This was a tense book. A mom hides her kids when someone breaks in the house. The police thinks she’s crazy. And she starts doubting herself. There were moments in the story I felt it didn’t flow well but overall, this was a good read.

This book was weird. The dialogue seemed disjointed. The first 40% was boring instead of suspenseful. Then, a couple disturbing moments occurred, which made it a bit better. However, I didn’t really find it interesting until the end. I wouldn’t actively recommend this one.

SYNOPSIS
- A mother and her two, young children are home alone. Outside, there is a blizzard. Inside the mother has tucked her son back into bed in the middle of night.
- The mother hears some noises, including footsteps, and discover there is an intruder in the home.
- They live in New England in a house built in the 1700s, and there is secret tiny “room” or small space, which is hidden behind the paneling of a wall. She hurries there with her young kids. They hide & try to be as quiet as possible, while the mother tries to figure out what to do. Meanwhile, the intruder goes around the house looking for them, and at times, he talks out loud to them. The intruder sounds familiar to her.

MY THOUGHTS
- My favorite thriller, suspense of 2024. I know it’s only May, but there’s just no chance of a book surpassing this one.
- Atmospheric, claustrophobic.
- Excellent pacing.
- I can’t believe this was the author’s debut novel?! No notes. It’s perfect.
- The writing is outstanding, and some of the best I have read in a long time.
- I loved the main character’s running thoughts throughout the book.
- Since there is a lot of action & tension, I was surprised by how much backstory & character development are in this story.
- I could NOT put this down. It consumed all of my thoughts. I finished in under 24 hours. I stayed up late reading, then woke up early to read before work, then read on my lunch break, then read as soon as work ended😂
- My blood pressure was so high the ENTIRE time I was reading this book.
- I wanted to fight the police officers and the father-in-law!
- Super interesting themes intertwined. I loved how she explored cultural bias, gender bias, victim blaming, glorifying horrible people, and 👏🏼never👏🏼believing👏🏼women👏🏼!!!

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️THE best thriller of 2024. idc if it’s May - that’s a wrap, y’all. READ THIS NOW!!!!!! brb I still have tachycardia.

Thanks to Penguin Group Viking, Pamela Dorman Books, and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is out now.

MASTERFULLY done. the start might seem slow to some, with the narrator's internal monologue interspersed with the home invasion, but once it gets going it's impossible to put down.

One of the best books i have read. The author does an amazing job of allowing what you don't see to scare you! I was constantly going back and forth with suspicious eyes for the narrator, I love the erriness that just the idea of questioning certain aspects of this novel brings, it has you questioning everything and in fact maybe that puts you in the shoes of the narrator until the end where all doubt is removed! So tense, absolutely great thriller!!

Ooooof if you’re looking for an incredibly suspenseful read that will pack you with anxiety, highly recommend Nightwatching! I loved this one and am blown away that it is this authors debut - I very much look forward to her next release.

Thank you Penguin Group Viking and Netgalley for my review copy!

There was someone in the house.

Those six words begin the harrowing journey of a mother and her two young children. I love the addition of the blizzard, the pandemic, her vitiligo, and the men’s ability to look past the danger, attributing her hysteria to being female. She will have to draw on all her strength to save them.

Even her husband shook off her being smacked in the face by his father, as if it was her fault. How could that be? He was a bit of a dick, a weakling, so in need of his father’s love, that he would throw his wife under the bus. At one point, I thought, fuck hubby. Why isn’t he there? Why is it her? Why does he allow his father to abuse his wife, as she cooks, cleans, and caters to his dying mother?

The same can be said for the lead investigator of the case, when she finally gets away from the house and the police are called.

The characters are fabulous, the good ones good and the bad ones bad. They all did what was necessary to make Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra a success.

Tracy Sierra’s words bring alive the woman’s terror as soon as I begin reading. I can feel her panic, trying to keep the children quiet, so they don’t give away their hiding place. Listening to the intruder’s footsteps, as he moves from room to room. No one will find them before it is too late. She must do something. But what?

At times, I found myself wondering if she was imagining things, as the thoughts ran through her head. It didn’t take long for me to be on her side, getting angry for the lack of those who are supposed to help her, actually doing so.

“Let’s put private parts on him!” her daughter said. (as they build a snowman)

“Poop!” he shrieked. “Ghosts don’t poop!”

I love that little girl and her brother. They crack me up.

Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra is one of those books that gets me all riled up. My emotions are all over the place. Why is it so easy to dismiss a woman’s fears, saying she is taking things wrong, seeing things that aren’t there, making a mountain out of a mole hill? In this case, it helps create a nailbiting story of suspense, and the pacing creates a tension that had me racing through the pages, having to know what happens next.

Have you ever been dismissed, treated as if you don’t know what you are talking about? I have, and it is not a pleasant feeling, so I stood behind her, willing to go head to head with her husband, the father, the investigator…and the intruder.

Mama bear will do whatever is necessary to protect her cubs.

See more at http://www.fundinmental.com

Many thanks to Netgalley for this arc. I received this arc in exchange for my honest review. My thoughts are entirely my own.

A mother and her two kids are home alone when a man breaks in their home. The mother runs to her kids and gets them to run to a safe room of sorts that is a design flaw that was never filled in or fixed. The kids and mother stay inside the room while the man invading their home taunts them trying to figure out where they are. While the man goes into the attic the mom runs out of the house leaving her kids safely in the safe room and runs for help. The mom ends up injured and ends up in the hospital with her father-in-law givin temporary custody of the kids. The mom stays in the hospital for about 9 days and talks to the sergeant who doesn't believe her story with the lack of evidence. The mom goes and finds an old security device that her husband but in the tree before his death. The man who invaded their home is caught on video and had apparently been stalking their home for months prior. It was revealed that the man impersonated a waiter to get to her daughter and then became obsessed and apparently had done it quite a few times more. I'm glad that the mom was able to keep her kids. This was a very scary situation and I had to read this book in daylight.

Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra had me from the first page! A mother home alone with two children during a blizzard and she realizes someone is in the house! She grabs the kids and quickly heads for a secret room near their fireplace. Now she waits and tries desperately to keep the two young children quiet. I was so anxious reading this! What was going to happen next? I could not stop reading!!!!

From the first page, this book had me hooked. I couldn't read it at night when I was alone, which is probably the highest praise you can give a to a thriller. I talked with Tracy for my podcast, Writers on Writing, and plan to air the show this summer 2024. Carefully plotted and briskly paced. Wow.

Home alone during a home
Invasion, with two small children a mother rushes them all into a hidden room. This wildly creepy read will keep you on the edge of your seat, flipping pages until you read the very last page.

I had heard about Nightwatching from one of my favorite mystery book bloggers/Instagramers, and she named it a favorite of her year so far, so my expectations were high for this one. It is a debut thriller but have no fear. The writing is self-assured, fluid, and it's hard to believe this is the author's first published book.

Maybe because I had heard so much about this book, it initially started a little slow for me. I'll backtrack here, there is definitely spooky, scary things going on from the outset. A mother awakens to find that there is an intruder in her house. She quietly gathers her two children and they hide in a secret compartment in their old house. The action as the man looks for them is terrifying and well drawn out, however, it takes up the first 40 percent of the book, so I wasn't sure if this was going to be the storyline for the whole book. But then at the midpoint stuff happens, things change, and we are propelled into a whole new scenario. This is where things got really interesting for me. Suddenly we are questioning everything we have read.

I think the author did an excellent job at building suspense and terror. Then later, midstream, she does a great job at casting doubt on the version of the story we are hearing. The reader is left unbalanced. What is actually happening? I literally did not know what was the truth and what was lies. Everything eventually wraps up and I found the conclusion of the book imminently satisfying. There would be a lot to discuss here for a book group.

I was able to get my hands on the audiobook, and special mention to the narrator. She does a great job of making "the Corner man" extremely creepy!

Thank you to NetGalley, Tracy Sierra, and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I loved it!

I absolutely devoured this book. It was a little slow at first and I didn't quite understand why some of the information was relevant, but it set up everything perfectly. I got to 20% in the book and could not put it down. I stayed up until 1am to finish it, not only because I just needed to know what happened, but also because it had me scared, I couldn't go to sleep without potentially having nightmares.

This book was the epitome of a psychological, suspenseful thriller, I could not recommend it more. I don't think I've ever read a book that has effected me the way this one did, so creepy, and I found myself not knowing what to believe.

A home invasion during a blizzard. Such a scary premise for a locked room thriller! This book took off with a hot start and I was hooked instantly and honestly terrified. The intruders voice was so creepy.

It started to fall flat for me after the first few chapters. There were times when it felt really suspenseful throughout but for the most part it felt very repetitive. The characters also had no names and I didn’t love that. “Son” “Daughter” “The Corner” “Sergeant”. Overall this book was just mid for me.

I really enjoyed this thriller. It was pretty unique where most of the dialogue was in the main characters head. I found myself nervous the whole time waiting to find out what was going to happen or if our main character was crazy. It touches on death of a spouse and mental health issues after loss. It also touches on a disability for our FMC even though it doesn’t state what that disability is. I had no clue how this was going to end especially as we move from the event to the hospital and then the after. I think our FMC was very strong even when she is doubted the entire book. She does what she needs to do to protect her children and then only wants justice for what happened to them. I also really loved the New England winter setting since it can be pretty creepy and alot of New England is secluded. The ending was not what I expected but a very good thriller all in all.

From the beginning I felt the book was lacking a backstory. It felt confusing and slow .

Thank you Penguin Group Viking and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review

Happy Friday Bookbots! I read this e-ARC of NIGHTWATCHING by @tsierraauthor in three days and all I can say about this debut author is "where have you been all my life?!" This is my kind of thriller! Thank you to the author, @netgalley and the publisher @vikingbooks for the e-galley.

A mother, alone with her children in a big old house, sees a strange man in her home and after skittering her kids to safety in a hidden place in the home, she fights to get help. After the incident is over, the questions start and the lines between reality, grief and dreams blur.

🏠🏠🏠

This story was heart pounding almost from the gate and the tension did not relent until the story came to it's climax. I kept going back and forth as to what I thought was the truth of the story and furiously read to the end to figure it out! I was obsessed with getting to the truth.

There is so much going on in this book, exploring the mistrust in women and specifically their memories, using "othering" to ensure one's own psychological security, and sitting in the depths of grief and sorrow.

I would HIGHLY recommend this story if you are looking for a quick, action-packed thriller with some pretty high stakes in which you are always second-guessing the facts. Easily all the stars and I can't wait to see what this author cooks up next!

❓What scares you more? Ghosts, demons, mythical monsters OR humans with bad intentions. The latter is much more terrifying to me since i.am 100% certain they exist unfortunately.❓

Stay safe out there!

💚SMASHBOT💚

Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra is a debut thriller novel. The story in Nightwatching is one that is told by switching between a present and past timeline. This novel also has a unique twist of not giving the characters names during the narrative.

A mother of two young children finds herself home alone in a somewhat remote setting when she hears a sound in the house. Just up to check on her youngest she hears a man walking up the front steps and quickly gathers her children from their beds hushing them as they rush to hide.

Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra was a debut that I almost passed up reading but boy am I glad I changed my mind and went ahead and picked this one up. The story kicks off into high gear revving up the tension right away with the break in keeping the pages turning. After the high octane start I still found myself unable to put this one down as it slowed a bit giving the back story of the main character but before I had a chance to worry it would fizzle the tension ratcheted right back into play and brought this one to conclusion with my only thought being boy I’d like to see this as a movie!

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a readers copy of this book. My reviews never contain spoilers and are freely given.
This thriller revolves around a mother and her two children who are home alone during a winter storm. In the middle of the night the mother wakes to comfort her child only to find someone has broken in.
I won’t reveal much more than that, but this one is a definite must read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pamela Dorman Books for the eARC! Wow! This thriller was instantaneously gripping, I could NOT stop reading. I was captivated by the story and felt the terror & tension and later the sense of mistrust. At times I was on the edge of my seat, other times my blood boiled with frustration and anger for the main character’s experience, This was an excellent psychological thriller that was a roller coaster of emotions. Incredible!