The Watchers

By: Mason, A. E. W.

Armed men are watching a young woman who lives alone on Tresco, and no one can say with certainty what they want. When fifteen-year-old Dick Parmiter seeks help, Steve Berkeley is drawn from an idle existence of drinking and gambling into an investigation where observation itself becomes a threat. His first-person account turns a remote island mystery into a searching record of suspicion, responsibility and uncertain trust. Across locked spaces, old maps and dangerous maritime passages, Berkeley confronts secrets rooted in family history, smuggling and inherited wrongdoing. An absent man casts a long shadow over the inquiry, while a mysterious sleeper and suggestions of hypnotic compulsion unsettle the boundary between deliberate deception and psychological influence. Every message, allegiance and apparent confidence carries the possibility of concealment, forcing the amateur investigator to judge not only what others tell him, but how far his own perceptions can be trusted. The island setting gives this historical mystery its distinctive pressure: isolation narrows the field of action even as divided loyalties widen the range of possible betrayal. Gothic unease and maritime adventure are bound to Berkeley's moral regeneration, as a man accustomed to wasting his advantages finds purpose in pursuing a truth entangled with the past. Surveillance, secrecy and romance deepen a narrative shaped by danger, doubt and the difficult choice to place faith in another person. This book was out of print for decades and is now republished by Alpha Editions. It has been restored for today's and future generations. This edition is not just a reprint - it's a collector's item and a cultural treasure.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9378419488
• ISBN13: 9789378419485
• Release Date: November 2026
• Publisher: Alpha Edition
• Length: 142 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"