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With My Little Eye
For actress Meribel Mills, disturbing fan mail is part of the price of fame. So when she starts getting creepy letters written in fruit-scented marker she is mostly unphased and diligently files them along with her other messages from unhinged fans. After all, she’s a single mom approaching forty, not the kind of hot young celeb who sparks dangerous obsessions. But there’s something different about Marker Man…
Meribel’s sheets smell of unfamiliar cologne, and objects have gone missing around the house. Plus, the letters have become more perverse, with drawings of a naked Meribel tied up or chopped into pieces. While the police insist that stalkers hardly ever escalate to violence, Meribel has played the dead girl one too many times on TV to risk becoming her in real life. She and her daughter move from Los Angeles to Atlanta for a fresh start—but no distance is great enough.
Years of being in front of a camera have given Meribel a superpower—she can feel eyes on her, a creeping sensation like bees inside her skin. And someone definitely has her in their sights. Could Marker Man have followed her all the way across the country?
Who else might be watching—her ex-husband? The lover she left behind in LA? Her new neighbor? Suddenly, every man in her life is a suspect, but she can’t keep herself and her daughter safe from a monster she can’t identify. When the paths of all of these men collide, Meribel will find herself alone in the fight of her life, desperate to protect those she loves as danger closes in from all sides.
This discussion guide was shared and sponsored in partnership with William Morrow, a division of HarperCollinsPublishers.
Book club questions for With My Little Eye by Joshilyn Jackson
Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.
Meribel’s stalker always writes his letters with colorful scented markers. Did this childish affectation make him feel more or less creepy to you? How did it shape your expectations and suspicions?
Meribel fled Georgia because of a personal tragedy, but circumstances force her back in a moment of crisis. Is there a place that you would never, ever want to move or revisit? What would it take to make you relocate there?
At various points, Meribel suspects each of the important men in her life of being Marker Man. Were you suspicious of any of these men? How did your opinions change throughout the book?
Marker Man is clearly invading Meribel’s privacy, but Meribel herself is spending a significant amount of time looking at James’ wife’s Instagram. Where is the line between curiosity and stalking? Does Meribel cross it or come close to crossing it? Is there a different standard for public figures?
As an actress, Meribel is under a great deal of overt pressure to stay thin and young-looking. Her neighbor, Addie, seems to feel these same pressures, even though she has an office job, and both women worry about the effect of beauty standards on their adolescent daughters. Are there unreasonable beauty standards placed on women? Is this a function of biology or culture?
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With My Little Eye Book Club Questions PDF
Click here for a printable PDF of the With My Little Eye discussion questions
“A dark, twisting confection, WITH MY LITTLE EYE will send readers racing through its pages. Joshilyn Jackson is a master storyteller.”
— Karin Slaughter, New York Times bestselling author of Pieces of Her and the Will Trent series
"Clever, propulsive, and full of surprises, WITH MY LITTLE EYE is top flight psychological suspense. Joshilyn Jackson is a deft and intelligent writer who dives deep into character while masterfully ratcheting up the suspense and tension with every scene. You’ll feel the suffocating fear of being watched and followed, and know a mother’s desperation to protect the ones she loves, as you tear through this breathless, enthralling read.”
— Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six
"In With My Little Eye, Joshilyn Jackson proves once again that she’s not only a masterful storyteller, but a literary magician. Beneath this thrilling, breakneck story of an actress being pursued by a mysterious stalker (his lurid “fan” notes alone will compel you to lock your doors), there’s smart, savage humor and incisive questions—about courage and fear, forgiveness and revenge, and the murky, complicated business of telling and keeping secrets. I have devoured every one of Jackson’s novels, and this is her best yet. I defy you to put it down."
— Abbott Kahler, New York Times bestselling author