The Watcher

Caroline Eriksson

A Swedish Big Little Lies, from the author of international bestselling THE MISSING, sold in 27 countries

Author Elena rents a small, impersonal terraced house in a non-descript Swedish town, after a separation. Her social circle has shrunk after her recent breakup and she becomes increasingly estranged from family and friends. Her writing suffers too, as she struggles to find her feet in her new circumstances.

She finds solace and a break from the monotony of her own life in observing the family living across the road, the Storms. Their normalcy, and happy every-day lives, make her feel a little less lonely, cooped up in her cheerless house. But soon things start taking a darker turn across the road, and what looks like a very ordinary family, may not be as carefree as it seems.

In the midst of her angst, Elena finds inspiration again, and she starts writing, about what she sees happening across the road. About secrets in seemingly happy families. And about echoes from the past that come back to haunt the present.

The more Elena obsesses over the family’s comings and goings, the more worried she grows that something awful is about to happen. Is she right to be worried? And what can she do? After all, she’s just the watcher.

THE WATCHER is a dark and tumultuous psychological drama with parallels to Lianne Moriarty’s Big Little Lies.

‘A Swedish Girl on the Train…Spine-tingling and deftly written about the very extremes of despair and what a human being is capable of.’

– Tara Magazine

‘The book is a dark psychological drama filled with anguish and dysfunctional emotions where imagination and reality blends. The conclusion is thrilling and unexpected.’

– BTJ