Before picking up and reading Joshilyn Jackson’s latest stand alone, With My Little Eye, I had never come across the term domestic suspense before. A quick Google search revealed that, as a mystery reader, I’m probably alone in that camp. Jackson has written more than one, for starters. That focus on the relationships and on the everyday life of the characters is what With My Little Eye is really most about.
At its heart, it’s the story of minor celebrity Meribel Mills and adopted daughter, Honor. The two have just been forced to move to a new city thanks to the year-long stalking of Meribel. The stalker hasn’t given up, either. Preteen Honor has dubbed him “Marker Man”, and he sends disturbing, graphic, and always illustrated letters to Meribel by the bunches. He does it in scented marker, no less.
Fearing that he will escalate, Meribel takes a job somewhere she thought she would never return to – her home state of Georgia. Meribel left pain, heartbreak, and a lot of unanswered questions there years ago. But the acting job is good, and the chance to escape is even better. Though uprooting Honor, who is autistic and loves routine, is difficult for both of them, Meribel makes the choice to run.
Our heroine isn’t blameless herself. Following the break-up caused by the move with her new boyfriend, Meribel has gone back to internet stalking her ex-husband James online. Often, those sections feel nearly as voyeuristic as Marker Man’s, and there is one section where she even goes to spy on James at a family dinner.
With a cast of new neighbors, potential suspects, and simply Meribel’s life to explore, the book is never dull. It becomes clear that there is probably more than just Meribel’s stalker troubling the building, too. Alongside the mysteries and the navigation of motherhood, there are a fair amount of romantic subplots. With recent ex, Cam, long ago ex James, and new neighbor and future maybe, Cooper, Meribel seems to have options.
The romance aspect wasn’t to my taste, but the story makes up for it. You will be left picking the strings of the plot apart until the very end, where surprises are in store. This was one of the few books where I wished there was an after the action epilogue, too. Though things are implied, they aren’t outright stated, and it would have been nice to see them written out on the page.
This is a well paced read that stays enjoyable throughout. It’s interesting to see how actress Meribel thinks, and how that contrasts with those around her. For the most part, the characters are well fleshed out and they are all very different from one another. If you’re a fan of thrillers, this book is a win. – Margaret Agnew
**************
Margaret Agnew is the Director of the Cahokia Public Library in Cahokia, Illinois. A graduate of Ripon College and Indiana University, she has been a mystery fan and an avid reader from an early age. She was also a reviewer for Mystery Scene Magazine.