Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - When No One Is Watching

This starts out with a romcom atmosphere and then just keeps ramping up the tension. There were both laugh-out-loud moments and full-volume gasp plot twists. I've seen a few reviews that think the villains are too cartoonish but honestly, there's very little that an antagonist character says in this that I haven't seen a real-world white person say or come close to saying when they think no one is looking. Having the two POVs kept me guessing and also gave the author a way to impart the real-world info (eg about redlining) in a way that made sense with the plot.

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leahsbooks's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This was one of these books that I’ve heard so many people raving about, that I just couldn’t resist snapping up the audiobook when it was available at my library. I’m so glad that I chose the audiobook too, since the narrators were outstanding. The woman portraying Sydney did a fabulous job of conveying her growing sense of unease as it escalates into outright paranoia. And the narrator portraying Theo did a wonderful job of balancing Theo’s desire to help with learning about his own privilege and how to be an ally to the Black community.

It started out a little slow, but I was enjoying getting to know the two main characters as it set the stage for the story to develop. And boy did the story develop. Once I was comfortable with the characters and the setting, things really did kick off, and the pace sped up. There were some truly surprising plot twists that kept me listening non-stop.

It wasn’t always a comfortable read, and there were some truly cringeworthy moments. Some of the characters make comments that are rife with microaggressions, and there are some outright racist statements made. The story incorporates a number of sensitive issues, including racism, mental health, gentrification, and how the Black community relates to the police, and it felt as though it was done realistically.

I often find that the scariest books are those that can and do actually happen. This story felt so true to life, that it was horrifying. While I don’t want to give anything important away, this is a situation that didn’t seem all that far-fetched. Gentrification is a very real situation that occurs in neighborhoods all over, and very few people really think about what happens to people to the people who get pushed out in the name of the almighty dollar.

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sucreslibrary's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny informative 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

4.0

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lilifane's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious tense medium-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

I loved it. No one is more surprised than I am but this was the perfect book for me.
It starts super slow and nothing really happens for 60-70% of it, just introducing the characters, building up the story, setting the mood. And then it gets very dark very quickly and the ending is just wild.

The story is told from a dual perspective of two neighbours, Sydney and Theo. They live in a historically Black neighbourhood in Brooklyn - Sydney grew up there, Theo just moved in with this girlfriend. There is a huge focus on gentrification, internalised racism and police brutality. While the Black residents of the community struggle to keep their houses, more and more White families are moving in. And mysterious things start to happen.

I really liked how these important topics were part of the story. And with liked I mean they made me furious. Loved all the historical background, the characters, the portrayal of this community. I understand that others might expect more from the ending... Usually, such an ending would be too unrealistic and maybe even ruin the book for me but here it had the opposite effect. There was so much anger that had built up in me, I desperately needed this conclsion. There is also a romance plot that might be unnecessary but I even enjoyed this.

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