Random Things Tours: Watch for Me by Martin Bodenham

´Seems the system has a hard time accepting that men can be the victim of stalking´.

If I have to describe the feelings overwhelming me after reading without a break Watch for Me by Martin Bodenham, this is: intense. Heart in my throat, I was following the misadventures of the otherwise easygoing realtor Tom, the victim of Ali, a spoiled girl who lost any grip of reality.

Tom had a very ´mundate´ family life, with her wife of almost 20 years and their teenage daughter until he started to assist Ali, the daughter of his longtime family friends, half his age, in her search for buying a condo. Mostly a reflective, business- and family-oriented person, happy with his lot, is put on trial in unexpected ways by a brilliant yet sick to the bones, criminal mind. 

With accents and turn of events that reminded me of John Marrs, the book has a perfect construction of the story, which plays hard with your nerves. The wall of misunderstandings and abuse is growing up Tom seems to lose any chance of getting out of the nauseating story. ´My world was spinning out of control, and I was powerless to stop it´. Taking the full advantage of ´innocent until proven guilty´, Ali is stirring a series of events that are about to destroy every single stone from the life Tom built for him and his family. And no one, especially the police representative are there to hear or assist him. 

The victims of stalking know that sooner or later, the more they are left alone and not took seriously, there is a deep feeling of desperation which are stronger than the will to fight. Tom annoyed me more than once as I was expecting him to be more proactive and rely on legal help against Ali. Why did he not record the discussions they had? But, at least, he does it right when he is keeping his sister updated, sharing with her the last events. Communication is very important when it comes to being faced with abusive behaviors, as keeping all for oneself is like a worm digging dip into the soul with no chance of rescue. 

Personally, I would have been more curious to understand Ali´s personality, eventually her reasons, medical and family history. It would have balanced at a certain extent the fully-packed action of the book with a well define character features. Maybe it would have divert a bit from the overall overwhelming darkness of the story.

Watch for Me ends up in a very domestic mode, with things back to normal, but after all, Tom and his family where a very average case until Ali stormed into their lives and it makes sense to end this way, but after so much action, I wanted more. That´s me, I know.

Besides of its literary virtues, Watch for Me is also an useful guide for anyone coping with stalking, no matter the gender. Indeed, there are humans among us that are not feeling well, and there is no reason why we should let them turn us into their obsession, but we should never give up. Most importantly, never accept you are alone and hopeless in the front of the evil, any kind of evil. 

PS: I am so proud of myself to have been guessed early on that something will go wrong with the DNA sample...But, as my blog readers already know, I read a whole lot of crime and thriller books...

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered part of the blog tour, but the opinions are, as usual, my own