When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole

Available Now

If I have learned anything in 2020, it’s that I end up reading and enjoying books that reflect current events, only dialed up 500%. I started the pandemic reading Wanderers by Chuck Wendig. Dug in deep with that one. Finally read Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. Again, bring on the world destruction due to disease and government negligence. The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher was all about a portal to an evil world lurking behind some drywall in a home. Doing a wee bit of construction here and nothing like constantly checking for portals to other worlds while building walls to freak out your husband. So of course I stayed up all night to read Alyssa Cole’s first thriller about an insidious force overtaking a neighborhood during a time when everyone has been asked to stay home as much as possible. Because why not give yourself nightmares over your own home not being safe during a time you’re not supposed to leave your home. 

This book is incredible. Sydney Green has returned to her childhood home in Brooklyn to nurse her wounds after a nasty divorce and to care for her ailing mother. What was once a tightly knit community of longtime residents and small businesses is quickly changing due to a housing boom caused by a new research facility opening in the area. What began as a trickle of new homeowners grows to a flood of very white, very wealthy faces buying out the current residents, most of whom are people of color. 

After taking a walking tour of her neighborhood, which Sydney is a near expert on, her anger and frustration over the white washing of history grows into the development of her own tour that will coincide with a neighborhood block party. While researching for the tour, Sydney comes across an unwanted research partner-her neighbor Theo. Theo’s wealthy girlfriend has begun to show her true colors as a racist, classist, garbage person, while Theo has grown to like the neighborhood and having grown up constantly moving and mostly poor, doesn’t have the same trash perspective. The more that Sydney visits with her elderly neighbors, the more she realizes how the neighborhood is changing in dark and dangerous ways. On top of all of this, Sydney is receiving increasingly harassing phone calls, pressuring her to sell her mother’s home. As Sydney and Theo’s friendship grows, the feeling around the neighborhood grows more and more sinister. 

Alyssa Cole is an incredible writer. This book has some of the best writing I’ve read this year and the twists got me every single time. There is not a single scene that doesn’t move the story forward. It’s so tightly written and fast paced that it’s very easy to get sucked in and stay up all night reading. I loved how much detail and history is included about the important Black residents of Sydney’s neighborhood. There are some great discussions about gentrification, redlining, and the white-washing of the local history. Sydney is my favorite type of character. She’s smart, has a complicated past, takes no shit from anyone, and is completely fearless. The way that Sydney puts Theo in his place, over and over again, was a beautiful thing. In Theo’s defense, I think he was trying his best with what knowledge he had, and was willing to listen and grow. Theo’s girlfriend, I don’t care what her name was, is a complete trash baby. As we see her more and more, Theo learns alongside us how racist and classist she is. Cole does an excellent job pointing out the ways that racism exists in subtle ways that are often overlooked by white people. Nothing’s held back. 

If you love thrillers, mysteries, and insightful looks at how society needs to do better, you’re going to love this book. Cole also writes romance novels, both historical and contemporary, and they are excellent. I really love her Loyal League series set during the Civil War. She’s also a great follow on Instagram as she lives on an island with her hot husband, kitties, and chickens. 

If you would like to add When No One is Watching to your collection, you can find ordering information here:

This post contains affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases.