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    When No One Is Watching: A Thriller
    When No One Is Watching: A Thriller
    When No One Is Watching: A Thriller
    Audiobook8 hours

    When No One Is Watching: A Thriller

    Written by Alyssa Cole

    Narrated by Susan Dalian and Jay Aaseng

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    ""I was knocked over by the momentum of an intense psychological thriller that doesn’t let go until the final page. This is a terrific read."" – Alafair Burke, New York Times bestselling author

    Rear Window meets Get Out in this gripping thriller from a critically acclaimed and New York Times Notable author, in which the gentrification of a Brooklyn neighborhood takes on a sinister new meaning…

    Sydney Green is Brooklyn born and raised, but her beloved neighborhood seems to change every time she blinks. Condos are sprouting like weeds, FOR SALE signs are popping up overnight, and the neighbors she’s known all her life are disappearing. To hold onto her community’s past and present, Sydney channels her frustration into a walking tour and finds an unlikely and unwanted assistant in one of the new arrivals to the block—her neighbor Theo.

    But Sydney and Theo’s deep dive into history quickly becomes a dizzying descent into paranoia and fear. Their neighbors may not have moved to the suburbs after all, and the push to revitalize the community may be more deadly than advertised.

    When does coincidence become conspiracy? Where do people go when gentrification pushes them out? Can Sydney and Theo trust each other—or themselves—long enough to find out before they too disappear?

    Editor's Note

    Heart-pounding chills…

    In “When No One Is Watching,” Cole turns her attention from heart-melting romance to heart-pounding chills. Gentrification has never been creepier than in this tense page-turner. As property rates rise in an historically Black neighborhood in Brooklyn, longtime community members start disappearing. One local resident — reeling from a bad breakup, her mother’s illness, and insomnia — is convinced foul play is afoot. She can’t go to the cops, so she sets out to sleuth out the truth herself.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateSep 1, 2020
    ISBN9780063036048
    When No One Is Watching: A Thriller
    Author

    Alyssa Cole

    Alyssa Cole is an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thrillers and romance (historical, contemporary, and sci-fi). Her books have received critical acclaim from Library Journal, BuzzFeed, Kirkus, Booklist, Jezebel, Vulture, Book Riot, Entertainment Weekly, and various other outlets. When she’s not working, she can usually be found watching anime or wrangling her many pets.

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    Reviews for When No One Is Watching

    4/5

    1,704 ratings117 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be a mix of positive and negative reviews. Some readers loved the story, finding it interesting, suspenseful, and relatable. They enjoyed the narrators and the bi-narration style. However, others felt that there was too much racial tension and conspiracy theories. Some found the book slow at first but picked up in the second half. Overall, the book is seen as a thought-provoking thriller with a clear statement about social issues, specifically gentrification. It may not be for everyone, but those who enjoyed it found it to be a favorite read.

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Brilliant, and also hugely uncomfortable, because it could so easily be reality. Reality isn’t quite as extreme as the ending, but the insidious nature of racism and gentrification was horrifyingly accurate

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Bloody awesome story, kept my intrigued right to the end

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      I don't read many thriller genre books so I can't make comparisons, but I enjoyed this book though I don't know if I would categorize it as a thriller specifically. Maybe Social and Economic Horror story. I enjoyed the characters and the overall story. I think there could have been more suspense and build-up; A bit tightening of certain moments. The ending was a bit fantastical BUT if you are aware of the past and present treatment of BIPOC people it's not that far fetched. The climax and end does feel a little bit rushed and the deus ex machina was an eyeroll moment. Overall a thoughtful book with a clear statement about social issues, specifically gentrification. And as someone who has family in neighborhoods undergoing their own brands of "rejuvenation" it is a horrific and chilling tale .

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Sydney is going through a lot right now. She's battling with debt collectors, missing her mother, has been through a divorce, and now her neighborhood is being taken over by a company that's putting up condos. Sydney was raised in Brooklyn. She doesn't want to be forced to leave her home. She wants to keep her neighborhood alive. After witnessing first hand how terrible the neighborhood tour was, she decides to do some research and dig up some history for her own walking tour. One of the new neighbors, Theo, who is also dealing with his own misfortunes at the moment, volunteers to help her with the research. Things are suddenly starting to change but not by any means for the good. Sydney has a strange and scary run in with an Uber driver, stores are suddenly falling under new management, and her best friend has suddenly ghosted her. What is going on? Where is everyone going. Sydney is getting down right angry over the sudden developments that just don't make any sense at all. She's suddenly faced without knowing who she can even trust anymore. Is she in danger? Can she even trust Theo? Can the two figure out what's going on before they themselves become history?
      Let me first start out by saying how silly I feel having little to know knowledge of gentrification, which is a huge part of this book. When I first started listening to this book, I was a little lost and unsure how some of it was even relevant to the story. When Sydney and Theo started to piece everything together, I also had my aha moment. There were some pretty intense twists in this book. It's honestly taken me a bit to even process what I've read to the point that I had to digest it for a bit before I wrote a review as I just couldn't even figure out how to put it into words. This was a great book and I highly recommend it! I rate this ⭐⭐⭐⭐?

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      I enjoyed this book! It was a bit of a slow burn but it definitely turns on its head towards the end which left me wanting more.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      The layers to this book are amazing! A creepy perspective on the pain of gentrification. The Romance writer did a great job into the realm of mystery.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      This book is filled with a depth of knowledge about blacks in Brooklyn alongside a thrilling mystery of (what’s going on here??) feel. I enjoyed the narrative voice so much. Fantastic!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      Took a bit too long to get to the suspense and mystery. Important history of race relations and good concepts, but just too slow going

      1 person found this helpful

    • 1/5
      I suffered through this book. I wish now I would have just not finished it.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      This book was amazing! I was not expecting this at all. What transpired in this story seems inconceivable, but is totally plausible. I can’t stop thinking about it and sharing it with friends. Can’t wait to read Ms. Cole’s next thriller. Keep ‘em coming!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I had to pause the book at times (as I was getting spooked). This is so good!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      Interesting premise. But it wasn’t holding together in the end!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 1/5
      Story starts out with empty ramblings and unnecessary swearing. .

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      What a thriller! The plot had me going back and forth. Just when I thought I figured it out, things got twisted. This is a great audiobook to listen to while walking. At the end, I just had to listen to the last chapters in one session because it was too good to stop. The narrators were great and I'm looking for another Alyssa Cole book!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 2/5
      This book was painful!
      Way way to far fetched!
      Unlikeable characters

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      This book was truly terrifying, horror without anything supernatural. This all could really happen. This novel really has helped me to understand better how there are systems that are not designed by or for everyone equally. Reading through this fictional nightmare through the eyes of Sydney, the protagonist, helped me to identify how POC must feel powerless when the deck is stacked against them. This was my first Alyssa Cole novel and I look forward to reading others by her.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 1/5
      This goes in DNF. By chapter three, I was done hearing main character complain about white people moving into “her” neighborhood. The book comes off incredibly racist.
    • 1/5
      Got 10 minutes in, stopped listening, clearly written by a racist
    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed this novel! It did have a curveball I didn’t see coming and I really appreciated that about the book! Would read/listen to again! ?
    • 5/5
      This book is so very angry and if it doesn’t make you angry too, you must be dead inside.
    • 5/5
      Jaw on the floor! I just finished this book and I am speechless. It was so good but heart breaking at the same time. I was definitely on the edge of my seat. Finished this book in 24 hours!
    • 5/5
      So brilliant and the best ending. Sadly based on reality yet horrifying.
    • 4/5
      This book was highly suspenseful towards the end. Good read. However, TRIGGER WARNING: This book deals with a lot of racial stereotypes towards African Americans. It can be highly upsetting. I found myself fast forwarding some parts. I almost didn’t finish, but wanted to see what the big conspiracy was.
    • 5/5
      Absolutely gripping. The pace is breathtaking. I challenge anyone to put it down once they have started.
    • 5/5
      This book kept my interest. I just hope that it doesn’t leave people fearing research participation. This type of experimentation is thankfully a thing of the past and there are strict ethical boards overseeing research.
    • 5/5
      I couldn't stop listening!! Haven't read many thrillers. This was an incredible introduction to the genre.
    • 5/5
      This is a truly scary thriller. After a slow, but interesting, start it speeds up to a climax. I'm white and I've empathized with non-whites often enough in the past. But somehow this book really brought home how awful it must have been (still is?) to be a person of color in a world that still thinks that white people are superior.
    • 5/5
      So good! I feel like the bad reviews/complaints about the ending are kinda missing the point of the story. This book added a sinister edge to an already sinister reality- could see this being made into show/movie.
    • 5/5
      this may have been the strangest book i have ever read - which is saying a lot because i read a lot of psychological thrillers. initially i wasn’t into it bc i wasn’t looking for a book about racist U.S. history. i read enough about that for work, don’t need it for fun. but then the story took so many twists and turns. i never knew what was coming or exactly who to trust. educational, emotional, entertaining, surprising. one of my favorite reads this year!
    • 4/5
      This was such an amazing book. I was hooked from beginning to end.