Watch Her by Edwin Hill was a bit of a slow read for me in the first quarter of the way into it. However, it did pick up after that. Nonetheless, I believe that if I would have read the first two books in this series, I could have followed it much better. The characters were very likable; I enjoyed how Hill painted a vivid picture of the setting of the book. I would recommend that you read the first two books so that you will become familiar with the characters. Hester was my favorite out of all of them; she is a bit quirky but a strong female lead, which I very much enjoyed.

I would like to thank the publicist and Edwin for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. ( )

A toddler’s death revives family secrets and murder in “Watch Her” by Edwin Hill


Hester Thursby, a Harvard librarian, and amateur sleuth, makes her third appearance in Agatha Award nominee Edwin Hill’s mystery, “Watch Her” (Kensington). Dedicated to her job, Hester has commitment issues. For years, she’s lived with her “non-husband”, Morgan Maguire the local veterinarian, and refuses to marry him or discuss her past with him. She views Morgan’s five-year-old niece Kate as her own child, but that’s as close to establishing a family as Hester will get. She even keeps an apartment on the side as an escape hatch.
When Maxine Pawlikowski, the director of admissions of Boston’s prestigious non-profit Preston University, asks Hester to investigate a list of student alumnae, Hester soon discovers that some students do not exist. But, as Hester suspects, there’s more to the situation than a potential tuition scam. The art college, which is owned by the predatory Matson family, is the facade for a family hiding secrets, and a mystery that dates back three decades.
The mysterious drowning of a toddler, Rachel Matson, is a subject that no one will discuss. When Hester pokes around and asks questions, everyone seems sworn to secrecy. Neither Jennifer Matson, the child’s boozy mother, Tucker Matson, the child’s father and Preston’s chair of the Board, Vanessa Matson, the school’s new president and the Rachel’s older sister, Maxine, the family confident, nor her brother Stan, a cop who investigated the drowning, will discuss the child’s death. For Hester, the big questions are: what is everyone covering up and how is the Rachel’s death woven into the case of the missing students?
After a Preston student on Hester’s list is found murdered, Hester becomes embroiled in a mystery that runs even deeper than the shady student discrepancies or Rachel’s death. Each Matson is the bearer of additional secrets, which the cunning son-in-law, Gavin Dean, Preston’s CFO, has discovered and is threatening to expose. Gavin’s problem is that he, too, has committed sins. With a clan as powerful and wealthy as the Matson’s, there’s no limit to what money can buy. Even silence.
Hester, while never shying away from investigating others, has difficulty examining her own life and sharing it with others, especially her friends and family. She allows the traumas of her childhood to prevent her present and future happiness. Through the arc of the novel, Hester learns that families come in all shapes, sizes, sexual orientations and colors, and that life offers only one opportunity to make your own happiness–she simply has to trust and follow her heart.
“Watch Her” is also a tragic tale of mothers and daughters, the damage they can unknowingly cause each other, and the lengths they’ll go to protect of one another- even if the daughter is unrelated by blood, but by the heart, and even if the protectiveness leads to murder. It is also a story of forgiveness.
In “Watch Her,” the diverse supporting characters, such as a gay female detective, a graffiti artist, an art student, and many dogs, compliment the staid and uptight Hester as her hot shot research skills uncover blackmail, extra-marital affairs, and unwanted pregnancies. “Watch Her,” is a complex family saga, which will keep readers pondering long after the last drop of blood has been spilled. ( )

Watch Her by Edwin Hill
Hester Thursby Mystery #3

Book three of the series sees Hester and Morgan cohabiting and caring for his niece Katie as they work, live, and love one another. Their relationship has weathered nine years so far and Morgan wouldn’t mind having Hester more than a roommate. This is a story of family and secrets…HUGE secrets. This story is complex, dark, sometimes grim, filled with strong characters, and very hard to define in a paragraph. I will contemplate it for a while, I am sure.

What I liked:
* Morgan: intelligent, caring, intriguing, interesting, patient, and wise
* Katie: precocious, young (5), loving, brings lightness to the story
* Hester: inquisitive, excellent researching skills, outgoing, conflicted, good friend, complex, shows growth in each book.
* Getting to see some of the characters from previous books
* The past as it impacts the present in more than one life
* That characters are deep and well structured with more than one layer
* That some characters that seemed unlikeable had hidden traits that I came to understand and admire
* The way the many threads finally came together
* That though I felt it was “slow” in the beginning it was well worth reading
* Seeing the relationship between Morgan and Hester move forward in a positive way
* Angie’s situation…intrigued me for some reason
* Barrett: I found this person interesting and complex…wonder how it will work out ultimately in their life.
* Maxine: Not sure that I *liked* her but I did want to learn more about her. Felt the same about Jennifer as I read more of the story.
* That it seemed “real” in all of its dark gritty glory
* It wasn’t an easy read and it left me thinking even when I finished…what would *I* have done if in the shoes of some of the characters.

What I didn’t like:
* The secrets and how they were used negatively
* The coverups…and the impact they had and may have in the future

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series/by this author? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars ( )

I really enjoyed reading Watch Her, the third Hester Thursby mystery. Although it would help to read the first two books, Watch Her functions well as a standalone. Hester, a Harvard librarian, and her detective friend Angela are pulled into a mystery involving a secretive dysfunctional family who own Prescott University, a private for-profit college in Boston. The mystery starts with the investigation of a break and enter, and evolves into the search for missing college students and the decades old puzzle of a drowned child. This book has multiple points of view which add to the tension and the fast pace of the story. There are many unpredictable twists and turns which keep the readers guessing. The characters are complex, flawed, relatable and some learn a lot about themselves as the story progresses. The inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters reflects the real world. I would love to read the first two Hester Thursby mysteries and any others that follow. ( )

I was reluctant to read this book, as I have not read any other of the Hester Thursby series, and I’m usually a huge stickler for reading books in the order they were written. For this book, I am so glad that I did read it! It works well as a standalone, and you don’t necessarily need all the background from the previous two novels.

Hester, a librarian, gets caught up in a mystery involving a well to do family that owns a for profit college. She and her friend Angela (a detective) end up investigating first a break in at the house, then investigating a decades long mystery of a drowned child.

Told in alternating view points— Hester, Angela and Barrett (a student at the university) this book shows the power and intelligence of women, and also is just a good old mystery.

I would recommend this to friends, even if they had not read the first few books. In fact, I’m going to add the other books form this author to my list! ( )