Wow what a great story. Lots of twists and turns throughout this eerie and chilling tale. The story is basically about Zoe, leaving her problems in America and arriving at a remote Scottish Island to spend some time to paint. The story enfolds with lots of ghostly activity and strange events which causes her to delve more deeply into the local history.

A great story that will keep you entertained ... if you dare to read it!

Set on a Scottish island and dealing with themes of change and loss through mystery and deception, this book started slowly. The pace soon picked up and I was gripped to the point of sleeping badly until I read to the Gothic climax where I was pleased to have many of my suspicions confirmed. I was a little frustrated that the author choose to leave some plot threads dangling, no doubt for a possible series, but that may be more reflective of my own preference for a full resolution. The characters were in the main well rounded and enjoyable in their complexity and the descriptions of the landscape and weather added beautifully to the atmosphere. The star of the book though had to be the house, whose atmosphere was strongly conveyed throughout.

‘While You Sleep’ is a great example of the kind of mis-marketing that seems commonplace in the publishing business. Looking at the cover you’d take it to be the kind of domestic thriller that is very popular at the moment - sympathetic female character in a familiar environment experiences mild peril in a way that could happen to you! I’m a bit tired of that kind of thing, so thankfully ‘While You Sleep’ isn’t like that at all.
Stephanie Merritt’s book is a beguiling and for the most part very successful blend of mystery, gothic horror, folklore and romance. In fact it draws on so many different genres that I did debate for a while whether I should review it on CriminOlly at all. The mystery element is strong enough though, that I think crime fans will enjoy it.
The heroine is 40-something American Zoe, who travels to a remote Scottish island to rest and reset her life. She stays in the recently renovated McBride house, a place with a dark history, and soon finds it leaching into her dreams. As the plot progresses she learns more about the tragic events that took place there in Victorian times, and also that a local boy went missing nearby. With the setup efficiently delivered, the rest of the book focuses on Zoe’s attempts to unravel the twin mysteries, helped by the island’s school teacher/romantic interest Edward and local historian Charles.
There are two things that make the book work as well as it does: the characters and Merritt’s skilfull blend of the genre’s I mentioned above. Zoe is convincing and easy to sympathise with, even when it feels like her perception of what is happening around her is unreliable. I found it easy as a reader to put myself in her shoes, alone and isolated in a community that doesn’t welcome strangers. Whilst there is a quite a rich supporting cast of named characters, it’s the community as a whole that really comes through - suspicious, superstitious and clinging to ideas formed a hundred years previously. The mystery of what really happened in the McBride house hangs over the whole island, and the gradual revelation of it, along with the more recent disappearance, makes for gripping reading.
A large part of the mystery is whether or not anything supernatural is at play, either in Victorian times or the present day. Merritt does a great job of keeping the reader guessing, walking that fine tightrope where you never know if something weird really is going on or if it’s just in the character’s imaginations.
I really enjoyed it, finding it a compelling, accomplished read. It’s never truly scary or shocking, but it is a very satisfying read and one I’d definitely recommend if you’re after something a little different from the normal crime fare.

OMG..this book was scary! Mu husband was away and I decided to start this book. I had to stop halfway and go to sleep with my daughter in her bed! This is a superb book and I would recommend it highly. Just don't start it at night. Maybe on a sunny beach!

Compulsively readable and at times, too unsettling to read in the dark! This is a brilliantly gripping, atmospheric read that keeps you hooked until the very end. Although I guessed a key plot point fairly early on, it didn't in any way inhibit my enjoyment of the book, or its readability. Chilling stuff!

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Not sure who to review this book that is part thriller and part Ghost story set on a isolated Scottish Island. I really enjoyed this.

Totally gripped by this book,, the supernatural aspect of the book was so scary it made me actually shiver in places, the ending was not at all what I was expecting and it makes me wonder if there's another novel on its way.
Thank you

Unsettling and creepy this is a very good read. It's gothic in its desc ription and atmosphere created but its also dark and depresing.

Sadly this wasn't a book for me, It wasn't badly written or anything I just did not enjoy the story.

Loved this book wasn’t what I was expecting when I started it but in her best possible way. I lost sleep reading this been a long time some I’ve had to sleep with lights on. Addictive, fast paced & so intriguing would highly reccomend it to anyone

I received a free copy from Netgalley, here is the blurb

On a remote Scottish island, the McBride house stands guard over its secrets. A century ago, a young widow and her son died mysteriously there; just last year a local boy, visiting for a dare, disappeared without a trace.
For Zoe Adams, newly arrived from America, the house offers a refuge from her failing marriage. But her peaceful retreat is disrupted by strange and disturbing events: night-time intrusions; unknown voices; a constant sense of being watched.
The locals want her to believe that these incidents are echoes of the McBrides' dark past. Zoe is convinced the danger is closer at hand, and all too real – but can she uncover the truth before she is silenced?

Really enjoyed this book, I spent the whole book, unsure whether Zoe was being haunted, going mad or being attached by the locals. Would recommend as it was a good read. Some of the scenarios were a bit convenient in order to make the story happy, for example the boy's phone however, it did not ruin the story for me.

Length: 6-7 hours
Leaves you leaving: Vaguely creeped out, strangely cozy and compulsively engrossed.

I picked up this book as a Halloween read and although it promised to be a med-long read, I finished it in one sitting, only stopping to eat.
There were coincidental parallels I drew with The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd as that was the previous book I had read. Both dealt with the guilt of leaving family, adultery and eroticism in the form of wild dreams and sketches (both the protagonists were artists by profession).
But, as a horror story, it was spot on. A haunted mansion, check. A loner running away from life, check. Mysterious presence and an insidious history, check. It might seem like the setting of a typical horror movie, but reading the scenes, the creepy factor and the other senses left to one's imagination makes it an compulsively chilly read.
Another parallel can be drawn with (view spoiler) there were other elements to it that stirred up the novel to a steady, face-paced tale. This story is partly horror, partly deeply-buried small town secrets. The Gothic theme is rampant in the writing style and often makes one forget that the story is set in 2018. I kept imagining the characters in gowns and tight bodices, contrary to the modern day clothing they were dawning!
One thing that I disliked about the book is how it constantly fed into the concept of female hysteria, but then that's probably what keeps the reader second guessing the protagonist and her account of things.
As a quick Halloween read, this novel went down real smooth. Looking forward to other works of Stephanie Merritt.

When Zoe Adams arrives on a remote Scottish island seeking refuge from her failing marriage she doesn’t expect to be thrust into the islands dark history.

The McBride house stands empty overlooking the cliffs and guarding its secrets. Over a century ago, a young widow and her son died under mysterious circumstances and only a year before a local boy visiting on a dare disappeared without trace.

The islanders believe the house should have been left to rot and ruin, but Zoe is convinced the truth to these mysteries is far more real than the ghost stories they tell.

This book had me peeping out from under the covers, I don’t suggest reading with your Kindle as the only source of light!

Not usually one for ghost stories and things that go bump in the night I was sceptical when I began reading, but I was surprised to find I couldn’t stop turning the pages, even though I was a little spooked at times.

It was extremely well written, and the author managed to convey the atmosphere amazingly. I did start to put the pieces together about half way through, but this didn’t make me any less enthralled.

Unfortunately, the ending fell a little flat for me. After such an impressive build up the story was concluded abruptly and in just a few short chapters, but I will definitely keep an eye out for this author again.

I don't normally read books that has a ghost or magic theme, and didn't realise this book was in the same style, until I started it. A really good read, well written, with loads of twists and turns, which leave you wondering what's real, and what's imagined or ...magic. The plot twists are clever, the writing is very descriptive at times and kept me interested throughout.

Intriguing story I enjoyed very much, with a twist I wasn't expecting and that made me gasp out loud.

This was very different to Stephanie's previous books, but equally brilliant. Gripping, atmospheric and suspenseful. I very much enjoyed it.

A remote Scottish island, a creepy house, the wind moaning, waves crashing, a terrifying legend and the kind of locals that all go silent when you walk into the pub – what more could you ask for?
Zoe is looking for peace and quiet and isolation so she can get her head together. A beautiful old house miles from anywhere seems ideal. But the house has a mysterious past and the locals are a bit cagey. Strange things begin to happen – but this isn’t bumps in the night and rattling chains; there’s a weird feeling in the house and Zoe’s dreams are vividly erotic and very unsettling.
But this is no Fifty Shades (thank goodness) and the sex is, on the whole, well-written. And what the writer does especially well is to weave a really suspenseful and at times terrifying tale. The claustrophobic atmosphere of the house, the isolation, the fear that Zoe feels are so well portrayed – you feel terrified for her.
I also liked the weaving of myth and history with the reality of the characters’’ present. It’s done really well, and there are two stories going on here, that of Zoe and that of Ailsa, the widow who died a century before. Ailsa’s story is fascinating – it could probably be a whole different novel in itself.
It’s truly a gripping read, well-paced, dark, but fun too if you like to be scared! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Set on a remote Scottish island, this psychological thriller with ghost attached is an engrossing story. The main character is an American called Zoe who is looking for peace and tranquillity but that isn't what she finds. Great read.

Definitely not the type of story I was expecting to read when I first started the book, but one I found that I enjoyed all the more for the surprise it gave me. A worthy read.

Plot: Zoe Adams, needing a break to work on her art and to consider her marriage, travels to a remote Scottish island from America, choosing to stay at a house known as the McBride house. It’s not long before she learns that the house is the centre of rumours and stories around the island, from a boy who went missing there last year to a young widow and her son mysteriously dying there a century before. As the house begins to disturb her sleep and she hears and sees strange things, she suspects that there’s more to the stories than she’s heard and that the danger is closer than people realise, but it’s up to her to discover why before it’s too late.

Thoughts: I loved the isolated landscape this novel is set in that just adds to the unnerving and unsettling atmosphere of the whole story, and I love the idea of a haunted house in this situation. There were moments where I was honestly really scared and thinking I was hearing things around my house too!
The entwining of myth and folklore with “modern” island life was excellent, as were the medley of interesting characters: the friendly people who own the house and pub, the young schoolteacher who’s been recently transplanted to the island, the kindly bookshop owner, and the creepy man who rents her a car. Overall a really good read that I would recommend, just not a dark night!