An instant NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY BESTSELLER!
“I was knocked over by the momentum of an intense psychological thriller that doesn’t let go until the final page. This is a terrific read.” – Alafair Burke, New York Times bestselling author
*Marie Claire’s September Book Club Pick*
Rear Window meets Get Out in this gripping thriller from a critically acclaimed and New York Times Notable … Window meets Get Out in this gripping thriller from a critically acclaimed and New York Times Notable author, in which the gentrification of a Brooklyn neighborhood takes on a sinister new meaning…
Sydney Green is Brooklyn born and raised, but her beloved neighborhood seems to change every time she blinks. Condos are sprouting like weeds, FOR SALE signs are popping up overnight, and the neighbors she’s known all her life are disappearing. To hold onto her community’s past and present, Sydney channels her frustration into a walking tour and finds an unlikely and unwanted assistant in one of the new arrivals to the block—her neighbor Theo.
But Sydney and Theo’s deep dive into history quickly becomes a dizzying descent into paranoia and fear. Their neighbors may not have moved to the suburbs after all, and the push to revitalize the community may be more deadly than advertised.
When does coincidence become conspiracy? Where do people go when gentrification pushes them out? Can Sydney and Theo trust each other—or themselves—long enough to find out before they too disappear?
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Masterfully written suspense. Beneath a seemingly ordinary setting, Cole weaves layers of dread, all building toward a shocking and satisfying conclusion.
A very fast-paced thriller that is reminds me of the horror film, Get Out, but it more suspense than gore. Lots of twists and turns, and loads to think about. Really enjoyed it!
From the first page of WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING, I felt like I was right there in the gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhood, filled with sharply etched characters and dialogue that zings. Then bam! I was knocked over by the momentum of an intense psychological thriller that doesn’t let go until the final page. This is a terrific read.
Absolutely adored this thriller and the twists and turns the story took. Fabulous characters and background setting, stellar writing, I loved this book.
Dread builds and mutates into near-horror… It was eye-opening, sad, shocking, gripping, I devoured it in one go. I recommend SO HIGHLY.
This is a gut-punch of a book. I’m not sure I would say it’s really a psychological thriller – yes, there are moments that feel pulled from the psychological thriller cannon (including unexplained blackouts, alcohol as a means of fuzzing memory, and strange disappearances and possible hallucinations), but it’s fairly easy to guess pretty early on what the “big twists” are. Without spoiling anything, there are some quick giveaways in the first few chapters, and the villains are very one-dimensional and incredibly obvious from the moment they appear.
All that being said, I didn’t keep reading because the suspense pulled me along. I kept reading because the unflinching look at race and gentrification was absolutely gripping. I don’t know if I’ve ever read a book this unapologetic before, easily weaving history and emotional upheaval and the messiness of forgiveness and anger and change into a story that is at its most painful and terrifying when it is not trying to fit the genre and instead is just painting the truth as it is today.
It took too long to get to the point. There were odd things going on in the neighborhood, but it wasn’t suspenseful enough. Lots of drama with no point. Confusing characters.
3 1/2 stars
I can’t say that this book was a favorite. I understand the premise, but I had a difficult time getting through it. It’s not that the situation was uncomfortable, which it was; it’s more that the whole thing isn’t very believable. The book tries to bring together romance, urban renewal, a web of conspiracy, a white knight rescuing the black damsel, and an ending that’s straight out of a sci-fi novel, which this isn’t meant to be.
That ending really took an unbelievable turn which would have worked much better had this been a science fiction book. Still, after the situation in the US with George Floyd and other police overreach incidents, maybe it’s not quite such a stretch. It’s definitely timely.
In this book, if you are white, you are bad. If you are black, you are good. Police, media, the government are exclusively on the side of white people. Whites are willing to destroy and bribe, even to kidnap people to use as subjects for testing a drug addiction cure.
While the basic theme of the book was good, I thought the execution was overdone and heavy handed. The language was frequently crude, in a way that didn’t always fit the situations. This was definitely an attempt to pit blacks against whites in a less than productive way. I honestly believe that there are better books out there to reflect what the author attempted. I don’t recommend this book.
I received an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book from the publisher. I thank them for their generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.
Thank you Harper and Libro.fm for my review copies. All opinions are my own.
I had a full thought process on this novel…however, I decided to break it down into a pro con list!
Couple things.
1. The audio was amazing.
2. The writing and the premise was very well done.
3. It was the perfect length.
Why I brought it to a three star read.
1. I did not feel like it was correct in marketing as a thriller. A suspense novel, yes. Thriller, no.
2. I just felt like it wanted to be paranormal….but instead took a turn to a very real situation happening in many cities across the nation.
3. It did not resonate with me. I grew up in a small town, live in an even smaller town now and it just didn’t resonate with the person that I am.
I would absolutely recommend this novel to others…it was just not a good fit for me.
This was going to be a four star book until I got to the ending, more about that later.
I have never read this author before and I was interested in where she would go with this premise. The blurb for this book already tells a large part of the first half of the book. “ Sydney Green is Brooklyn born and raised, but her beloved neighborhood seems to change every time she blinks. Condos are sprouting like weeds, for sale signs are popping up overnight, and the neighbors she’s known all her life are disappearing.” What others called gentrification of the neighborhood she views more as destruction of the community. And where are all of the older black neighbors disappearing to???
I enjoyed the first two thirds of the book. I liked getting to know Sydney, a young black woman, what has brought her back to Brooklyn, her loves and losses. While overhearing part of a “walking tour” in her neighborhood she feels that there is no real history being talked about. She decides to organize her own tour which will delve into the real history of Brooklyn. She needs to do a lot of research and she has a lot of other things on her plate. She is still reeling from a recent betrayal and trying to keep up her mother’s garden which she has let go to weeds. The first point of view is Sydney’s.
Theo is white and has rather recently moved into an overpriced house that he and his girlfriend plan to renovate. The last few months have been stressful. He is recently unemployed and his relationship with his girlfriend is eroding. She comes from a background of wealth and doesn’t have much patience with Theo and his struggle to figure out his next steps in life. We will learn later that he has some secrets even she doesn’t know.
When Theo meets Sydney he is immediately captivated by her enthusiasm, determination, beauty and strength of character. When Theo learns that Sydney needs help with her research for the walking tour, he volunteers and she reluctantly agrees.
The middle third of the book reads a little bit like a romance, but the narration was good and I went with it. Some of the history that this duo reveals is very interesting, the white people who originally founded Brooklyn, the slaves who helped to build it, and the people who are living there now was insightful. I’m sure that many of the issues of racism and white privilege are authentic but then she begins to veer into speculation.
This was still a four star read for me until the dystopian like ending. I wasn’t prepared for the violence and completely unbelievable ending. I have now read more about this author and her background writing sci fi romance and then this ending makes some sense. It was, however, too far fetched and unbelievable for me.
I am reviewing the audiobook which I received from the publisher through NetGalley. The narration was well done and seemed to match the characters as I would picture them.
Intense.
Heart-pounding.
Thought provoking.
Brutally honest social commentary.
In a year when I’ve read many great books, this might be the best!
With a keen eye for details, Alyssa Cole deftly unspools a rich narrative with compelling characters who live and breathe against a vibrant backdrop. From the bold first line to the exquisitely subtle last, WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING is a top-notch page-turner!
When No One Is Watching is this author’s first foray into this genre. It’s highly believable and rage inducing. It’s also good. I raged over the injustices in this world, the lack of empathy – turning a blind eye to the plight of others because of them versus us mentally rather than coming from a place of humanity. I loved how close knit the community was, how they looked out for and protected one another. Although I was angry through most of it I definitely recommend it. It’s a book I think everyone needs to read.
Copy provided by publisher through Net Galley
Alyssa Cole is a new author for me, and overall I found this to be a very well written book. I love thrillers, and this one started out kind of slow but once it took root, it turned into a very good read. The book did a good job of incorporating some history into the storyline. I would recommend this book to others.
I received a ARC from NetGalley and the publisher Harper Collins, and I was under no obligation to leave a favorable review, all opinions expressed here are my own.
Alyssa Cole consistently captures the unprecedented moments in history that we’re currently living through. In her debut Thriller, she turns this talent up to 11. Haunting, riveting, fast-paced, and brilliant. The essence of Alyssa Cole.
I don’t ever rate a book this low but this one was just not deserving much higher. The language was just awful and just to hard to get beyond!
Alyssa Cole Sydney is going through a lot right now. She’s battling with debt collectors, missing her mother, has been through a divorce, and now her neighborhood is being taken over by a company that’s putting up condos. Sydney was raised in Brooklyn. She doesn’t want to be forced to leave her home. She wants to keep her neighborhood alive. After witnessing first hand how terrible the neighborhood tour was, she decides to do some research and dig up some history for her own walking tour. One of the new neighbors, Theo, who is also dealing with his own misfortunes at the moment, volunteers to help her with the research. Things are suddenly starting to change but not by any means for the good. Sydney has a strange and scary run in with an Uber driver, stores are suddenly falling under new management, and her best friend has suddenly ghosted her. What is going on? Where is everyone going. Sydney is getting down right angry over the sudden developments that just don’t make any sense at all. She’s suddenly faced without knowing who she can even trust anymore. Is she in danger? Can she even trust Theo? Can the two figure out what’s going on before they themselves become history?
Let me first start out by saying how silly I feel having little to know knowledge of gentrification, which is a huge part of this book. When I first started listening to this book, I was a little lost and unsure how some of it was even relevant to the story. When Sydney and Theo started to piece everything together, I also had my aha moment. There were some pretty intense twists in this book. It’s honestly taken me a bit to even process what I’ve read to the point that I had to digest it for a bit before I wrote a review as I just couldn’t even figure out how to put it into words. This was a great book and I highly recommend it! I rate this
Really? Hard to believe on so many levels. Strongest narrative is bond of people that make houses on streets into neighborhoods.
I enjoyed this, although I feel like it received so much hype that my expectations were high.
Weird In A Good Way!!!
This story was like weird science. I loved how the writer blended urban with scientific methods. She has crafted a uniquely written novel that ended nothing like the way I expected it to. I’m looking to read more from this author.