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Always Watching Chevy Stevens 9780312595692 Books

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Always Watching Chevy Stevens 9780312595692 Books

This book was exhausting in its complexity of characters. The good writing compelled me to stay with it to the end to discover some interesting surprises at the end.

Dr. Nadine Lavoie is a psychiatrist wallowing in guilt. She has guilt feelings about daughter Lisa, who is living on the street somewhere. She feels guilty about her druggie mom who she could not help. She feels guilt about the death of Heather, one of her patients. This is a lot of guilt for a psychiatrist. A lot of the guilt involves repressed memories of child sexual abuse.

Not to be left out, psychiatrist brother Robbie feels guilty for neglecting his sister (before she was a psychiatrist). Mary feels guilty about her earlier life in a cult commune. Aaron, a cult leader feels guilty, but that is OK, because he is guilty (not a spoiler). Daniel feels guilty about dead wife and former psychiatric patient Heather.

Around page 311 there is a fire at a cult center where lots of innocent people die, but few guilty ones. I have a feeling I may have reached a conclusion. But no, we have 26 more pages to discover the various ways the surviving guilt ridden people attempt to resolve their guilt.

I can't recall a character that was not constantly wallowing in guilt. There may have been a few of Nadine's patients that were not, but they were institutionalized with other problems. I found it difficult to believe that with all the guilt Nadine exhibited she could ethically fulfill the demands of her profession regarding patients.

The preponderant theme of pervasive guilt made this a slow moving story.


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Always Watching Chevy Stevens 9780312595692 Books Reviews

When psychiatrist Nadine Lavoie begins working with a new patient at the hospital, something suddenly tugs at her memories. As Heather describes the center where she was living for awhile, and mentions the name of the leader, Aaron Quinn, Nadine is catapulted back to a time in her own past when she lived in a commune run by the same man.

In flashbacks, we learn more about Nadine's childhood and the experiences that have left their mark.

But it is not until a tragic event involving Heather, that Nadine actively begins trying to remember what might have happened to her as a child. And what might be happening to others.

Meanwhile, Nadine's daughter Lisa is living on the streets, using drugs, and resisting any and all efforts for help. Something about the extreme rage coming from her daughter whenever she sees her is like a twist of the knife, but also something more.

Why is Nadine unable to help her own daughter? What events have disrupted Nadine's life to the extent that she now suffers from claustrophobia and panic attacks? And what might be beneath the surface and causing Lisa to lash out at everyone?

Not a typical mystery, Always Watching is the story of one woman's journey toward uncovering the secrets of her past and finding a way to reconnect with her daughter. As in "physician heal thyself," Nadine is trying to do just that.

From the streets of Victoria to Shawnigan, the small town where the old commune existed, Nadine searches for answers...and for witnesses. Will she find them before Aaron gets his clutches into her own vulnerable daughter?

While the suspense is of a different kind, I found it captivating. As a retired social worker, I could relate to the "helper" who encounters victims that are unwilling or unable to report what is happening to them. I also connect with how one's own problems add to one's ability to empathize, but sometimes intrude on the actual helping.

Another unique feature to this story the psychiatrist who is the central character in this book was a secondary one in the previous two books by this author Still Missing and Never Knowing.

The settings and characters were beautifully drawn and shown to the reader in a way that brought me into the time and place of the story. Because the pace was slow, with secrets revealed gradually throughout most of the story, I was pleasantly surprised when the pace quickened, with the last few chapters intensely leading to the final denouement. While I was leaning toward four stars, I am now awarding this one 4.5 stars. This is a book for those who enjoy stories about secrets, family dynamics, and family dysfunction.
I enjoyed reading Chevy Steven's previous books. In fact, I so enjoyed them that I recommended her to others. I had read some of the reviews that said this book was just ok. I had hoped that they were wrong, but unfortunately, they weren't. I kept waiting for the book to get good. I waited for that turn of events that would blindside me because I never saw that coming! But that didn't happen. In fact when the book ended I sat there perplexed as I didn't expect the story to be over. It was like the author had decided the story had gone on for too long and now it was time to end up. This book just didn't have the excitement of her other books. It didn't have the wow factor. If this had been the first book of hers that I read, I would not have read any of her others. As it is, if she does write another, I will read it, hoping once again that a 4th book would measure up to the first two.
I love Nadine and enjoyed getting to read about her story after reading about her briefly in two other books. She's the kind of woman anyone would look up to and admire, but it was great to read about her own complex life and how she got there. I was so involved in this book that of course there were characters I hated, but it's supposed to be that way. It was full of moments that ranged from heart breaking to joyful, and the ending was almost exactly what I had hoped for. I was able to predict one of the biggest twists that involved the daughter, but I did have two theories, so it wasn't overly predictable. Another Chevy Stevens book I thoroughly enjoy and I'm eager to read more!
This book was exhausting in its complexity of characters. The good writing compelled me to stay with it to the end to discover some interesting surprises at the end.

Dr. Nadine Lavoie is a psychiatrist wallowing in guilt. She has guilt feelings about daughter Lisa, who is living on the street somewhere. She feels guilty about her druggie mom who she could not help. She feels guilt about the death of Heather, one of her patients. This is a lot of guilt for a psychiatrist. A lot of the guilt involves repressed memories of child sexual abuse.

Not to be left out, psychiatrist brother Robbie feels guilty for neglecting his sister (before she was a psychiatrist). Mary feels guilty about her earlier life in a cult commune. Aaron, a cult leader feels guilty, but that is OK, because he is guilty (not a spoiler). Daniel feels guilty about dead wife and former psychiatric patient Heather.

Around page 311 there is a fire at a cult center where lots of innocent people die, but few guilty ones. I have a feeling I may have reached a conclusion. But no, we have 26 more pages to discover the various ways the surviving guilt ridden people attempt to resolve their guilt.

I can't recall a character that was not constantly wallowing in guilt. There may have been a few of Nadine's patients that were not, but they were institutionalized with other problems. I found it difficult to believe that with all the guilt Nadine exhibited she could ethically fulfill the demands of her profession regarding patients.

The preponderant theme of pervasive guilt made this a slow moving story.