Book Review | Watching Edie | Camilla Way

Sixteen years ago, Edie and Heather were best friends but then something happened that drove each of them away from each other and their home town.

Now, all these years later, Edie, a waitress, lives in a tiny little apartment, on her own, pregnant and estranged from her mother.

But the past has a way of catching up and, when her doorbell rings one afternoon, she is more than shocked to see Heather standing there. Reluctantly, she invites her in but soon realises that she’ll need to get rid of her before she begins to dredge up the past she has tried so hard to forget.

Unfortunately, Heather is persistent and not that easy to dismiss so when Edie finally brings baby Maya home, Heather reappears and cleverly insinuates herself in their lives when she realises that Edie is unable to cope with her new baby while the effects of post-natal depression drag her under.

Told from Edie’s perspective in the present (after) and Heather’s in the past (before), their history begins to unfold and we start to wonder what happened all those years ago to bring these two women so far from who they had aspired to be.

You’ve just got to love it when a psychological thriller makes you feel really uncomfortable and this one has discomfort written all over it.

With an almost gothic style of writing, Camilla Way knows how to keep her readers in suspense. Set against the bleakness of London and mainly in Edie’s apartment, Camilla uses her almost claustrophobic setting to great effect, creating an atmosphere edged in creepiness as she gets to the hard-hitting crux of the story.

Edie and Heather are both sympathetic characters and it’s obvious that their actions and the consequences of that fateful night have continued to gnaw away at them as they refuse to confront the horror of what happened. Keeping their secret close to their chests and focusing on their emotional states, it is this that Camilla uses to create suspense and drive her narrative forward, as she vividly captures the shifting dynamics between them.

Weaving the elements of her plot tightly, the explosive revelation of what really happened is well hidden until the denouement and goes to show how extremely talented Camilla Way is.

Complex, challenging and darkly fascinating, Watching Edie is a novel that brims with tension and a growing sense of unease as Camilla delves into toxic friendships, dysfunctional relationships, emotional parental neglect, obsession, guilt and mental health issues.

This one will pull you headlong into the dark secret that controls these characters’ lives and is a must-read for all fans of a good psychological thriller.

I wish to thank HarperCollins Australia for providing me with an egalley proof for review.

About the Author

Camilla Way was born in Greenwich, south-east London in 1973. Her father was the poet and author Peter Way.

After attending Woolwich College she studied modern English and French literature at the University of Glamorgan.

Formerly Associate Editor of the teenage girls' magazine Bliss, she is currently an editor and writer on the men's style magazine Arena.

Having lived in Cardiff, Bristol, Bath and Clerkenwell, she now lives in south-east London.

About the Book

THERE ARE SOME FRIENDS YOU’LL NEVER FORGET…

NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY

BEFORE

Edie is the friend that Heather has always craved. But one night, it goes terrifyingly wrong. And what started as an innocent friendship ends in two lives being destroyed.

AFTER

Sixteen years later, Edie is still rebuilding her life. But Heather isn’t ready to let her forget so easily. It’s no coincidence that she shows up when Edie needs her most.

NOW

Edie or Heather?

Heather or Edie?

Someone has to pay for what happened, but who will it be?

ISBN: 9780008159016

Publisher: HarperCollins Australia

Pub date: 01/08/2016

RRP: AU$34.99