Fiction Review: Always Watching

Always Watching, by Lynette Eason is the first of four novels in her Elite Guardians series. It kept me up at night, flipping pages to find out what happened next. I love it when a book so captivates me!

The story begins with Wade’s stalker showing up at a dinner. She’s jealous of the woman he has with him, and the reader learns she’s capable of killing.

The book quickly shifts to here and now. Madelyn McKay has been assigned to tail Wade. She’s part of a team of bodyguards, headed up by Quinn. She knows her stuff, and she’s ready. Except that the stalker is one step ahead of them. Madelyn gets a dart in her and her throat cut. She’s barely alive when the emergency crew gets to her.

Soon, Wade walks out of his work into a darkened parking lot. He senses a presence. He, too, is poisoned with a dart . . . and taken to the hospital.

Wade is the father of a precocious twelve-year-old, Amy. When he recovers enough to go home to his spacious estate, he finds out that his father had hired the bodyguards. Amy suffers from anxiety attacks, and Wade will protect her at all costs. He isn’t happy with the bodyguard detail and wants to live his life as normally as possible, even if it puts him in danger.

Until they almost get Amy.

Always Watching is full of action, to put it lightly. Though I guessed the identity of stalker, I didn’t figure out her accomplice until just before it was revealed. There’s a little bit of realistic romance, and a lot of action. No graphic violence, no kissing (except light pecks on the cheek and forehead), and no bad language. This book is strongly Christian from the very beginning.

Besides a compelling plot—who doesn’t want to catch a stalker?—I enjoyed getting a thorough education about what bodyguards do, how they secure an area, and how they advise their clients. Even though Wade doesn’t always take their advice, he becomes more aware of why they do what they do—and that the consequences are literally as important as life and death.

Most of this novel is about Olivia, one of the bodyguards in the group, and her interaction with Wade and his family. It’s fascinating how the author develops the characters. I think you’ll want to read this one!

Five stars.