It’s been a while since I’ve read a psychological thriller and I feel like this book had so much potential but fell a bit short. The pace was lacking for the first 40% and I felt like it was a bit predictable with what was happening throughout the story.. the story was enjoyable enough I wanted to know how it ended but I didn’t really get the rush and thrill I normally get when reading a thriller.

Recently I have been selecting books that are the oldest on my to read list and this was one of them. I have read a few CL Taylor books and largely enjoyed then however this one for me was a bit of a miss. Anna is the lead character and we see her starting a new job in a remote area of Scotland, an Island named Rum. She is helping run a guest house in the hope that following a horrific accident she can get away and start again.

First up Anna was just annoying as a character, yes she had experienced trauma but she just grated on me and I don't even know why (I seem to have a problem connecting with characters lately). The general premise is that there are 7 guest and they get trapped there because of bad weather an all sorts of things start happening. I got the impression this was maybe meant to be a little creepy but I just got irritated by the characters. I finished the book but in all honesty I didn't care much because it all became a little bit unbelievable.

I have always enjoyed a C. L. Taylor book, so I knew I was in for a good time with this one, and it delivered on its promise! The writing was brilliant, the characters and descriptions vivid, and there were parts that definitely had me on edge waiting to find out what was happening. You can't beat a good mystery like this where there are a limited number of people that could possibly have done it, all with their own mysteries and secrets. A great psychological thriller that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.

Very late with this review, but hopefully won't be this late in future. This book was so good it brought me out of a 9-month reading slump and I got through it in less than 48 hours (going to bed way later than I should've to finish it).
This book was gripping and had me hooked almost straight away. There were so many tiny things that made you question everyone's motives and wonder who would be behind all that was going on.

"Sleep," a captivating novel by C.L. Taylor, instantly grabbed my attention with its remote setting on a small Scottish island, the perfect backdrop for a compelling mystery.

The story revolves around Anna, the main protagonist, who finds herself in a tragic car accident. Struggling with feelings of guilt and responsibility, she blames herself for the death of two colleagues and the injury of another. As if this burden wasn't enough, Anna starts receiving unsettling messages, urging her to sleep. Despite her distress, her boyfriend dismisses the messages, leading to their eventual breakup.

Seeking solace, Anna lands a job at a hotel, where she finds comfort in the presence of the owner, David, and the busy workload that keeps her mind occupied. With various guests arriving at the hotel, Anna hopes to divert her focus by immersing herself in their problems instead of her own.

However, her troubles persist as the cryptic messages continue, indicating that someone has followed her all the way to the secluded Island of Rum. Amidst the assortment of guests, any one of them could be a potential suspect, each carrying their own burdens and secrets.

Though the book proved to be an enjoyable read, the mystery aspect was slow to build, and it took time for me to warm up to Anna. Nevertheless, as the plot unfolded, my connection to her grew, and the story's reveal was satisfying.

On their way back from a team-building weekend, colleagues Anna, Peter, Mohammed, & Freddy are involved in a road accident when a lorry being driven by an overtired driver ploughs into their car. Freddy & Peter are killed, Mohammed is left with life-changing injuries whilst Anna, who was driving, is left with no serious physical injuries but with PTSD from the crash. Anna begins to feel like someone is watching her, even stalking her, & her relationship with boyfriend Alex, which was already on the rocks, quickly falls apart.

Anna takes a job on a remote island in Scotland called Rum. Working as a receptionist/ chambermaid/waitress keeps her too busy to worry about anything else for a while, but a group of tourists arrive at the hotel just before a storm hits. The hotel is soon cut off from the rest of the island, & the mainland, without even a working telephone line. Strange things start to happen & Anna wonders if her stalker has caught up to her, maybe they've even come to stay at the hotel, & now they are all isolated now would be the perfect time to take their revenge.

I thought this was going to be a thrilling read, as the 'locked room' type thrillers are one of my favourite tropes. Unfortunately this book dragged. None of the characters are particularly easy to like, even Anna, & the pace was off. Very disappointing but a great atmospheric cover.

Oooh I do love this authors novels. They are psychological thrillers that are relatable and believable. This book explores how guilt about something that has happened to you and others around you makes you interpret things differently. A really interesting read,

Thank you for the advance copy.

The book opens with a letter telling us that if we're reading this, then the author Anna is dead. But what happened?

Three months earlier, Anna had a car accident on the way back from a work event. Only Anna escaped unscathed - two of her colleagues died and one was left paralysed. But has she really escaped? She becomes convinced that someone is stalking her, and the anxiety combined with her guilt over the incident and an inability to sleep properly since the event, Anna decides to start a new life on the small Scottish island of Rum.

But has Anna escaped - or ran directly towards even more trouble?

This is a solid thriller. The island setting is creepy and atmospheric, dark and stormy. It helped that it was actually dark and stormy as I was finishing this book, so I think it'd be a good one for the long dark evenings of Autumn/Winter if you like to curl up with a decent psychological thriller that'll keep you guessing. Can't go wrong with C. L. Taylor!

Thank you to Avon publishing for the Netgalley ARC. I'm clearing a backlog on there at the minute which explains this woefully overdue review, but I think sometimes there's a tendency to jump at new releases and forget that there are entire back catalogues to explore. This is worth your time if you like the genre.

C.L Taylor is a truly magnificent writer, a true master of twists and turns and surprising outcomes. Highly recommend.

A really addictive read, I struggled to put this one down (losing sleep, ironically!)

This story is really thrilling and tense, but also really creative. The setting of the story made it all the more creepy, and the opening is one hell of a hook!

CL Taylor is a fantastic writer and Sleep certainly doesn't disappoint.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Great read! Looking forward to reading more from this author! I highly recommend this book and author to all!

I love lock-room mysteries, and mysteries revolving around isolated cottages/hotels where each guest reveals secrets and lies. They are probably my favourite type of book! This one definitely falls in this category! However, I must say this wasn’t my favourite “lock-room” mystery book, only because it was so slow in the beginning, it took a while for me to get into it. However, once the story picks up, watch out, you will not be able to put this down! In addition, the writing was superb! C.L. Taylor killed it with the atmospheric writing! Made me feel like I was in the remote Scottish countryside!

I’m 100% a C.L Taylor fan now and want to read all of her books!

Such a gripping thriller! Highly recommend!

C L Taylor is another amazing author that I discovered on NetGalley. "Sleep" is a thrilling, suspenseful novel that will keep you guessing until the end. Wow, just wow!

I’ve read several of CL Taylor’s previous books and thoroughly enjoyed them all, so I was quite confident that Sleep would be twisted, entertaining and gripping and it is!

Sleep is about Anna, who was driving a car on the way back from a company team building weekend away with 3 colleagues and was involved in a horrific accident, killing 2 co-workers and paralysing the other. Racked with guilt and remorse at being able to “walk away” from the accident, Anna leaves her life, job, boyfriend and family behind and escapes to a remote island in Scotland for a job in a tiny, isolated hotel.

Plagued by nightmares and paranoia, Anna struggles to sleep, believing someone is watching her and when seven guests turn up at the hotel, strange things begin to happen and she starts to fear for her life.

Once again CL Taylor has produced a great cast of characters and with the hotel so isolated and stuck in the midst of a torrential storm, Sleep becomes even more atmospheric and creepy.

Enjoyable and twisty and my amateur armchair detectives skills proves once again that I would make a lousy policewoman.

As the title suggests, the central theme of this novel is sleep, but there are other central themes too: guilt, loss, acceptance and moving forward. Taylor takes the reader on a journey through these emotions, not just through the main character, Anna, but through all the characters we meet. We get to explore these emotions in difference contexts, some more than others, and the impact they can have on people’s lives.

In this novel, the reader meets many damaged characters and this gives the story its emotional pull. One character, in particular, really makes you question first appearances, and how judgemental humanity can be, but also how hard it can be to reassess first impressions. Yes, this is a psychological thriller, but we all know, it’s the emotional attachment that gives these types of books heart.

Mostly set on a remote Scottish island, this ramps up the tension. There’s just something about an isolated setting that makes everything more intense – with the possibility of escape severely limited, you have no choice but to face your fears. Facing the elements always gives added danger because not only do the characters need to be wary of each other, they need to be extra wary of the weather because it is perhaps the most ruthless of them all!

In this genre, you’re anticipating being misled, and it’s always a plus, when one – you don’t see it coming, and two – it makes sense to the events occurring. Taylors ticks both boxes, which is why her books are always a success, and Sleep is no different.

Sleep is well-written, it’s not a fast tempo that gets your heart pumping, but the subject matter, the themes, which keep you turning pages. If you enjoy locked-room mysteries with remote settings, you should definitely give Sleep a read!

This is yet another great psychological thriller from this author, it kept me gripped from start to finish. Anna is travelling home from a conference with three colleagues in her car, not far from home they are in a terrible accident, two dead, one with a broken back, but Anna survives. Despite being exonerated from all charges Anna is overwhelmed with guilt for what’s happened. She can’t sleep, eat or even communicate her fears, and if that wasn’t enough, she believes someone is stalking her, possibly a relative of the two killed in the accident. Knowing she no longer wants the cut throat world of business or being charge and realising her relationship with her partner Alex is over, she leaves London and moves to a small island in the north of Scotland, called Rum. Despite the beautiful scenery, the fresh air and being run ragged in her new job at the only hotel on the island, Anna is still unable to sleep without reliving in horrible detail the night of the accident. After 3 days of working and as Anna begins to relax a tiny bit, a new group of guests arrive at the hotel for a week’s guided walking tours. Suddenly things begin to go wrong, items go missing from a room, the master key for the hotel disappears and then a huge storm hits and everything changes. Anna once again feels like she’s being watched, but who is it.? Which of the guests is trying to frighten her? Or is it just her imagination Playing tricks on her because she is mentally and physically.
Highly recommend this novel, definitely left me guessing right till the very end. Wonderful.

First of all , the cover grabbed me from the first moment. They say you cant judge a book by a cover. I do. Its full of suspense . I couldnt stop reading this book. This book grabbed me from the first page . This book it titled very well. "SLEEP" you wont wont to stop reading it and you will lose your sleep!!

‘Sleep’ is very well-written, has a fascinating setting, and, while I’m usually good at guessing the culprit, I had no idea who it was, until very close to the end.

So it really works very well on that level, and if a good solid mystery is what you’re after, then this should really be your cup of tea.

But I expected, having read the blurb, and some of the reviews, I was really expecting this to be an edge of the seat, scary and thrilling read. Unfortunately, I didn’t find that to be the case. While there are all the elements there for a creepy, terrifying suspense, I just didn’t work for me on that level.

A shame, but I had previously read ‘The Fear’ by the same author which I really enjoyed, so I would definitely read more of C L Taylor’s work.

Absolutely enjoyed from start to finish, u didn't want the book to end. Highly recommended, if you like books that keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat.

I picked this book up not really knowing what to expect and ended up devouring it in just a few hours. I thought it was such a compelling, thrilling read! The idea of being stuck on a tiny, isolated island during a huge storm is just terrifying and I think it genuinely made this book.

I did find some of the entries from some perspectives confusing at times however when they all concluded and we got the answers we were looking for it all made so much sense and i really enjoyed that they were added in there, something to keep you questioning people's motives.

One thing I would say is that all of the characters seemed so deep and complex and all had such interesting back stories that it would have been nice to know a bit more about them all and to see them develop more