Zoe Adams, a young American mum, takes herself off to a remote Scottish Isle to get away from it all. The locals seem friendly enough but are they revealing all they know about the house she rents? And do they have personal agendas? The house itself has a history, not all pleasant but, in part, certainly mysterious. There are noises in the night, sometimes singing,: is there someone there? Is it just in the mind? Imagination simply running riot? Slowly it becomes clearer but it is? A very well written quite Gothic novel with plenty of unexpected twists.
Suffice it to say, Zoe survives her experiences and ordeal whilst fighting her own demons.

Gothic and creepy this story has all the components of a gripping, intense psychological thriller;  the unreliable protagonist, the lines between imagination and reality blurred and a cast of characters, any of whom could be the antagonist.  Where it differs is its quirky, supernatural content, which  I loved. Combined with a vivid, gothic setting it introduces an added dimension into the plot, increasing the tension and drawing the reader into a living nightmare of past and present.
Zoe's arrival on the island is shrouded in mystery, is she running away from a dominating husband or trying to escape herself and her secrets? The village appears friendly and gossipy, as you imagine living in a small community would be, but the house she is renting has a tragic past, but is this fact or fable? Everyone has an opinion but whose can she trust?
There is a disturbing, sexual thread to this story that increases the menace and brings Zoe's state of mind into question. The sensual scenes are well written, but the implicit threat to Zoe's safety gives them an ominous quality.
The story is fast-paced and packed with detail, its an exciting plot and each page bring the reader closer to the truth that when finally revealed is even more terrible than any gothic horror story.
Realistic and often sinister characters, an intense plot in a  dramatic, unforgiving island setting make 'While You Sleep', a psychological thriller with a gothic twist, a thought-provoking, page-turning read.
I received a copy of this book from Harper Collins UK, Harper Fiction via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This is not the psychological thriller I was expecting, more a mystery drama with a paranormal twist.

Zoe is a very troubled woman who leaves her home in the USA for a break on a Scottish island where she has rented a large old house for a while. On meeting the locals they mostly appear to be reasonably friendly. However, they are guarded about the history of the island and the house, though there are hints at curses and disturbing events. It doesn't take long for Zoe to start experiencing strange happenings at the house.

The shifty, secretive locals, a house with a sinister past and erotic dreams of a demon lover all make for an interesting set up but the story is rather predictable and not as frightening as it could have been. It is, however, a fairly entertaining read with very well written characters and a decent amount of atmosphere, particularly with the wild Scottish island setting.

I feel that this was more a gothic/horror story more than a psychological thriller. The scene is well set on a remote scottish island where all the locals keep secrets. It is a very eerie setting with a lot of the usual cliches in the story......a remote house, strange unexplained noises, locked doors that miraculously open in the daylight, electricity going off, stormy weather...etc. Not my sort of book really but well written. As with good horror movies you want to say 'don't go there by yourself' but the heroine does not listen!

While You Sleep is part ghost story, part thriller with a chilling plot that kept me hooked to the end. It starts with a woman screaming. On a remote Scottish Island, the McBride house stands guard over many secrets both past and present.

Zoe Adams has just arrived from America. Her marriage is failing and she seeks this house as her refuge. But soon her hopes of peaceful nights are disturbed by events. The locals try to convince her these incidents are based on the past of McBride House, but Zoe is not so sure.

Gripping, thrilling and a bit creepy. The author draws you in with wonderful descriptive prose and you can sense the dark atmosphere with every turn of the page.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK and the author for the chance to review.

All I can say is I’m glad I don’t live alone !! I haven’t read a proper scary book in a long while and after reading this I won’t be for a while longer too.
This book is about Zoe who decides to leave her family in the US and travel to a remote Scottish island to get away from everything and find herself. What she doesn’t realise is the house she is renting has a story all of its own. It isn’t long before weird things start to happen to Zoe at the house and with the help of a couple of locals, Charles and Edward, she starts to try to uncover the history of the building and it’s occupants.
This book is not one that you can read in the dark just before bed as there really are some scary / disturbing parts but it really is a great read that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
I look forward to reading more from Stephanie Merritt in the future.

I really struggled with this book, and gave up halfway through. It really wasn't for me, so I feel that it's unfair to post a review.

This book wasn't what I had expected. It does have a good plot, but the ending seemed left more open than I would have liked. I felt the soft porn was a bit overdone, which was a pity as it had some genuinely scary sections.

A well deserved 5 stars for this one. I do love to read a good psychological thriller, and this one was right at the top for me as it was quite a scary one too. Throughout the book I was piecing the bits together, but still the ending proved my thoughts wrong. Brilliant read and I'll be on the look out for more books by Stephanie Merritt.

There's a bit of a bold sweeping statement made in the blurb that this book will reinvent the psychological thriller genre. For me, it didn't. But it did add a different spin on things that made it a bit of a refreshing read.
Zoe Adams is running from something. That's not a spoiler, it's in the blurb and it's pretty obvious from the start. I mean, why cross the ocean and set yourself up in a secluded property on a remote Scottish island if all is good in your world? A property and an island that has somewhat of a chequered past both distant and recent and which hides more than it's fair share of secrets. Secrets that the owners of the house would rather stay hidden but there are those who disagree. Strange things start to happen to Zoe, around her and the house. Is it just her imagination playing tricks on her or is there something rather more sinister afoot? And, more importantly, will sinister turn to dangerous for Zoe?
The house where most of the action is set is steeped in mystery and superstition even verging towards the supernatural. Things happened many years ago to a young widow and her fatherless child and the locals have very mixed feelings about the renovations that have been recently undertaken in order for the house to be viable for renting out. In fact, only a year ago, a young boy went missing and his friend traumatised when they dared each other to visit the house. With a supernatural element that rears its head (another other parts of its anatomy) every so often, this book was quite chilling at times as I followed closely on Zoe's coat tails as she tried to separate fact from fiction from downright spooky in her attempt to find out what exactly was going on.
It had all the elements you would expect from a psychological thriller with a supernatural-ish bent. Remote island, bad weather, cut off from the authorities, ghost stories, weird folklaw, sinister characters you are not sure whether to trust or not, wounded main character who is escaping from some hurt, and some "local people" who don't like strangers. Yep, this book covered all these bases and quite well too even if a little cliched at times. Even the characters follow basic rules with their description, actions and personalities somewhat. I was reminded of elements from other books and films along the way so, although not all original in part, the whole story they created when weaved together was quite distinct. And written really very well. There is also quite a lot of quite graphic "romance" included in the book but all quite necessary to progress the story even if I do admit to skimming rather a lot of it. Not that I'm a prude, it's just not really my thing in books. How much detail I missed by skimming I don't know but I am pretty sure it didn't really take anything away from the crux of the story for me.
The ending when it came was also well done. There were hints and breadcrumbs along the way, some of which I found, others notsomuch. I also really enjoyed the supernatural elements as it has been a fair while since I dipped my toes into that particular pool and it kinda got me hankering for more.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

While You Sleep is not unfamiliar territory. A remote house on a small Scottish island steeped in mystery and folklore; a woman tenant who has come to the island looking for solitude and a contemporary mystery all rolled up into one ghostly, spine-chilling tale.

Zoe Adams has come to the island to take time out from her marriage and to see if she can rekindle her love of painting. She has come from the U.S.A. and has rented the remote McBride house, over the internet.

It is only a short time before she begins to hear stories from the local residents about the house and its previous occupants. A woman and her son died there in mysterious circumstances many years before and more recently a young boy has gone missing, last seen playing up at the house.

As you might imagine, Zoe is not about to be flustered by such tales, but she has not long been staying in the house when she starts to experience some quite disturbing (and not a little erotic) dreams. At least she thinks they are dreams, though when she wakens, she can feel and see the physical aftermath on her body.

In the village she meets and befriends Charles, the local bookshop owner and Edward, a young schoolteacher. Charles tells her about the history of the house and the tales surrounding it and with the help of Edward, who has a tendency to follow her about like a lovesick puppy, and Charles she sets out to find more about her temporary home.

Part gothic horror, part supernatural mystery and part contemporary thriller, this is an atmospheric tale designed to chill you to the bone and to set you wondering what is real and what imagined. It’s ages since I read a sex scene and one early on in the book both surprised me and reminded me of the days when I used to read my mother’s Dennis Wheatley novels covertly under the covers.

The village characters are well drawn and some of them are downright creepy and unpleasant, lending more credence to an already dark tale.

Stephanie Merritt certainly knows how to tell a good story, but be prepared for some necessary suspension of disbelief.

Wow!! What a read to say I enjoyed this book is an understatement. I was having dreams about it, thinking about it in work. Such a vivid read and really gave me the heebie jeebies in places.

I liked the character of Zoe though in some parts she did irratate me. Edward I really liked, he was just a lovely young man. Charles and his dog Horace where my favourites. I had kind of worked out who Charles was but it in no way ruined the story. I would love a book with Charles story I think that would be brilliant. Ailsa was a scary character but then was she really its hard to say or just a mum wanting to protect her boy.

I would highly recommend this book it has it all thrills and chills. Good snuggle up with a blanket and cuppa read but do be prepared to jump every so often.

While You Sleep by Stephanie Merritt is a gorgeously gothic thriller, packed full of atmosphere and suspense, it follows American artist Zoe as she leaves behind her life and estranged husband to spend some time in an isolated Scottish house with an eerie history.

The setting of a tiny, remote Scottish island adds a claustrophobic twist to the tale, with tension building up from both the isolated location and the close-knit community. I found While You Sleep to be a little slow going to begin with, using the go-to thriller mechanic of strange noises and an eerie atmosphere. But the book soon takes an interesting diversion, replacing Zoe's feelings of dread and fear with an unsettling eroticism and general unease.

On paper this reads very much like a formulaic horror-thriller. Single, lonely woman in a strange, haunted house, but there's much more to this story and Stephanie Merritt's writing and ideas keep things fresh, throwing ghostly singing, demon lovers and witchy women into the mix.

My only criticism is that I predicted the twists in the story before the big reveal, which removed some of the knife-edge paciness that I prefer in thrillers. However, it was certainly an enjoyable and fresh take on the classic haunted house tale.

While you sleep was a book I found hard to get into and felt that it was trying to cover too many genres.
You start by meeting Zoe who has walked out on her husband and son in America and has come to an isolated house on an island, the McBride House, in the Scottish Hebrides with only a ferry thats able to take you back to civilisation. Zoe rents the house online and soon finds out that she will need some form of transport to get her too and from the shops on the island. Things start to happen in the newly renovated house, strange things or are they dreams??
I wasn't overly keen on this book as the genres were a bit mixed up, I thought I was going to be reading a thriller read with a bit of ghostly goings on but what you get is a mixture of, thriller, supernatural, horror, mental health, mystery and a bit of gothic as well.
I wasn't keen on Zoe but that did not deter me. The middle of the book became very hard going and not much seemed to happen and I did skim quite a few pages but the ending is a great twist that I didn't see coming.
I would like to thank Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

While You Sleep by Stephanie Merritt was eerie and full of suspense.

The prologue to While You Sleep sets the tone for the whole book right from it’s opening line.

“It begins, they say, with a woman screaming.

You can’t tell at first if it’s pleasure or pain, or that tricky place where the two meet: you’re almost embarrassed to hear it, but if you listen closer it comes to sound more like anguish, a lament torn from the heart.”

During the prologue two young boys are visiting the reputedly haunted McBride house for a dare when one of them chickens out leaving the other to go alone. Minutes later a child’s scream echoes across the beach.

Zoe Adams comes to a remote Scottish Island seeking a temporary reprieve from her failing marriage and hopefully a chance to focus on her career as a painter. Whilst there she is renting the McBride House, located on a remote corner of the island.

Zoe is amused when she hears stories of the house being haunted. A century earlier a young widow and son died in suspicious circumstances. She is less amused by the knowledge that a young boy went missing from near the house the previous year when visiting it for a dare.

Whilst in the house she can’t shake the feeling someone is watching her. She starts hearing someone singing in the house and keeps having vivid dreams, dreams from which she wakes up naked.

Is she being haunted or is there someone in the house with her?

When Zoe first steps off the ferry onto the island she is greeted by Mike Drummond, the man who will be her landlord while she stays in the McBride house. He wants her to come the pub he runs with his wife Kaye, so she can meet some of the locals, but Zoe is reluctant wanting to keep herself to herself.

She chides herself for not realising that local people would be curious about the newcomer to the island. Whilst at the pub she realises that Mike has been warning people against telling her the history of the house and seems strangely reluctant to talk about it himself. Then she meets the local historian and second-hand bookseller Charles who invites her to his shop and tells her he is willing to discuss the history of the house with her for the price of a pastry from one of the local shops.

She soon learns that some of the locals aren’t happy that she is renting the old McBride house, they believe it is cursed or haunted and that by being there she is stirring up trouble.

Its not long before the atmosphere in the house begins to get to her and she realises how isolated she really is. Can she solve the mystery of the house before she becomes its next victim?

While You Sleep is a hard book to categorise, is it paranormal or a psychological thriller or a mixture of the two. All I know is it kept me guessing right until the end and contained some brilliant twists and I loved the way it made me doubt everything including Zoe.

Its been a long time since a book made me want to look over my shoulder while I was reading it but While You Sleep was definitely one of those books.

I have mixed feeling about this book. It was incredibly well written and evocative of remote Scottish Island life. I liked the character of Zoe, she needed some time and space to recover from her stressful life in the US, but quickly became embroiled in the dramas of the island she had escaped to. Her husband Dan seemed to be undermining her from a distance and the reader is never quite sure of the dynamics of their relationship.
I am just not a fan of supernatural/ghost stories, and although there are elements of a psychological thriller to this book, there is a strong thread of the supernatural running through it. There are several dodgy characters and figuring out who was the 'baddie' kept me reading till the end.

I started reading this book completely unaware of what the pages contained. A rather dull first chapter had me wondering whether to continue, but I waded into the second chapter and before I know it a couple of hours had passed.
The book is full of creepy supernatural goings on that will have you looking over your shoulder as you read the book. There's a knowing nod to the Wickerman film and you really will be questioning who to trust. There's some mild s&m sex scenes for anyone who is interested (I wasn't expecting those!) and before I knew it I had read the last page.
If you like those 1970's made for tv supernatural films in the vein of Crowhaven Farm, then you will love this book.
Thanks go to net galley and the publishers for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

I found this quite a strange book as it seemed to mix quite a lot of genres. I enjoyed parts of it but just felt that there was a little too much going on. It’s part psychological thriller, part paranormal ghost story, part mental illness, part crime...........
Zoe has rented a house on a remote Scottish island, having left her husband and son behind in the States. It is made clear she is running from something but the reader doesn’t find out exactly what until quite late on. The locals are full of tales about the house, it’s previous occupants, ghostly going’s on and Zoe soon finds herself subjected to strange happenings. Is she imagining it all or is it real?
The book is quite scary in parts but just as you get drawn in something happens that is just too far fetched to be taken seriously. I found the ending rushed and I didn’t really like Zoe very much, even once I found out the whole story.
It’s an ok read but so many different threads detracted from the central plot for me.
My thanks to Netgalley for this copy.

Confession: I read this book because “It begins, they say, with a woman screaming…” – now that’s a sure-fire way to get my attention, who is this woman and why is she screaming!? While You Sleep is marketed as a psychological thriller, it’s paranormal heavy and contains a good mystery.

As the blurb indicates, this novel has a haunted house vibe to it, and Zoe is about to get caught in the midst of it. Zoe is an “outsider” and is very much treated like one by some of the locals, and this made me warm to her character quickly because I felt she needed an ally. What I really liked about this novel was, not only was Zoe about to get entangled in this town’s history, but she arrived with secrets of her own. And you don’t even realise the knock-on effect of her own secrets until Merritt decides to fill you in.

What I didn’t expect, when I picked up this novel, was it to have such a heavy gothic romance element, there were no plot holes discovered but the way some of these encounters were written was not to my liking. That’s purely a personal preference but I’m not a fan of these explicit encounters, not that they were too graphic in detail, rather, just not my cup of [reading] tea.

The paranormal elements in this book didn’t unsettle me completely, but I’d be lying if I said they didn’t make me wary, didn’t make me extremely grateful that I don’t live in a remote location. For me, the majority of the thrills came from Zoe, not only staying on a remote island, but living so far from her neighbours, knowing if anything went wrong, help was at least twenty minutes away, and that’s if she’s even able to summon help in the first place.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel, but it didn’t keep me engaged throughout; I did find it a bit long-winded, in the sense that things felt a bit stagnant in the middle and I was left waiting for the grand finale for too long. And I’ll hold my hands up, I did skim-read a few pages. But, when the finale came, it was very good – a twist I didn’t see coming that allowed me to see how clever this story was plotted.

I did really enjoy the setting of this novel, the remote location and use of Scottish dialect – reading words such as “cannae” out loud is a must! Stephanie Merritt is best known for her historical fiction books, writing the Giordano Bruno series, as S. J. Parris. Her knowledge and experience of writing historical fiction is evident in this novel, so if you often read historical fiction but want to branch into psychological thrillers, this may be the book for you.

It was the description that made me download this book because I don't really like the cover (naked girl, sitting in hallway of old house). It's described as a psychological thriller but I found it to be more of a gothic mystery/folk horror, which is more to my taste anyway.

Zoe is an American who is having problems in her marriage and decides to take a solo holiday on a remote Scottish island. She's chosen to rent a recently refurbished, large Victorian house which, it transpires, was built on the ruins (and using some of the stones from) an old chapel. The owner implies she shouldn't listen to gossip and rumour about the history of the house, so of course that's exactly what she does! Her main source of information is Charles, a historian and bookshop owner, and Edward, the local school teacher, who has already had one pupil disappear at the house in mysterious circumstances.

While You Sleep is very well-written, atmospheric and downright creepy, and the characters fairly leapt off the page. I loved the setting and the chilling history of the house, and the eccentric characters living on the island. I particularly liked Charles and his jokey demand for the payment of a cinnamon bun before he'd tell Zoe the legends about the old house.

The negative for me (and I can't believe I'm writing this, because it doesn't usually bother me) were the (two and a half) sex scenes. I think it's because I was quite happily reading what I thought to be a super-scary gothic mystery and suddenly it all went a bit Fifty Shades of Grey. The other negative was the budding romance between Zoe and Edward. Exact ages are not mentioned, but Zoe is apparently in her forties and Edward is in his twenties. This would have been fine, except every time Edward appears mention is made of how young he is, either outright or implicitly, so I started to think of the age gap as being much larger than it probably was.

But overall I did enjoy While You Sleep. I found it a super-spooky and completely gripping read that reminded me of those old Hammer House of Horror films and Dennis Wheatley novels. I have no hesitation in giving it four stars, but if you're the kind of person who doesn't mind a bit of dark erotica with your folk horror, then you might consider it a five-star read.


I was lucky enough to read an advance copy of this book, which will be published in the UK on the 8th March 2018.

Thank you to Stephanie Merritt, Harper Collins UK, and Netgalley for my copy of this book, which I received in exchange for an honest review.