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booklvrkat's review
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Gun violence, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Violence, Chronic illness, Pedophilia, and Toxic relationship
lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I picked this up because it is the Literally Dead Book Club pick for the month of April.
"Nightwatching" follows a mother one blizzarding evening as she is home alone with her two young children. She is awoken to a noise and quickly realizes that they are not alone in the house. Now, she is determined to get herself and her children to safety.
I ran the gambit of emotions during this book. I was scared of the intruder and what might happen to the children, I was angry that the main character was seemingly dismissed by everyone, and I was inspired by her love for her children, no matter what.
The book dragged a little bit for me in the beginning because the author chose to go into a lot of detail about what was happening with the intruder. I think for a lot of people this was probably an appealing aspect because it increases the anxiety of whether or not they will make it out of the house unscathed. However, for me, I just wanted to move on. I wanted to see the fallout of whether they made it out or not. I was very pleased to see the story progress forward.
This book really solidified for me how little I like cops as a general rule. They always seem so quick to dismiss women, and that was definitely the case for the mother in this book. I also HATED her father-in-law. There are a lot of themes of misogyny in this book that fueled the fire.
The mother is not a trained cop or detective, but she did her own investigating in a way that I think anyone would have given the circumstance. It was very believable how she investigated what truly happened, and whether or not the situation was solved.
I will definitely be picking up more from Tracy Sierra, and I highly recommend this book, just read it with the light on.
"Nightwatching" follows a mother one blizzarding evening as she is home alone with her two young children. She is awoken to a noise and quickly realizes that they are not alone in the house. Now, she is determined to get herself and her children to safety.
I ran the gambit of emotions during this book. I was scared of the intruder and what might happen to the children, I was angry that the main character was seemingly dismissed by everyone, and I was inspired by her love for her children, no matter what.
The book dragged a little bit for me in the beginning because the author chose to go into a lot of detail about what was happening with the intruder. I think for a lot of people this was probably an appealing aspect because it increases the anxiety of whether or not they will make it out of the house unscathed. However, for me, I just wanted to move on. I wanted to see the fallout of whether they made it out or not. I was very pleased to see the story progress forward.
This book really solidified for me how little I like cops as a general rule. They always seem so quick to dismiss women, and that was definitely the case for the mother in this book. I also HATED her father-in-law. There are a lot of themes of misogyny in this book that fueled the fire.
The mother is not a trained cop or detective, but she did her own investigating in a way that I think anyone would have given the circumstance. It was very believable how she investigated what truly happened, and whether or not the situation was solved.
I will definitely be picking up more from Tracy Sierra, and I highly recommend this book, just read it with the light on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Stalking, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Misogyny
Moderate: Kidnapping and Gun violence
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.75
Finished reading: April 16th 2024
“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.”
I kept seeing this debut everywhere and the premise sounded delightfully creepy, so of course I ended up giving in and decided to add Nightwatching to my priority TBR. It's true that hyped books can go both ways for me, but I'm SO glad I listened to my intuition here... Because the fact is: I was completely bowled over by this claustrophobic and simply spine-chilling story. WHAT a read! It's funny how part of me absolutely hated my time with Nightwatching, while I was also completely hooked and in awe at the same time. This sounds completely contradictory, but I think that if you have read this story you will probably know what I'm talking about. I absolutely loved the chapters set in the present, which were both intense, daunting and had that perfect ominous atmosphere. The setting itself is simple, as most of the story is set at the house... But in only worked in this story's favor for me. I initally wasn't a fan of the flashbacks at all, but as soon as you start to understand the importance of those same flashbacks all is forgiven. I absolutely loved the writing style, which I admit won't be for everyone... But if you are able to connect with it, it will truly take this debut to the next level for you. The way the plot is built up and how you start questioning everything that you are reading is also extremely cleverly done, and it only made me want to turn those pages even faster. I simply HAD to know what really happened that night! All in all a fantastic debut and I already can't wait to see what Tracy Sierra will come up with next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Abandonment, Body shaming, Alcoholism, Blood, Gun violence, Cancer, Car accident, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Death, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pedophilia, and Sexism
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