Everyone is Watching by Heather Gudenkauf[1] is reading cotton candy, the kind of book you bring to the beach because you want to be entertained but don’t want to think too hard. We all need a book like this every once in a while.
This book is a locked room thriller. A locked room thriller follows a typical format: a group of different (or are they so different?) people is trapped together in a haunted mansion/secluded cabin/Frozen bouncy castle, where they either need to escape or solve a murder lest they be axed next (examples: An Unwanted Guest, Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone, Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six). Whether a book following this format works depends on originality, character development, and execution.
Overall, Everyone is Watching pulls this off.
All elements are present: a small group of individuals has been invited (curated) to take part in a high stakes reality game competition called One Lucky Winner, where they will compete for a ten-million-dollar prize against the backdrop of a secluded estate in Northern California.
See above list: cast of characters, secluded estate, high stakes game, i.e., “escape.” Check, check, check.
Now, let’s turn to the elements. First, the story is original enough to stand out. While, “hey, this isn’t really a game!” has been done before, there are plenty of ideas and variations available so one book doesn’t copy another. The action here is fast-moving and interesting, and I for one was turning the pages (i.e., clicking on my Kindle) late at night to see how this revenge plot would play out.
Because clearly, it’s a revenge plot. If five people are trapped at a secluded estate under the guise of “one lucky winner” (see how I worked the title of the game in there?), someone’s out for revenge. But who is out for revenge, and why?
Second, the characters are well-developed and serve their purposes. Although the story presents seven main characters (the five contestants and the two ladies who run the show), the point of view alternates among three. Maire, a forty-year-old divorcee (dubbed “The Best Friend” in chapter headings), desperately needs the prize money to provide for her two girls, one of whom has significant health issues. Maire is shocked/horrified to find that one of the other contestants is a man she knew in college–Samuel was dating her friend Lina when Maire and Samuel shared a stolen kiss and a deadly mistake for which they have yet to forgive themselves.
That mistake is probably the reason they’ve been suckered into this game. After all, they haven’t seen each other in twenty years, and here they are, tasering each other during a hedge maze chase in the middle of nowhere.
Just sayin.’
Camille, a respected therapist with a successful podcast, is enticed by the opportunity to resolve her significant financial debts. Referred to as “The Confidante,” Camille is a flawed but fine person. And, like Maire, she picks up on the complete sliminess of another contestant, Ned (referred to as “The Executive”).
Then there’s Fern, the beleaguered assistant to Cat, the Internet sensation who has built her presence via videos where she opines on various matters while “putting on her face.” While Fern feels indebted to Cat, as Cat literally rescued her from a creep during her underling years at another job, she’s spent the last decade slaving away to Cat’s ridiculous demands. Then, however, Fern has the opportunity to lock Cat in the wine cellar, and tada! Fern is now the host of One Lucky Winner.
Third, there’s execution, and this is where I have some pause.
Now, from my expertise gleaned through years of faithfully watching every episode of America’s Next Top Model, I had to suspend some belief here with respect to reality show logistics. I found it hard to believe that Maire would be so surprised that she’d be required to relinquish her phone for the duration of the contest. And that individuals with busy, high-profile careers would be willing to put their lives on pause to follow the instructions of a few emails enticing them with a “ten-million-dollar prize.” (Do these people also support Nigerian princesses?). Then, once everyone arrives at the estate, any support crew appears completely non-existent. I understand we want Fern to be left to her own devices to torture these five souls, but really? No one banking this show wants to go looking for Cat?
Then there’s the motivation behind One Lucky Winner. The justice at the very end–i.e., the true winner of the game–is nicely done, but the vendetta against those chosen to take part in the game was questionable. Even if I was revenge-happy, I personally wouldn’t have been motivated to trap all of these folks in a hedge maze and make them taser each other to get out. But to each his own.
Still, I enjoyed this book thoroughly. Just like with reality shows, there are the contestants you love to hate, and the contestants you root for. Really, the latter category is Maire; she needs the money the most. And as the games play out, getting nastier and nastier (freezing water, scorpions), it becomes clear that the objective here isn’t to “win,” but to not lose (i.e., get out of there alive). That kind of twist is always fun to watch play out, and this frenetically-paced locked room thriller delivers action worth reading.
[1] I assume Heather is German? My maiden name is Schauerte, also very German, and no one ever, ever got it right. Curse those three consecutive vowels!
Sarah Reida is the author of NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH, a dark comedy thriller about a killer targeting the morally bankrupt residents of an upscale neighborhood, which will be out in April. Click here to learn more about Sarah, follow her on Instagram, and click here to enter to win a copy of her novel on Goodreads.
