Book description sounded great, but read over 80 pages and I found nothing psychological or thrilling about this book.

DNF - Tried and couldn't get into this one. Characters were not sympathetic and the plot was predictable. I like a good story of the paranormal, but this one was unappealing.

The horror element of this book really lies in how true to life it is. What is happening in this book is not far off from what really happens every day as Black and brown people are forced from their communities. This book also did have some big twists and turns and I liked that it had multiple viewpoints- it encouraged me to keep reading quickly to find out what was happening to Sydney and Theo. This was a book that I definitely will be thinking about for a while.

This book was so timely, I couldn’t put it down! It was both claustrophobic yet left so many spaces for interpretation and reflection. Very well written!

Sydney Green returns to her beloved family home in Brooklyn to care for her ailing mother and regroup from a nasty divorce. Instead of finding comfort in her Gifford Place brownstone, Sydney is unsettled by the aggressive gentrification of the neighborhood and its changing demographics. Plans for a major pharmaceutical corporate headquarters blocks away have motivated greedy realtors to snap up the homes of Sydney's neighbors, who seem to be disappearing overnight. Are the old-timers moving on to better circumstances or is something more ominous afoot?

With the help of an unlikely ally, her new neighbor Theo, Sydney is determined to get to the bottom of the mysterious activity on Gifford Place. But can she trust Theo, whom she has only known for a matter of days and has benefitted from the gentrification?

When No One is Watching is an engaging novel, filled with twists and turns and unexpected developments. It is also a sobering commentary on gentrification from the perspective of those being pushed out of their homes and the upheaval and mistrust that follow.

This. Was. Great. And everyone should read it. It reminded me a bit of Cabin in the Woods in that there’s a turning point where you have to buckle up for the rest of the ride. I loved it.

Sydney Green has lived in Brooklyn for most of her life, but as gentrification changes her neighborhood (Gifford Place), she starts to question whether something sinister is going on around her. Her lifelong neighbors are disappearing, new condos are popping up, and she keeps getting pressured to sell her mother’s property. After overhearing a walking tour of her neighborhood that erased the area’s history, she decides to dig a little deeper and start her own walking tour. She eventually recruits Theo, her mysterious new neighbor. Theo moved into the neighborhood with his rich and racist girlfriend, Kim. As Sydney and Theo work together, they begin to realize that something sinister is going on in Gifford Place.

This is the first Alyssa Cole book I’ve read. Although she typically writes romance, I still think it was a good first thriller. It’s obvious that she knows how to write characters with personality and dimension. I felt conflicted about the romance featured in the book because I didn’t know if I could fully trust either character involved, but that was the point. I agree with other reviewers that much of the book feels like a rom-com, but that only added to the tension I felt throughout the reading experience. I kept wondering what would go wrong as the characters grew closer and closer together. Centering the story around gentrification was also a smart move. Watching the events unfold felt unsettling and frustrating.

My main complaint is that the pacing was a little off. Most of the book is written at a slower pace, which I enjoyed. It gave me time to get to know the characters and speculate about their inner conflicts. The last 20-25% was a little too fast compared to the rest of the book, so the ending felt rushed. It was also pretty easy to figure out who was behind some of the shadier things happening behind the scenes at Gifford Place.

I absolutely want to read more books by Alyssa Cole.

If there’s never been a more timely thriller, this is it. That being said, this was a different kind of thriller. A bit of a slow burn but with building chill and creepiness. Centers around neighborhood gentrification and systemic racism particularly in Brooklyn. Shines a light on these topics and I’d like to learn more after reading. Had the same feel as the movie Get Out.

This book wasn't bad but wasn't what I was expecting. It didn't have that edge of your seat thrill that I was looking for. I also that think combining the history aspect while attempting to thrill the reader was a bad combo. It could have been better if only one or the other had been chosen.

Holy cow, that was one hell of a roller-coaster!
This book does start off a little slow, but once it gets going, it really gets going. The slow beginning actually makes a lot of sense having gotten to the end. When I compare this book to a roller-coaster, it's not just because it's a wild ride. It builds in the beginning of the book, giving you just enough information about the main character's backgrounds and the slightly weird stuff going on in their neighborhood, there's just a hint of foreshadowing that something sinister is happening. Those hints build and build as more is revealed, making the reader wonder if things are just a normal kind of sinister (regular old gentrification and racist bs) or if there's even worse hiding behind that. Stuff keeps happening that makes you start to question your own sanity, let alone Sydney's.
And then the reveals start coming. That's the part where you reach the top of the climb and then start shooting down through the rest of the ride. And that ride was even wilder than what I had imagined (and I have a pretty wild imagination in my own right.) And so, so good!
So if you'd like a taut, creepy thriller that also tackles social issues, definitely check out When No One Was Watching.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Hailed as Rear Window meets Get Out, Cole's thriller offers readers insight into many of America's issues today, including gentrification, racial injustice, and so much more. Cole is a talented writer, and there are parts of this book that work very well, especially when she details the (often petty) interactions between folks both new and old to the neighborhood. Also notable is the fact that the novel is grounded very much in the present but offers readers plenty of history, too. These historical details help to enrich the story and provide context for readers. The novel suffers a bit in its pacing, trying to shove too much into the last quarter, which makes the ending feel rushed. As a result, the book's final moments have less of an impact than they could.

Still, a remarkable thriller that's perfect for the times we live in.

This book was clearly not for me. I didn't like the characters which always affects my enjoyment of a book. The history parts were fascinating. An entire book on that would have been better for me. The plot seemed convoluted, especially at the end when all the loose ends got tied together. If it wasn't a book club read I wouldn't have finished.

People are disappearing from Sydney Green's block, and she wants to know why. Alyssa Cole brings us a genre-bending book with When No One Is Watching, and this is easily one of my favorite books I've read in a long time. The characters come alive off the page and this book had me on the edge of my seat wondering what could possibly happen next. This book is perfect for fans of Get Out or looking for a mystery that will actually keep you guessing. Sure to give readers chills, When No One is Watching is a book that is not to be missed.

What a thriller. I never read anything quite like this and it was creepy from start to finish. Covering such important themes, I also learned a lot between these pages. I can't wait to read any thriller that Alyssa Cole writes in the future.

I've been recommending this book all over! I feel like it really speaks to the current moment. There are a lot of layers to this book. I thought the writing was fantastic and the story moved at exactly the right pace for me. I wouldn't say it *didn't* go off the rails a bit, but I still appreciated the twists and turns!

WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING by Alyssa Cole is frighteningly (and frustratingly) realistic in the sense of gentrification. You don't realize it's happening in your city, town, or block until it's happened. And then it's too late.

I feel like When No One Is Watching couldn’t decide what type of book it really is. Is it a thriller? Is it a romance? Is it social commentary? The story centers on Sydney who has come home to the neighborhood where she grew up. Her mother is extremely ill and has moved to a care facility. Sydney seems lost. She is unhappy with the gentrification of her neighborhood and actively dislikes people who are now neighbors. The first part of the book moved slowly for me. It did pick up some in the middle. I’m not sorry I read the book but it didn’t encourage me to see if the author has written more books.

I really wanted to love When No One Is Watching. The cover is gorgeous and the story sounded like a great thriller. Unfortunately, I had a difficult time getting into it and it really wasn't a thriller. I trudged through it and was disappointed by the ending. Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this one was a bit of a disappointment. It was tough to power through, but I finished it. I wish I could have loved it.

This was a bit uneven—it started out hitting many of the beats of a romance/family drama, hinted at a couple of not-very-mysterious mysteries, but then completely switched gears about 3/4 of the way through to suspense/action thriller. I'm very sympathetic to the simplicity of the idea of societal evils being caused by a deliberate conspiracy, and the catharsis of the somewhat direct (and violent) solutions thereof in this book. Wouldn't it be nice if in real life, racism and gentrification were much less systemic and society-encompassing problems and instead had such specific, localized villains?