Alone with her two young children in an isolated New England farmhouse, a blizzard raging outside, a mother awakes to the sound of footsteps on the stairs. There is someone in the house.

So begins Nightwatching, the debut novel by Tracy Sierra, grabbing the reader by the throat and not letting go for the first 200 pages. Sierra takes a mother's worst nightmare - something threatening her child - and deftly uses it to build unbearable, unrelenting tension and palpable fear.

As she struggles not to let her son and daughter see her terror and tries desperately to figure out a way to keep them safe, the mother (unnamed, as all the characters are) is haunted by memories of all the times she felt helpless as a girl and then a woman. She is tormented by the voices of her husband and father-in-law, deriding her for thinking that she can be anything other than weak and making her question - like so many women and girls before her - what she did to make this man turn his rage on her. It is this powerful characterisation which elevates Nightwatching above many thrillers. Everything the mother thinks and does is informed by her specific past experiences and relationships; she is not just a typical final girl but a woman who has known fear and must conquer it to protect her children. 'The Corner', as the mother and her children refer to the intruder, becomes a symbol of all the fear she has faced and been cowed by.

The house in which most of the action takes place is a powerful motif, and I really liked how it represented different things to different people. To those outside of the family, it is evocative of fear, isolation and pain, while to the mother it symbolises protection and independence - an idea which the author cleverly plays with throughout the story.

The mother's experience may be an extreme example, but her story highlights the differences in how men and women walk through the world, as well as illustrating how monstrous men take many forms - from fairy tale-esque villainy to the everyday antipathy which erodes a woman's self-worth. As the story unfolds and other perspectives come into play, the reader begins to doubt the mother's account and she even begins to mistrust herself. After all, isn't the most likely scenario that a disturbed woman made the whole thing up?

The flip side of this narrative is an exploration of the different ways in which the strength of women manifests: enduring; nurturing; protecting. This is told through the mother's story but also those of her own mother and mother in law, as well as the voice of her steely southern grandmother, which counters the insidious ones that make the mother question herself.

A truly impressive debut, Nightwatching is a taut, compelling thriller with a surprisingly empowering core.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin General UK for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Oh My Gosh!!!!!! This book was SO good. It was so creepy! I had to stop reading it in the evenings, I was constantly checking the children. It’s made me contemplate what I would do in the same situation. This was everything I want from a thriller and more! I was on the edge of my seat and practically held my breath for the whole book! Thank you so much for this e arc! I have been recommending it to everyone and will continue to do so!

One of THE best books ever. Very tense, very scary. I kept having to give myself a break as it was so realistic. Cannot wait for the next book by this writer. Brilliant.

No joke this scared the living daylights out of me (in a really good thriller kind of way!). It’s the middle of the night, in the middle of a snowstorm, in the middle of nowhere, and there’s a man in the house. You grab the kids and HIDE. It’s exactly as tense and edge of your seat as you’d imagine this book would be. The way it’s written in second person with no names adds to the creepy vibe too.

I don’t want to spoil anything but know I was so tense my eyes involuntarily would skip down the page to see what happened next. I had to force myself to slow down and take it all in. Four stars instead of five because I kind of saw what was coming as the book went on, but don’t let that put you off. Read this book!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

The plot of the book is exceptionally clever and original, keeping readers on the edge of their seats as they navigate through unexpected twists and turns. It challenges the reader's perceptions at every corner, leaving them both intrigued and mesmerised. The author's ability to create a claustrophobic atmosphere is remarkable, as tension and fear effectively seep through the pages, making it hard to put the book down. A meticulously crafted narrative immerses readers in a world where every detail matters and every sentence holds weight. This captivating storytelling style ensures that the reading experience is not only enjoyable but also thought-provoking. It is a book that will stay with you long after you've finished reading it, leaving you wanting more from this talented author

I cannot express how anxious I was during the first 45% of this book! I started reading it during the night and I had to put it down after the second page… 😅
The story was intense, fast-paced - but there were some parts where I would have liked/needed more details.
I loved the psychological aspect: the inner monologues/battles, the doubts everyone had about the break-in… it was infuriating (even though I had some doubts, too 🙄).
All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book, especially the second half (as I was scared as hell during the first one).
4.5 ⭐️ rounded down.

This is one of those stories that I dread ever happening to me. Someone in your house at night while you are in bed.
The book is told through the mother’s eyes, she has no name. After putting her son back to bed when he awakes in the middle of the night, she is just settling back to sleep when she hears a noise. Alone in the house with her children, she thinks at first that it is the old house setting, but then she hears it again and it is definitely a step on the stairs. Quietly she wakes the children and takes them to a little room hidden behind a wall. It doesn’t take long for the intruder to realise they all are hiding and he tries cajoling them to come out. Peeking through a crack in the door she sees his face, she knows what he wants now.
It’s a terrifying story and just makes you empathise with her when the police dont take her seriously. Nothing was taken, no forced entry, no footprints. She also has to deal with the father in law, a truly unlikeable character.

#Nightwatching. #NetGalley

Nightwatching is a gripping tale of an ordinary mother of two who wakes in the dead of night to find herself plunged into a chilling nightmare of vulnerability, isolation, and terror. If you enjoy a good scare—a story that’s part ghostly, part psychological thriller, and wholly unsettling—this one’s for you.

I made the mistake of starting it late in the evening, and from the very first chapter, it seized me with waves of fear. By the time I reached the final page, it was the early hours of the morning, but I simply couldn’t stop reading. I had to know if... well, I’ll leave that for you to discover.

The initial unease and anxiety I felt in the opening chapter soon gave way to outright dread by the second, and by the third, my heart was racing in sync with the protagonist’s. I was right there with her—hiding, waiting, listening. Shhh!

The clever use of flashbacks and backstory kept me off balance, introducing potential red herrings and making me second-guess everything. It masterfully maintained the suspense, keeping me guessing right up until the last twist.

Thrilling, chilling, and utterly compelling. Highly recommended for those brave enough to step into the shadows.

This is a thriller that gripped me from start. I fel a lot of emotions reading this book, and it was hard to put down. I was mad at the characters because the gas lighting is severe. I felt thrill and suspense along the way. Surprised by the twists and turns the plot took. A very nice read that I recommend to everyone who loves a good thriller. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this free eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was really entertaining. Dark and twisting and full of suspense.
I loved it and I probably won’t be able to get a good nights sleep for a while!

NightWatching was a tense and deftly plotted book that preys on our darkest fears. During reading I veered between terror at the events unfolding in front of me to shock that a mother could manipulate events so, to disgust that we can live in a society that makes it so easy for such events to take place.
The story opens with a dramatic scenario. A mother is awake, late at night, in her home where she is snowed-in with her two young children. She hears a tread on the stair and slowly realises that this is not someone who should be there.
My heart was pounding as I read the description of her waking her small children and running through her choices, before hiding. I dread to think how I would react in such a situation, so I’m glad I was reading this bit in the daytime!The chapters devoted to the moments of this break-in were gripping. The menace imbued in the character they refer to as The Corner was palpable, and the description of our character when she appears on the doorstep of one of her neighbours certainly made it clear how dangerous this was.
At this point, things took a very strange turn.
The police help her rescue the children, she is whisked to hospital and they are taken into the care of their grandfather. I imagined things would then chronicle the capturing of the intruder. Unfortunately, there is no sign of an intruder. There are anomalies in her account of events and the physical evidence. And the background of the family and their dynamics unfairly influences the way our main character and her story is received.
While I didn’t exactly enjoy this part during reading, as I drew towards the end of the book I realised just how clever it was. From the moment our character returns home and is vainly trying to organise herself and make sense of events, we’re encouraged to doubt her and to expect the worst. But this, chillingly, showed there can always be worse!

Do not read this book alone! True I’m a bit of a scaredy cat, but I swear I have never had a book make me physically jump before! It gets into the action immediately when a mother, alone in a big spooky house with her two children in a snowstorm spots an intruder. From here the next part of the story had me having to remind myself to breathe. I was fearful, placing myself if her situation and asking what would I do? And then scaring myself imagining myself in that situation! It’s a story that frightened me, but also had me feeling full of rage as the story continued to unfold. A cracking read!

Wow this freaked me out!!!
It was so good, it had me on edge, panicked and jumpy - just what I hoped for.
Not sure I'll sleep tonight after finishing it.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Viking publisher and NetGalley for my free digital copy of this book in return for an honest review. Honestly - I just couldn’t stop reading it, finished in two days and thoroughly enjoyed it. I found it to be fast moving overall, and very tense even in the slower moving parts. I like that there were a few different mysteries throughout, such as why is the main character a single Mum? The plot quite skilfully hopped between different times of her life, although occasionally I felt a little lost with it. I felt furious on behalf of the mother at times, sad for her when she made some mistakes, and pleased when she made some progress. I think the story felt particularly scary because it was believable, especially when there are children having nightmares etc.
Really well told, thrilling, anxiety provoking, a really good read. I highly recommend .

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC to review!

2 stars!!! It was almost a 3.5!

I for one liked how this started right off the bat, you don't have time to get invested into the story YOU'RE JUST IN IT FROM THE GET GO. And to be honest, I was loving it. It got my attention, gripped my interest to see what would be going down and how she would survive with her kids.

But what really killed off the tension that the first chapters would build up with her finding a place her for her and her kids was the flashbacks. Sadly any tension I had built up while reading would just fall and disappear completely and then when we'd come back to the present it would build up again but then WHAM a flashback! And it's gone.

The gaslighting in this had me wanting to throw something, both by herself and the police (which did seem really far fetched a little but hey i was getting angry as a reader so I guess it worked?)

I was so hyped for this but sadly the flashbacks really did kill my enjoyment and getting more invested in the story and what was going to happen.

Nightwatching starts with a bang -a woman's peaceful nighttime routine putting her children to bed is interrupted by a home invasion. The book is essentially split into two parts: the home invasion and the aftermath. Soon we learn the woman is a widow suffering from night terrors; strangely, the assailant's voice sounds exactly like the man in her nightmares. The police believe she might be imagining things so we're left to wonder: is she an unreliable narrator? what horrors does her mind truly hide?

As I was reading this book, I couldn't believe that 1- this is a debut novel and 2- how realistic the whole thing is.

To say I loved Nightwatching is an undestatement. This book is super scary and suspenseful, but can also be read as social commentary.

Finally, this book is very different to what's out there. Having read hundreds of books in this genre, I found this very refreshing! The story is told in 3rd person. and there are no names!! This adds a lot to them mystery.

I haven't stopped talking about this book ever since I read it!

The definition of the up-all-night thriller. Heartpounding and unputdownable. A masterclass in how to write an unreliable narrator.

When I started reading this one I thought how in the world is this going to be this long? It starts right off with the mom seeing a guy who has broken into their house in the middle of the night. They are out in the country, no neighbors super close, it is a snowstorm with lots of snow already on the ground and not much chance for her to fight him off or escape by car (most of her weapons are on the other side of him as is the car). So I was really curious where this would go to make this a full length book. Well it didn't go as I expected and I enjoyed that. There were a lot of flashbacks, some added to the story, some not as much. I found the second half more interesting as I liked the type of story it was.

Now even though I enjoyed the story the writing was just okay. Like I said there were flashbacks that didn't seem to add anything, there was a lot of the main characters thinking things to herself which was alright, it was okay. The story itself I enjoyed enough to keep reading even though the writing wasn't amazing. And I would definitely be interested in reading more from the author.

A mother and her two children are grieving the loss of their husband and father who died in a tragic accident in the home.
One night when the children are in bed, the mother hears a noise that isn't part of the usual household nightly sounds, so she goes to investigate.
She soon realises that they have an intruder, and that her choices are limited. Should she hide, run or fight for her life?
What can I say? This is a real page turner! An edge of your seat, cat and mouse thriller, not to be read on your own, amd I enjoyed every page.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone whol loves this genre, and I will be on the lookout for other books by this author.

The premise and the initial part of the book where a mother is trying to protect her children by hiding under the stairs from an intruder is claustrophobic and terrifying. However for me, the book went downhill thereafter, possibly because it’s written in the third person with no names and this gives it an impersonal touch. The flashbacks meant that the tension was lost in the middle of the book. Although the early chapters will stay with me, I’m afraid the rest, for me, wasn’t memorable.

Thank you to Tracy Sierra, Penguin Books and Netgalley for my advance copy.