A sultry, atmospheric slow-burn with gothic vibes and secrets galore. Haunting in more ways than one, this had me looking over my shoulder and sleeping with the light on. Creepy good!

Well. This book was not what I was expecting. Not in a bad way at all, just that ... Well It was a little more "Fifty Shades of Casper" than I had been prepared for. If you know, you know.

The story follows Zoe Adams who has taken a month long break from her life in the US, to try and find herself and recover her artistic flair by hiding away on a remote Scottish island. The house is the ultimate in isolation, located in the north of the island, with no mobile phone or internet connection, the landline her only means of communicating with the outside world, or even her landlord who is based in the main town. Now, that alone should be enough to set the alarm bells ringing, but Zoe is craving the peace, quiet, and solitude that the house, the locally infamous 'McBride house' offers. For readers ... well let's just say that what happens is exactly what you might expect from such a remote location. Then again ... even I was caught unawares by this novel.

The story is rich in atmosphere and has more than a hint of the gothic about it. The infamous house is rich in history and lore, none of which Zoe is aware of when she agrees to the lease. There is a reason that the locals don't think it fitting for a woman to be out in the house alone, especially at night. Whilst local superstition may play more than a small hand in their concerns, it's fair to say that there is a rather dark history which is slowly and carefully revealed to us as readers, keeping the suspense levels high. There are some very tense, if not intense scenes, as well as those that took me, and definitely Zoe, a little by surprise. Let's just say that not everyone was quite so unwelcoming, but just who, or maybe even what, has their focus entirely on Zoe's ... comfort in her new home remains to be seen.

I liked the way that the author has drawn on the dramatic setting and history of the house and the island location to add mystery to the story. We meet so many character in this story, some more eccentric perhaps than others, some more sinister and suspect in their intent, that is hard to know if what Zoe is experiencing is her imagination, or something far more ethereal. There is definitely a sense of the supernatural about this book, times when suspending your disbelief is required, but not hard to do. I found myself drawn into the story, the legend, that the intervention of the corporeal beings far more of a jarring aspect. When it comes to the locals, their behaviour is far more suspect and as for who might have taken against Zoe, the list of suspects is surprisingly long. There are those who made me smile and others who made the skin crawl, but I was never certain that any of them were worthy of my trust.

With a clear case of history repeating itself, and a few surprises in store about why Zoe is really seeking solace in such a dreary hideaway, the book kept me guessing to the end and left me definitely satisfied. I like the 'otherworldliness' of the story, even if some scenes might make a more prudish reader blush. If you like a gothic suspense, rich in atmosphere and tragedy, with a supernatural undertone, this could well be the book for you.

I thoroughly enjoyed this creepy thriller set in a big house on a remote Scottish island, so much that I read it in 2 days as I didn't want to put it down.

Zoe has travelled from America for some time away from her failing marriage and has chosen the remotest island and house she could find. No wifi, middle of nowhere; she will have the peace and space she needs to think and paint. Well that's what she thought, until she arrived on the island. The minute she arrives she starts hearing strange things about the house but the landlord brushes them off, and then she starts experiencing things for herself... On a mission to find out the history, she befriends local historian Charles who begins to tell her the houses past. At the same time she has strange, realistic dreams, constantly feels like she's being watched and hears people in the house. But it's not just the past - more recently a boy went missing and hasn't been found. Is there really something supernatural at work or is there more at play? Is Zoe in danger? And is it really the house she should be scared of?

This is my sort of book! I love a bit of supernatural, a psychological thriller, a book that keeps you guessing - and this had all of those things. I questioned absolutely everyone! And although I did guess some of the plot twists, there were others that I had absolutely no clue about until they were revealed. There were so many creepy, eerie moments in this and I loved it. The only thing I wasn't keen on were the quite explicit sexual scenes, which is just something I'm not a fan of. Luckily there weren't too many!

The setting is perfect. The writing and description is fantastic and I really could picture it all playing out in my mind like a movie. In terms of characters, Zoe was okay, although I did find her slightly annoying at times. I adored Edward and Charles!

Overall, a fantastic book! If you're look for something creepy, that will keep you turning the pages and you don't mind a bit of sexual content, then this needs to be checked out. I will definitely look out for more from this author.

This was a brilliant read. As soon as I started reading this book I just knew I was going to love it. Highly recommended

Gripping and terrifying in equal measure!

Loved the development of the characters, very cleverly written. Recommend!

I went into this one with high hopes however, I quickly learnt that this was not the book for Mr. Whether it was the time that I read it not being right or whether I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much as I wish I did regardless I'm not sure. There was an aspect that just took me out of the story and from then on i struggled to get back into it.

A chilling novel which sucks the reader in to the remote Scottish island life. Great story development with the reader never knowing what is real and what is imagined

Unfortunately I was not able to finish this book. It was not a problem with the book, but that at times different books suit us differently and I was unable to settle with this one at the time I read it.

I'm not sure why the blurb says this will 'reinvent the genre' as it was a rather wishy washy example.
I enjoyed the set up and was interested in the past timeline about the house's previous inhabitants and it was really interesting to throw in some sexual content into a genre that is usually without!
However, the modern 'haunting' didn't seem to worry Zoe too much as she kept going back to the house... and by the end of the book all of the 'hauntings' had actually been explained away but human endeavour! So despite the grand tale of the demonic McBride house everything had been engineered by a disturbed young boy and a local lout?
Also the title of the book is pointless and misleading.
A little bit disappointing.

Creepy and believable
And so very gripping and entertaining. So well written and I enjoyed my mind trip to the island off the west coast of Scotland. Tense, I would never had set foot in there and I didn’t guess for one minute where it was heading. Excellent read your pulled into the plot hooked you all need to read fab

What a creepy tale full of suspense and tense moments. I love this kind of read and Stephanie's creativity in writing style, plot settings and variety of characters is astounding. Brilliant stuff.

This is a thriller with supernatural elements. A woman leaves her family behind to find peace and quiet on a remote island off the Scottish coast. The house she’s rented is believed to be cursed and haunted so the protagonist starts an investigation that leads her to discovers a story of ghost and dark secrets. All in all, I enjoyed the story. There are lot of suspense and twists and the claustrophobic atmosphere and setting really kept me on my toes, but I couldn’t really warm up to the protagonist and the story was a bit too long.

Not a thriller or a chiller more like a supernatural bore with Chic-flick porno and some S&M thrown in for the hell of it.

The blurb reads as a psychological thriller however there's little in it to justify the tag, what we get instead is a some strange noises a few bumps in the night literally.
The story follows Zoe an American artist trying to escape her marriage and rekindle her love for her art on a remote Scottish island where she winds up staying in a supposedly haunted mansion.
The plot is so slow and boring for at least half of the book all we get is some cliché haunted house moments of doors banging strange noises, cloaked hooded figures walking across the moor and visitations from a ghost that contains boring erotica and this gets so repetitive its laughable I kept saying to "myself why does she keep going back to the house"?
The characters are all complete caricatures you would supposedly find in a backwoods remote Island, superstitious and stereotypical not once does Merritt bring to life the beauty or the atmosphere of the Island.
The sex in the book feels forced and Zoë's on off relationship with the doughy eyed Edward is shoehorned in because we have to have a romance.
I have no idea how this has so many five star reviews for me its complete clap trap not worth your time or money.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This book was pretty disappointing for me. The premise was really interesting, but it just seemed to hit every single obvious plot point along the way and then ended very abruptly. There is some interesting commentary about how women lose themselves when they become mothers, but it is all tied up with troubling decision making by our protagonist, who is very judgemental towards her own sex, making her pretty unlikeable. The relationship between Zoe and Edward happens from nowhere and just doesn't ring true. I feel like the narrative is trying to comment on feminist issues and institutionalised misogyny, but Zoe is so antagonistic towards women that it just doesn't come off. The ending was truly awful - really predictable and incredibly rushed.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

While You Sleep by Stephanie Merritt. A tense and creepy ghost story with an atmospheric feel to it. Fast paced and well written.

Creepy and chilling, for the first half of the book, I thought I was reading a ghost story rather than a thriller. Many twists in the plot, with many red herrings leaving you guessing until the very end as to just what is going on!

So many twist and turns you don't know which way to turn first. If you want something to make you investigate the things that go bump in the night then this is the book for you.

I received a copy from Netgalley.

This one came to me in one of those “read it now for the first 200 members” emails. I love gothic thrillers when they’re movies, particularly ones with a Scottish setting. So why not give it a go? I really liked what I read enough to buy a finished hardback.

Not my usual type of read, but this one caught my interest right away. I was intrigued with the mystery surrounding the main character, Zoe. She seemed quite cold and standoffish. She comes to a remote Scottish island to rent a manor with a foreboding location and gloomy history looking to get away from a tragedy and a failing marriage. The writing is delicious and the whole thing has a delightfully creepy and murky atmosphere to it.

Like with any small town, I would imagine, a community where people have known each other forever, Zoe is an anomaly and the subject of curiosity. The locals obviously know a lot more about the manor she is renting than they do. A strange history and the sight of recent traumatic event as well. Nosy neighbours galore, and unwanted attention from creepy men, Zoe does her best to keep to herself and deal with her own drama.

Doesn’t happen, of course. She finds herself drawn into the mysteries of the manor, the history and starts to get to know some of the locals pretty well. There was a surprising and well written erotic element to the mystery side of things as well. The characters were well fleshed out and believable, even the unlikeable ones.

There were quite a few surprising twists, one or two of them I worked out, but some of them managed to surprise me. The tension was exceptionally well built throughout. The imagery was really vivid and the writing made it very easy to picture what was going on. I would love to see this book made into a movie.

Highly recommended and really, really good.

Definitely an author I will read again.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for the review copy.

Zoe has left her life in America to seek solitude in a small Scottish island. She tries her best to brush off the folklore and ghost stories surrounding the house she is living in but things are not going too well. As Zoe begins to unravel the history of the McBride house she realises that her life could actually be in danger , but does someone from the village mean her harm or is it something else entirely....This book had me trembling in places, I found it really creepy and dark. I felt a connection with the main characters and loves the sudden twists and turns throughout. A really good read! 5 * from me.

It’s well written and atmospheric, it has a good measure of spookiness, a great setting and an interesting cast of characters - it should be brilliant. But for some reason I ended up skipping over quite a few parts, maybe it was a little too formulaic. I liked the ending, and I will pick up the sequel if it comes along - it was good, it just didn’t set my life on fire.