#BookReview: SLEEP by C. L. Taylor @callytaylor @AvonBooksUK

Publication: 4th April 2019 (hardcover/eBook); 24th September 2019 (paperback) – Avon

All Anna wants is to be able to sleep. But crushing insomnia, terrifying night terrors and memories of that terrible night are making it impossible. If only she didn’t feel so guilty…

To escape her past, Anna takes a job at a hotel on the remote Scottish island of Rum, but when seven guests join her, what started as a retreat from the world turns into a deadly nightmare.

Each of the guests have a secret, but one of them is lying – about who they are and why they’re on the island. There’s a murderer staying in the Bay View hotel. And they’ve set their sights on Anna.

Seven strangers. Seven secrets. One deadly lie.

The million-copy bestseller is back in her darkest, twistiest book to date. Read it if you dare! Perfect for fans of Lesley Kara’s The Rumour and Cara Hunter’s DI Fawley Thrillers.

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A tragic accident changed Anna’s life forever. Now she can’t sleep and someone is watching her and leaving her anonymous notes. So, she escapes her life in London and she finds refuge in a small and remote island in Scotland. She finds a job at the reception of the only hotel on the island. There are seven guests: a family of three, a retired woman, and three single people in their thirties. Except for one, they all seem nice and easy-going, but when they find themselves trapped in the hotel by bad weather, it is clear that one of the guests is dangerous and has their eyes on Anna.

Sleep captivated me from the beginning: ““If you’re reading this then I am no longer alive”. Wow, what a start!!! And what a story… Full of twists, secrets, and surprises, the tension always high, and a dark and claustrophobic atmosphere that make Sleep a gripping read.

Sleep deprivation and guilt make Anna suspicious and paranoid so that sometimes she seems an unreliable narrator and I do love unreliable narrators. Was someone really into her room in the middle of the night? And why all the guests in her hotel seem suspicious? Seeing the guests through Anna’s eyes, everyone is a suspect, a possible killer, even a fourteen-year-old girl, and this, together with the murderer’s narrative that never reveals too much, kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.

I am ashamed to admit that this is my first novel by C. L. Taylor (I don’t know why I waited so long), but Sleep is a fantastic introduction to this author and I am eager to read more, so whether, like me, you never read any of her novels or you are already a fan, Sleep should be definitely on your TBR list!

A huge thank you to Avon and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this novel.