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‘As a writer, I can control scenarios that terrify me’: 21 Questions with Tracy Sierra

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The seethe of wind through trees culled him hollow with loneliness. Against the immensity of the mountains, against the unforgiving chill of the air, he felt keenly his smallness, his vulnerability, how easy it would be for something to lift him into its jaws and vanish him.At 12 years old, Zach admires his father almost as much as he fears him. When Bram takes him on a father-son business ski trip, Zach feels braver – his mother taught him the ways of the mountain, and the hushed whiteness will quieten Bram’s complaints, his obvious disapproval.Then on the first night, Zach sees something moving in the snow. He’s convinced there’s a monster on the mountain, but there are other dangers that await the group...

Tracy Sierra was born and raised in the Colorado mountains. She is an attorney who currently lives in New England in an antique colonial-era home complete with its own secret room. When not writing, she spends time with her husband and two children. Nightwatching is her debut novel.

Tracy Sierra

Very few books are as sharp, clever and utterly terrifying as Nightwatching. Read at your own risk

I am trying to think of a book that has grabbed me by the throat more quickly’

A masterclass in tension and terror, it’s also a creative, thoughtful portrait of maternal fear and love

Acutely frightening and beautifully written . . . I can't remember rooting for a character quite so hard

Eerily atmospheric, pulse-pounding and unputdownable

I had no idea that a story could be both so beautifully written and so unbelievably terrifying

A terrifying descent into my deepest maternal fears . . . One of the most haunting, gripping novels I've read

You’ll want to gulp it down in one sitting, if you’re not too scared to turn the page! Everyone should read this book!

Fiercely feminist and viscerally terrifying

As grippingly suspenseful as the plot is, Sierra’s first outing boasts other strengths just as noteworthy, from its transportingly eerie setting to its indelible main character

So tense, so thought-provoking. I felt my heart rate rising as I read it . . . The definition of can’t-put-down’

An extraordinary book with a unique voice which caught me from the first line

Triumphs in a gripping and convincing finale

One of the most terrifying - and brilliant - thrillers I have ever read

I barely breathed while reading this incredibly tense, chilling thriller

A chilling tale you may want to read during daylight hours

Almost unbearably tense, suffused with fear without ever exploiting it

Among the best debuts I’ve read in years

There was someone in the house. 
 
Home alone with her young children during a blizzard, a mother tucks her son back into bed in the middle of the night. Then she hears a noise - old houses are always making some kind of noise. But this sound is disturbingly familiar: it's the tread of footsteps, unusually heavy and slow, coming up the stairs . . . 
 
In that split second, she has three choices. Should she hide? Should she run? Or should she fight?

Tracy Sierra

Praise for Nightwatching

Very few books are as sharp, clever and utterly terrifying as Nightwatching. Read at your own risk

I am trying to think of a book that has grabbed me by the throat more quickly’

A masterclass in tension and terror, it’s also a creative, thoughtful portrait of maternal fear and love

Very few books are as sharp, clever and utterly terrifying as Nightwatching. Read at your own risk

I am trying to think of a book that has grabbed me by the throat more quickly’

A masterclass in tension and terror, it’s also a creative, thoughtful portrait of maternal fear and love

Very few books are as sharp, clever and utterly terrifying as Nightwatching. Read at your own risk

I am trying to think of a book that has grabbed me by the throat more quickly’

A masterclass in tension and terror, it’s also a creative, thoughtful portrait of maternal fear and love

Books by Tracy Sierra

Articles featuring Tracy Sierra

‘As a writer, I can control scenarios that terrify me’: 21 Questions with Tracy Sierra

12 of the most anticipated debut books of 2024

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