We Are Watching

A Novel

By: Alison Gaylin

Narrated by: Jennifer Pickens

“Gaylin’s clean prose and controlled narrative voice bring an all-too-realistic chill …. The book shows how social media can disseminate crazy ideas that tip into real-life violence…. it might also bring to mind the paranoiac claustrophobia of Rosemary’s Baby.”—New York Times

From USA Today bestselling and Edgar and Shamus Award-winning author Alison Gaylin comes a riveting tale of psychological suspense and family bonds, in which a mother and daughter are desperate to protect one another as they become targets of a group of violent conspiracy theorists.

Sometimes the world is out to get you.

Meg Russo was behind the wheel when it happened. She and her husband Justin were driving their daughter Lily to Ithaca College, the family celebrating the eighteen-year-old music prodigy’s future. Then a car swerved up beside them, the young men inside it behaving bizarrely—and Meg lost control of her own vehicle. The family road trip turned into a tragedy. Justin didn’t survive the accident.

Four months later, Meg works to distract herself from her grief and guilt, reopening her small local bookstore. But soon after she returns to work, bizarre messages and visitors begin to arrive, with strangers threatening Meg and Lily in increasingly terrifying ways. They are obsessed with a young adult novel titled The Prophesy, which was published thirty years earlier. An online group of believers are convinced that it heralds the apocalypse, and social media posts link the book—and Meg’s reclusive musician father—to Satanism. These conspiracy theorists vow to seek revenge on The Prophesy’s author...Meg.

As the threats turn violent, Meg begins to suspect that Justin’s death may not have been an accident. To find answers and save her daughter, her father, and herself, Meg must get to the root of these dangerous lies—and find a way to face the believers head-on … before it’s too late.

©2023 Alison Gaylin (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

Amazing

Loved the twists in this story, performance was amazing as well. Such a great book to listen to!

Unexpected twists

Awesome read! Fast paced and well-written. The narrator did a great job. Solid character development and plot.

First chapter was SO creepy!

3.75 stars rounded up to 4 stars for this really clever and easy read, We Are Watching by Alison Gaylin. This book hooked me very quickly. There is a truly disturbing scene in the very first chapter that was so creepy and unexpected! I absolutely LOVE books that grab you in the first chapter especially when they hang on for the entire read! The story centers around a mother and adult daughter in the weeks after a tragic accident as they try to regroup and go on with their lives. The mother owns a book store in the small town and the daughter is at home after the accident delayed her college entry. Strange things start happening pretty much right away in this suspenseful little story and there is a consistent feeling of unease that swells until bursting at the end. The town itself is full of quirky characters you aren't sure you can trust and I was honestly quite surprised at the ending. The plot is a bit out there - I suggest you go with it. Would recommend this book to anyone who likes to be immediately engaged and for readers who enjoy a unique premise and can suspend disbelief just a bit.

Twisty marvelous!!

Couldn’t stop!! Great hook and great story line made for a fun stormy day read!!

Loved it

I always give pretty positive reviews but this is one I really really liked. I was actually surprised.

Conspiracy theory on steroids

Given the state of affairs in 2025 USA, I thought I might enjoy this conspiracy theory book.

I was wrong.

WE ARE WATCHING isn’t a bad book. I just didn’t enjoy listening to the audiobook.

I grew up hearing all kinds of urban myths like secret messages of the Beatles’s songs were played backwards. Now, imagine if a few people took a crazy urban myth and elevated that to a full on conspiracy drawing in a book the songwriter’s teenage daughter wrote. Keep imagining this craziness goes on for thirty some years, growing in popularity and numbers of people who bought into the nonsense. You’d then have WE ARE WATCHING.

More outlandish than pizzagate, WE ARE WATCHING seemed too preposterous to be real. But then again, so did pizzagate.