When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole

Trigger warning: racism, violence, hate crimes, police brutality

Sydney Green is disgusted and annoyed watching her neighborhood change with new people moving in. New, white people. The entire landscape is changing rapidly, and she is not happy. While trying to create a neighborhood tour that accurately portrays her neighborhood, she meets a new neighbor, Theo. Theo is in a complicated and failing marriage and is swept away by Sydney the minute he meets her. In his attempts to help her with her tour, the neighborhood continues to change more than Sydney could have imagined.

I loved this book. It was weird but in the best way possible. Nothing made sense, and everything was crazy, but I loved every minute of it. I was thoroughly shocked throughout this entire novel. I’m rarely surprised by horror/thriller books, so being this shocked was a beautiful change of pace.

The character work was beautifully done. I feel like I got to know every community member. I truly hated the “bad” characters and the “good” characters you couldn’t help but love. The two main characters, Sydney and Theo, were complicated. They had layers that made them enjoyable, and they made decisions that made the reader frustrated, but I always knew where they were coming from. The setting was the best part of this story. It made me miss New York so much. The neighborhood felt alive. The community was a character itself.

The plot was a wild ride, and if you buckle up, you’ll still be jostled. If you are a fan of the movie Get Out, you will love this novel. Cole manages to make a horrifying reality, gentrification, even scarier. Cole is a talent, and this story needs to be read by those who can handle it.