Book Review: When No One is Watching

A book has to be pretty special for my husband to hear me read a few snippets and decide to pick it up for himself. That’s exactly what happened with When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole. However good you think this book will be, it’s better. Cole expertly weaves together a tale about grief, isolation, distrust, and camaraderie while slipping in a budding romance.

But if you asked me what this book is about I’d say loss. In it, we lose people (though “lose” may not be the entirely appropriate term here), we lose our surroundings, we lose our culture and we may just lose ourselves. And I say “we” because I feel like I am walking right alongside Sydney as she experiences the gentrification of her home and community. It’s infuriating, especially when you consider how all too real this situation is.

That’s not to say this book doesn’t tick off the spooky boxes. It falls into the mystery/thriller/horror categories for a reason. There are several great movies that I’d like to compare it to, but I feel like that’d be giving too much away.

Things that this book left me pondering: learning to trust after betrayal(s) is hard, but vital. Some people really are trying to help. But that includes trusting your instincts and when something feels off it probably is. We have more in common than we think we do and the real battle is rich versus poor. And the ones who came before us hold more value than we like to appreciate. They’ve been here before and we need to look to them for the wisdom necessary to forge ahead.

I know all of that sounds pretty vague, but I hesitate to give away anymore for fear of ruining the mysteries of this great book. The subject matter is dark, but there are laugh out loud moments sprinkled throughout. It was impossible to put down. Just ask my husband who read the second half in one evening.

5/5 stars