes out 4/25.
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