Wow. What a debut novel from Tracy Sienna.
I thoroughly enjoyed it. And look forward to reading future books from this author.
Nightwatching had me gripped right from the start.
A mother, alone in the house with an intruder, and she must do everything she can to keep her kids safe.
It’s fast paced, tense, sad and frustrating. I couldn’t put it down.
It’s brilliantly written with the story alternating between the present day and flashbacks. The characters are great and well developed.
Overall, an unputdownable atmospheric suspenseful book. Well worth the read.
Definitely recommend this one to fans of psychological thrillers.
With thanks to #NetGallery, #PenguinUKBooks and @VikingBooksUK for an eARC of #Nightwatching in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own.
Book publishes 8 February 2024.

It took some time to thoroughly hook me in but once it did, I found this a thrilling and suspenseful story. It's dark and gritty. The author decides to hit you with the full impact of the scenes and the thoughts of the protagonist, who I can't recall being named in the book. In fact, I don't recall any character in this book being named. They are labelled. It felt strange during scenes of dialogue etc., but felt fine when I was immersed in the story.

And I can understand the choice of removing names form the story. The point of this story is the acts that occur, not the names. Acts that can occur to anybody. Without names it's easy to imagine it happening to you or somebody you know. It makes the story much more chilling.

In any case, I enjoyed the writing style of the book. It was a great choice to limit information the reader was given, so a perfect decision to have this in third person limited POV. If the POV were omniscient, the impact of doubt injected into the story would have failed. So much of this story hinges on that doubt, and on characters trying to know the unseen.

The use of familiar tropes in this story didn't bother me, since they were used so well. An isolated house in a snowstorm. A victim who is treated as being unreliable, and who's own actions lead people to that conclusion. The way the author used these two common tropes is amazing. It's a similar feeling to when I read The Woman in the Window. This story is completely different in plot and tone, but both authors have a keen sense of turning tropes into something that fits perfectly into the story.

Two small criticisms are the chapters of past narrative sometimes interrupted the tension in the story, and the two children were a little too well behaved in those tense moments in the first part of the story. While these two things did have an impact for me, it wasn't enough to drag me out of the story. But it did make me lower this to 4.5 instead of 5.

To finish - I want to read every book this author writes!

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for providing a free copy of this book to review. All comments are my own.

Video review to be shared soon.

Wow! I have just finished reading this book a few minutes ago, and my mind is reeling.

Nightwatching, unbelievably the debut by Tracy Sierra, starts right in the action. Quite possibly every mother’s nightmare.
A man, a stranger, is in your remote house, the recent snowfall heightening your isolation. You feel helpless, desolate, alone. How do you protect your children, and yourself?

As this woman is fighting for her family. Her mind drifts back to salient points of her life. Emotional times which have formed who she is, events that have shaped her behaviour and reactions.
This man, invades her house, her thoughts. This individual is predatory, inappropriate. My stomach was churning listening to his words, hearing his intention.

This review is a no spoiler review, as always. There is so much I want say in this review, I wish I could explain more of how this book resonated with me, but I can’t. The characterisation is rich and deep, the characters are vivid and alive. I was so drawn in, parts of the book made me angry, I felt such injustice, I wanted to reach in to the book.

This book is so good, it oozes tension, drips with unease. It infiltrated my mind, got under my skin, it put my senses in overdrive, listening to every sound of my own house.
I adored the central character. I loved her spirit, her instincts, her resilience; her self belief, despite everything life and others had thrown at her.

If you weren’t sure, I love this book. I wish I could give it more than 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tracy Sierra, you have written an absolute belter.

A really exciting psychological thriller. A mother is home in a storm with her young children... and suddenly they are in fear of their lives as an intruder is in the house. They shelter in an old hideaway by the chimney as she tries to keep the little ones quiet. She can hear him wandering around, looking for them. And his voice sounds ominously familiar.

Its a really scary read, and the reader is frustrated as the woman is discounted as hysterical or making things up. The evidence is even stacked against her. The first third of the book as they are hiding from the man is extremely exciting, the second third more frustrating as she can't really make herself understood as her memory is playing tricks and then the final chapters bring us back to the edge of our seats.

However, there is more than one sort of monster ... her father in law is a real piece of work!

An exciting and thrilling read, thoroughly enjoyable. Just check you've locked all the doors before you start! Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin General UK for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ive just spent about five terrifying days in a creepy old house in New England. The Children in the house sleepwalk and have nightmares, the Mother constantly telling them that monsters don't exist...until she hears the midnight creak on the stairs, and sees the 'monster' for herself, and, bound by all of her own trauma, has to make the decision to save her Children at any cost. Fight or flight, or freeze and comply?.... Read it (and be scared out of your pants!)

A bit of a slow burner.
A mother is forced into protecting her small children during a blizzard when they have an intruder, she manages to escape to the next house for help leaving her children behind but when the police arrive there is no sign of an intruder and no footprints in the snow outside so no one believes her at all, how can she make them take notice of her?
A bit too slow for me but it does keep you in suspense.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me. The basic plot of a threatening intruder in your house when alone with your 2 children was good, but it just didn't work as the author kept drip feeding background information breaking the tension. The first 20% was good as was the last 20% even though there was no real twist at the end.
I'm sure a lot of readers will enjoy this book.

Slow and a little dragged out to start. Almost frustrating, I can see why some people didn’t get past this point.
At about 40% we get some movement, so stick with it.
I really didn’t know which way this was going to go. I was actually panicking thinking the neighbours might not open the door for her. Then, I thought the police were going to bin this off as a mental health episode and not even check the house for the kids.
Some good twists which kept me on edge to get to the end. I’d give it 3.75 out of 5, rounded up to 4.

The book started off okay but I was worried that the home invasion was going to take up the whole story, rather like the film "Panic Room".. Fortunately for me, it didn't and I enjoyed the second half of the book much more as the full back story was revealed. However, I was a bit disappointed with the ending which I didn't find very satisfactory at all and I thought it was a bit random and lacking in believability. 3 1/2 stars.from me.

The pacing was excellent and there was a real sense of atmosphere but I did feel a bit let down by the end and felt like the book needed an additional dimension.

I was really excited when I read synopsis. It sounded super thrilling, and I had high hopes for this book.

Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. We got thrown straight into the story of the home invasion. The first few pages were great, but then it started to get really repetitive. The random flashbacks were irritating and killed the suspense for me. They were completely irrelevant for me. I also felt really disconnected from the characters. I mean, they dont even have names. Why would you name the intruder 'The Corner'? I tried, but I DFN'd the book at about 25%.

The writing style of the author wasn't for me, but I am sure other readers might love the book.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. I was immediately hooked by this book and found it impossible to put down. A brilliant and intense novel that literally had me on the edge of my seat. I was so immersed in the book I actually felt like I was hiding with them and found myself holding my breath as I read! A fantastic psychological thriller that I will recommend to everyone I know! 5 massive stars from me.

'Reality can be more disorienting than dreams'

This is honestly the best thriller I've read in a long time. 'Nightwatching' is a debut, razor-sharp thriller about a mother pushed to the breaking point when her and her children's lives are under threat by a house intruder, in the middle of a snowy winter's night.

The story is full of twists and was unexpected right up until the end - I had no idea how the story would play out, and I was pleasantly surprised. The book actually has no named characters in it - which I think makes it easy to insert yourself into the narrative, which I imagine would make it hit even harder if you have children of your own.

I was completely engrossed throughout - the fear evoked was visceral with palpable tension; with themes of maternal love, fear and guilt, and misogyny were expertly written. I found myself thinking about it when I wasn't reading, and keen to get back to it to find out what would happen. Incredibly gripping - I'd recommend this to any fan of psychological thrillers.

Thanks to NetGalley for the digital review copy. 'Nightwatching' is released in the UK on the 8th February 2024.

THIS WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!

I started reading it just before bed, thinking to myself oh i would only read a few chapters and then i ended up not sleeping and reading the whole of Nightwatching at once.I just couldn't COULD NOT put it down.

From the very first page you are gripped and need to know what will happen next.Its just delicious.It reads like a movie if that makes sense? Its just so vivid,its almost like you are there in the house,in the dark,hiding and trying to survive till the morning …

Struggled with this one, A lone mother with 2 young children wakes in the night to find an intruder in their home. She manages to hide them all but can hear the man wandering around looking for them. I so wanted to know what would happen with this but the first half of the book keeps veering off to explain about their previous life. I found this very frustrating.
I persevered. The woman gets away and summons help. The children are saved. However, then no one believes the woman and think she has made the whole thing up, She has mental health issues and the reader is unsure whether she has imagined it all.
It all comes to a satisfying conclusion but I found the book hard going.
I’m sure some will enjoy it but just not for me,

Mixed feelings about this. A gripping start then I wasn't sure what to think. Very atmospheric at times, quite unbelievable at others. It's different and interesting, just not sure if I enjoyed it

*review contains spoiler*

This book is described as a thriller about a woman home alone with her two young children when she hears a noise and realises someone has broken in. She hides herself and children whilst the intruder hunts them down.

Aaargh I’m really not sure how I feel about this book. When it was good, it was really good. I was immersed in it and found it very atmospheric and could feel the fear and tension making me feel anxious (maybe some of that is down to my mum having had a stalker for many years) but there were sections where not much happened at all and I skimmed through.

The main character could be very infuriating and I often find myself getting a bit frustrated with her.

I’d definitely be interested in reading further books by this author.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #PenguinGeneralUK for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

For me Nightwatching had one of the most gripping and terrifying openings that I have ever read. As it developed, I was completely absorbed in the protagonist's character and her back story which was revealed slowly and with huge question marks about the truth. It seemed to be set in a terrifying world in which nothing was real and reliable , including the protagonist A brilliant read.

A mother wakes, hears a noise, a footstep, and it's not her children, and no-one else should be in the house.From the start, Tracy Sierra builds a fantastic atmosphere - the tension as she sits under the stairs urging her small children to be quiet, lest they be found is palpable. But is this well-detailed description of her hiding from an intruder true? The police don't seem to think. Which is worse - for it to be true and for you not to be believed, or for it to be a fiction, a fantasy of a disturbed mind?

A great read - chilling, and at times disturbing. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC

Incredible!! What a wonderfully terrifying book!!

This book was so different to anything I've read for a while, it's stayed with me for a long time in the most brilliant way! What an excellent debut novel by Tracy Sierra.

From the blurb: "It's the tread of footsteps, unusually heavy and slow, coming up the stairs...
In that split second, she has three choices.
Should she hide? Should she run? Or should she fight?"

Reading that again terrifies me all over! I don't want to give anything away but the tension is so thick in this book that you literally hold your breath.

This book truly is a psychological thriller - there's menace, gas lighting, doubt, bravery, fear and so many twists and turns it leaves you questioning any truths you think you know.

It's also incredibly atmospheric, you imagine you are there feeling the fear with the protagonist. The scene creation is wonderful, I still feel like I know that place (though not sure I'd want to visit now!!)

I urge anyone to read this if they want to be drawn into a book for a couple of days.

Thank you to Penguin UK, the author Tracy Sierra, and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.