(#gifted @librofm) I don't read all that many thrillers, but sometimes I can't resist a book everyone is loving! I know 'hype' is tossed around a lot and for many people it makes them wary of a book, but I've never liked that word and always figured that people must be loving a book for a reason, right? And that reason is easy to discern when you read When No One Is Watching! Alyssa Cole has revamped your typical thriller and the result is a smart, anxiety-inducing thriller which will keep you reading - or listening - long into the night!

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Sydney Green's neighbourhood, the place she grew up, is changing drastically before her eyes. Seemingly every week, new white residents are arriving, while her Black neighbours and friends are disappearing. When No One Is Watching offers a terrifying explanation for where folks go when gentrification pushes them out of their homes.

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The audiobook has two narrators which I always enjoy, but I never did warm up fully to Theo - either as a character or the narrator! Thankfully, my love for Sydney more than made up for that, and she definitely has the lion's share of the chapters too! Her narrator, Susan Dalian, did an incredible job at conveying emotion - important, as Sydney undergoes a LOT during this book, and Cole takes the reader right along with her. I felt so stressed while reading this book, my heart literally beat faster at certain points, I felt anxious and worried, basically all the things you want from a super smart thriller tackling issues like racism and gentrification!

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I loved that Cole included messages and posts from the 'OurHood' app, where neighbourhood residents could interact - she absolutely nailed the tone of these, and they were both funny and infuriating. It's not the job of every Black author to teach through their books either, but as Sydney puts together a historical Brownstone tour, you do learn some interesting history in between having heart palpitations from the tension. (Including the most succinct and clear explanation of redlining I've read!)

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There are plenty of reasons to pick this one up, so don't sleep on it!