I enjoyed the social media/serial podcast aspect of this one. Having read a ton of mysteries, this added a new element to the story. There was also a great cast of characters, not all likeable but it worked really well. My only real complaint is that the mystery really wasn't too hard to figure out.

⭐⭐⭐☄(3.5 stars)

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or the review itself.

Josie Burhman works very hard to make a new life separate from her family and her past with her sweet, loyal, humanitarian boyfriend Caleb. However, her past comes up to haunt her when she gets news of her mother's death.

Trudging up the past becomes more complicated by a podcast called Reconsidered, completely dedicated to investigating your father's murder and whether the imprisoned murderer actually committed the crime. Your sister Lanie was the sole eyewitness who named the murderer.

This book kept me hooked throughout and I found the juxtaposition between the podcast episodes and Josie's narration effective. I give it a 3.5 because though it was fairly predictable, it was a fun ride.

I would recommend this to true crime enthusiasts and people who loved the Serial podcast. It makes you see a different perspective on how invasive investigative journalism can be.

This book is about a woman whose traumatic past comes back to haunt her. The narration is compelling if a little simple and there are no real surprises in the end. I am sorry to say that this book did not really work for me.

I received this book for an honest review from Netgalley. Unfortunately, it just isn't my cup of tea. I didn't liked it, couldn't get into the story or characters, even after 60% of the book. I was drawn to the cover and the concept of the book and expected a gripping read but I just didn't care for the characters and found it tedious despite many positive reviews from readers who loved it. It wasn't for me.

Josie is running from her past but it isn't long before it catches up to her, ripping open old wounds. Ten years after her father's murder and mother's suicide, Josie is hiding out in NYC with her boyfriend, Caleb. No one knows of her past and she prefers it that way but when a podcast investigator has her family's case reopened, Jamie can no longer hide from the truth.

"Are you sleeping?" kept me on the edge of my seat. I was consumed by Josie's dark past, by her secret and the truth of what happened.. Josie's character was complex and a little frustrating but that made me like her. She was human and clearly affected by the past. There were moments of comedic relief that weren't overdone or inappropriately placed. I felt the narration was consistent and the pacing even.

Overall, an excellent mystery I plan to read again and again for an adrenaline rush.

I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved all of the characters and felt attached to allow them. Josie and Lanie were twins but complete opposites..which I think worked well in this book. It was hard to put this book down as I wanted to find out all that happened, past and present. The following of the podcast really added to the story and gave a great perspective. Can't wait to read more by this author. I highly recommend this book if you like a good mystery/thriller!

This thriller was very addictive. Pace was a little bit too slow, but I really loved it!

3.7 - you know that there will have to be a twist at the end, but this was a solid tale; the Twitter/podcast element made it timely, and made the story progress more quickly (in my opinion)

I received an advanced copy of this novel from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.

This was a spectacular mystery, thriller debut novel that was one that I just wanted to keep on reading! I really appreciate that there was transcripts of the podcasts and tweets and so forth, really pulling in how social media spreads 'news' (more like rumors) and that's where a lot of people end up getting information from. I do kind of wonder what this novel would sound like in an audiobook because reading all these things was fun and interesting but hearing the podcast in the transcripts form would be cool!

This novel follows Josie who has a lot of secrets from her past and changed her name to be able to hide from those secrets, however, now the secrets of the past have caught up with her as she's called to attend her mother's funeral due to suicide. This came out of nowhere after finding out about a new podcast that everyone is listening to that is reopening her family secrets and the murder of her father. In addition, Josie hasn't told her long-term boyfriend about her past...or her parents, let alone about her identical twin sister! Now she's starting to feel stressed and overwhelmed with dealing with all this family stress as well as keeping her relationship in tact, yet keeping him at a distance to avoid having to tell him the truth. As this investigation from the podcast report, Polly Parnell, unfolds we also watch as Josie finally embraces her past and fixes some long held secrets.

Again, an amazing novel that I did not want to stop reading. I would HIGHLY recommend this novel if anyone is a fan of the true crime shows or stories, this is a top-notch mystery/thriller and I cannot wait to see where this author goes from here! And, if you ask me, I feel like we may see Polly Parnell again...and I'm interested in that!

I've been hearing trailers for 'Are You Sleeping' on various true crime podcasts I listen to for a while which made it sound like an intriguing thriller with a really quirky concept. However, when I started reading it, the opposite turned out to be the case. This is a pretty standard and pretty predictable (albeit readable) thriller.

I think the reason I find this frustrating is that there's a lot of great elements here which could have really worked in the hands of a more capable writer. I would have loved to have seen a bit more exposition about the intrusiveness of social media and how people's lives can totally be blown out of whack when you're unwillingly thrust into the public eye. This is a debut novel and - unfortunately - it shows.

A lot of the plot elements just felt contrived. The podcast angle doesn't really work - I just don't see how the case would really appeal to a journalist such as Poppy Parnell and we don't really find out much about the alleged killer bar a basic character sketch. Parnell is supposed to be based on Sarah Koenig of 'Serial' fame, but her approach seems to be more 'sleazy tabloid reporter' than 'thoughtful investigative reporter.' The element of the main character hiding her true identity from her partner is wrapped up far too quickly and in a really trite, unbelievable way.

This isn't to say that 'Are You Sleeping?' isn't readable. It really is and I tore through it in the space of a day. I'm actually really glad that I held off on reading this book until I went on holiday as it made a great beach read. But if you're looking for something that's a change from your average everyday thriller, this isn't it.

Some secrets stay hidden, some have a way of finding the way to the surface. Many readers will identify with the protagonist in this novel. She tries to carry on after tragedy; she protects herself in ways she should; she mourns past events silently. When a blogger stirs up old questions, this family must pull together to identify the important things in their lives. Family

ARC provided by NetGalley.

In the interest of full disclosure: I have not listened to Serial.

Are You Sleeping? bases its plot on a Serial-like podcast, Reconsidered, which explores a murder in a small town. A man is killed, and the teenage son of his next-door neighbor - a beautiful single mother with whom he has been having an affair - is convicted and sent to jail. Poppy Parnell, a true-crime enthusiast, starts a podcast, seeking to learn more about the crime and determine whether or not the true killer was held responsible.

Our narrator is Josie, the murder victim's daughter, who lives far away with her boyfriend, Caleb. Shortly after Josie discovers the existence of a podcast about her dad's murder, a series of events forces her back to her hometown, where she must grapple with grief, with the lies she has told her boyfriend, with her fractured relationship with her twin sister, and with the journalist behind the podcast.

Ultimately, one of my biggest issues was that a lot of Josie's problems could have been solved by just communicating. She told way too many lies to her boyfriend, and not for any logical reason. Same with her relationship with Lanie, her twin. Deep dark secrets are all well and good, but the logic behind keeping them has to make some sense beyond "I couldn't bear to tell him/her."

My other issue is that it's hard to become invested in the crime itself because we don't get a great sense of Chuck, Josie's dad and the murder victim. He seems like a good dad and a decent guy, his affair aside, but those tepid adjectives are all you can come up with. There isn't much there to intrigue a true-crime fanatic and trigger them to start a podcast, really.

The book was well-written, unlike many thrillers these days, but as the plot unspooled, it wasn't particularly satisfying. An excellent premise with decent, not great, execution.

A great thriller! Believable characters, a twisted story, and just when I thought I had things figured out, something else happened to destroy that theory.. And that's a GOOD thing in a mystery!! Good writing, fascinating narrative, and an overall good read!

I enjoyed this book when I read it but it has been a few weeks since I finished it and I had to refresh my memory as to what it was about before writing this review. Does that mean it isn’t memorable? I don’t think so, I just read an awful lot. While I was reading it, it reminded my of the television show remake of Scream. There is a reporter who has dug up the past and that has led to trouble and anger in the current times.
I did like this story and thought it was well done. It was a mystery about a formerly solved crime that had happened years ago. Josie is the one sister who has tried to escape and change her future completely and she finds herself dragged right back to when to her life blew up in her face.
I give this book 4 crowns.

I loved the format of this book with the podcast investigation developing along with revelations in the plot. Would definitely recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for this ARC of Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber. This is the story of twin sisters living apart, their father murdered, the shooter in prison , identified by one twin Lanie. The other twin Josie, has lived her life away from her sister, and her mother has joined a cult. An online blogger Poppy Parnell, has started a blog Reconsidered about who really killed Josie's father Chuck Burhman. The story is told from many points of views. It held my interest and the characters were believable.

Josie Buhrman has spent her entire adult life trying to recover after losing her family. Her father was murdered, her mother ran away to join a cult, and her twin sister betrayed her. Whatever peace Josie's found, however, is lost when journalist Poppy Parnell starts a Serial-esque podcast questioning the guilt of her father's convicted murderer. Soon Josie is back home--a place she never thought she'd return--and starting to wonder if the story she's believed about her family for a decade is really true.

This suspenseful, psychological thriller manages to hit on several cultural hot buttons all at once. The popularity of the True Crime genre, the viral popularity of podcasts, and voyeurism are all touched on, if not explored in depth. Fans of thrillers, true crime, and podcasts will enjoy the mystery and suspense, even if character and relationship development sometimes get shortchanged.

Reviewed on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/30753570

My Highly Caffeinated Thought: A completely addictive read with a refreshing approach to the true crime phenomenon and psychological suspense.

This book…holy crap! I cannot express how much I loved reading this debut novel from Kathleen Barber. From the first chapter, I was instantly obsessed with finding out if Poppy Parnell is going to unravel the truth behind an old murder and what it was going to do everyone involved.

ARE YOU SLEEPING is a wonderfully unique approach to a suspense novel. Not only does the reader get to revisit a closed murder case through the eyes of the reporter Poppy Parnell, but we also get all the comments from those who are fans of the podcast. In a lot of ways, this burst of judgment or support for those involved in the case break up the story. It gave me a moment to regroup after another piece of the puzzle was revealed.

With all that goes on in this book and all the lies, doubts, and betrayals, the heart of this novel are two twin sisters. The dynamic between Josie and Lanie is shaped from the past, but as we learn more about the two, the author gives us hope for the future.

This book has heart, suspense, and wit. In my book, Barber hit the trifecta. I cannot wait to read more from this author.

As a complete side note. For anyone who loved this book, take a look at SIX STORIES by Matt Wesolowski. Though the stories are completely different, I couldn’t help thinking about that book while I read this one. Each are amazing in their own right and each have a unique spin with the concept of the true crime podcast. Just thought you all would want to know.

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

I’ve missed the train on podcasts like Serial, but if they are half as entertaining as Are You Sleeping- I need to rectify that immediately (hit me up with your best podcasts, please!)



What I liked:

The cover. Very eye catching!

How Kathleen broke the book down. I loved the excerpts from the podcast, the tweets, etc. It just gave it a more real feel!

Poppy. I know, we’re not supposed to like her- but she totally had a Gale Weathers vibe going that I dug!



Bottom line: This book sucked me in less than 10 pages into book and did not let me go till I finished it. It fed the soul of this Law & Order/Discovery ID fan 🙂



*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*

**Are You Sleeping is an August #FuturisticFriday selection from Traveling With T.**

This title will certainly appeal to fans of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, with its fast pace and suspenseful feel. Unlike those titles, however, the main character is likeable and sympathetic, which may be more attractive to some readers.