Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole

18 reviews

jackie_reads_314's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I did have to put this book down for a little because it felt like I was being gaslit, just like Sydney. This felt like more of a horror book than a thriller; it almost felt like there would be supernatural elements at some points. The social commentary was exquisite, the characters relatable and believable, and the settings real. I would say that the first 3/4 of the book was an intense slow burn, and the last 1/4 was a racing and impactful end. I am very excited to read Alyssa Cole's next thriller in 2024!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Racism, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Police brutality, Stalking, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Sexism, Medical content, and Medical trauma

clarkg's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.75

When No One Is Watching is unsettling, grotesque, and and believable. Drawing from the real-life horrors of gentrification and medical abuse, this thriller is a stomach-churning exploration of how Whiteness and corporate greed act as predatory forces in marginalized communities. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Gun violence, Torture, Stalking, Racism, Police brutality, Murder, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Gore

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Infidelity

cnricochet's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racism, Gaslighting, Stalking, and Death of parent

Moderate: Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Terminal illness, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Police brutality

Minor: Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Violence, Slavery, Lesbophobia, Addiction, Abandonment, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder

tillysg1's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative reflective sad slow-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? Yes

4.25

I feel that one character had a fair amount of growth and development while another didn't.  Overall, the story was good, the twists were interesting.  The character of the neighborhood and the personal look at race issues is what really caught me here.  Great look at neighborhood culture and what that loss can look/feel like.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Sexual content, Police brutality, Racism, and Cursing

Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Addiction, and Xenophobia

Minor: Deportation, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Bullying, Death, and Slavery

One short, but quite graphic sex scene (would be easy to skip if you prefer)

vaguely_pink's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Racism, Police brutality, Violence, Blood, Gaslighting, Classism, and Death

Moderate: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Infidelity, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Drug use, and Hate crime

Minor: Cancer, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Suicide, Vomit, Confinement, Dementia, Deportation, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Torture, Chronic illness, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Medical content, Racial slurs, and Sexual content

kumquats87's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Colonisation, Murder, Blood, Chronic illness, Classism, Cursing, Grief, Alcohol, Confinement, Hate crime, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, Kidnapping, Medical content, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Misogyny

Minor: Police brutality, Vomit, Infidelity, and Homophobia

zoiejanelle's review against another edition

challenging dark funny informative 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? No

5.0

(listened to audio book from library)

i am not a thriller girlie but i happened to see Stephen King’s tweet recommending this book and i said, “romantic thriller? okay, let’s do this.” 

and OH MY GOD was it worth it. 

this book is REAR WINDOW meets GET OUT, Hitchcock meets Peele. it carries all of the best parts of the classic thriller genre, but was driven by a timely subject: gentrification. 

i was immediately obsessed with both narrators and how unreliable they both were, even when they tried to be truthful. Sydney and her many secrets and insecurities was lovable from the get, and Theo—poor Theo—was simultaneously hilarious and romantic in all his goofy, well-meaning but off-putting gestures. somehow the combination of the two, one extremely distrusting and suspicious woman and one extremely maleable and dishonest man, was perfect. i was rooting for them the entire time. 

the plot twists were very well timed. twist after twist, i audibly gasped. at one point i had to pause to soak in the information i’d just read. 

overall, a true thrill that made me glad i genre-hopped. thanks Stephen King for the rec. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Murder, Classism, Police brutality, Death of parent, Death, Alcohol, Racism, and Blood

Moderate: Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Terminal illness, Cursing, Colonisation, Gore, Slavery, Addiction, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Xenophobia

Minor: Racial slurs and Deportation

toorsdenote's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

Picked up a quick thriller, it was meh.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Grief, Hate crime, Slavery, and Violence

Minor: Gun violence, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, and Terminal illness

exlibrisabigaillee's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

Insanely slow until about 3/4 of the way through, at which point it goes insanely fast. Pacing is way off with romance that just draws from the plot. Good racial commentary at times, fell flat others.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Police brutality, Sexual content, Death of parent, Drug use, Gun violence, Murder, and Terminal illness

Minor: Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Classism, and Gore

vasha's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

Were you watching when your neighborhood, or someone else's neighborhood, slipped away? If you get caught up in this tense novel, a thriller of gentrification, you can't look away, seeing through the eyes of Sydney who's losing her home and Theo who's seeing the destruction of what could be the home he's never had. It's a good thing this book is so well written, its characters are so likeable, and it has a happy ending (more or less); or its basis in reality could make it too grim. All the historical racism recounted in it actually happened; and the fictional events have real-world analogues, even the parts that may seem outlandish (

like the medical experimentation: Tuskeegee was long ago but the experimentation by US corporations in Africa was not, see  Unethical human experimentation - Wikipedia

). The one thing I didn't think so highly of was the way it goes from a creepy slow burn, with detailed setting, to the ending being an over-the-top action-movie cleanup of villains.

All the heads of a major corporation meeting in an abandoned hospital? Seriously?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Alcohol, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Murder, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Gun violence, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Police brutality

Moderate: Physical abuse, Suicide, Vomit, and Blood

Minor: Addiction, Slavery, Cultural appropriation, and Genocide