I’ll Be Watching You
I’ll Be Watching You is the last book by Charles de Lint written as Samuel M. Key to be added to my collection. It is unlike other Charles de Lint fare in that there is nothing about fairies, or magic, or fairy tales in the book at all, except in a passing mention in which the character is belittling Professor Dapple and Jilly for “wasting” their time with make believe.
I’ll Be Watching You, while still taking place in Newford, instead follows the darkness that twists some human hearts. We start out with Rachel, who is trying to escape her abusive ex-husband, Frank, who, after a botched kidnapping job, gets himself killed by a “mysterious” rescuer. Rachel thinks she has a guardian angel, until people start dying for the smallest slight to her.
Turns out she has a psycho stalker (who is VERY well written) and the story turns into her struggle to stop being a victim, to reclaim her life, and to survive the attentions of a crazy person.
I finished the book in about two days, it was a very quick read, and, if you like Charles de Lint but are not into all that fantasy business, this is the book for you. It is a dark book, but there is enough light in it to keep it from being depressing, and to keep it from being a hard read (unlike The Onion Girl or Widdershins, both excelent books, but with some VERY hard parts to emotionally get through). A very good read.
