S. J. Watson Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

S. J. Watson is an English author best known for Before I Go to Sleep and Final Cut.

The initials S. J. is a truncation of the name Steven John. Watson was born in an English village called Wordsley, located to the north of Stourbridge, West Midlands, in the United Kingdom. For his Ordinary level, Watson schooled at Buckpool School. For his A level, he studied at the Stourbridge-based King Edwards College wherein he took Mathematics, Chemistry, and Physics.

S. J. went to the University of Birmingham for his undergraduate degree, wherein he pursued Physics. For his Master of Education, Watson enrolled at the University of Southampton wherein he majored in audiology. He relocated to corporate London hard on the heels of his graduation where he served as an audiologist in several London-based medical facilities, most notably a national neurological hospital. He is still a London resident.

Watson, who has since confessed that he is a homosexual and he has been in a civil partnership with a high-profile NHS official since April 2011, describes his teenage years as tumultuous. During this time, he was grappling with his sexual orientation. His parents separated while he was still schooling at university which was difficult for him. Worse still, he was battling neurosis and underwent a medical procedure on his brain during his young adult life.

S. J. Watson describes his background as neither poor nor affluent, but he always loved creative writing since his formative years. However, even in his youth he had second thoughts about pursuing writing as a profession. He considered seeking financial stability via his audiological profession and put his writing ambitions on ice though he still wrote down spur-of-the-moment thoughts occasionally. When he made the decision to give it a fair shot, he sought his own demotion from a senior position to a mere junior clinician. The job change involved only three working days so that he could spare time to write.

In early 2009, S. J. Watson signed up for a novel writing course spearheaded by the Faber Academy. He drafted about twenty novel manuscripts before abandoning them definitely. However, eventually one of those manuscripts attracted the attention of a literary agent and became a published novel.

There are more than 145 editions of S. J. Watson’s debut book. The first edition was initially published in April 2011, entitled Before I Go To Sleep, and this standalone book is shelved under mystery, psychological and literary thriller, contemporary, adult fiction, and crime genres.

Another early book published by S. J. Watson is titled Second Life. This book has over 65 editions; the first edition was originally published in 2015. This standalone novel is shelved under the psychological thriller and mystery genres. Christine Lucas is the featured protagonist in the Before I Go To Sleep.

Christine Lucas is a middle-aged wife who is yet to recover from a tragic tragic that left with memory loss. Christine, who is amnesiac, has a spouse named Ben and the two are in a twenty-year-long marriage.

Julia is the featured protagonist in the book named Second Life. She has an addictive personality and a sister called Kate, an adopted son named Connor (Kate’s biological child), and a husband called Hugh who is a surgeon. Christine and Hugh are unable to have children of their own.

In the first book by S. J. Watson, Before I Go To Sleep, protagonist Christine often forgets that she is married. She wakes up thinking that she is still single and then is always surprised on waking up in the mornings and noticing her husband beside her. Exactly what transpired during the accident and what about her condition? Her journal entries and her husband’s narration does not help her in putting the pieces together.

S. J. Watson’s second book, Second Life, Kate is murdered while in Paris by a boyfriend she got in touch with through an online dating website. Angered by the incident, Julia uncontrollably starts looking for her killer, jeopardizing and risking all that she holds dear. She gets the system login of the site that Kate frequented and thus sinks into the murky waters of online dating in order to find the killer.

S. J. Watson Awards
S. J. Watson’s debut book has won or been nominated for many literary awards. In 2011, it won the New Blood Dagger, a literary award from Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) to a notable debut author. In 2011, it clinched the National Book Award, in the Thriller of the Year category. It was shortlisted for the CWA Steel Dagger award in 2011. In 2012, it was nominated for the Macavity Award in the Best Fiction Mystery Novel category.

It was also nominated for the Anthony Award in the Best First Novel category and was also nominated for the Barry Award, also in the Best First Novel category. Also in 2012, Watson clinched the French literary award called SNCF Priz du Polar in the Best Crime Novel category. What’s more, in 2012, Watson won the Crimezone Award (Dutch literary prize) in the Debut of the Year category.

S. J. Watson Books into Movies
There is a film adaptation of S. J. Watson’s debut novel, Before I Go to Sleep. The film retains the book’s title and was produced in late 2014. The director is Rowan Joffe; the starring actors are: Nicole Kidman who appears as Christine Lucas, Colin Firth who appears as Ben Lucas, and Mark Strong who acts as Dr Nasch. Kidman earned a lot of praise for her portrayal of Christine.

Best S. J. Watson Books
The best books penned by S. J. Watson are Before I Go To Sleep alongside Second Life. Without mincing words, these have been discussed in a previous part.

Other Books You May Like
Readers who liked the books penned by S. J. Watson also liked these standalone books.

The first one is called Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens; this psychological thriller features protagonist Sara Callagher who was adopted while still young; she is on a quest for finding out the circumstances surrounding her adoption.

The second one is Perfect People by Peter James. This features a couple whose sole son has died as a result of an unusual genetic disease; their desire to have another child is hampered by the possibility of a future child succumbing to the same ailment. Desperate for a child, they consult a geneticist running a dubious fertility program and they get a nightmarish experience.

The third one is titled Turn of Mind authored by Alice LaPlante. This murder mystery features protagonist-cum-narrator Dr Jeniffer White, a retired surgeon and Alzheimer’s patient. She is fingered in her bosom friend’s murder case; the victim’s fingers were chopped off in a way indicating that the perpetrator had surgical experience.