Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - Nightwatching

Hard to get through because pf the anxiety I got while reading it. The inner dialogue made me feel like I was crazy but it was for these reasons that I think makes it a great read for a thriller. It was meant to be a difficult read. TW: LOTS of gaslighting going on in this book.

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autumnrain's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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aj_mooney's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book completely sucked me in from the first sentence. I did not want to put it down once I started. My only complaint is that the middle felt long because I just needed to know the ending, but I also was impressed by how well Sierra was able to maintain intense tension for so long.

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astoriareader's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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.

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klackey224's review against another edition

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Book is way more violent and triggering than the description details. If you have PTSD, have experienced the trauma of gaslighting, or generally just don't do well with crimes against children, it's best to skip it. I was looking forward to reading it as part of Jimmy Fallon's book club, but after 4 chapters (I think?) I was already so anxious I couldn't read anymore. I skipped to the end just to see if there was a sense of justice, but it wasn't enough.

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mrsreads1's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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booklvrkat's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Setting: Winter, New England, Massachusetts, an older farmhouse purchased with her husband.

Time of day: Night, bedtime for her young children.

Senses Used: Touch, it’s suffocatingly dark so she’s going to have to escape with her sense of direction and small touches. Hearing, she knows the sound of her home like the back of her hand, every creak, rumble, and click. Sight, not much since the farmhouse is old and the corners hold shadows darker than ink. Smell, is that fire?

“Easier to believe a woman’s lying than that bad things happened on your watch. Easier to believe the simplest thing is always correct. And it’s simple to say a woman is crazy.”

From a first-time author, this psychological thriller is mind-boggling. Tracy Sierra knows just what to describe to notch up the tension as the mother is grabbing her children, trying to keep them quiet, all the while eluding the shadow-man she’s just seen in her house. While the tension is extreme throughout the story, and as the past to present timelines intersect, we learn that all is not as expected, and to be believed she’s going to have to take matters into her own hands. I listened to this story in one day, the narrator, Emily Ellet (she’s fabulous, and I will be looking for her voice again). I was breathless and thunderstruck in the blizzard of this story.

Fun fact: Tracy Sierra used her own house and the mystery behind it for the description of this story.

CW/TW: misogyny, gun violence, kidnapping, stalking, gaslighting, pedophilia, chronic illness

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