Status Updates From Night Watcher

-MC doesn’t seem to have anyone in her circle to turn to, confide in, team up with, her friend is mentioned twice and her buddy cop duo Harvey wasn’t even developed enough to have them solve this together, she doesn't even team w Jack

2.5* round down for a lackluster middle and end

-all characters are superficial and have no interactions or even personal traits that are remotely interesting nor make me feel any effort was put into them
-MC is just a placeholder for the author, in tryin to heal her trauma maybe the things she wished she could have done. Unfortunately, it does not read well. Nonfiction might be a better avenue for this author

+beginning was quick to get the ball rolling
+phone call on the show was creepy and set a good tone
-unfortunately, despite 1st Person POV there just were not any emotional beats
-Idc for Nola/Harvey
-Jack is a terrible cop, not even corrupt just bad at his job and his POV was not necessary to the story

This does put things into perspective but I feel a memoir or op ed would have been more fruitful in healing of this trauma than writing this threadbare novel. It does read like a podcast episode and she is a podcaster who wrote a book. I have respect for long form documenting but this was just not enjoyable, entertaining or even memorable.

The murderer returning to kill after 20 yrs was due to his family dying in a car crash or maybe Chick’s book release or some combo? I really don’t remember.

Jack was a useless POV and cop

This story was bookended by remarks from the author stating that a family member of theirs is an unsolved missing persons, unable to convict her aunts bf at the time who went on to murder 3 people.

Some parts were too detailed and others were like just underwritten passing throughs. I don’t want to read in real time her like making coffee. She did all the police work, illegally btw. Also the boring, bland MC is described as being paranoid, anxious about being followed, and yet like doesn’t lock her door one night, drinks often while alone, drives drunk, doesn’t tell the police about being followed etc

Man comes out and they fight in her house, she unmasks him and it’s the crazed fan from her dads book signing

She kills him w his knife

Her dad apologizes for being a shitty father and husband to her and apologizes to Jack

she’s home to get Harvey’s phone then meet at the hospital but the killer planned it, by leaving his phone she would have to get it alone (why not do it that night when he got Harvey?)

She saw a security van outside and knows that Mary saw one as a girl before her neighbor was killed

Power goes out and instead of running to door she freezes in fear (for someone so determined she gets awfully spooked awfully often)

Harvey says they got a voicemail to the radio show of their conversation on her porch night he got wacked so she had bright idea to confront her next door neighbor in the rain, she gets spooked and falls

He’s an elderly man in a wheelchair, didn’t record her. Otw back home she sees her cams are back on, so that’s how they got the recording

Anon tip says ask Jack about his connection w one of the victims, another secret relationship but he says he thinks it’s a fan who came up to him once that he told off and you’re saying this NOW?? That you may know the dude and he’s setting u up??

Nola breaks into Mary’s house… are we fr rn.. to check her security camera history (she stops to read some personal messages ofc then feels guilty about it YOU DO??)

Nola asks her mom if she thinks her dad could’ve done it, she says no but he did have scratches on him

None of Nola’s security cameras are working they’ve been in and out so she looks online for any similar issues w customers and Mary posted about hers

Jack finally interrogates Chic and learns that the evidence boxes went missing from his house too

Nola’s neighbor who she’s never seen may have witnessed the intruder in her house but not her direct neighbor (she saw their curtains move that night) and he found Mary’s ID outside Nola’s house

Jack lets Nola know of his suspicions of her father but she says that he’s been having stuff go missing in his house but Jack says he’s not reachable rn and they’re getting a warrant for his phone

Oh geez her and Harvey are going to get together and team up for a completely bland and unoriginal storyline -_-

They sleep together when she wakes up Harvey is bloody behind his head she calls 911 and while waiting for them to arrive he wakes and says he saw the Hidey Man

Nola’s drawing is missing and her name is carved into his calf

Jack gets call of new murder, Mary and Chic’s wallet was found outside her house

Nola tells Jack she saw the Hidey man at her dads book event and demands to see her case files, idky Jack agrees

In evidence he notices two boxes missing… he leant them to Chic for his book. Dam this cop sucks but drawing she did that was in evidence shows up in her mail

On blogs Nola finds one other witness, a girl named Mary who was a neighbor to a victim and she reaches out to her saying the Hidey man is back

Nola’s dad Chic is friends w Jack and was also having an affair w the babysitter, he said he went to his office late at night and didn’t arrive home until 30 min after the murder (why does he have to go to the office at 11 PM?) also the murders happened on nights Chic was off from his show, Jack got his alibis but most were loose

Nola sees news article of the last caller, murdered no suspects yet, jack is on the scene; her name is Felicity a child psychologist

Turns out felicity called before but call dropped. Jack ask them to delete both episodes

Tho felicity knew someone was there and barred the bedroom door she still was taken by surprise, house was locked, windows shut

The same mask the Hiding Man wore 20 yrs ago who said he’d be back for Nola after killing her babysitter

Her dad started the radio show then jaded it off to her, he now reads at book clubs and is writing a time crime novel about the Hiding Man but didn’t tell Nola

Jack, detective from her childhood is there and the case has haunted him for 20yrs