Meg Russo and her daughter, Lily, have returned home and re-opened their family bookstore whilst still reeling from the auto accident that killed her husband, Justin. They were taking Lily to college when a group of men started stalking, racing, and photographing them - Meg lost control of the car and Justin died. Picking up the pieces, Meg is back at the bookstore where she's confronted by odd and angry patrons. Whilst these events are occurring, Lily has started a relationship with a boy who has her digging into her past. She uncovers a dangerous conspiracy theory, with her family at the center. Alison Gaylin is one of my most favorite authors - she is so true to her characters in developing them - and then throwing in the perfect twists and turns! In "We Are Watching", she cranks up the paranoia and conspiracy theories to high marks. A wonderful read! Thank you to William Morrow for an advanced reader of this book - the opinions expressed are my own.

I couldn’t put this book down! We Are Watching was suspenseful and twisty with three well written protagonists. After the loss of her husband in a tragic car crash, Meg is attempting to pull herself out of her grief and building a new normal in her life. She’s trying to build a stronger relationship with her college aged daughter Lily and her paranoid and reclusive father, as well as get back to her job running a local bookstore. But as she begins having weird interactions with strangers, she uncovers a dangerous conspiracy theory, with her family at the center of it.
Props to Alison Gaylon for crafting such a creepy atmosphere of paranoia. The feeling of being watched and not knowing who to trust was woven into the story from the very first chapter. I enjoyed all three of the main characters and seeing their troubled family dynamics from each other’s sides.
I think most creepy of all was how plausible this plot feels. In this age of social media, “fake news”, and now deepfakes and AI, this story felt like food for thought. How can we know what’s real? How can we convince others what’s real? And how dangerous can the consequences be when we blindly trust the internet?

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to read this because I enjoyed another of the author’s books, The Collective, which was very disturbing. We Are Watching made it look like a children’s book.

Meg’s husband dies in a horrible car accident and she blames herself, because she was driving. Soon after, Meg and her daughter Lily realize they are being targeted by an online community of conspiracy theorists who think Meg’s dad, a famous bassist, is a Satan-worshipping warlock. The things that are happening to Meg and Lily get crazier and crazier, and they don’t know who they can trust. There are a lot of profoundly disturbing things in this book, like live-streaming murders.

The thing that bothered me most about this book wasn’t the deranged actions of the conspiracy theorists, but the way they blended into the community and seemed like normal people. The group reminded me of QAnon and it was horrifying to see how easily they believed in the conspiracy and acted as if they were the ones who would save the world. I have a renewed empathy for the victims affected by these terrible lies, in our real world, today.

One thing I hoped would happen, but didn’t, is a reconciliation between Meg and the guy who came to fix her window. I like to think he wasn’t part of the conspiracy and that he would understand why she acted the way she did. But, alas, we’ll never know!

You know that feeling of someone watching you? Imagine feeling like that for every hour of every day.
Meg, Justin and their daughter Lily were on their way to take Lily to college when tragedy struck. A car pulled up beside theirs on the highway and the men inside were acting odd. Next thing they know, Meg had lost control of the vehicle and Justin didn’t survive the crash.

A few months later, Meg is pushed to re-open her local bookstore that her and Justin owned together. Not long after the re-opening, people begin targeting both Meg and Lily. As the targeted events continue, they discover that this group of people is obsessed with a book called the Prophesy that Meg had written 30 years earlier.. These people believe the book predicts an apocalyptic event. There are social media posts/videos that connect both the book and Meg’s father to Satanism. Therefore, they must seek revenge on Meg since she wrote the novel.

Through all of this, Meg and Lily begin to wonder if the car accident was more than just an accident….

This was my first novel by Alison Gaylin and it definitely will not be my last. I had a hard time putting this one down. As I worked my way through the story, I felt like I was watching a movie unfold in my mind. The author creates such beautiful, realistic imagery that I felt like I was right there, submerged in the story. It was like I could feel the feelings the characters were feeling as they felt them. I remember my skin crawling a few different times.

This was a unique storyline that I really enjoyed! I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for this advance copy of We Are Watching by Alison Gaylin. I read Gaylin’s The Collective when it came out and loved it, and I was very excited to receive her next work.

One thing that Gaylin does so well is introduce these “wtf” plot lines that seem so far fetched, yet somehow rooted in making the reader think “okay, that could absolutely happen”. In this one we’re following married couple Meg and Justin, and their daughter Lily as they’re involved in a motor vehicle crash, and details begin to emerge that it may have not been an accident. This one touches a lot on conspiracy theories and how quickly things could spiral. While I didn’t enjoy it as much as The Collective, I found it to be very fast paced and I just wanted to keep reading.

Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for this review. We Are Watching releases soon, January 28, 2025!

We Are Watching by Alison Gaylin is an unique, interesting, thrilling story about a conspiracy that wrecks the life of Megan and her daughter Lilly. It is fast paced, intriguing, and difficult to put down. You don't know who to trust or who has joined the conspiracy. It is a great psychological thriller that I highly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley, Willam Morrow, and The Scene of the Crime Early Readers for the advanced copy of the book. The opinions are my own.

Thank you so much to William Morrow for the gifted ARC!

There's crazy thrillers and then there's this one!

This one was just a little too out of the box for me, but if you're into crazy conspiracy thrillers, this is the one for you!

I really liked the intensity of the beginning with the car chase, but became less and less interested in the story as it was clear which way things were going.

I'll still read whatever she writes next since I loved THE COLLECTIVE so much!

This is out January 28th!

I usually like psychological thrillers because they are dark and suspenseful. We Are Watching is both dark and suspenseful, and this, combined with an interesting plotline, hooked me.

Justin and Meg are taking their daughter, Lily, to college when they are involved in a bizarre accident that kills Justin. Meg and Lily pick up the pieces and try to move forward when a woman enters Meg's bookstore and, after behaving peculiarly, tells Meg "they" are watching. More strangers begin to threaten Meg and Lily and video their encounters. It turns out there is a cult of conspiracy theorists who believe Meg and her rock musician father have predicted the apocalypse and the end is coming. Not knowing who to trust, Meg, Lily, and Meg's father battle for their lives only days before the prophesized apocalypse as the cult becomes bolder.

I liked this book's odd storyline; it was dark and all too plausible. The writing is good, and the pacing kept me wanting to read more. I'm surprised I haven't run across this award-winning author before now. She is on my radar now, and I look forward to reading more of her books. 4/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and William Morrow, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is January 28, 2025.

Really kept me hooked, I read this in one weekend. There was something so unsettling, yet so familiar, about this story. How people can be swept up in beliefs based on rumors. But the extent the believers go to was downright frightening.

After an explosive start, the beginning of this book was a little slow for me. Meg and her daughter Lily are getting over an accident that killed their husband and father. A lot of characters are introduced and there are long dialogues establishing their personalities, backstories and relationships. This is not something that I normally enjoy, so I wasn’t sure that I was going to like this book. Then, Lily and Meg find out why freaky stuff has happened around them all their lives. Meg’s father, an aging rocker, may not have been paranoid after all and then all the tiny details that I thought were boring, all the characters that I didn’t see the point of, all the dialogues that provided information became terribly important. From there, the plot never stopped and I couldn’t put the novel down. The writing is very good, the characters are very well developed and it’s fascinating to see how they change as you learn more about them. I also went from a slight dislike for Grandpa Nate to openly cheering for these three people. The ending seemed a little sudden, but it made sense and even left room for a little shocker. Very good!
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/William Morrow.

Really enjoyed this novel and its level of suspense. The conspiratorial thinking of the mob harassing a family for multiple generations is timely, and I loved the ending, which left the conspiracy just that...a conspiracy.

Dark, disturbing and deeply unsettling, Alison Gaylin has done it again!

Meg is driving the car as she and her husband, Justin, are taking their daughter, Lily, to college. When some skinheads start to harass them on the highway, Meg loses control and Justin is killed when the car goes off the road. Months later, she returns to work at her bookstore but her world has changed in more ways than she imagined. People are watching her and Lily and no one can be trusted. What in the world is going on?

This story is horrifying and filled with paranoia. I wasn’t sure who to trust and could not imagine how it was all going to turn out. I really don’t want to spoil this for anyone, you just need to go in and experience it for yourself. If you enjoyed her book, The Collective, you will love this new one!

Thank you Netgalley, William Morrow, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on January 28, 2025

Thank you William Morrow and NetGalley for the digital e-arc. Appreciate it!

This book has something for just about everyone- rock & roll, family drama, a decades old fantasy book, and a cult. What more could a reader ask for?

Meg and Justin are driving their daughter Lily to college to start her freshman year. Lily notices the passengers in the car next to them are recorder her with their phones. Their driving gets more aggressive and Meg’s car crashes, killing Justin. Weeks later, after recovering from the accident, Meg returns to work at the bookstore she and Justin owned. The store was founded by Meg’s father, a former singer and guitarist who never really made the big time. Soon Meg and Lily discover that their family is at the center of an online cult’s obsession. And that obsession is turning deadly.

This one just pulled me right in from the jump. Author Alison Gaylin kept me on the edge in my seat trying to figure out what was going to happen next. She is an excellent storyteller and keeps ratcheting up the tension as the story unfolds. I found story is also very thought provoking too. It shows how far a conspiracy theory can spread and take over eventually ruining people’s lives.

We Are Watching comes out Jan. 28. Preorder it now or add it to your tbr list. It’s a good one!

NetGalley! Thank you for getting me out of a reading slump with this one. Alison Gaylin is one of my favorite authors rn and I was so stoked to receive an arc of this book (comes out in January, run don’t walk)

This was such an interesting premise, and one I haven’t seen done before. At times it felt a little unrealistic but that’s also what added to the whole creepy and trapped element of the book. Absolutely go pick this one up once it gets released, I was so enthralled the whole time. Thank you again to NetGalley for the opportunity!

This started out very slow for me but half way thru it picked up. I wasn't sure where the story was going for a long while, that bothered me but the writing was good so I kept with it. The second half was very intriguing and put together. Definitely worth a read if you like slow burns.

This is one of those authors who I wish was given more recognition. Every single book of hers that I have read, I have absolutely loved, and this one is no exception. It was creepy, chilling, and thought-provoking. Not just the story either, but the reality of what conspiracy theories can lead people to do. The writing was descriptive, giving the reader a sense of being right there in the story, visualizing every character, the surroundings, and the overall atmosphere. This was suspenseful through and through. It evoked that eerie feeling of being watched, not knowing who to trust from beginning to end. Anyone who loves stories involving cults will love this one. Four and a half stars.

Thank you, Netgalley and William Morrow, for this ARC.

A psychological thriller built around conspiracy thriller threats. What if something you did when you were a kid kicked off a bunch of conspiracy theories and categorized you as the spawn of the devil? They are watching you and waiting for the right moment to attack you and your family.

This book starts off tragically with the death of Meg's husband as they are driving their daughter Lily to Ithaca College. Months later when she is reopening her bookstore, strange people start appearing and the comments on her social media focus on doomsday approaching on '121222'. It was suspenseful until the end. I felt you didn't know who to trust in Meg's life with so many followers out there. It gives you chills, especially since conspiracy theorists can be crazy!

You know that feeling of someone watching you? Imagine feeling like that for every hour of every day.
Meg, Justin and their daughter Lily were on their way to take Lily to college when tragedy struck. A car pulled up beside theirs on the highway and the men inside were acting odd. Next thing they know, Meg had lost control of the vehicle and Justin didn’t survive the crash.

A few months later, Meg is pushed to re-open her local bookstore that her and Justin owned together. Not long after the re-opening, people begin targeting both Meg and Lily. As the targeted events continue, they discover that this group of people is obsessed with a book called the Prophesy that Meg had written 30 years earlier.. These people believe the book predicts an apocalyptic event. There are social media posts/videos that connect both the book and Meg’s father to Satanism. Therefore, they must seek revenge on Meg since she wrote the novel.

Through all of this, Meg and Lily begin to wonder if the car accident was more than just an accident….

This was my first novel by Alison Gaylin and it definitely will not be my last. I had a hard time putting this one down. As I worked my way through the story, I felt like I was watching a movie unfold in my mind. The author creates such beautiful, realistic imagery that I felt like I was right there, submerged in the story. It was like I could feel the feelings the characters were feeling as they felt them. I remember my skin crawling a few different times.

This was a unique storyline that I really enjoyed! I highly recommend this book.

Wow! This is definitely a unique storyline. What did I just read???

A couple is on the way to take their daughter to her first year of college. While on the road, a car causes them to have a terrible wreck, leaving one of them dead. The two that remain will soon find out just how that accident was connected.

This story was definitely a trip!

3.5 ⭐️

This was fantastic. I really enjoyed reading it and didn’t want to put it down. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!