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A review by tofugoddess
When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
When No One is Watching is a thriller/mystery based around the theme of gentrification. The story is done from two perspectives, Sydney, a black woman who has lived in her historic Brooklyn neighborhood most of her life, and Theo, a white man who just moved in across the street.
I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did, but unfortunately I couldn't get past some weird writing choices.
First, the villains in this book are comically flat. They're just pure evil, with no ulterior motives beyond being racist and wanting money. I'm not saying people like this can't exist in real life, but such one-dimensional characters get boring very quickly. Also, every scene with them has them explicitly explaining their evil plan to each other while stating facts that everyone present should already be aware of ("we hold all the power, the police and media are on our side!"). It felt like a parody of itself.
Second, the reveal of the conspiracy at the end was incredibly unrealistic. A supernatural explanation would have made more sense than what was decided on. Structural racism and gentrification are real problems to be solved, but the roots of the issues are complicated and multifaceted. They're not the result of some evil cabal meeting regularly and asking how they can do a racism today while also leaving an easily stumbled-upon paper trail. It kind of felt like what a conservative thinks a liberal believes about the world.
Finally, some of the descriptive language was just plain weird. At one point someone's laugh is described as sounding like jicama going over a grater?? I'm not sure what the author was going for there.
I like the idea of a thriller based on gentrification and still think the idea has a lot of promise if done differently, but I just couldn't get past my criticism long enough to fully enjoy the book. Three stars.
I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did, but unfortunately I couldn't get past some weird writing choices.
First, the villains in this book are comically flat. They're just pure evil, with no ulterior motives beyond being racist and wanting money. I'm not saying people like this can't exist in real life, but such one-dimensional characters get boring very quickly. Also, every scene with them has them explicitly explaining their evil plan to each other while stating facts that everyone present should already be aware of ("we hold all the power, the police and media are on our side!"). It felt like a parody of itself.
Second, the reveal of the conspiracy at the end was incredibly unrealistic. A supernatural explanation would have made more sense than what was decided on. Structural racism and gentrification are real problems to be solved, but the roots of the issues are complicated and multifaceted. They're not the result of some evil cabal meeting regularly and asking how they can do a racism today while also leaving an easily stumbled-upon paper trail. It kind of felt like what a conservative thinks a liberal believes about the world.
Finally, some of the descriptive language was just plain weird. At one point someone's laugh is described as sounding like jicama going over a grater?? I'm not sure what the author was going for there.
I like the idea of a thriller based on gentrification and still think the idea has a lot of promise if done differently, but I just couldn't get past my criticism long enough to fully enjoy the book. Three stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Slavery
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Police brutality, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual content