Such an interesting concept using a podcast, I think this works really well with the rise of the podcast recently and is nothing like anything I’ve read so far. The pacing was spot on and had me hooked from start to finish

I have loved the opportunity to spend time researching novels to re-stockl our senior bookshelves in the school library that plays a central role in the life of the school. When I first took over the library was filled with dusty tomes that were never borrowed and languished there totally unloved.
Books like this, play a central role in ensuring that the library is stocked with fresh relevant fiction that appeals to the readers. It has a strong voice and a compelling plot that ensures that you speed through its pages, enjoying both its characterisation and dialogue whilst wanting to find out how all of its strands will be resolved by the end.
I have no hesitation in adding this to the 'must buy' list so that the senior students and staff of the school can enjoy it as much as I did. This is a gripping read that will be sure to grip its readers whether they are fans of this genre or coming to it for the first time through our now-thriving school library recommendation system. Thanks so much for allowing me to review it!

I highly recommend this book, especially with the rise of mystery podcasts. I like books that look beyond the victim, and show just how real crime is and can affect people. With the news constantly blaring, it can be easy to get desensitized. Sometimes I wanted to shake the twins and yell at them to grow up, but I tried to remind myself how challenging their situation was. I liked the pacing, and this book definitely made me think.

The podcast element of this novel was a really fun aspect. I enjoyed the tweets and reddit posts and everything else included in the story. I felt like the ending was somewhat of a let down, but overall it wasn't a bad read.

I liked the title and cover, but this felt a little cynical – the inclusion of podcasts and cults felt like ticking off trendy, buzzy things rather than them actually making sense for the narrative. Still, perhaps it just wasn't for me.

An easy psychological thriller to read. I enjoyed the used of social media as a one of the main story lines as it’s so prevalent in today’s society. As someone who loved the podcast ‘Serial’, it really made me think about the effects on the families. Thanks Net Galley and Gallery Books for the ARC.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview this ARC of Are you Sleeping by Kathleen Barber.

Josie is doing everything she can to live a normal life. She has a charming Australian boyfriend, and a nice life and job in New York. But her life comes crashing around her after the release of a wildly popular podcast discussing the murder of her father, and how the murderer may be serving time for a crime he didn't commit. Forced to face estranged members of her family, including her twin sister Lanie, who was once her closest friend, Josie works to uncover the truth, while salvaging relationships along the way.

Honestly, I'm surprised that the Goodreads reviews weren't higher. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I thought it was well thought out and executed. I loved the podcast angle, and I always love a good whodunit. I definitely recommend this one.

Review by 2shay..........

Page turner! What happens when a blogger focuses on your past? Ms. Barber does a fine job of showing us how a life can be completely unraveled when a relentless investigative reporter decides to open up an old case.

This book barely missed being 5 Stars. There are a few too many dubious clues to the identity of a convicted killer, and my personal skepticism of twisted memories. Plus, there is a huge clue in one of Josie’s memories that told me the truth. It wasn’t hard to figure out.

Still, I enjoyed every page. If you enjoy a well-written, twisty read, this one will satisfy. Grab a copy and...

Enjoy! ARC graciously provided by Gallery and NetGalley for an honest and voluntary review.

Are You Sleeping?

by Kathleen Barber

Like most people who have weighed in on this book, I did find it fairly predictable, but still a decent read. I thought the comparison to Serial was misleading, because it was more of a knockoff, like a bad Rom-Com version of Serial, despite the heavy-sounding premise. While she tested my patience with characters whose dialogue (and actions) often defied believability, Barber's skill in pacing and an interesting narrative form kept me turning the pages. I did enjoy the family drama — the romantic tangles not so much. Despite the sometimes-clunky characters, I did finish, so I will be interested to see what Barber thinks of next.

For Goodreads:

Why I picked it — Because it was described as Serial meets Ruth Ware's In a Dark, Dark Wood (which I haven't read, but sounded scary)
Reminded me of… The Leftovers (for the cult theme), and every book where the main characters dread a return home after many years and are proven right in their worry.
For my full review — click here

This story has such a realistic, plausible and *current* feel that it will make you think twice about what so many of us consider entertainment value (in this case, a viral podcast digging up an old murder case) and how the real people behind these stories are affected by public fascination/intrusion into their personal tragedies. I felt deeply for Kathleen Barber's characters, even when I was unsure who the victims really were, who the accomplices may have been, and who shared the blame. This was an engrossing, fast-paced read and I'm grateful to have lucked into an ARC. I'll be looking for Kathleen Barber's next book!

When I saw that this was going to be a television show, I knew I had better get to reading before it came out. It is very topical in this age of podcasts and Netflix shows that go over older criminal cases. Is it sensationalism or is it really news?

Josie has tried to forget her past and move on but can you ever really do that? Especially when your past is about the murder of your father. Polly Parnell’s podcast about convicted murderer Warren Cave has brought everything into the limelight again. Did Josie’s twin sister Lanie tell the truth?

This is about so much more than just the murder case. It is about the feelings of abandonment and the feelings of sadness at not being able to help the ones you truly love. You will want to slap Polly Parnell quite a few times. Though I do feel as if a lot of these shows do really want to get at the truth for truth’s sake, I did not get that feeling at all with Polly. Polly was out for Polly. I cringed a few times when she would turn up at the wrong time. I also felt a lot for Josie. I could understand her need to move on but I also could understand the need to reconnect, even when she thought she didn’t want to. I loved her relationship with Caleb. I always enjoy a sympathetic partner and not a jerk.

I look forward to seeing how the show turns out. I hope it does justice to this wonderful writing.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

Are You Sleeping starts out with an excerpt of a transctiption of the fictional podcast, Reconsidered. It is a podcast that promises to delve into the 13-year-old case of the murder of beloved father, history professor, and member of the Elm Park community, Chuck Buhrman. The thing is, it's not a cold case, far from it; it's a case that went to trial, and the killer is now serving out a life sentence in prison. It is a solved case. Or is it?

Next, we're introduced to Josie Buhrman, daughter of Chuck Buhrman, who has spent the last 10 years of her life trying to get away from her past: her father's murder, her mother abandoning Josie and her twin sister by joining a cult, and her sister's betrayal. In that time, she travelled the world, and she met her boyfriend Caleb. Not expecting to have a future with Caleb, she gave him the standard lie she told everyone she met in her travels: her parents had died in a car crash, and she didn't even mention her sister. But now, five years into the relationship, the podcast is released and it looks like the lies she has built her new life on are going to fall down around her. When she is called by her cousin to let her know her mother has died, that possibility becomes much more of a certainty.

In my opinion, this book was very well-written. I went into it thinking it was going to be more about the podcast, and was initially a bit disappointed when it ended up being more about the story behind the podcast; that is, the effect that the murder had on Mr. Buhrman's family. Once I got over myself and settled into the story, I found I really enjoyed the book. Of course, the focus is on Josie, who has a twin sister, Lanie. Josie has spent the better part of a decade trying to forget (or at least avoid) her past, and had done so pretty successfully. But when her mom died, she had to return to her hometown and confront her past head-on. The podcast just adds to the complexity of the story, because it casts doubt on the original case, which was greatly hinged on Lanie's testimony that she saw the guy next door pull the trigger. The author does an excellent job of mixing in excerpts from the podcast, Twitter feeds, and posts from reddit to tell the story in a rather unique way. Not only do we get to see the story from the perspective of the Buhrman family (through both current events and flashbacks), but we get to see it from a journalist's perspective, and also the point of view of fans of the podcast.

I felt like the characters were developed very well, the contrast between Josie and Lanie was very clear and interesting. I absolutely hated the podcaster/journalist Poppy Parnell, but considering that was kinda the point, I thought the author handled her character excellently. The only part of the book that frustrated me was that I knew from the beginning that Josie had a major issue with Lanie, that her sister had betrayed her in some unforgivable way, but it wasn't until about a third of the way through that the actual betrayal was made clear. Even then, it was a little while longer before the effect on Josie was thoroughly explained.

Overall, this was a good book, maybe even a great book. Once things really started to pick up about halfway through, I had a very hard time putting the book down, I just had to know what would happen next. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who likes psychological thrillers and who is tired of always reading books with the same basic storyline and the same predictable ending.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book for review.

You know it the sign of a great thriller when you can't put it down. I started this book yesterday and finished it before bed. It was that good.

An interesting premise, hit podcast reopens a murder case, and an immediate pull of interest with the characters and how the story is written guarantees a fantastic thriller. Transcripts of the podcast mixed with Reddit posts make the story move along at a brisk pace. Cults, twins, adultery, murder lead to twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Highly recommend for beach reads, thriller readers etc.

I absolutely loved this book. It had the mixed media stuff that I go crazy for and also a fantastic and gripping story with a wonderfully unexpected twist. I would recommend this to everyone (and have been doing so for a while now!).

3 stars.

It's been ages since I finished this book but my life has gotten so busy that I simply couldn't sit down and write this review till now.

Barber's novels revolves around murder of a father of two sisters who drifted apart after the incident. Josie left the small town and started a new life in the city, Lanie settled down where she grew up. Years pass by and a podcast reopens the case picking at questions that remained unanswered. The events force Josie to go back to home and confront the people she left behind along with the truth.

The main thing that distinguish this novel from the hundreds of other psychological thrillers are the excerpts of the podcast and various forum posts about the case.

While the story is interesting enough the plot and the characters aren't outstanding or very memorable. Maybe it's just that there are too many similar stories these days and it's getting harder and harder to write something truly original in the psychological thriller genre.

Barber's writing style is enjoyable though it doesn't scream 'exceptional talent'. Another thing that bothered me is the lack of depth in the characters, it felt like we were only scratching the surface while the genre itself suggests a need to go deeper into psychological affairs.

The story itself is fast paced and kept me guessing and held my attention till the end despite it was lacking in certain aspects.

All in all it is an entertaining, easy read, perfect for winding down after long hours of working or studying.

*Arc was provided by Netgalley in exchange for a honest review*

The author did a good job of pulling me into trying to solve the murder mystery. I like how she used a podcast series to lay out the case and bring up different questions about it.

As soon as I saw the reference to the podcast Serial I knew I had to give this book a try. I thought this was a smart way to turn what could have been an ordinary mystery into something with a more current vibe.

This story moved along quickly. I liked the way it slowly brought the truth out in the open. It shows what can happen when someone has lived with a lie and then all of a sudden has to finally be honest. The author created characters that seemed real. It also brought attention to the impact of social media that we have to deal with on a daily basis. It did keep me guessing until the very end. All in all - a very enjoyable read.

I received this from gallery Books via Netgalley.

This one was really good. An Internet blogger decides to investigate an old solved murder. She questions what really happened the night that Charles Buhrman was murdered and if the right person is currently in prison. Josie and Lanie are twins and they haven't spoken in years. Josie even changed her name and never mentioned to her partner that her father was murdered or that she had a sister at all, let alone a twin. When their mother commits suicide, Josie is forced to actually deal with this life that she used to have as well as the fact that she never told anyone in her new life what happened to her family. I don't normally do a synopsis. Sorry. This was good. The story is compelling. The only thing that I found weird about it was that the mother of the convicted killer and Lanie are both named Melanie. It's like naming all of your characters Mary and then calling them all by their middle names, which I think only happens in real life, not in stories. I'm just curious why the author chose to do this.

A good murder mystery enhanced with fake social media posts. Also a good examination of how relationships can sour and maybe be redeemed.

Free copy given in exchange for an honest review.

When she was a teenage girl, Josie's father Charles was brutally murdered. Her twin sister Lanie said that she saw the neighbor boy shoot him, and her testimony sent him to prison. Shortly thereafter, their mother Erin ran away to join a cult, and Josie and Lanie drifted apart. Josie eventually ran away to New York and built a new life with a new last name, and fell in love with a good guy named Caleb. But now a popular podcast has taken up her father's murder and is starting to wonder if perhaps the wrong person has gone to prison. Josie's life is turned upside down, and when tragedy brings her back to her hometown and the family she left behind, she starts to wonder if perhaps something else did happen to her Dad.
I really enjoyed this book a lot. This was a good mixture of mystery and family drama. It was fast paced and kept me hooked to the end.