By fluke, I have managed to read a few books this year that are unique. Night Watching is one of them. One of the main reasons that this book is different to many is that only one of the characters had a name. That person is the intruder, who either exists or is part of the narrator’s imagination. He is known as Corner. A strange name but he is known as that because of the narrator’s daughter who is convinced that she has seen him watching from a corner. Or is that also part of the narrator’s imagination?

The narrator has had a difficult life, the circumstances are revealed throughout the entire novel but all of them had made her a strong character even though she did have issues. She had vitiligo, and was treated with disdain and in some cases contempt because of it. She should have been able to ask for help from people who she could have classed as family but one of them in particular was vicious towards her. She tried to do the best for her family though, without them, and when faced with danger she did what she could do to keep them safe. Or is none of this real?

One of the main reasons I enjoyed this novel so much was because I had no idea whether I could believe her. There wasn’t that many of the other characters in the novel who did, even before the night where she felt a risk. It is only towards the end where the reader finds out whether anything is genuine.

There are a lot of books now that feature unreliable characters. Some are good, some not so good. This novel is superb and one of the highlights of my reading year so far.

WOW! This book was breathtaking from the start. I found myself holding my breath as I was reading.
It's written as a 3rd person, no names are mention and the story flits from the nightmare in the house with the children and back in time to the mums past. It's a fantastic book with a great ending!
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin General UK-Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking, Penguin Life, Penguin Business.

We meet a young mother, alone with her children and checking on her son in the middle of the night, when she realises that there is an intruder in the house. What follows is an absolute roller coaster of a ride, as we follow her decisions and actions as she fights to keep her children safe.

To say too much could lead to too many spoilers, so I will just say that I loved this book. It was thrilling and terrifying in equal measure, and there were some sections that left me feeling physically shaken as the plot unfolder. Great, if deeply unsettling, stuff.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the arc to review.

It's late and she's awake, she's checking her son has gone back to sleep, when she hears footfalls on the stairs. It'll be her husband home...except it can't be him. So what now? Fight, run or hide? She only has minutes to decide.

The tension in this book from the start is unbelievable, serious regret I'm reading it at home alone and then...flashbacks. Instant interruption of tension and, honestly, some are pretty boring. Then back to the tension again but, due to the interruptions, not quite as heightened as before. Still, I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Then, somehow it loses steam in the middle. I don't want to spoil anything so I won't go into details, but I liked what the author did with the middle, how the story progressed, but I think it was too long and slow and I found myself losing interest and finding it difficult to keep going. Then it ramped up again at the end.

It was difficult to bond with any of the characters, there's no names - she, him, the sergeant, the boy-faced officer, it's an unusual style and, unfortunately, makes it more difficult to care.

I'm giving it a 3.5 ⭐ but I'll round up to 4. Beginning and end were brilliant, middle would have been better if shorter/more succinct.

#nightwatching #tracysierra #netgalley

Review also posted to Goodreads, unable to link account.

I wanted to love this book, it sounded just like my type of story. However, I found it too slow paced for me and I struggled to relate to any of the characters.

I did finish it, because I wanted to find out what happened. But it isn't a book that will stay with me unfortunately. This could just be me and I am sure that it would suit other readers very well.

From the beginning I was drawn into the story. This book was an incredible read. It was action packed which kept me on alert all the way through. Beautifully evocative. After I finished the story it kept me thinking for a long time about “what if’s” in the sense it could have been set in reality. Also the thought about being disbelieved and trying to convince people you were telling the truth.

Gripping throughout and the writer created the right atmosphere throughout. I could see this book being turned into a film or play.

A very suspenseful book. It started off well and I was beginning to regret beginning reading it late at night as it told the story of a mother disturbed by noises of an intruder in the house in the middle of the night. It was tense as she looked to protect her children from the danger he represented.
This was all very well done, gripping and atmospheric but then it started to lose its way for me. I found the flashbacks, whilst informative diluted the tension and the lack of names began to grate with me and lessened the connection to the main characters. I know I am in the minority but I started to lose interest and began to skip pages which is something I rarely do.

A deeply disturbing thriller, a mother and her children are trapped in their house while an intruder lurks around the house singing nursery rhymes to entice them out of their hiding place. A good page turner of a thriller

I requested this book because some of my favourite authors had recommended it and the premise sounded very interesting. It started off strong, with a mother hearing an intruder in the house in the middle of the night and the desperation to protect her children heightened the tension. However, after this the storyline moved very slowly and I felt that the plot lacked pace. Unfortunately this story did not grip me and I didn't feel like I wanted to find out what happened. However, the writing style was good and someone could enjoy it if they like slower paced novels.

Well, what a rollercoaster of a book. The first few chapters are intense and I had to put it down and watch some children’s TV to calm myself down! What a scary start to a novel! The way the writer pulls you in so you feel the danger and fear of the main character is inspiring. However, after a while I have to admit the intensity dropped and I found the interrupting chapters of the past killed the tension for me. But the storyline kept me reading. That unanswered question of what the hell was going on had me racing through the pages. I gave this book four stars only because I wasn’t too keen on the writing style. There was too much introspection and at times the character’s thoughts didn’t make any sense and felt disjointed. This might have been to try and make her an unreliable narrator but it just had me skipping pages until it went back to the actual plot.

Nightwatching is a very tense and scary story . A young Mum is alone with her two small children in a big old isolated New England house during a snow storm and she hears foot steps creeping up the stairs !!! she is terrified but also very brave ,she is also fragile so is she imagining it ?.A proper psychological thriller with a good ending .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

Claustrophobic stalker thriller - well constructed and paced. When a widow thinks she is being watched she is not believed, her daughter thinks there is a Corner man watching her. Reality will out and become a race to survive., Good read.

This really kicked off full throttle, I had my heart in my throat reading this in the beginning it was so tense!
The high of the beginning did taper off and it became more of a guessing game as to what was actually true.
I thought the ending was good and gave you just enough to tie things up but also let you make up your own mind about some things which I thought was a really good balance.

This book was very disappointing.

The plot seemed to drag on with very little happening in 336 pages. Not much character development and a lot of changing timelines for no reason what so ever. The ending was anti-climactic which didn't justify persisting with the story.

Tastes vary
Having read a lot of fantastic reviews of this book, I was prepared to spend a night on the edge of my seat reading it. Alas, did not happen for me, I found it very hard going and got no joy or at least thrill out of the time I spent on it. Admittedly, I‘m a childless old lady, so probably not the ideal target reader.

This book has had so much hype - feel like it's everywhere! Plus the reviews seem to be great!!
I don't know why...

I really struggled with this! I found the pacing to be super slow and repetitive. I lost interest really quickly, and even the amazing reviews didn't make me want to keep reading. Even when I did, I felt let down!
Don't get the hype!

I loved the premise of this book and the beginning was hugely tense and enjoyable. However I felt that it lost its way after that. I think some of my problem with connecting with the story is the fact that I am not a mother and so didn't have the visceral reaction that others had.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

A creepy read! None of the characters have names which made it a little hard to follow and I genuinely don’t know whether the intruder was real or not.

Gripping, tense atmospheric thriller that keeps you engaged until the very end. Is it real or is it imagined? Fantastic read.

This is a proper heart in mouth, edge of your seat thriller. As the book opens a mother is disturbed by a noise as she puts her child back to bed. She quickly realises that there is an intruder in the house and that she must protect her young children. They live in an isolated old house and there is a snowstorm outside. It’s heart racing stuff and very scary.
The pace doesn’t let up for several chapters while she works out how to hide and get help, and as we find out why they live where they do and why she is alone.
As the book progresses the police get involved and the reader begins to question the mother’s story. Did she really hear an intruder or was it all in her head?
Tracy Sierra is an incredibly accomplished novelist. She manipulates your thoughts and emotions deftly from chapter to chapter and never lets the reader relax. As the truth begins to emerge it’s more terrifying than what has come before. I can’t believe this is a debut and can’t wait to read more from Tracy, what a ride!