You Watched in Silence

By: H. Lee Justine

Narrator: Brittany Pressley

ISBN: 9798874899158

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing

Puiblicaiton Date: 11/18/2025

Format: Hardcover

My Rating: Currently Reading

NOV 2025 MUST-READ BOOKS

“Bewitching: a dark-hearted, full-blooded thriller, the sort of potent potion Riley Sager and Stacy Willingham might brew. Part psychological suspense, part is-it-or-isn’t-it horror … and altogether likely to spook you right off of social media. You might watch in silence, but you’ll do it through your fingers.”—A. J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

In this shivery blend of queer psychological thriller and horror, evocatively set in the secluded islands of the Pacific Northwest, You Watched in Silence combines the bite of Jessica Knoll with the twists of Verity and the atmospheric tension of The Haunting of Bly Manor.

Caitlyn believes her world is falling apart when her best friend cuts her off—until she gets a message from the only person who can put it back together. Family vlogger Bella Greene—the celebrity influencer she and her ex-best friend were obsessed with—offers Caitlyn a job as nanny to her twins.

Like millions of others, Caitlyn knows that Bella’s life is in pieces, too. Canceled over perceived indifference to a tragic suicide by one of her fans, Bella fled with her family to a remote island off the coast of Washington. For Caitlyn, the opportunity to help Bella will also help her to heal; a way to honor the past while creating a new future.

Caitlyn can’t believe how easily she bonds with the twins. She also feels an instant connection with the family’s flirtatious chef, Hannah Zhou, who soon stirs romantic impulses that Caitlyn never imagined having again. It feels like magic … until she catches a glimpse of a mysterious girl that nobody else can see.

Before she knows it, Caitlyn descends into constant terror, unable to tell if she is losing her mind or being haunted by a past she’d rather forget. Worse, there is magic here, a dark force that manifests in mysterious pentagrams, animal sacrifices, and scrawled threats right in Bella’s backyard, and increasingly close to her home.

But who’s behind it? Is it a disgruntled employee? A scorned lover? Or someone out for unjust revenge? Because Bella didn’t do anything wrong … right?

Buy the Book

Praise

“Bewitching: a dark-hearted, full-blooded thriller, the sort of potent potion Riley Sager and Stacy Willingham might brew. Part psychological suspense, part is-it-or-isn’t-it horror … and altogether likely to spook you right off of social media. You might watch in silence, but you’ll do it through your fingers.”

--A. J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

“H. Lee Justine has crafted a deliciously eerie Pacific Northwest gothic, bringing together the isolated setting, tumultuous family, and tantalizing glimpses of the supernatural with the fraught world of family influencers. A gripping story of guilt, grief, and buried secrets—I loved it.”

--Kate Alice Marshall, USA Today bestselling author of What Lies in the Woods and No One Can Know

“An atmospheric page-turner that explores the toxic underbelly of mommy-bloggers, online bullying, obsession, and revenge. Perfect for readers who like their thrillers pitch dark, with a touch of horror and the occult.”

--Robyn Harding, internationally bestselling author of The Drowning Woman

“A taut labyrinth that explores the dark side of human nature and the secrets that can hide behind the perfection of social media. Eerie and calculating, in the best possible way.”

--A. R. Torre, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Lie

“You Watched in Silence is influencer culture as gothic horror. This brilliant debut isLuckiest Girl Alive meets Verity—a biting satire and a haunting fever dream.” -

-Mary Dixie Carter, author of Marguerite by the Lake and The Photographer

“Tenderly romantic and devastating, lusciously bone-chilling in its creeping atmospheric dread. You Watched in Silence lured me deep into its shadowy rain-damp woods—where secrets, lies, obsessions and past loves haunt the mind and distort the truth. With keen insight and compassion, Justine examines the warped world of an influencer—and her illusory queendom crafted for consumption—through the lens of voyeurism, vengeance, parasocial toxicity, and guilt-ridden paranoia across a broken landscape of stolen childhoods, lost souls, and the obliteration of self and reality. Told by an unforgettable narrator whose sly and sensitive voice convinces, charms, and ultimately breaks your heart—while sending shivers down your spine.”

--Angela Mi Young Hur, author of Folklorn

About the Author

H. Lee Justine is a career ghostwriter who has been featured in NPR for her work with celebrity clients. She began her TikTok journey talking about her career and analyzing books, movies, an television shows. She’s amassed a following of over 125,000 and averages 5-15 million views monthly.

Her debut novel You Watched in Silence is a haunting psychological thriller following an obessed fan-turned-nanny as she starts work for her favorite (recently cancelled) influencer on cozy Salmon Island nestled in Washington State. Inspired by The Haunting of Bly Manor written with the bite of Jessica Knoll, You Watched in Silence will have readers at the edge of their seat until the very last sentence.

You Watched in Silence debuts Fall 2025 from Blackstone Publishing, repped by Courtney Paganelli of Levine Greenberg and Rostan. Click below to follow H. Lee Justine on TikTok to get updates and tidbits about You Watched in Silence. WEBSITE