While You Sleep is far fetched but deliciously gothic and creepy for a cold, rainy weekend at home by the fire. There's plenty of intrigue here as Zoe Adams navigates life on a small Scottish island while taking up temporary residence in a secluded house believed, by the locals, to be cursed. Looking for a bit of 'me time', she wonders if her life before living at McBride House is colouring her perception of events or if the house is, indeed, haunted. Luckily, she finds allies in her search for answers and heads out to unravel more than one mystery.

I did like this story but could anticipate a number of key developments in advance of their unveiling. Not necessarily a bad thing as the story moved in a rather predictable, yet entertaining, way. I guess I would describe this book as Woman in Black meets Fifty Shades of Grey? Probably a bit more Fifty Shades than I would have liked but it seemed a requirement of the story.

This was definitely a creepy book. I am not sure it reinvented the psychological thriller but it was a very good read. Set on a Scottish Island was a real pull for me and the book didn't disappoint. It was quite a chilling and thought provoking read. One I shall read again - on the light nights as opposed to the dark winter nights. I would very much like to read more from this author.

Enjoyed this book.
Intriguing story. I just kept wondering why she would keep staying in a house that was haunted. I wouldn’t have! Well written and spookily enjoyable.

I love a good old-fashioned Gothic horror story and this was that and very much more. It has all that you expect from this genre; remote house, unpleasant history, rumours in town, inexplicable events and things that go bump in the night.

There was a clue in the blurb as to the sexual aspect, but I completely missed it, so the very first night-time encounter took me very much by surprise.

I usually read for 15-20 mins before I go to sleep, but this story so unnerved me that I had to finish it in one session during the day.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and couldn't stop talking about it to anyone that would listen.

I really enjoyed this book. At first I felt a little sceptical, but was quickly sucked into the story and spend nearly a full day reading it.
I was hooked throughout just had to know what was going on, no disappointment at all. The story was amazing and I've already recommended the book to friends!
A massive thank you.

What an creepy atmospheric read, I loved it! A spine chilling, slightly gothic, page turner. If this is the sort of book you like, I can highly recommend While You Sleep.. A fantasic but scary book which I found hard to put down.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Harper Collins and Stephanie Merritt for an ARC of this amazing book.

An American lady escaping from her troubled marriage books into an isolated house on a remote Scottish island. Amid rumours of strange, ghostly events and the recent disappearance of a young boy, Zoe attempts to enjoy the peaceful location. However, events very quickly become unsettling and the story evolves around her trying to maintain normality amidst the most bizarre and troubling incidents that happen with alarming regularity. Unfortunately, due to the far too numerous events that seemed to occur, I found it difficult to find the fear factor. I felt less would have been more in this case. The incidents themselves became increasingly absurd and although this was, to some degree explained, I couldn't really immerse myself in this book or warm to any of the characters.

American Zoe is needing to get away. Her marriage is collapsing and she needs peace and quiet to concentrate on getting herself together and on her painting. The McBride house on a Scottish island with beautiful sea views seems to be exactly what she needs.

The blurb for this book really appealed. Set on a Scottish Island-always a good a start- mystery surrounding an old house, a child disappearing all sounded promising. This book is a mixture of a ghost story and a supernatural/horror story with a sprinkling of erotica. Unfortunately it really didn't do it for me. I never really warmed to Zoe which probably didn't help. I was interested enough to read it through to the end but it won't be a book that stays with me for long.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

Amazing read, loved it. The writing is precise and enjoyable. Finished in two days.

I confess, this gave me the creeps more than once. I jumped at the gurgling noises of the boiler during the night. Last night, our IFTTT wasn't working properly, so Alexa couldn't turn the lights on. When I got up to switch the landing light off, the bedroom light turned off too. This is what While You Sleep did to me, but I am a self-confessed wimp.

Zoe, an American woman in her 40's, moves to a remote Scottish island to get away from her failing marriage. It's clear from the beginning that she is hiding something, that she has more going on inside her head than first meets the eye. She is running from something, that much is clear. The McBride house is revered in the local community, a cursed place full of ghosts, with a dark past.

Merritt's descriptions of the McBride house, and the supernatural goings-on, create a spooky, heavy atmosphere. I read with baited breath; what was around the corner? what would be standing behind Zoe in the mirror? or who?

I liked how Merritt weaved feminist themes through the book. Zoe is a modern woman, and her experiences of sexism are all too real. Merritt also mentions several times how Zoe is "unstable", just like Ailsa was also described when she was alive. A woman living alone in a big house, attempting to be self-sufficient, is as strange now as it was in the 1800s.

The themes running through this thrilling book help to ground it in the here and now, but it does not detract from the horror element. Sexual assault, female desire, child abuse; all are important, timeless themes that Merritt weaves effortlessly into her story.

I didn't realise Merritt is also S.J. Parris. I've had a couple of her historical fiction books on my shelf for a while, but never got round to them.

This started off as a tale of an incomer to a small island community arriving to take up a let of an old renovated house but quickly became a rollercoaster of emotions with fear the biggest of them. It was so descriptive I could almost smell the sea air and feel the wind. At times I wanted to scream out to the main character to get on the first ferry out of there and don't look back! This was a real page turner and I found myself reading it at every opportunity just to get to ythe conclusion. So descriptive was the writing that I could see every inch of the house and sea front. If you enjoy a real spine-tingler this is for you. Not quite supernatural - or was it??

When Zoe needs to escape from her marriage problems and her husband she decides to completely escape from everything and so rents an old house on a Scottish island to relax and paint..... she definitely picked the wrong house! The McBride house is notorious in the area with its creepy history and the young boy that went missing only months before.... will Zoe be able to cope with the ghostly happenings or is she really in danger?

Although far fetched a real page turner with lots of eerie happenings and plenty of twists and turns to keep your interest I really enjoyed it

An unsettling mix of ghost story and thriller. Don't read late at night

What an eerie but compelling tale.
It started off looking like your regular haunted house jaunt but soon became much more to me.
It was an unsettling horror with a twist, atmospheric and descriptive complete with likeable characters and an abundance of secrets.
Zoe was a bit of an odd one, though I warmed to her by the end and had guessed her story from the hints throughout the book.
The setting of the McBride house and the language was realistic and easy to read, well paced and addictive, I will read more from this author.

Zoe has gone to Scotland needing a quiet place to paint and to escape her life back home. She is staying in the McBride house, a house with a dark history. It soon becomes clear that no one thinks she should be staying in the house and when strange things start happening so does Zoe. Just what is really going on and how much danger is Zoe in and by whom?

This was quite the read. It's full of twists and turns. You really go on a journey learning about Ailsa and the house's history. I really enjoyed the story and the ending was very good. It's well written and full of drama.

Zoe is quite an interesting character. It's clear she's had some rough times and I wasn't sure I liked her at the start but she soon grew on me. You really follow her emotions and the truth about her life is heart breaking. I liked Edward and Charles is really interesting. I did figure he was more than he appeared.

A great thriller with some ghostly twists.

While You Sleep is set on a remote Scottish island, which is already enough to send shivers down your spine. Our main character, Zoe Adams, arrives at the McBride house in the middle of nowhere to escape from her failing marriage and stay alone for a while to put things together. From the moment she enters this “haunted” house, her stay becomes uncomfortable with some strange intrusions. Phones get disconnected, lights go off, voices coming out of nowhere…McBride House has its own secrets as a young widow and her son died mysteriously there. If not enough, a local boy also disappeared from there last year.
Our story starts from here, and Zoe, starts to unlock the mystery behind the events.
The best part of this book was the end. I really didn’t expect bomb after bomb at the last 50 pages of the book. It started quite intriguing, slowed down after a while and kept an average pace till the very end. When I was used to this average pace and accepted there wouldn’t be big news, it was like a splash of cold water waking me up.
It was not the most original idea every out there when it comes to gothic thrillers, but it was well written. The story line was built well, as well as the characters. There were lots of surprises, but again, you need to wait for them!
I really liked the atmospheric descriptions, I could picture the house, the island, the remoteness of the setting. Zoe’s feelings were very well expressed, and at times I felt really scared being thankful I wasn’t in that house!
If anything, again, this book was too long at 400 pages. It could be much sharper, which would increase the pace and improve the unnecessary dragging in the middle. This is a trend going on now, I hardly see books under 400 pages. But, especially with thrillers, length makes you lose interest unless you keep giving something to hang on to the reader constantly.
All in all, I enjoyed my time reading this psychological thriller paying a short visit to the Scottish landscape.

Unfortunately I was unable to finish this book as the pacing was off and it just didn’t work for me

I found this a difficult book to pigeon-hole. I was expecting a straight crime novel from the cover, but inside I discovered a paranormal psychological sexy folk-tale thriller with a high creepy factor. It was very atmospheric and most definitely a keep-all-the-lights-on book. Reading one more chapter at 3am when when I couldn’t sleep was *not* a sensible choice.
I particularly enjoyed the interplay and power struggle between the female and male characters - that casual sexism that makes it so easy for men to just dismiss a woman’s fears as she’s probably ‘just hysterical’ made my blood boil! But it was well represented, and the main character was well described and developed.
I managed to guess a couple of the big reveals before they were revealed (unusual for me, maybe I’m getting better!), but still very much enjoyed this book and found the plot ticked along at a good pace and there was a good balance of tension and release. I’ll definitely be looking out for more similar books by this author.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was just not for me. It had too much fantasy throughout and not enough mystery for my liking. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to review it.

I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. It intrigued me from the start and didn’t disappoint.
Zoe finds herself on a remote Scottish island having run away from her past and ends up being drawn in to an age old story of ghosts and tragedy.
This book had everything I want in a story - hauntings, love, psychological goings on. I would certainly recommend it but not if you’re planning on moving to a remote Scottish isle!