Nightwatching: A Novel

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars | 3,337 ratings

Price: 17.72

Last update: 09-29-2024


About this item

Unputdownable · Psychological Suspense · Horror · Tense · Gripping

A FALLON BOOK CLUB PICK

“Pulse-pounding locked-room suspense.”—Elle

“Nightwatching is like nothing I've read before. I wolfed it down in two sittings; it's amazing.”—Lisa Jewell

A footstep on the stairs. A second to react. What happens next will determine everything.

Home alone with her young children during a blizzard, a mother tucks her son back into bed in the middle of the night. She hears a noise—old houses are always making some kind of noise. But this sound is disturbingly familiar: it’s the tread of footsteps, unusually heavy and slow, coming up the stairs.

She sees the figure of a man appear down the hallway, shrouded in the shadows. Terrified, she quietly wakes her children and hustles them into the oldest part of the house, a tiny, secret room concealed behind a wall. There they hide as the man searches for them, trying to tempt the children out with promises and scare the mother into surrender.

In the suffocating darkness, the mother struggles to remain calm, to plan. Should she search for a weapon or attempt escape? But then she catches another glimpse of him. That face. That voice. And at once she knows her situation is even more dire than she’d feared, because she knows exactly who he is—and what he wants.


Top reviews from the United States

readerwriter
5.0 out of 5 stars Horrifying and heart-pounding
Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2024
"Sometimes the hardest thing to do is nothing at all."

A mother alone at night during a blizzard with two young children hears noises and sees a skulking figure. Someone is in the house! She grabs her sleeping kids and makes it to a tiny secret room under the stairs hidden behind a wall. The kids must be "oh so quiet" or the man will hear. The man - this HUGE man - knows them, knows they are there somewhere in the house - he's been watching - and will stop at nothing to get them. This man gets angrier and crazier with each passing minute. A memory of this man forms in the mother's mind. She knows him. She knows what he wants. She must do everything in her power to protect her kids and get everyone out alive.

This terrifying debut made me feel claustrophobic and vulnerable. I didn't want to read more, but I couldn't stop reading. It filled me with dread and panic. Strong, powerful writing and near-perfect pacing made it hard for me to believe that this was a debut novel. I went into this book thinking it would be a book about survival. And it is. But it's also about so much more. It's a story of family, of loss, of demons, and love. It's a story about how the past and present mingle together in convoluted harmony. How can you trust yourself if no one else does?

I am not going to give up anything else. If you want a chilling, plausible, horrifying read, then pick up this outstanding thriller. This book is not cozy or happy. Mentions of sexual assault, violence, and murder.

I can't wait to read more by the talented Tracy Sierra. She is an author to watch.

"Maybe bravery is just enduring. Maybe bravery doesn't exist. All there is is getting through it."
Bookpreneur
4.0 out of 5 stars Amazingly fast paced! ♥️
Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2024
The premise is so frightening, it was a book I had to buy. I devoured it in two days and loved the way it was written. Tension kept me wound tight throughout and that’s what gives this book high stars. I’m glad I read it in the daytime!

There were times when I felt word choices were a little forced and somewhat jarring, and no names must have been some kind of stylistic thing to make the book more unique. It still would have worked well without. I did have to go back and re-read paras to fully understand what was meant, so for some this might be confusing.

What I didn’t like: unreliable narrator whom the police refused to believe and the frustrating sergeant who I felt was unnecessarily unhelpful. It didn’t feel realistic to me.

Third person narration works well but first would have been a better choice. It tends to drop me into the action more but that’s a personal preference.

Some of the internal monologue was a little distracting and so were the backstory chapters. I found myself skimming through them so I could return to the action and that’s a shame. I wished the children hadn’t been alone for so long and did wonder if I, as a mother, would have made the same decisions. Perhaps terror forces us to take greater risks.

All in all, I fully understand the hype around this book. It’s a 4.5 for me and one I would definitely recommend.
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Bookpreneur
4.0 out of 5 stars Amazingly fast paced! ♥️
Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2024
The premise is so frightening, it was a book I had to buy. I devoured it in two days and loved the way it was written. Tension kept me wound tight throughout and that’s what gives this book high stars. I’m glad I read it in the daytime!

There were times when I felt word choices were a little forced and somewhat jarring, and no names must have been some kind of stylistic thing to make the book more unique. It still would have worked well without. I did have to go back and re-read paras to fully understand what was meant, so for some this might be confusing.

What I didn’t like: unreliable narrator whom the police refused to believe and the frustrating sergeant who I felt was unnecessarily unhelpful. It didn’t feel realistic to me.

Third person narration works well but first would have been a better choice. It tends to drop me into the action more but that’s a personal preference.

Some of the internal monologue was a little distracting and so were the backstory chapters. I found myself skimming through them so I could return to the action and that’s a shame. I wished the children hadn’t been alone for so long and did wonder if I, as a mother, would have made the same decisions. Perhaps terror forces us to take greater risks.

All in all, I fully understand the hype around this book. It’s a 4.5 for me and one I would definitely recommend.
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Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Good book
Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2024
I liked this book overall but it dragged in the middle for me and went a direction I didn’t love! But the beginning and end parts were super intense!!
John Walkenford
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Intense!
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2024
I picked this up randomly after my son put on an older episode of the Tonight Show where it won the vote as the recommended book of the month. I've never been so stressed out reading a book. It is written so well, it has you hanging on every though, feeling, and emotion of the main character. Between the suspense of the story and the frustration that women have to put up with what the main character was put through, it kept me on edge until the end. And also the skill of keeping the suspense of the main story going, interspersed with some flashbacks. Many times the flashbacks just feel like interruptions and filler space, but this was done so well it worked as part of the whole story.
Mel
4.0 out of 5 stars solid read
Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2024
Did someone break into her home? Did she imagine it? The rage I felt for the main character as no one believe her- was immense! Due to a series of unlikely events you find yourself questioning everything through this book. Overall good read!
moni179jo
5.0 out of 5 stars great psychological thriller
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2024
Good characters and kept me scared until the end. Timing and setting are well-described and accurate to history of the time.
Robert R Ruch
5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping novel!
Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2024
This is intense and a lot of fun to read! Worth a chance
Rachael Winterling
4.0 out of 5 stars Break-In Stories Are Nightmare Fuel!
Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2024
There are few things in this world that I find more spine-chilling than the idea of someone breaking into my home when my children and I are occupying it, and Nightwatch taps right into that fear.

We hit the ground running, with the opening line being, “There was someone in the house,” and it doesn’t let up for the first several chapters. I liked how fast-paced the book felt, and, when it slowed, it felt more like an opportunity to catch our breath than a lull.

That said, trying not to give anything away, I was a little disappointed when the first part ended (IYKYK). The second part was a total surprise, and left me feeling a little confused. Some people may really like the change of pace, but I wasn’t expecting the story to take that direction. I honestly think I would have liked the book more if it stayed where it was.

Putting that aside, I think there was some great feminist perspective and commentary made. The book also offered some good twists, and I enjoyed it overall. If you’re an audiobook listener, I think this one is a great one to pop on your headphones!
Customer image
Rachael Winterling
4.0 out of 5 stars Break-In Stories Are Nightmare Fuel!
Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2024
There are few things in this world that I find more spine-chilling than the idea of someone breaking into my home when my children and I are occupying it, and Nightwatch taps right into that fear.

We hit the ground running, with the opening line being, “There was someone in the house,” and it doesn’t let up for the first several chapters. I liked how fast-paced the book felt, and, when it slowed, it felt more like an opportunity to catch our breath than a lull.

That said, trying not to give anything away, I was a little disappointed when the first part ended (IYKYK). The second part was a total surprise, and left me feeling a little confused. Some people may really like the change of pace, but I wasn’t expecting the story to take that direction. I honestly think I would have liked the book more if it stayed where it was.

Putting that aside, I think there was some great feminist perspective and commentary made. The book also offered some good twists, and I enjoyed it overall. If you’re an audiobook listener, I think this one is a great one to pop on your headphones!
Images in this review
Customer image

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