Brief Review of Watch Her, a novel by Edwin Hill

This is the third and latest book in the series featuring eccentric librarian Hester Thursby and her crowd. Hill has a fascinating view of humans and their nature. Rather than following the story of Hester’s almost sister-in-law, this book introduces us to a family running a for-profit college and features their secrets as they play out in dramatic fashion in the present day. It shows Hill’s mastery of the unconventional mystery. Though there is a murder to be solved, the mystery is more about the complicated web of relationships, secrets and betrayals. The payoff comes as Hill gradually picks apart the tangles and reveal the layers of relationships and the compromises people make to get what they want from life, often at the expense of their personal fulfillment.

If this sounds like a bleak vision of human nature, I can’t disagree, but there is always Hester, who in her quirky way provides the moral center of the series. While her weaknesses and quirks are on full display, she always manages, with the help of her almost-husband and their friends, to maintain kindness and tolerance. Hers is a reflection of the author’s appreciation for the flaws and struggles of his characters and, by extension, of the rest of us.