Watch Me: They Said She Couldn't Catch A Serial Killer. She Said... [Paperback]

A. J. Holt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 1996

"I know who you are."
"No you don't."
"I'm coming after you."
"No you won't."
"Watch me."

Special FBI agent Jay Fletcher knows how to catch serial killers. She's developed a computer program that identifies the most vicious murderers in America.

But Jay's Washington bosses have told her to stop. She can't use her program. It violates the Constitution. It violates these sick killers' civil rights.

Now Jay's been transferred to a tiny office in Sante Fe. She's instructed to stay out of multiple murder cases. As far as Washington knows, she is.

Like hell she is.

Jay is going on-line.
She's going to track down the killers.
What will she do when she finds them?
She says...watch me.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

First novel in which a female FBI agent tracks down an Internet-based confederation of serial killers.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The line between good and evil vanishes in this debut thriller about serial killers who talk shop on the Internet and the vigilante FBI agent who chases them through cyberspace. Talented agent Jay Fletcher holds graduate degrees in psychology and computer science and has even designed a computer template for the FBI. When her zealousness compromises a case, she's packed off to Santa Fe to cool her heels. While participating in an arson investigation, Jay stumbles onto "Special K," an Internet game for serial killers. One killer looks like and obsesses about Leonard Nimoy. Another, aptly named Iceman by the FBI, parasitically lives off the identities and credit cards of his victims. This grisly, disturbing, yet fresh novel raises numerous complex questions for our high-tech society. Highly recommended for all fiction collections; most libraries can expect requests.
-?Susan A. Zappia, Maricopa Cty. Lib. Dist., Phoenix
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 370 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (December 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312959974
• ISBN-13: 978-0312959975
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #969,486 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, finely-crafted psycho-thriller, January 6, 2001

By 

M. Milesi - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Watch Me: They Said She Couldn't Catch A Serial Killer. She Said... (Paperback)

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!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Helluva "debut" novel, March 7, 2001

By 

Robert Crawford (Hudson, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Watch Me: They Said She Couldn't Catch A Serial Killer. She Said... (Paperback)

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?

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ethical dilemma fuels hacker thriller, November 3, 2003

By 

Lynn Harnett (Marathon, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Watch Me: They Said She Couldn't Catch A Serial Killer. She Said... (Paperback)

Holt's debut thriller features FBI agent and computer hacker Janet (Jay) Fletcher, whose zeal doesn't always follow proper legal channels. When her illegally obtained evidence blows a murder case, she is assigned to an arson detail in Santa Fe. But she can't help running her computer tracking system to find a local serial killer.

Find him she does but her methods are not court admissable. Agonizing over what to do, she finds herself face-to-face with the killer - and evidence of an on-line network of people like himself - serial killers who've made a game out of ritualistic murder.

Holt knows computers, and uses this fantastic scenario to dazzle rather than confuse the reader. The action never flags but even more interesting is the ethical nail-biting. With expert manipulation, Holt fires the reader emotionally with gruesome murder scenes then asks "What's more important - stopping a serial killer or obeying the law?" And to really make it disturbing, Fletcher begins to get a thrill out of her rogue vigilantism. Exciting from first page to last.