Book Review: Nightwatching
Tracy Sierra published this intense, riveting thriller as her debut novel in February 2024. I had seen the book advertised on Amazon and I pre-sale ordered it. I practically bought it without second thinking from all of the amazing reviews by top authors on it: Shari Lapena, author of The Couple Next Door and A Stanger in the House; Karin Slaughter, author of Pretty Girls, Pieces of Her, and then some; Gillian McAllister, author of Wrong Place, Wrong Time and so many more. A mother has her two young children in the house along with an unwelcome guest in the middle of a blizzard. I mean, how else is a mama's heart supposed to feel by that? My ‘mom’ instincts automatically heightened by reading that. I couldn’t imagine being home alone, in a blizzard, with my children and someone who didn’t belong in my home. The book starts right up with no build-up whatsoever. (yay!) This book was difficult to put down due to the quickness of pace of the story. Had I not had responsibilities, I would have read it from start to finish in one sitting, in fact, I tried. During the first several chapters, I was curious how the book would continue with how quickly it started. I was pleasantly surprised.
“Mama, you said monsters didn't exist.”
I gave this book 5/5 stars. I had my doubts that the entire story was going to be phenomenal but I was very surprised.
Be aware that spoil alerts start now!
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The action kicks this book off. Someone is in her home. She was awake and taking care of her son in the middle of the night. She went to leave the room and heard someone in her house. She could see him, but he couldn't see her. Once he decided to turn the other direction away from her, she quickly and quietly grabbed her son and ran to her daughter's room. Without hesitation, she convinced her daughter to follow her quickly. They live in an old house with two stairways and secret hiding places. She knew she couldn’t take her kids out in the blizzard. The man would either see them walking in the fresh snow half a mile or more down the road looking for the next house, or they would freeze to death. This mom opted for the number one thing we yell at the movies not to do. Hide. She remembered a small secret space behind the wall in her husband’s office. She was somehow able to get both her young children and herself piled into the space and closed the door before the man knew any different.
They listened to the man rummaging through their house yelling, “Little Girl.” She knew the man was after her daughter. She held her even tighter as if to keep her safe and protected. At some point, the daughter recognized the voice as ‘The Corner Man’ who was in her room frequently. She has always assumed this character that her daughter spoke about as a recurring dream of her daughter’s, but now she is second-guessing herself. “But wait, we have a baby monitor in her room that we use to keep an eye on her sleepwalking?” thought the Mom. She would have heard a real man in the room had that been accurate.
Quickly, the man turned into the Corner Man. He came into the office space and she thought for sure that he had found them. He was talking to them through the wall as if he knew he was there. She was doing everything she could to keep her children quiet.
You know you can’t be a sitting duck forever. Eventually, they have to move. The mother leaves her children in their hiding place while she makes a run for it. After what feels like an hour of running in the woods, the mother starts to bang on someone’s house. Searching for someone to become their saving grace. This saving grace may not be as clean and cut as one might think. I mean, when does it ever work that?
The mother in the story has many obstacles to fast, some will feel like nothing, while others are everything. Was there someone in her house? Or was the mother just crazy? If you still haven’t read this book yet, put down whatever you are doing and read it. I cannot wait to hear how you like this book!
