Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

When No One is Watching is told through two POV's. Sydney and Theo, two completely different voices. If you're a fan of the amazing movie "Get Out" then I highly recommend this.

I was very surprised to hear that this is Alyssa Cole's first suspense/thriller. This book was a whirlwind, in the best way possible. The plot had a little bit of everything. Suspense, violence, conspiracy, friendship, romance, steam all put together in a social justice thriller. The writing was fantastic, and the plot moved at the perfect pace, with an exciting and thrill-seeking ending.

This story got me thinking., and feeling. There was sadness in almost every page, because of the experiences the main character, Sydney, had to go through. Those scenes were hard to read, but important...because it exaggerates truth of what happens in the world. Theo was also an interesting character to read, and left you questioning things throughout the story.

Overall, an excellent book and I highly recommend it.

This book had me going in and out.. sometimes it grabbed me and sometimes I felt like it was dragging me along.. Sydney notices that neighbors keep moving, leaving and something is going on as a pharmaceutical company building draws more upper class people to her neighborhood. Good premise and story, but sometimes I felt that the pacing of the story was slow.

The ending wasn't what I was expecting, and there was a bit more violence, steaminess, and swearing than anticipated. Themes of racism mixed with suspense pulled me along, and there were things addressed that I don't recall learning about in school. I've never read this author before, but I may checkout future books.

I cannot believe that I have never heard of or read Alyssa Cole. I was hooked from page one. As A Black woman, I know these characters. I can see them and hear them. Ms. Cole is my new favorite author and I cannot wait to go back and read ALL of her books.

I blew through this story in one afternoon!
The beginning was a little slow for me but other than that this was a fantastic read! It was relevant to today’s society and the writing was fast paced. I enjoyed the plot development and felt like I was living in the Brooklyn neighborhood. This was a twisty tale with enough mystery to keep you turning the pages.
Did not see the crazy ending coming, but I think it would make for a good Netflix movie.

Thank you @Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ REVIEW
When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole is a very timely read that skillfully marries truth with fiction in a social justice thriller. Gentrification, conspiracy, disappearances, murder, romance...this book has it all and I was very much into it!
This is Cole’s first foray into the thriller genre and I think she rocked it! I feel like it would make an excellent book club pick because of how thought provoking it is! Lots of real issues are brought to light that are both terrifying and all too real for black communities.
Give this one a read!

Rear 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…

Thank you @netgalley @williammorrowbooks and @alyssacolelit for the #arc!

wow. this was fantastic! I feel like I read it at the perfect time.

It started a bit clunky for me, took a bit to get into and mesh with Sydney. I do feel like I 'got' Theo quicker, but then later on I did feel more connected to Sydney, like she was overall more fleshed out. Anywho.

Holy moly, this book did not go where I expected it to. Like I said, it took a bit to get into and I was telling myself to read one chapter at a time. But when it clicked for me, the one chapter turned into the rest of the book in one sitting. It became *very* unputdownable very quickly. It definitely doesn't read like a true thriller at first, but then it picks up speed and really blew my mind.

Though it started slow for me, it wasn't long before it picked up. I saw a few reviews mention the pacing is off and I think I might have felt the same a couple of times, but when I finished I did not feel that way, because I was able to look at the book as a whole. It is slow in the beginning with a lot happening in the end, but I thought it worked really well, actually building suspense. With the cast of characters, the developing relationship between Sydney and Theo, the other things the characters are going through, the suspense build up was kind of sneaky and felt more thrilling. I dig it.

I also really appreciated all the history. I felt like I was learning a lot. I don't know if other people will feel the same, I obviously didn't learn any American history in school but I am trying to learn as much as I can now that I live here. Parts of the present day were ridiculously hard to read and it made me feel so sad and sick, so I can't even imagine how hard it would be to live with that disgusting behaviour day in and day out. I also really felt and related to Sydney and her divorce.

I thought this was a fantastic, well written, timely, thought provoking book. I kind of wish I hadn't read it yet because I think it would make an amazing book club book, but I couldn't resist. I might still recommend it to book club when it publishes.

What an amazing book. I was expecting a murder mystery early on, but there were no bodies. Instead, the book appeared to be more of a character-driven fiction read. Well, I was right and wrong. There were eventually bodies aplenty with the two main characters carrying me forward at a break-neck pace.

Set in Brooklyn, NY in what is called an emerging neighborhood, the story is told from the points of view of Sydney, a long-time resident and Theo, who has just bought property there with his girlfriend. Theo wants to get to know his neighbors and fit in; Sydney doesn't trust him or any of the new people. The long-time residents plan a block party to boost community pride and Theo and Sydney are thrown together in an effort to write a history of the neighborhood for the party. As the two dig deeper into what is happening, it appears that the changes in the neighborhood are linked to a large pharmaceutical company that is planning to open a facility in the area. It also becomes evident that Sydney herself is in danger of losing her home to the real estate developers. What follows is the uneasy bond between Sydney and Theo in their attempt to unravel a possible conspiracy and investigate the sudden disappearance of some neighbors.

This is an excellently written book with tight plotting and suspense. There are scenes toward the end that are hard to read, but given the current political climate are not beyond the realm of belief. I especially liked the way the author sustained the suspense before revealing the secrets Sydney and Theo were keeping and the way their trust in one another was slow to build.

Thank you NetGalley, William Morrow publishing and Alyssa Cole for giving me the opportunity to receive an advance copy of this book in exchange for this review. This is an honest review of this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review. I loved this so much. It feels all too real right now. Theo has just moved in next to Sydney in a mostly black neighborhood in Brooklyn. While they plan a walking tour together, their neighbors start disappearing and weird things begin to happen. This definitely reminded me of the movie Get Out, and the idea of gentrification became a lot more sinister to me. So many good things to say about this one.

The pacing here was so strange. There were times I thought there must have been multiple authors alternating chapters (and that maybe they hadn't read the others' preceding work). Also, the bad guys were hopelessly cheesy and inept psychopaths, which was weird.

Unlawful police shootings, the negative effects of gentrification on communities of color, and false arrests are all well documented phenomenon. Now, imagine if all of these injustices (and more) were happening all at once in the same neighborhood. This is the plot of When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole and it is not a very far-fetched plot. While I thought the writing was rushed, I did like the characters. The backstories of the two protagonists were well developed and the dialogue was genuine and often very funny. The plot raced along with enough twists and turns to keep me guessing what was going to happen next. The ending left a number of questions unanswered and seemed to be setting up a possible series. Recommended for readers looking for thrillers with plots pulled from current headlines. Also recommended for readers looking for an authentic and multifaceted representation of the black middle class.

When No One Is Watching, by Alyssa Cole is an on the edge of your seat novel! It has a little something for everyone. There's history, romance, thriller, and action, all packed into one super story. The writing was great as was the content. I highly recommend this work. It will leave you breathless..

When No One is Watching feels very much in the vein of "Get Out", where main character Sydney notices that neighbors keep leaving or bad things keep happening to them as a pharmaceutical company's deal to build in the area draws more upper class white people into her traditionally Black Brooklyn neighborhood. Sydney is back in Gifford Place after getting a divorce from her emotionally abusive husband and she is angry at the world. This makes the start of the book a little hard for me to get into, because she's already at a point where anyone she hasn't known her whole life is out to make her miserable. Except for as the book goes along it increasingly feels like she's not wrong, and that's how it builds into an increasingly disturbing culmination. Sydney's paranoia means that she's suspicious of her best friend Drea who's gone missing, and new neighbor Theo who may or may not have ulterior motives. There's points where the pacing feels a little slow, but overall this a suspense/thriller novel that could make anyone who isn't rich, powerful or have the right connections feel more than a little bit uneasy about just how secure they really are.

Alyssa Cole's first stand-alone thriller was a suspenseful tale that kept me on the edge of my seat from the first page to the last. It is a sinister story of gentrification in a Brooklyn neighborhood that reminded me of the movie "Get Out." The story is told in alternating perspectives. One of the narrators is Sydney, whose family has lived in this neighborhood for ages. She is troubled by the changes she sees and wonders why so many long-time residents are selling their homes and businesses, seemingly out of the blue. Between the neighborhood changes and her own personal woes (hints of financial stress, medical bills, an ill mother, and past troubles abound), Sydney is very much a woman on the edge. The other narrator is her new neighbor across the street, Theo. Theo and his girlfriend bought the brownstone across from Sydney after going on a neighborhood tour that Sydney also decided to check out. Sydney is so agitated by the white-washed history presented on the tour that she decides to create a neighborhood tour of her own. Little does she realize how much this project will shed light on the neighborhood's present.

At first, Sydney and Theo only observe one another through their windows, but they eventually meet in person and join forces to uncover the truth about the neighborhood takeover. Sydney reluctantly agrees to let Theo assist her with research for the neighborhood tour after her first research assistant choice disappears. The reader is not quite sure of either characters' motivations and they both give off an unreliable narrator vibe, which adds to the suspense.

The tension is palpable from the first chapter and grows in intensity as the novel progresses. Other reviews I've read have mentioned the completely wild ending and I would have to agree it is one of the wilder endings I've read in some time. I really thought the story was going in another direction once I reached those climatic final scenes and was expecting the ending to tie into an element in Sydney's background that is hinted at early on and eventually revealed. I'm glad it didn't because I think that would have made the novel feel less unexpected. The climax felt cinematic and not entirely realistic (at least, I hope it's not an entirely realistic ending because YIKES!), but it was still a fun read and did fit with how the plot progressed.

Like the element in Sydney's background that I thought might factor into the ending, I felt like some of Theo's backstory didn't tie in as much as I was expecting. Neither of their backstories elements detracted from the story, but I wondered if they were needed. I felt like they could have been cut and it would not have hurt the plot development.

I really enjoyed the historical details about Brooklyn that were woven into the story. They were fascinating and aided the present-day plot. The writing was gripping and I could not read this suspenseful thriller fast enough. In addition, I think this would make for an interesting book club pick as there are many issues raised that would make for a lively discussion.

This review is based on an Advanced Reader Edition ebook I received on NetGalley from William Morrow, courtesy of the Scene of the Crime Early Read program. Many thanks for the early opportunity to read this suspense-filled thriller!

Tense chillingI was completely drawn in to the story .The gentrification of the neighborhood the tension the changing faces.So well written a page turner .highly recommend.#netgalley#harpercollins

When No One Is Watching takes on the ongoing problem of a changing neighborhood.
With gentrification the locals get pushed out and the new blood destroy the old network of life. But in this telling, there is more evil involved than just the normal racism.
It is a good read.

This book hits close to home and plays out as something all too real. It feels like something plucked out of a movie but playing in real life. A must read

Sydney is a young black woman who recently moved back to her childhood home in Brooklyn. She loves her historic neighborhood, her friendly neighbors and local shops but things are slowly changing. Neighbors disappear and wealthy white people are moving in and mom and pop stores are replaced by more commercial stores. Does the gentrification have something sinister behind it? Along with a new white neighbor Theo, they discover what's happening to their neighborhood. I like how some history was included to show how even though slaves were freed, people at times implemented ways to keep them down.

I totally enjoyed this book. Not sure how to classify, as it crosses several genres for me, thriller, horror, and even a little scifi. Some great twists, and great pacing. Characters you care about.

Wow! I wasn’t sure this was a thriller at the beginning but it slowly builds without you being aware until you’re caught up in the story and trying to decide what is real and what is perceived.