YOU WATCHED IN SILENCE by H. Lee Justine – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

You Watched in Silence by H. Lee Justine
Published by Blackstone Publishing on November 18 2025
Genres: LGBTQ+, New Adult, Paranormal, Thriller
Pages: 360
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Social media, cancel culture and a ghostly stalker merge in this interesting but uneven thriller.

“Some secrets don’t live on the tongue, but the back of the throat, where they have to be swallowed again and again, a hundred times a day.”

You Watched In Silence is a queer mystery/thriller with just a touch of the paranormal, and perhaps that’s one reason it didn’t work as well as I’d hoped. I was expecting more of a horror story, I mean look at the creepy girl on the cover! What I got was a lot of drama and a heavy dose of influencer/social media elements that were entertaining at times, but also a little baffling to me. However, I thought the mystery was very well done, and there are some seriously unsettling moments during the story. H. Lee Justine uses first person present tense to create tension, and the main character is unhinged just enough to make the reader wonder what’s going on. Overall this was a mixed bag, and I think younger readers will enjoy it more than I did, since to me it feels like a New Adult-aged story.

We follow twenty-one year old Caitlyn, who has been a mega fan of social media influencer Bella Greene since she was thirteen. She and her bestie Bea were obsessed with Bella and her lifestyle, and they followed Bella’s life through her pregnancy, giving birth to twins, and all the important milestones in their lives. Caitlyn and Bea even attended meet-and-greets, adding a more personal touch to their experience with her brand.

But now, everything has changed. Bea and Caitlyn got into a fight and Bea left, leaving Caitlyn feeling adrift and depressed. When Bella reaches out in her private group chat looking for a nanny for her two kids Olive and Max, Caitlyn is thrilled when she’s hired. But there’s a darker side to the job: Bella has been cancelled over the suicide of one of her fans, a death that might have been prevented if Bella had monitored the private chats more often (or so her detractors say). She’s moved her family from Los Angeles to a remote island in the Pacific Northwest to wait it out until she can figure out a comeback.

Caitlyn immediately bonds with Olive and Max, but then strange things start to happen. Caitlyn and the kids find a pentagram in the nearby woods, and someone leaves a deer’s head on the front lawn. Caitlyn keeps seeing a blond girl with hair covering her face, a ghostly presence that seems to be haunting her. Is someone targeting Bella? Or is something even more sinister going on?

There are only a handful of characters in this story, which was a good choice on the author’s part. Instead of trying to wrangle a large cast of characters, Justine keeps her focus on the remote setting of Bella’s house, giving the story a claustrophobic feel. In addition to Bella, her husband Tim and the kids, we meet Bella’s assistant Adam and their private chef Hannah. Tim comes off as a creep, and luckily he doesn’t play a very big part in the story. Adam is trying to pick up the pieces of his career, after his big break working for Bella turns sour, and of course Caitlyn is struggling with the loss of her friend and trying to deal with depression. The only bright spots as far as characters go are Olive and Max, seven year old twins who have a love of all things creepy, and Hannah, who eventually becomes Caitlyn’s love interest.

Most of the story is centered around these characters, their relationships to each other, and how they fit into the mystery of the fan who committed suicide. I did enjoy the mystery, and the author doesn’t give much away until almost the end, so the tension is very high. I also loved the ghost who is haunting Caitlyn, although to be honest we’re never sure if it’s real or all in her head (she takes all sorts of medication for various mental health issues, and even admits that forgetting to take meds could cause hallucinations).

I also liked the social implications of being a famous influencer and that person’s relationship with their fans. How much responsibility should Bella take when things go terribly wrong? It’s a fascinating question that gave me a lot to think about.

So what didn’t work for me? I had issues with Bella being a famous influencer who pulls in millions of dollars (which she has supposedly put in a trust fund for her kids). Bella is a nobody, she’s a woman who decided to exploit her kids—their births, growing up, birthday parties, etc.—but as far as I could tell, there was nothing else going for her. Why her? And why would two thirteen year olds become “mega fans” of a pregnant woman? That just didn’t make any sense. I know there are wealthy influencers out there, but her story and fame didn’t ring true.

I also didn’t care for a particular dark element introduced late in the story. You all know I’m a fan of “dark,” but without going into detail, this was the kind of dark that made my skin crawl, and not  in a supernatural way. I suppose the author was trying to think of something shocking enough to warrant Bella being cancelled, but I wish she’d taken a different path.

The twist at the end sort of worked for me, although it wasn’t a complete surprise (there are clues if you’re paying attention). After reading several books with amazing twists, it’s very hard to impress me on that front!

Still, I think the right reader will have a blast with this book, especially if you’re closer in age to the main characters.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.