Alyssa Cole can do no wrong, and this is no different! So perfectly crafted and paced, a pure delight. Social thrillers is a genre I am ready for.

3.5 stars. This is a departure from anything I've read by Alyssa Cole, who is mainly known for her excellent contemporary and historical romance. She's a terrific writer, regardless of genre, but this thriller didn't completely hold together for me.

Sydney has lived with her mother on the same block in Brooklyn for nearly her whole life. The neighbors are like family, and everyone watches out for each other. But now the street is changing. Brownstones are being bought up left and right by affluent white families, and a major pharmaceutical company has just won a bid to build a large facility nearby. Wanting to preserve the history and character of her neighborhood, Sydney sets out to create a walking tour that tells the story of this historically Black area, before it's too late.

She's joined by Theo, her (attractive) new neighbor, who's recently unemployed and caught in a strained relationship with his girlfriend. Theo volunteers to help his intriguing neighbor with research for her walking tour. But as the two investigate, they notice a pattern of mysterious disappearances and property changing hands almost overnight. What's really going on? Is it just the neighborhood changing, or is something more sinister afoot?

This is an interesting parable of gentrification, and the comparisons I've seen to Get Out are apt. It will hit in an uncomfortable spot for many white readers, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. My main issue was that the pacing was a little off. The real action starts late in the book, and although Cole is clearly ratcheting the tension throughout, the excitement could have started a little sooner for me.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review.

Hoping to find comfort and a long-desired sense of home, Sydney Green returns to her mother’s house in Brooklyn after an unpleasant divorce and an equally unpleasant life in Seattle in Alyssa Cole’s first thriller When No One is Watching. What Sydney finds instead is her mother’s mounting debt and absent best friend Drea who she was depending on to see her through her return, but more worrisome is her childhood neighborhood’s uncanny change. Longtime neighbors have been uprooted and replaced by new gentrifying residents and For Sale signs are plastered at the front of homes. Gifford Place, an historically African American neighborhood, is finding itself erased of its community, history and spirit to make room for VerenTech, a ghoulish medical center that lurks in the background of the neighborhood.

Estate agents act as boogeyman in Cole’s novel and many of the chapters end with extracts of the OurHood App, which allows the reader to eavesdrop on the conversations between residents: their fears, their conspiracies and their theories about Gifford Place.

As Sydney tries to start her life again back home in Brooklyn, she becomes increasingly frustrated as her beloved neighborhood is picked apart and blanched of its community spirit. The local bodega is replaced by a strange and unruly racist shop owner, the elderly homeowners mysteriously vanish and are quickly replaced by obnoxious families, and Sydney herself is hunted by debt collectors and an untrustworthy meter man.

Sydney is determined to find out what is going on and is helped along by her new neighbor Theo, who himself could be counted as one of the new gentrifying neighbors. Theo, an unemployed white man, with time on his hands and a relationship on the rocks with his live-in girlfriend, goes all in to aid Sydney. But since Theo appears to be one of them can he be trusted?

Cole plays neatly with eerie instances and feelings of dread. She taps into elements of noir having both Sydney and Theo consistently glancing out from their windows, spying on the street, their neighbors and each other, successfully eliciting the unnerving feeling of being watched. The suspense, however, can feel drawn out and the villains underdeveloped, but the denouement is both thrilling and horrifying. The strength of the novel is in the character of Gifford Place and those who live there. You will root for them in this thriller/horror mash up.

I really had a hard time getting through this book. The first 2/3 were really slow and I felt like the author was trying too hard to develop the setting and characters and it bored me. The last 1/3 was great and action packed, but then the story ended with little resolution. I think the idea of the story was good, but too little time was spent on actually making this a thriller.

Sydney has lived in her historical neighborhood all her life. She starts to become concerned with the number of people moving out and new condos popping up. Sydney soon forms an alliance of sorts with her neighbor Theo. Together they offer walking tours of the neighborhood. What starts off as a literary commentary on gentrification quickly turns into a conspiracy theory about where their long-time neighbors are going….are they merely disappearing??? I enjoyed the format of this novel with its varying perspectives and “Next Door” posts that help propel the story and give more background. I highly recommend this novel to anyone that wants to understand overt and covert racism, while enjoying a thriller novel. Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review. Goodreads review located here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3396850124

I was super excited to get my hands on an early copy of this book! I was drawn to the premise, especially after seeing it being called Get Out meets gentrification in Brooklyn. I love that this book talks about racism and gentrification with no sugarcoating. I hope that this book can be eye opening for some readers about racial bias, historical injustices and the real ramifications of gentrification for people in these communities. Also as a romance reader and a big fan of Alyssa Cole’s work, I appreciated the romantic subplot. However, at times I questioned the chemistry between the characters and if they really liked each other. This book was a quick and engaging read that kept me hooked throughout. I finished within a day, I couldn’t put it down. But the pacing was kind of all over the place and the ending happened all at once and was almost comical. And I have a few questions that I feel were left unanswered, which may have been intentional. But overall I did enjoy this book and would definitely recommend it.

Thank you so much for providing me with a copy of When No One Is Watching.

This review is difficult to write. I've been thinking all day on how to word it correctly and how I should rate it.

5 STARS for the author's writing style. I love it when an author ventures out of their usual genre. I will definitely be checking out her other books. Alyssa's wittiness and dark humor had me laughing out loud in some parts of the book while in others it sent me in a rabbit whole looking for information about the negative effect of gentrification.

5 STARS for character development.

5 STARS for Alyssa doing her research. The history of Brooklyn and the gentrification was so well written. I learned so much from this book. This is a must for readers looking to learn from a fiction book about the history of gentrification in Black neighborhoods.

...... and this is were I get stuck......

The first 60% of the book was written to help the reader understand the many injustices in a Black, poor neighborhood but as a reader of all things thriller I felt there was no thrill. There were a few mentions of neighbors leaving mysteriously but there's no depth to it. I felt like I wanted more. Towards the end of the book, things start getting suspenseful and that's when I couldn't put the book down. I read the last chapters in one sitting.

So, I would recommend this book to my friends and followers but I wouldn't say it's a thriller. It's more of a contemporary novel that focuses on gentrification - with a bit of mystery sprinkled at the end.

Couldn’t get past the first chapter. I think the plot would of been interesting but the language was unnecessary. I don’t need that when reading a story. I read for the story of the book not the foul words.

Wow! This book had a slow start and made me wonder what is was all about. I didn't read any reviews about it, so I didn't know what was going to happen. The ending did happen quickly and then it was just over. Not my genre of books, but once I got into it, it kept me interested and wondering what was going to happen next.

The publisher’s blurb of “Rear Window Meets Get Out” piqued my interest and the book did not disappoint. Sydney is a young Brooklyn native who is frustrated by the gentrification of her neighborhood. As she watches her community slowly unravel, Sydney digs in to research the history of her community and her own past. The story quickly becomes a mind-bending thriller leaving the reader wondering what is true. I read this while the Black Lives Movement rose to the top of news cycle, it made me ask hard questions about our shared history. Summary: timely social justice story, exciting thriller and unflinching character study of the good/bad players in community development.

Truly amazing!

I had little idea of what to expect. But I was pleasantly surprised.

I’ve been bingeing thrillers for about a month now. And this seemed right up my alley.

And it was!

I hope this is as successful as it deserves to be!

This book took about TEN YEARS OFF MY LIFE. You know how thrillers are sometimes called "taut"? This is that. It is also the condition of my muscles as I read, anxious and worried for Sydney and her friends and neighbors.

The pacing and the way specific details (especially about both protagonists' histories) was just so, so perfect. And I'm in awe of the way Cole can take historical events and map them to how they could happen today - just with different technology and tools.

I'm calling it now: Jordan Peele is going to option this book and it is going to be EPIC onscreen.

I was given an Advance Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and am happy to write this review in exchange. The first half of the book is more of a contemporary novel that slowly builds to a suspense story and then it moves very fast.

The first part of the book is a commentary on gentrification and the injustices that the Black community has to endure. The author offered incredibly helpful insights and views for thought on these topics.

This book focuses more on contemporary commentary rather than on suspense not what the synopsis promises, even so it is well worth the read. It will keep you thinking long after you finish it, and while parts may seem implausible, you have a sinking suspicion that it might just be accurate.

Sydney and Theo are neighbors. Sydney was born and raised in this Brooklyn neighborhood; Theo has recently moved in with his wealthy girlfriend. The neighborhood is going through gentrification; new condos; more for sale signs, and long-time neighbors seeming to disappear.

Sydney is coping with her mother’s aging, in addition to neighborhood concerns. She channels all her frustrations into creating a walking tour celebrating the past and present. Theo volunteers to be her research assistants unwanted by Sydney.

Long-time neighbors are mysteriously being arrested and moving out of the neighborhood without a good-bye and in the dark of night. Is it coincidence, conspiracy, paranoia, or all three? Where will the neighbors go when gentrification comes rushing in?

An interesting and entertaining read, partnering unlikely friends into a dive of neighborhood, solving the mysteries of break-ins, missing neighbors, and the conspiracy behind the gentrification.

So I must say this was very hard for me to get through and was not what I expected. I think this could be a great read for a lot of people it just wasn’t for me. I had a hard time getting through it and found myself finishing it out of obligation because I was chosen to read it. I’m sorry I just could not connect with the storyline or characters.

When know One Is Watching By Alyssa Cole Is about Brownstones In New York city and Everything is about white people and then black people. Living there And then in the middle of the book the whole thing changes And I can't really tell you what happened It just wasn't my type of book.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I’m not really sure why this book has great reviews because it really didn’t really do anything for me. I did not enjoy any part of this book at all, unfortunately. I didn't care for Sydney or any of the characters. I don’t even want to do a review for this book, that’s how much I didn’t like it.

Sydney is trying so hard to keep things together while her Mom is sick but everything seems to be stacked against her. As strange happenings intensify in her neighborhood she begins to investigate with Theo who has been kicked out of his new house. Big topics, thrills, love, and lots of action follow. Be ready for a roller coaster ride!

What can I say about this book that hasn't already been posted? Do I feel you should add it to your Fall reading list-Heck Yeah!
Did I like the point of view? Yes, I think it added to the suspense of the story and offered another side of the story.

The story was well written and overall a great read. I have never read a book by this author so I didn't have any expectations while reading but in reading, I relived history, I was scared, I was yelling at fictitious people, and teary-eyed. By the end, to say I was invested would be an understatement. If I had any critique it would be that when I first opened the book the amount of profanity in the first few pages almost made me put it back down. However, the information was so true and presented in such a real way that I pushed through and did not regret it. With all that is going on in the world today, this book seems very timely. I will be adding it to our book club fall read.



I would like to thank the publisher for providing me a free copy of this novel on Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I'll be posting my review on Goodreads and Amazon