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?
Title : When No One Is Watching
Author : Alyssa Cole
Narrators : Susan Dalian & Jay Aaseng
Format : Audiobook
Length : 8 hours, 29 minutes
Genre : Thriller
Publisher : Harper Audio
Release Date : September 1, 2020
Reviewer : Micky
Rating : ★ ★ ★
Micky’s 3 star review
Headlines:
Context of gentrification
Diverse characters
Highly unusual storyline
A little odd
I have mixed feelings about this story. It was unusual and that was definitely a strength but overall and as the height of the plot peaked, it felt pretty unrealistic. This isn’t fantasy or fairytale, so I need some realism in a thriller.
The context of gentrification of white people into a black community to the point of pushing others out was a superb central plot and I did like the chaotic main character of Sydney. Her situation was desperate, her stress levels were through the roof and I was feeling paranoid at every noise myself. I wasn’t as keen on Theo or their friendship to more.
The plot behind what was actually going on in the neighbourhood was the thing that brought this rating down. I felt disappointed at it, I didn’t get the trigger-happiness and there was some sweeping under the carpet.
The narration was excellent. It was dual POV and both narrators really captured their characters and Sydney’s narrator in particular, caught the atmosphere well.
Thank you to LibroFM and Harper Audio for the review copy.
A Take from Two Cities 