Bleu’s Reviews: When No One Is Watching

For Black History Month I was committed to reading books written by black authors. It’s something I’m working on in general but I wanted to especially read one for the month. The next book on my read list is a book written by a black female author in a genre where we as individuals re grossly under-represented. Alyssa Cole has written a novel that shares a sinister twist on gentrification and how it impacts a historically black neighborhood and I was absolutely here for it. As always there may be spoilers in this review so if you’re planning to read I’d wait and come back. This book also is heavy on the trigger warning. There are serious racial themes in this book that will absolutely get your dander up. I’ll be talking about that later as well. There’s a murder scene described in this book that could also be upsetting to some people, just keep that in mind.

I really enjoyed the idea behind the book, as someone who has had the benefit of growing up in my childhood home I know exactly what Sydney was feeling. Coming back to a neighborhood with so many memories and finding out something was amiss. I had no conspiracies to blame for my neighborhood changes, and the block of Walton Ave. hasn’t been gentrified yet. The older home owners passed on and thankfully their loved ones either moved in to take over the property or put people who look like us in their spot. Other neighborhoods were not so lucky, in fact the apartment I moved from before moving into our house was surrounded by properties newly owned by every other race besides those who inhabited them for decades. 

Which brings me back to what I enjoyed so much about this book. Gentrification though unfortunate isn’t technically sinister, however the very real ways people find themselves victimized in an unfair housing market does color gentrification in a different light. I applaud Cole’s skill with weaving a very common, innocuous thing like the ebbs and flow of housing to create a thought provoking and truly suspenseful body of work 

The book did creep along in setting up the mystery at one point I did check to see if I was reading what was billed as a thriller, but once the action started it kept going until we careened to a stop at the end. On the back of the book its compared to The Rear Window, which I’ve never read nor seen, and Get Out which I’ve watched several times. I definitely got the Get Out vibes once the plot unfurled. 

I thought the characters in this book were amazingly written. I felt like i knew or had come into contact with each and every last one of them. Mr. Perkins reminds me a lot of my father in law. Ms. Candace like one of my many aunts. These neighborhood staples are also family roles that many of us needed filled. To have that community that grows up with and around you, Cole did an amazing job at weaving what I’m sure are real world people into her book. 

Sydney was a great main character she was strong but not too strong to ask for help, there was something broken about her but she was still resilient through the end. She had a constant vulnerability but never allowed it to swallow her up. She was me at times, battling through the stress of life while simultaneously dealing with all the horrible curve balls it can throw at you. I felt her loss and her frustration. Sydney was as everyday as any woman I have ever known, she just happened to stumble across a hidden conspiracy. She wasn’t a damsel in distress, she was a woman who needed some backup. I felt that. I’d love more of Sydney, I’m a sucker for a well written character. 

I thought making Theo a poor white man was a nice touch. He could’ve been any race or economic background but the author chose a poor white man to be the one to help our black female lead in this racial conspiracy plot.  His character was able to divulge parts of the plot that Sydney’s perspective wouldn’t have offered. His skin color was literally a key to a world being hidden in plain sight. We as the reader needed this, him being from a lower class made his character more relatable but also more realistic. In a situation where rich white people are taking over the neighborhood the poor white guy who’s known struggle and unfairness would side with the black people. 

I liked the elements that this one character was able to add to the book. He wasn’t a part of the shadow society moving behind the scenes but he definitely saw how they reaped the benefits. He could’ve easily walked away from it all, taken advantage of all that was being offered to him from the shadow people or he could’ve just stayed silent and still gotten the perks. It’s the very real decision those who call themselves allies face everyday. Which is what made his addition so important. He was constantly being questioned, even in the final moments of the book, yet he never waivered. He was genuine and again I’m a sucker for a well written character. 

I’m trying to expand my reading tastes, so I’ve been shaking up my book selection going for stories that sound interesting whether there’s magic involved or not. I found this on a book list from Goodreads, I can’t recall where if I’m being totally honest. I purchased it shortly after, I did get a lot of mixed reviews about the story but I can say that once I reached the midpoint I was hooked on this book.

Did You Read When No One Is Watching? What Did You Think?

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