This was a fantastic book. It was almost like I just wanted to finish reading it because it was creeping me out so much! SPOILER: I did falter a little bit through the book and think maybe she was crazy, but I was so happy when that wasn't the case. And the fact that the police offer didn't believe her and in the end, it got him killed. Fucker...he deserved it. Just thinking all women are "crazy" - I just absolutely loved that. I will say in the beginning, I was worried I was going to get a little bored and the whole book they were going to be hiding, but the action kicked up eventually. This book has that subtle creep factor, where it makes you just a little antsy reading it. And the fact that she wasn't crazy and it was a stranger who was stalking her and he was planning out breaking into the house - sooooooo creepy!!! And I know the book was designed this way but that father-in-law I wanted to murder. I honestly can't remember what happened to him at the end of the book. I think he lived? But he didn't have the kids. She should've made him die too. ( )

"You should’ve believed her. You should’ve believed your little girl."

I only heard of this book because of Jimmy Fallon's book club but I am very happy that I jumped on this bandwagon and read the book. I actually finished the book in two days because I found it hard to put this down.

This is another book that used COVID to set a backdrop of isolation for the story. Isolation is often the thing that leads people to question everything, even the reality of the current situation. This entire book is about questioning because not only is the main character questioning her sanity and her reality but the reader gets led to questioning whether this narrator can be trusted. There are enough twists (large and small) to the story to keep it moving forward. And the end of the story does not feel rushed or tied up with a neat bow as seems to be true of so many books published these days.

Further, this book is about (dis)trust -- of self, of children, of spouses, of in-laws, of strangers. It is necessary to sift out so much noisy information to get to the core of whether a person is owed trust or distrust. I know that there were points in the story where I really distrusted the narrator but at some point I was won over to her side and I had to stop myself from trusting everything that she said.

All of this means that the characters in this book felt quite realistic and not just cardboard cutouts going through the motions of the plot. ( )

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.

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NIGHTWATCHING is a nerve-wracking literary thriller about a mother and her two young children hiding from a man who's invaded their home. There were parts of this book that were truly terrifying, and it's something I would not want to read if I was home alone!

Overall, I'm left with mixed feelings. There were so many flashbacks that slowed the pace, and the main character's ongoing inner monologue was a bit much. On the flip side, the home invasion parts were riveting.

The book highlights the ways women are gaslit by men not wanting to believe them, and all the men in this book were pretty awful. Even her 5-year old son was annoying. UGH! I ended up very frustrated with the main character several times, and maybe that was the point. The reader gets to feel the same frustration that she does. NIGHTWATCHING was good, but I didn't love it. ( )

Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra is a highly recommended domestic horror novel that morphs into a psychological thriller.

There is a blizzard outside and a mother is at home alone with her two children, ages 8 and 5, when she hears something and knows that someone is in the house. She happens to be in the shadows of the hall by her son's room when she seems the huge, tall man come up the stairs, hesitate, and then head in the opposite direction, to her room. She wakes the children with admonishments to make no noise and they quickly creep downstairs to hide in the hidden, tiny secret space concealed behind a wall. They can hear the man searching for them, while talking to them out loud and taunting them. The mother has one goal now - she must save her children.

While the tension is almost unbearable during the current situation, the narrative has flashbacks to previous events in the protagonists life. Readers will realize her husband is missing on this night and will also learn about earlier events in her life. The novel is written in a third person limited point-of-view, which works well in this case. The descriptions within the settings are very well-written and bring the struggles and challenges facing her to life.

The characters are unnamed in this debut novel, which would not be my preference in a novel, but it is handled adeptly. Everything we know is filtered through the unnamed mother's perspective and we are only following her thoughts and observations. To be honest, the frequent mentions of how tiny, small, and petite the protagonist is does become a tad bit annoying at a certain point as does her hesitation to stand up for herself.

The first part of Nightwatching is definitely written as a horror novel and then the novel transforms to more closely resemble a psychological thriller. The final denouement is very satisfying and makes up for some of the earlier doubts and questions about the plot that arose while I was reading. Thanks to Penguin Viking/Pamela Dorman Books for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
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