Nightwatching is not like any other book I've read before. The writing style and the absence of people's names both add to the nightmarish scenario of a mother protecting her children. Is it a thriller or is it a murder mystery? I don't know....but in a strange way I found myself really enjoying it. It took me a while to get into the story but I'm glad I stuck with it. I look forward to more from Tracy Sierra. Thank you to the publisher, the author and netgalley for an arc

I’m always a little apprehensive about reading books that have been super hyped, but this one more than lived up to its reputation. A masterful exploration of fear, injustice, a mother’s intuition, and the lengths she’ll go to to protect her children, it gripped me like a vise from start to finish.

The opening chapters are spine-chilling.

The mother is alone at home in an isolated house with her young daughter and son. It’s the middle of the night. A snowstorm is raging outside. And an intruder is in the house. Sensing imminent danger, she rouses the children and hides with them in a secret space under the stairs, where they listen to the man’s taunts as he tries to flush them out.

The intensity is off the scale. Claustrophobic to the point of suffocating, it is magnified tenfold by the mother’s feverish inner debate about the identity of the intruder and what to do next.

As it develops, there are points in the narrative where you feel that the pace is starting to stall, but time and again, author Tracy Sierra injects another twist or intrigue to snap you right back into the story.

I was fascinated by the fact that neither the mother nor her children are given names, despite the entire narrative being in the third person. They are simply: the woman, the girl, the boy. This depersonalisation has the unsettling effect of making them more, rather than less, relatable: SHE could be ME; THESE could be MY children.

This story both terrified and enraged me. The former because of the unbearable tension, and the latter because of the blatant misogyny and discrimination displayed by the police.

The ending, however, was hugely satisfying and a fulsome tribute to a mother’s love.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin in exchange for an honest review

DNF at 32%.

I shouldn’t have requested this book. I know that I hate hostage stories because people being captive in a room cannot be interesting but the reviews were so good that I requested it anyway and I never connected with it. After several days and only just getting past 30% while skimming
a fair amount of the captivity scenes, I realized I did not care who the Corner was and I did not care if the family made it out alive and it was time to give up. This author did do a good job of creating an atmospheric intro but I was lost after that.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review. This review is based entirely on my own thoughts and feelings.

Overall rating : 4*
Writing skill : 4*
Plot: 5*
Pace: 4*
Characters: 5*

The anxiety I felt in the first 25% of this book is unlike any other story I’ve read. I was gripped. I was rooting for the family and I disliked the intruder to my core!!
The pace on this book was really fast, but we still got to see flashbacks from months prior with utter ease. My bug bear with many books from the past few years is the reference to lockdown, covid and quarantines. Why is it necessary?!!
Anyway loved loved loved this book and I’ll be recommending it all my suspense thriller loving friends! Massive 4.5*

This started out as a very exciting and tense story. I was literally on the edge of my seat praying the kids would keep quiet. Unfortunately that was the only good bit of the book. What follows seemed like a lot of fluff and waffle much of which added absolutely nothing to the plot. I didn’t think that not using names was clever but rather annoying especially when the only sort of name that was actually given was the silliest one ever!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin for this eCopy to review

Nightwatching has a fantastic start, full of fear and tension as a strange man enters the family home forcing the mother to hide with her 2 children. Unfortunately, there are then many flashbacks which slow the story down and all the fear is lost. It was difficult to connect with the characters as they are never named. There are many twists which have you questioning everything you read just like the police do with the mother. The ending is very gripping. Highly terrifying in places definitely not one to read when on your own

At times this book was excellent when the mother and her two young children were hiding and trying to escape from an intruder.

At this point it is also worth noting the brilliant descriptions of the house itself. An old New England property (300 years old?) with poor locks on doors and windows. In addition, the book is set in winter time and the house is snowed in. All in all leading to an exciting escape.

However, whilst hiding from the creepy intruder the tension was then lost with many flashbacks concerning the mother's family, her husband and his family, and I ended up skipping these to get back to the 'action'.

I felt the book could have been better with much fewer flashbacks.

Thanks to Net Galley and Penguin General UK for the chance to read and review.

I wanted to love this book more than I did, but I feel really conflicted!

The start of the book was brilliant; straight into the action, with an intruder in the house, in the middle of a blizzard with no escape. I found I was physically tensing my body!

And then it switched to flashbacks and the tension melted away. Some of the flashbacks were relevant, but most were pointless filler, sadly. I also didn’t like the fact that none of the characters were named, which, along with the disjointed narrative between present and past, made it difficult to connect with the characters.

Towards the end, the flashbacks stopped and the tension built again, to an exciting ending, somewhat redeeming the slow middle.

3 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Tracy Sierra and Penguin for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This book depicts every parent's nightmare. A noise in the night as a mother is settling her son down. Not the usual pipes or house resting noise, more a footsteps kind of noise. Hidden in the darkness, she watches as the figure of a man emerges from the dark on the stairs. She quickly wakes her children up and rushes them down the back staircase, away from the intruder, where she hides them all away in a secret room in the old part of the house. They are frightened but, once she has calmed her son and daughter, she starts to take stock and assess the situation. He husband is away and not due back for a while, there is no school due to the weather, so no one will miss them for a while. They will have to wait it out. The man is obviously a burglar and will leave as soon as he gets what he wants. Until, a small chink in the wall lights him up and she glimpses his face and realises that they are in more danger than she thought...
This book was a little strange for me. Mainly cos the characters are never named. What's that all about them? Gimmick or is there a reason. Either way, it got a wee bit annoying along the way and also, I think, may have contributed to the fact that I failed to fully connect to the characters. Which I also believe marred my overall enjoyment of the book.
It is high tension, scary. But also a wee bit eye-rolly. There are parts that left me squirming and other where I just couldn't accept what happened. May be a me thing, not being blessed with children, who am I to say what would drive a mother. I actually think I enjoyed the mother's reminiscences from her past more than what was going on in the present, truth be told.
And then the ending, when it came, was more definitely well worth any bumps on the journey leading up to it... Whew! Kinda wanted to go back and re-read...
Anyway, notwithstanding my already mentioned niggles, this is a pretty decent read, and a debut to boot! Leaving me wondering where the author will take me for her second outing. Cos, yeah, I'll definitely be up for that! My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I really enjoyed the novel. The start was so creepy and quite scary but I was gripped. I’m afraid the middle section felt a little over long and I started to skim read a bit but wow the ending made up for it. Overall a great read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me access to an early copy of this book

It took me a week to get through the opening chapters of this book because it absolutely terrified me. Sierra has taken one of the biggest fears I , and millions of other people have, and based this , her debut novel around it.

A mother hears a noise in the middle of the night. She is home alone with her two sleeping children. A storm rages outside and there is nobody else around apart from the man she can hear walking up the stairs.........

ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING. I read in bed at night. I could only manage a couple of pages of this at night for the first section of the book. Sierra captures the terror with great realness and honestly, it effected my ability to fall asleep.

As the book progresses, we learn about the mother, the unnamed protagonist through flashbacks. While this was easier to read, the pace dropped away after the shocking beginning and the pacing continued to be a little uneven throughout. I found the differing timelines broke the building tension and while this was welcome at times , I don't think it worked as well as it could have done.

Overall this was a decent read, I liked the writing and the atmospheric settings created but it was just too dark for me in parts. I would read more from this author especially if the plot didn't revolve around a fear I have had for as long as I can remember!

The uneven pacing brought this from a 4 to 3 star read to me but a solid debut and I think this book will enjoy huge success.

This book was absolutely amazing i binged it in 24hours !
It did a great job of making me instantly attached to the mum while learning about her marriage and her relationships within her life and I felt so much compassion towards her yet I felt conflicted and confused about what was really happening who or what was truly trying to get them if anything? Was it really her or was it her husband was he cheating or was it her father in law I truly didn’t have a clue if it was even really happening
Eventually my heart was pounding and everything comes together. I really enjoyed this definitely a 4.5

Nightwatching has one of the tensest openings I've read in a long time - and that tension does not let up!

Our protagonist wakes up one night and hears someone in her house. She knows it can't be her husband but her two kids are both asleep, and she instantly feels on edge. It soon becomes apparent that someone is indeed there - and the terror begins…

I don't want to give too much away as I think this novel is best if you go into it knowing very little, like I did. If home invasion plots terrify you, this isn't for you! Tracy Sierra creates such a creeping sense of dread, turning what initially feels like a classic fast-paced, addictive thriller into something more… something much more terrifying.

Nightwatching made me feel so many feelings other than the usual excited, "what will happen next?" feeling that thrillers tend to have. I felt claustrophobic, on edge, anxious, and SO frustrated and angry on behalf of our main character! And the fact that even the narrator herself starts to doubt her sanity makes you wonder if we can truly believe her either - as others around her also start to doubt…

Set aside some time to truly lose yourself in this book. It's a story that feelings worrying like it could happen to any of us, and I suppose that's exactly what makes it that extra bit more terrifying. I'd recommend Nightwaching for anyone looking for an addictive novel filled with suspense - and let's face it, a significant dose of stress!

Oh my! What did I just read! Tracy (Author) is going to be someone I'll be watching out for in the future as she's wrote something really good here. Yes this is a thriller, more on the psychological side but the attention to detail and how this book actually brought emotions/feelings out in me. I'll be honest, not many books scare me - I'm a bit hardened like that. But to make me feel on edge, anxious even? Now that shows an author with talent.

I read Nightwatching over a few days, not because I wanted to put it down... Namely life happens. But there was that consuming feelings that made me want to pick it up, even when I've only a few minutes to spare!

Being a Mum myself, I can think of times when I've been alone with my children (I divorced years ago and most the time it was just me and the kids) and thought someone was in my house. Yes I was wrong, you know how your mind likes to play tricks on you. But that utter fear? It's really hard to describe and the things you would do for your children, maybe harder. Yet Tracy spins this story on 'acid'! Twists and turns, this is one book I am wholly recommending! 4 stars.

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

This is the stuff of nightmares right here. The book description already sounded frightening and like something I really wanted to read. But also, I’m a chicken, and it sounded frightening, and maybe it wasn’t something I wanted to read? In the end, I decided to go for it and read between my fingers if I had to 😉.

The event : There’s an intruder in your house.
The question : What do you do? Run? Hide? Fight?

Probably option four, which is surely just stand there like a deer in headlights.

The mother in this story remains unnamed. After all, this could happen to all of us, right? Yet, as the reader, I found myself questioning her actions. Like others did before. Her husband, her father-in-law. Seemingly innocent questions like “What did you do? Why did you say something like that?” The men don't come out looking particularly good. However, as the mother tells her story, doubt crept in with myself as the reader as well.

I found the first half of ‘Nightwatching’ a bit hard going. Obviously, there’s a high level of tension with this intruder lurking around the house. However, the glimpses into the mother’s past broke up the moments of sheer terror, which I found rather annoying. At the same time, these flashbacks turned out to be far more necessary than I had imagined. I also had a few niggles, but funnily enough they were all addressed by other characters at some point.

Halfway through though, I was suddenly pulled in so fiercely that my full mug of tea went ice cold before I even remembered it was right there on my coffee table. The action ramped up a notch. And still the questions kept coming. Is the unnamed mother a reliable narrator? Is she crazy? Paranoid? Seeing things that aren't there? What is she doing? What is going ON?!

'Nightwatching' most definitely tells a very tense and compelling story. At times, it's a nail-biter for sure. But I also expected it to be more scary than it actually was. And this is coming from a scaredy cat. That said, there is a bit more to 'Nightwatching' than that. It's about a woman needing to find her inner strength to stand up against the patronising and undermining men in her life. It's a cleverly crafted thriller, and it all plays out in a creepy, and very snowy, setting.

An impressive debut from Tracy Sierra and she's definitely an author to watch.

Nightwatching starts off with a bang! High octane tension, with the old house surrounding the woman and her two children in the middle of the night. The mother was up to her son and heard noises - other than old house noises - the sound of footsteps coming their way. She weighed their options and as soon as the intruder moved away from where she was, she picked up her son, quietly woke her daughter and they fled to the old part of the house where a secret room was, off her husband's office. They'd be safe in there wouldn't they?

This tension immediately tapered off, with flashbacks to the mother's past - which went on and on. The flashbacks intruded on my ability to remain focused on the tension surrounding the mother and her children, trapped in a small, dark room, not knowing what was happening in the rest of the house. Outside the house was blizzard conditions, with the temperature at freezing; the snow and ice battering the house and the chance of escape - with the three of them in their night clothes - minimal. So how will this stand off end? Will the mother's fragile nerves crack? Will she give up her children to this monster? Will they escape?

Nightwatching is my first by Tracy Sierra and with none of the characters named, it was extremely disappointing and off-putting. The fluctuation of tension was frustrating as well, as I waded through the reminiscing until I once again found myself with the mother in current time. There was also some repetition which was annoying. Not my favourite book of the year so far, unfortunately.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, wow, wow, what a debut novel. This is one that will have you completely engrossed, sitting on the edge of your seat, and biting your fingernails. If you dare read it at night you may lie awake for a while.

A mother and her two young children are home alone, a blizzard is blowing outside, it’s a long weekend, and it’s in the Covid times. Just as the mother has settled her young son back to bed after he had a nightmare, she hears a creak in the stairs. She freezes, knowing every single noise this old house makes. She stands frozen watching, she can see a shadow of a man, a very tall man. Despite it being dark there is night light lit low down behind the figure, she daren’t move because she doesn’t think he can see her. When he moves away in a different direction, she has to make a quick decision on what to do. How can she protect her son and daughter from this intruder, her phone is in her bedroom, the direction he has gone. There is one place they can hide if she can get her children there, but what does she do once they are there, how long will the intruder be there.

This is a very tense read at times, keeping you completely engaged, but even with that happening the author manages to seamlessly take the reader back and forth in time as you learn more about the mother, her family and growing up, as well as her husband and his family, then switching back to the intruder.

I would highly recommend this book, but if you do scare easily do not start at night. The story is told through the mother, everything she feels you feel, it is literally like you are there with her at times. The characters are all relatable and believable. This is an outstanding debut from an author I will certainly be watching out for.

Thank you to @netgalley and @VikingBooksUK for an ebook and ARC of this novel all thoughts and opinions are my own and have not been influenced in any way.

This book did not really grab me even though I love the psychological thriller genre. It seemed a bit lacking in content. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read it though.

This book was a very tense and gripping story.
A blizzard outside and a mother at home with her 2 young children. She can hear the creaking of the stairs, is there someone in their home? A mother’s worst nightmare, wanting to protect her children from a sinister intruder.
A chilling and suspenseful read and very creepy. I was hooked to this story.
Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

As soon as I read this synopsis, I knew that this was a book that I wanted to read as it follows a parent's worst nightmare. What would you do if you knew a stranger was in your house? Which child would you go to first? How would you get them to keep calm?

But then I saw a few of my followers post negative reviews, a few even DNFd, and this put a real dampener on my reading experience. I was no longer excited about it, and I spent the first part feeling cautious that my intrigue wouldn't last for long. But fortunately, my concerns were all very quickly diminished. The start of this book is very tense and it most definitely had my attention.

Up until the 30% mark, I wasn't sure where the story was going, and maybe that's where my fellow readers gave up early. But the story quickly gets to the point after that, as a few seemingly irrelevant scenes start to show their purpose as everything comes together to unravel a multi-layered story of fear and injustice.

By the end, I loved the angle of having a woman at the centre of a crime and the police dubious of her account of what happened. It's very similar to the recent American Nightmare on Netflix that many of us are loving at the minute. So if you like a true-crime type of story that looks at how the police handle certain situations and what has to happen for people (often women) to be taken seriously, then you're sure to enjoy the fast-paced twists in this one.

The only thing I didn't like was the use of the main character's vitiligo. As someone who has had this skin condition (90% of mine luckily cleared up), I didn't see the point in it being included, as nothing more was said about it other than people thinking that she was infected or irregular. It wasn't particularly offensive, just unnecessary without something more meaningful coming out of it. But that's a personal opinion that I'm sure most won't pick up on.

I initially rated this four stars because my apprehension definitely ruined the book for me slightly, but I've had a few days to think about it and I know that I would have rated this higher if I'd gone in with a more positive mindset, so I implore others to look forward this one too, as I'm sure you'll be impressed!