A review by hmatt
When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole

challenging dark mysterious tense 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

3.0

Book-clubbing this one so maybe I'll have more thoughts after talking it through with others.

This didn't grip me. It's like I could see what the author was trying to do the whole time, but it didn't pull me in or immerse me in the "thriller" aspects. I felt it was very "nothing... nothing... nothing... OK GO... alright it's over" - great descriptors, I know.

A very minor, personal-preference type issue I had was keeping track of all the minor characters. It's such a short book that I didn't really get a lot of contextualization to help stick all the background neighbour characters' names in my head - I think it would have improved the read if I could remember them better.

Also, there's one part (arguably the most thrilling:
Spoilerwhen she gets in the fake Uber
) that I still don't think I fully understand. Maybe I'm missing where this was explained. Again, the minor-character thing is maybe hindering something. But I wish the rest of the story had captured that same vibe.
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