I enjoyed this but found it a bit slow in places, the premise drew me in but I just don't think it lived up to the hype. Still an enjoyable read

Oh my God! What a Book!

I assumed at first glance that this book would be a straightforward thriller about an intruder in a house, but it was just so much more.

The un-named lead character was so relatable and so multi-faceted. It was great to read something involving Vitiligo also, as it's not spoken about much in places that I see / watch.

This book had me on the edge of my seat throughout, heart beating fast and dying to read more. Admittedly, it also scared the daylights out of me reading alone in the house.

I devoured the ending of the book. It was fantastic! I cannot recommend this book enough.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for the ARC of this book.

Nightwatching has a gripping plot and is well-written, but personally I found the constant tension drawn out, unenjoyable and DNF. This is a personal view that I'm sure many others will disagree with - there wasn't enough light and shade for me.

This book held my attention from the start and even though it moved slowly in places and I was willing the author to up the pace, it still had me gripped. I switched from being sure of knowing what was happening and then doubting my judgement. Was there really a murderous man in the house stalking them intent on killing them or was she actually delusional and becoming a danger to herself and her own children? Did her husband actually die accidentally or was he pushed by either her or the mysterious Corner?
It was obvious the police did not believe her, but was she telling the truth? It was very neatly wrapped up in the end. A gripping story!

This is just superb in so many ways. For me, it is a literary thriller - one that did (sorry, cliche, I know!) keep me on the edge of my seat/reading into the small hours. It's gripping. It's clever. It does things that other, similar novels don't do.

Here, we are introduced to a mother (unnamed, throughout) and her two children. They are living in their remote New England home and there is a blizzard outside. The mother wakes to comfort one of her children in the middle of the night and sees a man coming up the stairs. What happens next is scary, creepy, somewhat implausible but, above all, very original.

'Nightwatching' sees the mother and her children hiding in the secret place - one is always thinking what is the intruder going to do next? What if he sets the house alight? Maybe they'll never get out, or perhaps triumph will overcome adversity and the best wo(man) will win. This is claustrophobic and harrowing. From the outset, I thought the whole story would take place in the hidden place, perhaps akin to Emma Donoghue's 'Room', but it changes direction more than once - and writing more about this would spoil it for readers.

The anonymous nature of the characters and the specific place adds to the isolation of 'Nightwatching'. Yes, okay, it is hard to imagine that all of this would take place - but the way Sierra switches what readers feel (from believing the woman, to questioning her, to being on her side again) is extremely clever. Here, I was taken on a journey that was nail-biting but also one that made want to know the truth. Read this and you'll see what I mean.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a review..

I hadn’t heard much about this book, nor the author, before reading the blurb on NG which peaked my interest.

I have to say, I found this book captivating. Giving no spoilers, I had no idea a book where a lot of chapters take place in one location could be so enthralling. It’s such a good story, the writing is fabulous and I found myself on such a rollercoaster with the protagonist and what she thought was happening, second guessing alongside her. I loved this!

Nightwatching is a compelling, fast-paced read from the very start. The passages and settings are so precise and descriptive that I was filled with terror for days while reading this novel.
It is a clever story that goes full circle and puts readers through many doubts and feelings. The second quarter of the book gets a little slower, with a lot of reminiscences about the past, but it picks back up quickly and efficiently, with a couple of twists along the way. All of them are delivered quickly and punchily, in the same fashion that defines the writing style throughout.
A very engaging read that chilled me to the bone!
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Pamela Dornan, who kindly shared an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

After reading the reviews I was really looking forward to this book, however it completely failed to live up to premise for me. The first part of the book dragged for me and I did not get the sense of 'dread' that everyone was referring to. It also irritated me that the author did not name her characters. I am afraid that I gave up and did not finish this. Not for me I am afraid.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for the advance copy of this book.

TRACY SIERRA – NIGHTWATCHING *****

I have to admit. For the first hour, I became agnostic towards her constant internal feelings, this obsessive, possibly deranged, woman. Then I somehow slotted into her wavelength, her own “am I making this up, no I’m sure I’m not”.

There was someone in the house.

A chilling opening made worse by this being the premise of the story. A recently bereaved mother in a haunted house trying to protect her children from a man she thinks she has seen before. Or has she? And why does her young daughter recognise his voice?

Don’t want to spoil the plot, so won’t say any more, other than I couldn’t put it down. This is a tense and brilliant book about a vulnerable mother not being believed by anyone, trying to protect her children when family and police and neighbours think she’s making everything up. Is she? Isn’t she? And why, when she answers questions asked by the police, do they disprove everything she believes is fact?

Why indeed?

Chilling and tense from the outset, this is not one for the fainthearted! Creepy footsteps chill a woman, a mother alone at home at night. She has just got her children to bed and is terrified when she hears the noise of someone in the house. The story messes with her mind and reality and the tension build until you are unsure what is real, but it is definitely a terrifying nightmare.

A mother alone at home with her children. It's dark and there's a blizzard outside. She hears a noise. Someone is in the house. Her first thought is naturally to protect hide and protect her young children. You can imagine the tension that is ever present as the intruder circles ever nearer to their claustrophobic hiding place. Will he find them? Will she be believed should she live to tell the tale?
Tracy Sierra gives us a blanket-clutching plot line that runs from beginning to end. A gripping drama, not for the faint-hearted, delivered at a pace that matches the heart rate of the terrified participants. Scary!!

A widowed mother and her two children are home alone in their old house. It is a cold outside and a blizzard is raging. When they hear a noise, there is an intruder in the house, so he takes her kids and hides in the secret room in the back of the fireplace. She has forgot her phone so there is no way to contact anyone. She hears the intruder going through the house trying to find them. Tautening them as he goes. The mother thinks that she recognises the voice of the intruder. The man who works in the sandwich shop.
Thank you, Penguin, for a copy of Night watching by Tracy Sierra. I saw some good reviews for this. So, I thought I would give it a read. I must be one of the minorities here by I found the first part of the story involving them hiding the secret room quite annoying. I was so invested in the storyline and wanted to know what happens next and the story then reveals unnecessary backstory that I lost the connection. I didn’t like any of the characters. Even the Police was not reassuring. I struggled through out this book that I couldn’t finished it. 2 stars from me.

Oh my goodness. This book. From the very first page I literally could not put it down and yet dreaded picking it back up again, for fear of what was still to come. This book was so suspenseful, I literally held my breath the entire time I was reading, and I’m sure my blood pressure was through the roof! I was right there with the mother and her two children in that house experiencing everything right along with them, and I will now read every single thing this author ever writes without hesitation. I’m blown away to think this is a debut novel. It was equal parts brilliant and absolutely horrendous and I cannot recommend it enough. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I will be buying this one for my bookshelf.

'I know that voice. The man in the corner. From my dreams'.

Night has fallen and as a blizzard screams outside, only muffled silence can be heard after the mother puts her son back to bed. Until, the distinctive creak of the stairs. The creak of somebody coming up them, but no, it's an old house and there's a storm, the voice of doubt tells her. Until she sees the shadow of a large man holding a weapon, wondering which room to enter. 'In the gripping swirl of her animal frenzy, adrenaline, and helplessness, she remembers the hidden place'.

'Nightwatching' kicks off with terror. The syncopated, palpitations are visceral as the schematic mind of the mother calculates every noise and movement of the house and the monster within it. Hidden in a long-lost alcove, she waits with her children and lives out the nightmare. All the while the corrosive thoughts of self-doubt eat away at her resolve and ability to take action. As we listen to her innermost thoughts, we also learn more about her life leading up to this moment, and just how fragile her state of mind is. What do you do when no one believes you?

I enjoyed this thriller and it definitely kept up the intensity, although I would have enjoyed more pace at times. You will read it cover to cover because nothing seems completely real and so you're just not sure how it could possibly end!

I was sent a physical copy by the publishers so I shall read that and post my review to all relevant book sites and my accounts

A mum is at home with her two kids in an old house out in the woods, there's a blizzard, she's hunkered down for the weekend knowing she won't be able to go anywhere for a couple of days. She wakes up to a figure standing in her hallway in the middle of the night. What ensues is a fight for survival - not for the faint hearted.

Oh my goodness, I think I need a doctor after reading this book - heart palpitations, cold sweats, jumpiness; what a ride! I went into the book thinking 'oh my goodness, the first chapter is a little close to the bone, but it's ok, it'll just be this chapter'. It wasn't. It induced guttural feelings and empathy, I felt like I was there, in that situation and thinking - what would I do?

The flashbacks to before the home invasion didn't even provide me with respite, if I wasn't scared, I was infuriated. The casual misogyny around every corner was so believable, because that is how the world is. I could relate to the doubt, the lack of support, the dismissal. I think most women have experienced it at some time in their lives and Nightwatching called it out loud and clear.

I was exhausted after reading and the book will stay with me for a long time, if not forever.

The author tackled this book in a very different manner! It could be described as creative, unsettling and disturbing! I would give it 3.5 but round it up to 4 on the basis that the author was so inventive in so many ways.

The plot largely evolved through the main characters thinking processes. It must have been very tricky to do that. A brave and clever approach by the Tracy Sierra.

Is there a dangerous malevolent intruder or is it simply her imagination/ fragile mental state? This made it quite realistic! The reader will wonder too!

The various family relationships highlighted the ongoing, potentially detrimental effect on the main characters well-being! Big sympathy there! Many people will relate to that. The police!! Very much an insight into human frailty there too!

The book is worth reading - challenging!

It's literally your worst nightmare. You are home alone with your kids in a snowstorm and someone with very bad intentions breaks in. I was gripping the book so tight as the Mam tries to hide her children and then does everything in her power to protect them. Its really about what a Mother will do to protect her children - which is basically anything and everything. A good read. Mothers will definitely relate.

A young mother held captive with her children in an isolated house in the middle of a snow storm. Can she keep her children safe and escape the 'the corner' OR is this just all part of an over active imagination fuelled by the isolation and creepy house?
I managed to read this all the way through but did struggle at times as it could be easy to lose yourself during the story telling.

It kept me guessing and parts were creepy but I did find some of it quite far fetched and I found myself wanting the storyline to be sped up a bit in parts.

Overall still a good creepy read.

This book was so good! It was intriguing and really drawed me in. I'll be reading more of this authors work.