Alyssa Cole! Romance queen and now thriller star. It takes such skill to master multiple genres, and Cole does.

Gentrification! As someone who lives in the suburbs of Buffalo I am all too familiar with the concept. Since the building of the downtown Medical Corridor, the property values of the former Fruit Belt (all the streets have names of fruit such as Grape and Peach) have gone up in this minority community who have lived in this neighborhood for years. Difficult decisions must be made as professionals who are interested in living near where they work have become interested in this prime location. (Parking is a major issue, too.)While interest in the city has grown with the development of the waterfront and the revitalization of abandoned properties, to get to these desirable spots often means driving through the ghetto or using the parkway which was built in the middle of a black community, dividing it in half. While I applaud making the city more attractive, I worry about those who are now displaced.

That basically is the theme of When No One Is Watching which takes place in the Gifford Park neighborhood of Brownstones in walking distance to Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York (an area I am familiar with since I lived near that location for ten years in my youth). Alyssa Cole explores the ramifications of gentrification in her novel giving us a little historical background about the beginnings of Brooklyn, then taking this concept to the next level. What if the people who covet your home could make their own rules? How far would they go to take over the neighborhood?

Our main character, Sydney Green, has moved back home after living in San Francisco. The close knit community is changing right under her nose as neighbors and stores seem to disappear overnight. After taking a guided tour which highlighted white achievements, she decides to develop her own walking tour with a focus on the people who inhabit the historically black neighborhood where she has lived since childhood. Her goal is to initiate the tour at the upcoming block party but when her helper suddenly goes south to visit his grandparents, she reluctantly finds a willing partner in the new neighbor who has moved in across the street. Since Theo is not only white, but clueless, they come up with a signal, “Howdy Doody”, to indicate when he is being insensitive. They each have their own set of secrets which ultimately affect the outcome of the book.

While Cole’s plotline is kind of over the top, there is some truth to corporate greed and the way they maneuver people to go against their own best interests so that they can make “another“ buck. It is true that the neighborhoods in Brooklyn turn over at regular intervals. My old neighborhood was once Jewish/Catholic, then Hispanic, and the last I heard it favored the Arab population. Whether or not this book can be considered a thriller or borders on science fiction, I’ll leave up to the reader to decide. It has, however, the perfect ending if someone decides to make a movie version.

The audio read by Susan Dalian and Jay Aaseng enhances the storyline.

Three stars and a thank you to NetGalley for providing both the written and audio versions of this book.

This review can also be found on Goodreads and my blog Gottaread.

This book did not appeal to me at all. It is about a neighborhood in Brooklyn and a black woman who grew up there. It was very slow moving.

When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole is a thriller based on the gentrification of Brooklyn, New York. It tells of what it’s like living there before and how things start to change. There is so much corrupt happenings taking place to both the residents and their properties. This particular story did not really hold my interest or grab me until about 70% in to the book. That’s when it got a little exciting because the residents decided to take back what was theirs. I do believe the author must have done a lot of research before writing this because it sounded like all of this was entirely possible and probably occurs places. Although I feel it was a well written story, it was just one that wasn’t all that interesting to me. Because of this I have only given it a 3 star rating. I’m sure other readers will feel much differently about it. I’d like to thank the Scene of the Crime Early Read Program, Sam Glatt, marketing assistant at HarperCollins Publishers/William Morrow and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review the arc.

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!

This book starts out a bit slow but it does build up to a spectacular ending. The protagonist is Sydney Green. She is Brooklyn born and bred. She notices that the homes in her home are being sold in record numbers. The home owners suddenly leave without saying goodbye to anyone. Sydney thinks this is odd so she decides to do an investigation. As she investigates she comes across some disturbing information that leads her to believe there is some conspiracy involved. Of course, she starts doubting herself and wonders is she is just being paranoid. The truth is not revealed until the end.

Gender bending/identity crisis? Thriller + romance + historical fiction. It's informative, packed with historical context and information, but it felt like the pacing was odd and like it wasn't sure what it was trying to be.

I loved getting spooked out by this book! A great blend of social themes and horror. Cole has branched out successfully from romance.

I was so surprised by this book! Its very socially relevant and some pieces made it almost seem like it was primarily historical fiction.

I love the author's writing style. however, I did not see the book as a thriller.. It was perplexing in that it was not an easy read, but it was difficult to put down. It was not what I expected, but I was pleasantly surprised. Still trying to figure out why it was labeled as a thriller.

I'm a big fan of Alyssa Cole's romance novels, so of course, I was interested when I heard she was releasing a mystery suspense. This book is "scary" in the way that Jordan Peele's film, "Get Out" is scary... it could happen. It's that real kinda scary, which I happen to love!

Now that I've read Alyssa's romances and mysteries, I'm wondering what she CAN'T write. 😅

⭐⭐⭐⭐/ 5

An incredible thriller with plenty of atmospheric chills and real-life horror that had me tense. While this one took a little time to warm up, once it got going I couldn't put it down!

This book has been described as Rear Window meets Get Out, and boy does that description fit.

So, if you haven’t seen Rear Window or Get Out yet, you definitely should but it’s not necessary to enjoy When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole. In this novel Sydney notices that neighbors she has known her whole life are selling their houses and leaving with no notice. People who would never leave the neighborhood are disappearing. Gentrification is coming and no one is immune, including Sydney. Realtors and lawyers are continuously contacting her about her mother’s house and she is doing everything she can to hold on to her childhood home.

This is billed as a thriller, but horror vibes are front and center. Absolutely wild things keep happening, and as soon as you think it can’t get any weirder it does. The book starts out slow, but when it gets going, you won’t be able to put it down. It’s a quick read, almost too quick, because you want to know more about everything you find out in the epilogue. White supremacy, unintentional racism, and generational wealth play a part in this title. History lessons abound throughout the narrative as well. Sydney goes through heartbreak after heartbreak, and you wonder if she will survive til the end, and she is definitely a character to root for. This books will have you reexamining who you can trust and what the real motivations of people are in ambiguous situations. When No One is Watching will have you wondering if you are being gaslighted (another great movie btw – Gaslight) or if something nefarious is going on. Keep the lights on when you go to bed and stay alert after reading.

Also, there is a romance aspect that plays a part in the story (Is it really Alyssa Cole without romance?), but it’s not the majority of the story. Theo is a white neighbor who gets involved in Sydney’s life while his relationship is deteriorating. He also has secrets that may or may not have something to do with everything going on. You’ll get the story from his perspective in some spots which enhances the growing paranoia you’re feeling along with the read.

https://www.richlandlibrary.com/blog/2021-08-11/ownvoices-when-no-one-watching-review

Sydney Green is distressed to recognize the big changes taking place in her Brooklyn neighborhood along with the disappearance of several long term neighbors. Changes are happening all around her - new condos, stores, new people moving in. All the changes leave her with a feeling of unease and a lot of questions. Where are her neighbors who disappeared in the night? Did they move of their own accord? Or is something else going on? Sydney begins a walking community historical tour in a search for answers and soon finds herself joined by Theo, one of the newcomers to the neighborhood. Together, they explore the history of the area which leads to their growing paranoia and fear. Can they find answers before they disappear too?

Cole has penned a smart, engaging, well crafted story in When No One Is Watching. Her characterizations foster a feeling and eerily growing sense of unease. Sydney is suffering from emotional distress and is psychologically unstable. Theo appears to have hidden motives and secrets of his own. While they're both likable, they're also unreliable protagonists driven by their own prejudices and experiences exploring the weighty issue of gentrification of neighborhoods in cities everywhere. The overall aura of unease is what drives this story to the shocking ending. Recommended to fans of suspense.

This book was just OK for me. I went into it thinking it would be more of a psychological thriller, but it was more of a thriller about racial injustice and corporations. I also would make sure you're ok with some language before you read this book. I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Very engaging and a brutal yet honest look at us as a society in a creative way. I like the suspenseful nature of her writing, which can be turning the pages long after I should’ve gone to sleep. Would recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the movie Get Out

This is a good book. It's very well written in a straightforward no nonsense way. I think it's a love it or leave it for a lot of people. I thought it was pretty good.
In this story, Sydney Green, who has lived in Brooklyn her whole life, seems to be watching her entire town just change at the blink of an eye. Neighbors she's always known are leaving and For Sale signs and Condos are going up so fast she can't keep track.
One day, feeling absolutely frustrated she decides to follow along on a walking tour of her town and, although she isn't necessarily thrilled about the tour, she gets a bit of an assist by a new neighbor named Theo. An assist she really didn't care to have at the time.
Soon though, Sydney and Theo find themselves working together on a project and from their they start to see and realize that certain things seem quite amiss. However, if I tell you more I'll be walking right into spoiler territory so I'm going to stop right there but let you know that a whole lot happens after that.
This story is good. I think that the beginning sort of turned me off a bit. The main characters was just so hard to like for a little while. She was just so mad and even though there were definitely points were you were just as angry as she was at certain things, it was hard to get in there and feel like you could get into who and what she was, under the anger at everyone who wasn't like her. As the story went on though and things played out everything made so much more sense. I can't get into any details because of the whole spoiler things so I'm tiptoeing carefully.
I would definitely recommend this book. Oh, yes there is cursing in it. I noticed some 1 star reviews for swear words so up, if you don't want to read an adult book with swear words I guess give it a skip? Just don't go in and give it a 1 star because it might use 20 swear words throughout the book. It's okay. They don't bite but they are in here so please take note of that before you read the story. Otherwise I do recommend reading this one so you can see what you think of it.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the review copy of this book. I can't thank you enough and I greatly appreciate it! Thank you!

Alyssa Cole’s romances are bold, generous, and powerful, so I was not surprised to find this thriller had that same clear voice and captivating characters. I was not quite expected how terrified it would make me, though I probably should have! There is a ruthlessness here that chills down to the bone, as the story takes very real human experience of systemic racism and turns it into a waking nightmare.

This book should do for redlining what Peter Benchley did for sharks.

When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole is a stunning tale of gentrification that resonates heavily. Thought the tale is hyperbolic it is still a telling story.

I was gifted this galley as part of a book club and enjoyed participating in the conversations. It is definitely a book club-worthy book and I have since purchased a hard copy for myself and some family members so that we can read together and discuss