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Summary: Some great plot twists and turns
Review: I was most impressed, in fact nearly fell out of my seat when Agent Fletcher kills the pedophile stalker. Already in trouble from the start how will she get out of this. I won't reveal anymore but WOW, what plot twists and turns A.J. Holt gives us. I certainly hope we get more from this talented author. The end suggests a possibility we will.
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Summary: It's Paul Kersey with heels!
Review: I was really impressed by A.J. Holt's Watch Me. I like vigilante stories (as long as they get the actual criminal), and this one is amazing. I would love to see a sequel to this female "Death Wish".
Rating: 
Summary: Good, Almost Great
Review: I would highly recommend this book to a person who... had nothing more entertaining to read. I found the characters to be unbelievable (except for Cruz perhaps). The book was dry and flat with a light sprinkling of "action" in doses only enough to just barely make you want to follow through to the ending, in hopes that it will improve. Holt's attempt to add dashes of "reality" by his use of "real" places was another flop. Over and over he referred to the "college" in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania as Slippery Rock State College, which it has NOT been called in decades. (It is now Slippery Rock University-S.R.U.) This may sound a bit trivial, but it was a major oversight that left me wondering..."how, as readers are we supposed to lose ourselves in a work of fiction, if the facts interjected to serve as some form of realism aren't properly researched?" (Incidentally, there were other errors and oversights throughout the book that I'd rather leave for another person to reveal.)Overall, this was not the "worst" book I've ever read, but it falls short of being something that I would recommend. It was in fact, a terrific book for the author's first effort and I do plan to read the sequal, just to satisfy my curiousity relating to his improvements.
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Summary: "Watch Me"....Even the Facts were Fiction
Review: I would highly recommend this book to a person who... had nothing more entertaining to read. I found the characters to be unbelievable (except for Cruz perhaps). The book was dry and flat with a light sprinkling of "action" in doses only enough to just barely make you want to follow through to the ending, in hopes that it will improve. Holt's attempt to add dashes of "reality" by his use of "real" places was another flop. Over and over he referred to the "college" in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania as Slippery Rock State College, which it has NOT been called in decades. (It is now Slippery Rock University-S.R.U.) This may sound a bit trivial, but it was a major oversight that left me wondering..."how, as readers are we supposed to lose ourselves in a work of fiction, if the facts interjected to serve as some form of realism aren't properly researched?" (Incidentally, there were other errors and oversights throughout the book that I'd rather leave for another person to reveal.) Overall, this was not the "worst" book I've ever read, but it falls short of being something that I would recommend. It was in fact, a terrific book for the author's first effort and I do plan to read the sequal, just to satisfy my curiousity relating to his improvements.
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Summary: Helluva "debut" novel
Review: I'd read WATCH ME over a year ago but since I'd just gotten ahold of the sequel CATCH ME last w/e and am ignoring the books bought for me by my family for Xmas in favor of Holt's new novel, I thought that I'd share some of my impressions. First off, I no more believe that WATCH ME is Holt's first book than I believe Robert James Waller has talent. This is a poised, polished, savvy effort and first novels, not even NATHAN'S RUN, turn out this good. Holt is a bestselling author under his/her real name and I'm sure that I've read this author before. Secondly, just when people think the serial killer genre has been done to death (pardon the phrase) someone like AJ Holt comes along to breathe new life and brings us a combination of Brian Garfield's DEATH WISH and Thomas Harris's SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. There are several vigilante novels out there, the most execrable being PREDATORS, but Holt's slick, well-paced effort is easily head and shoulders above them. The characterization was adequate, not nearly as detailed as in Harris's efforts but what the author lacks in character development (I didn't believe his half-hearted explanation as to why Jay turned renegade FBI agent), s/he more than makes up for in plotting and action. The denouement was genuinely thrilling and Holt set up a demand for the sequel, which thankfully had come two years ago. What'll the next one be called? MATCH ME?
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Summary: Well researched from a criminal point of view
Review: I've read a lot of real crime and crime classification books. The author did a top rate job of researching the psychological and criminal points of this book. I hope to see more from this author very soon.
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Summary: It is easier to be forgiven . . . . .
Review: If you like a strong minded, intelligent and very capable woman who is fed up with the limits and pettifogging details of today's rule-bound society, then you'll love the growth and daring of Special FBI Agent Janet Louise Fletcher. Like all mystery stories, this book deals with the chaos of criminals who know no rules and who operate in a rule-dominated society that is increasingly restricted and victimized by "the rights of criminals." All mystery stories are based on the premise of a hero who solves a crime with logic and perseverance to restore the normal peaceful and orderly function of society. This is no exception. Today, life is not so simple. The question of guilt or innocence often takes second place to whether all of the accused's rights have been respected. One very good defense attorney once told me he could get an acquittal for anyone "because every prosecution involves thousands of separate and intricate procedures, and the police merely have to get one wrong for the accused to go free." Anyone remember why O.J. Simpson was aquitted? It's what Fletcher faced as the book opens. The book is about her solution, which was very practical if somewhat unorthodox. The underlying element of the book is even more interesting. Some people have an innate desire to hurt the object of their love -- whether it's a spouse, a job, or even a friend. It's not a lack of caring, instead it's a cry to be able to say, "You love me despite the horrible things I do to you and all the pain and misery I cause." They need proof they are loved despite their betrayals and the pain they inflict; in a curious way, it's very much an expression of caring. Remember the saying "It is sometimes easier to be forgiven than to get permission in the first place." Think of Fletcher as operating on this principle. In other words, "Even though I hurt you terribly, please forgive me." For Fletcher, it covers her education, career and job. She loves and believes in her work, yet she is bitterly frustrated in watching the judicial system throw away months of her best efforts to nab the most devious of criminals. So, counting on forgiveness, she plunges into risky behaviour intended to force her superiors to take extra-special steps to let her know she's still appreciated. Sound complicated? Okay, think of 'The Matrix" films which are a magnificent screed against the dangers and excesses of modern technology. Yet, these films are beautifully crafted using the most modern, complex and manipulative technology. It's nothing new. Metropolis, in the 1920s, took the same approach and became a film classic. It is hardly surprising to use the techniques we fear to destroy the results we fear. Why? Because The Matrix, like Metropolis, like 'Watch Me,' is built around an exceptionally fine story that will keep you up late reading -- then keep you awake in bed wondering just how much of it is feasible and real. Holt is a masterful story teller, and this is a good story that leads you into cheering for Fletcher and her unorthodox methods of achieving everything her years of training and work cannot accomplish. In general, older mysteries are based on a private detective solving a crime -- an unsolved crime is a "mystery" -- that the "system" couldn't unravel. In today's world, the "system" is seen as part of the problem that prevents the just resolution crimes. Remember the old adage, "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." Think of all the problems we hear about every day in those terms -- the book is Fletcher's journey to being part of the solution by promptly doing what the system is unable to neatly accomplish. It's a far cry from the old traditional mystery stories. But, it's a welcome reflection of how today's world is very different; to quote an old Biblical saying, "New bottles for new wine." Fletcher is very clearly "a fine new wine." You'll love the bouquet of this book.
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Summary: Excellent, finely-crafted psycho-thriller
Review: Jaded thriller addict that I am, I picked up Watch Me thinking 'oh spare me, another dated cyber-cops-and-robbers, mouse-turns-vampire thing'. By page 90 I'd not only double-locked the doors, but made sure the dead bolts were set as well. This is a very satisfying and complex tale of pure human evil, carefully set in a wide variety of real and virtual locations, ranging from Vancouver to the dregs of cyberspace. Jay Fletcher, the leading lady, is morally ambiguous but lethally effective as she confronts a web of serial killers frighteningly disguised as normal people in our midst. Is this a disturbing book? Yes, definitely - what are the limits of legal protection? Is vigilantism justifiable, and if so, who decides? Holt's style is taut and spare: an excellent read in a safe place!
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Summary: "Watch Me," an Internet thriller worth "watching."
Review: Most new books approach the Internet and the associated technology advances with about as much credibility as Charles Manson has with child care. They are loose on fact and liberal with the fiction. A.J. Holt keeps a close reign on the technology and keeps the suspense high in this taut thriller about serial killers communicating and killing through the Net. While it has it's cliche and some of the plot is a little thin, it is definitely entertaining and worth reading
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Summary: No way this is a first novel...waaayyyy too good.
Review: Not sure who A.J. Holt is, but I'm reasonably certain that this isn't a first novel. It's written way too well for starters. Characters, dialogue, points of view, plot, realism, everything is top-notch. One of the best novels that I have read in quite a while...almost like a James Patterson novel for deep-thinkers. :) Very highly recommended!
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