Nightwatcher [Mass Market Paperback]

Wendy Corsi Staub (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 28, 2012

“If you like Mary Higgins Clark, you’ll love Wendy Corsi Staub.”
—Lisa Jackson, bestselling author of Devious

One of the most exciting of the new breed of thriller and suspense writers, Wendy Corsi Staub asks, “Are you ever truly safe...even in your own home?” With Nightwatcher, the acclaimed, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Hell to Pay delivers a ripped-from-the-headlines masterwork of suspense, the first book in an electrifying new series. Intense, powerful, and refreshingly original, Nightwatcher returns to the site of America’s worst national nightmare—New York City on September 11, 2001—as a serial killer, plying his bloody trade in  the chaos following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, operates unnoticed by everyone…except for one frightened woman who has seen his face. Author Lee Child has called her work, “solid gold suspense,” and any reader who’s ever stayed up late, devouring the novels of Lisa Jackson and Lisa Gardner with every light on in the house, should prepare to lose even more sleep over Wendy Corsi Staub’s Nightwatcher.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Staub is boss when it comes to relaying fictionalized accounts of revulsion…Suspenseful, powerful, tense and-as usual-wonderfully written with an ending that will leave you guessing...A great read!” (Suspense Magazine )

“The thrills are near constant & combined with the waking nightmare state of 9/11, result in a high-tension and deeply visceral tale that will leave readers in a crippling state of uncertainty. The fear, the paranoia, the desperation--it leaps right off the page and gets under your skin.” (Criminal Element )

“Wendy Corsi Staub has a frightening little tale that will make the reader think about sleeping with the lights on with the dog nearby, ‘Nightwatcher.’” (Iron Mountain Daily )

“This first book in a new trilogy starts off with a bang. The action builds right through to the explosive ending. Allison is a relatable character, and Staub really nails the atmosphere of New York immediately following 9/11. Four Stars!” (RT BookReviews )

“This is a well written psychological thriller and narrates the lives or several characters in parallel during the 9/11 period…interesting and rewarding ending episode which paves the way for the sequel of the book” (Mystery Tribune )

From the first thrilling chase scene, to the final page, Wendy Corsi Staub’s Live To Tell is an incredible, fast-paced story of political intrigue, family crises and nail-biting suspense. I couldn’t put it down. (#1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jackson )

“Solid gold suspense ... this one is a wild ride.” (Lee Child )

From the Back Cover

As the city sleeps in the early hours of September 10, 2001, the killer waits and watches, unaware of the cataclysm to come. Even the nightmare of 9/11 will not postpone his private reign of terror.

Allison Taylor adores her adopted city, New York, loving every minute of the invigorating urban hustle. But on a bright and clear September morning, the familiar landscape around her is savagely altered—and in the midst of widespread chaos and fear, a woman living upstairs from her is found, brutally slaughtered and mutilated.

For Allison . . . for her neighbor, James "Mack" MacKenna, desperately searching for news of his missing wife . . . for homicide detective Rocky Manzillo, hunting for a monster called "The Nightwatcher" amid the smoking ruins of a devastated city, this tragic day will hold a special horror. Because a different kind of terror has entered their lives . . . and it's coming to claim Allison Taylor as its next victim.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Harper; Original edition (August 28, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062070282
• ISBN-13: 978-0062070289
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.2 x 6.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #197,450 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The New York Times bestselling suspense novelist of nearly 80 novels, Wendy Corsi Staub has twice (2011 and 2013) been nominated for the Simon and Schuster Mary Higgins Clark award and is the recipient of the RWA Rita Award, the RT Bookreviews Award for Career Achievement in Suspense, the RWA/NYC Golden Apple for Lifetime Achievement, four WLA Washington Irving Awards for Fiction, and numerous other honors. All of her adult thrillers and in-print backlist are available on Amazon and most are--or will soon be--available as e-books and audio books as well. Check out the book trailers for NIGHTWATCHER, SLEEPWALKER, and SHADOWKILLER, her latest Harpercollins Suspense trilogy, on this author page. For more information visit her author website at www.WendyCorsiStaub.com, her reader community site at www.WendyCorsiStaubCommunity.com, and her author page at www.facebook.com/pages/Wendy-Corsi-Staub/43054289209 and follow her on Twitter @wendycorsistaub. Wendy is also a bestselling novelist with the chick lit and romantic comedy published under the pseudonym "Wendy Markham."

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars He Watches...Hunts...Kills... September 17, 2012

By T.B. Grant TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Mass Market Paperback

"Nightwatcher" by Wendy Corsi Staub
Published by Harper Collins, 2012
Paperback Edition: 360 pages
Genre: Mystery/Domestic Suspense

After leaving her Midwestern hometown of Centerfield, Allison Taylor picks up and leaves the quiet life for something more...interesting. And now, amid a three year lifestyle makeover, in the bustling city of New York, Taylor lives and works as a style editor at 7th Avenue magazine. She loves her job, the urban scene, and the cutthroat fashion business.

Then it happens. Allison's nightmares begin. First, it is the act of terrorists, any large city's worst fears--and the act is immediate, two planes fly into the Twin Towers across town. And later, something is awry with Allison's upstairs neighbor, Kristina, an aspiring Broadway actress. Allison hears the music of Alicia Keys in Kristina's apartment, playing over and over. What happened to Kristina?

But when Mack's wife, Carrie, goes missing among the Twin Towers turmoil, enters Homicide Detective Rocky Manzillo. But Manzillo must also deal with the brutal act of murder. As it appears, a serial killer is on the loose and he must race against the clock if he is going to find this madman.

Wendy Corsi Staub knows how to write suspense well and keep her readers turning the pages at a speedy clip. The well written story is littered with interesting characters that will keep you gripped until the final page: Mack, an insomniac with martial and relationship problems, a disconnected wife, Carrie, uninterested in bearing a child and who needs space from Mack. There is Jerry, part-time maintenance man, creepy, imposing figure who lurks around the complex, looking for ways to win over Kristina.

"Nightwatcher" will keep you up well past your bedtime. Staub has a sharp eye for character details and moody, atmospheric locales. Hopefully this is the beginning of a long series. Her next Allison Taylor outing, "Sleepwalker", is slated for October 2012. The first book in Staub's second trilogy series. "Sleepwalker", the second novel in the series, is slated for September 25. And the third book, "Shadowkiller", will be released in 2013. Recommended reading.

One small quibble: I am not sure why the incident of 9/11 is mentioned as a backdrop in "Nightwatcher". Its calamity creates a brooding atmosphere to the goings-on in the characters' lives, but it does not add to or advance the plot.

T.B. Grant
9.17.12

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Calalily September 9, 2012

By Calalily

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Excellent story. As usual Wendy Corsi Staub deliveres a great thiller. The story keeps you guessing. I couldn't put it down. Read in two days, the only reason it took so long was due to work. I can't wait for the next book to come out!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Too little too late - petty characters April 5, 2013

By Audrey Anderson

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Maybe I'm too used to thrillers written by males. Could not get into this one. Lots of skimming and still missed nothing important. I like getting to know characters and I liked the first character being introduced - Vic. Then we go off to a couple of women who are self absorbed and I spent way too much time learning about them - could not empathize with them. Also introduced to a couple with a failing marriage because she's on hormones trying to get pregnant and snappy - a little over dramatized. The characters seemed shallow except for Vic and he just disappeared out of the picture for a while. Of course we are introduced to the murderer who is the standard bad childhood, killed small animals troubled serial killer. Nothing here new and interesting. Abandoned it after the first murder. Then in comes the 9/11 bombing which becomes the backdrop of the first murder and touches the lives of some of the characters - just didn't want to go there and didn't care about the people. They just fell flat for me. Gave it up just as Vic came back in - too little too late. I prefer Lee Childs, Sanders, Connelly, Deaver.