Review: When No On Was Watching by Alyssa Cole

When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole

Publisher: William Morror Paperbacks

Publication Date: September 1, 2020

Library Purchase: Yes which is why I was able to listen to this via the Palace App!

Synopsis

Rear Window meets Get Out in this gripping thriller from a critically acclaimed and New York Times Notable author, in which the gentrification of a Brooklyn neighborhood takes on a sinister new meaning...

Sydney Green is Brooklyn born and raised, but her beloved neighborhood seems to change every time she blinks. Condos are sprouting like weeds, FOR SALE signs are popping up overnight, and the neighbors she's known all her life are disappearing. To hold onto her community's past and

present, Sydney channels her frustration into a walking tour and finds an unlikely and unwanted assistant in one of the new arrivals to the block--her neighbor Theo.

But Sydney and Theo's deep dive into history quickly becomes a dizzying descent into paranoia and fear. Their neighbors may not have moved to the suburbs after all, and the push to revitalize the community may be more deadly than advertised.

When does coincidence become conspiracy? Where do people go when gentrification pushes them out? Can Sydney and Theo trust each other--or themselves--long enough to find out before they too disappear?

Review  

As described the Get Out vibes in this book were STRONG. This book does a great job of juggling multiple ideals at one time. Readers watch Sydney (fun fact, my mom almost named me Sydney... she really should have) research the history of her black community as a way to balance the wild gentrification that seems to be happening overnight in her community. At the same time, Sydney is simultaneously dreading and pining for her sick mother who she's recently had to relocate to a care facility. While all of this is happening we're introduced to the story of Theo, white gentrifier or something else. As Theo helps Sydney learn about the history of the black people who have lived in the community and beyond, he also learns that his lower socioeconomic status and his childhood experiences don't place him as close to the experiences of black marginalized people as he thinks it does.

Toss is a little conspiracy as you have one heck of a good story. I was kind of surprised by this book. I've read some of Alyssa Coles earlier works and while the stories were interesting I can tell that her skill as a writer has come a long way. She's got some historical fiction that I've been keeping an eye on and they may have just moved up the TBR pile.