Review by Roxie Key
Seven guests. Seven secrets. One killer. Do you dare to sleep?
I love a good psychological thriller and Sleep did not disappoint. Nor did I get any sleep during the week I was reading this book. But I have zero regrets.
Anna is plagued by gut-wrenching guilt following a serious car crash where she was the only person to escape unscathed. This all-consuming guilt coupled with a series of threatening notes and unbearable insomnia causes her relationship to break down. Anna decides to escape to the remote Scottish island of Rum, about as far away from home as she can get, where she takes a job in a small hotel. But things soon take a turn for the worse, someone is murdered, and Anna realises she isn’t any safer in Rum. A raging storm batters the island, ensuring all the hotel guests are contained within one place until the killer is satisfyingly revealed. The ending left a little prickle on my skin that I don’t think will go away any time soon.
I won’t tell you anymore, but what I can say is this Agatha Christie-style locked-room mystery is chilling, and made me feel delightfully uncomfortable. It’s one of those books that make you triple check your locks each night.
It is expertly written, with each character feeling like a very real person. The sense of setting is incredible, and really comes to life when you’re reading it. And the atmosphere! That’s the best part. I find it so very fascinating how certain authors can create such intense atmosphere and creepiness using pure sentences… expertly crafted words, dialogue and punctuation that make you feel it like it’s really happening, and you want to stop reading because you’re terrified but at the same time you just… can’t… put… it… down.
No wonder it’s a Richard and Judy Book Club read and Sunday Times best seller! If you want to read something that sends a shiver down your spine, open a copy of Sleep (just don’t expect to get any actual sleep). Who needs sleep anyway? We can sleep when we’re dead.
Note: if you’re a member of Friends of the Bay you can read an exclusive short story by Roxie Key here