****SPOILERS AHEAD*****
This novel made me wonder all through the reading, how would the author (who I admire, btw) make everything work. Because you soon realoze that it'd be near impossible to have all the happenings explained in a reasonable, scientific way. It would not work, simple as that.

However… we are talking about Sarah Pinborough. She is such a gifted writer that as soon as yourealize what was really going on you just buy the idea. It makes sense, in a really sad way. I felt so sorry for Patricia... An entire life wasted for something that only happened because she was trying to prevent it from happening.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Sarah Pinborough is my go-to author for stories that bring out the horror inherent in everyday life. I consider myself very lucky to not suffer from insomnia, but I know that for those who do, nights spent fruitlessly trying to sleep - and days after, operating on no rest - are one of those horrors. It's a curse that's being visited on high-flying lawyer Emma at the start of this book, just as her oh-so-perfect family begins to fly apart and she faces her fortieth birthday.

That birthday is often seen as a watershed, but Emma has a special reason to dread it: at the same age, her mother Patricia had a breakdown and tried to kill Emma's sister Phoebe. Thirty five years later, Emma is experiencing the same symptoms as Patricia - insomnia, blackouts, an obsession with a random string of numbers, and a compulsion to wander the house at night checking that doors and windows are locked. Add to this that Emma's 18 year old daughter Chloe seems to be acting out, that her 5 year old son Will is suddenly afraid of his mother, and that husband Robert is distinctly unsympathetic to Emma's worries, and Insomnia is a potent mix of internal and external stresses.

We get to know Emma as she tries to navigate these stresses (as well as learning more about her background and history). She's a person who has made superhuman efforts to erase her distressing past - to the extent of telling her family, friends and employers that her mother died all those years when she didn't - and her first instinct, as things begin to go bad, is to clamp down harder, to try to control everything and everyone, herself included. I'm not going to tell you how that goes, you'll have to read the book, but I will say that Pinborough is just superlative here at exposing how Emma unravels. Insomnia keeps the reader both needing to know what happens next, and dreading to see exactly how much worse Emma will make things for herself. The tension is simply electric, the situation more and more complex and intractable, the stakes higher and higher.

At one level, it's a portrayal of a woman driven by demons from her childhood, trying to work out what went wrong all those years ago so that she can put it right and protect her kids.

At another, we see a deeply paranoid and scared woman doubting herself and her own sanity, lacking any place of safety or support network. Most of her circle are in the same competitive business milieu as her, or excel as near Stepford wives. Emma is already out on a limb.

And at yet another level, there are the pressures of modern life: a husband who's not very supportive (he comes over to me as a bit of a pudding), a boss who sees Emma as arm candy as much as a talented and hardworking individual, kids who are, well, you know, kids.

With these so many threats and concerns and these three different sources of stress, clicking round like dials on a safe, there must be a risk that everything will line up, the door swing open, and some very nasty secrets emerge. But what are they, and how can Emma keep them locked away? Should she even try?

As with all Pinborough's writing, the tension simply oozes off the pages of a book you MUST read and one which, once begun, will gnaw at your reading brain till you get to the end. As a central character, Emma is simply magnificent. I didn't actually like her very much to begin with. As a divorce lawyer, she regularly throws other women under the bus to advance her career her clients seem to be middle aged men with an eye for younger replacements - yet it's clear she is doing what she has to advance in a very patriarchal setting. And Emma's impulsiveness and attempts to distance herself from her past - including her mother and her sister - seem reckless to put it mildly. But as the story developed and Pinborough's nuanced characterisation wove its spell, I felt for Emma more and more - including sharing her fear that she might, in one of those moments eh can't remember, have done something truly terrible.

Bound to be one the highlights of the 2022 reading year.

I absolutely raced through this compulsive novel with an inbuilt (and intriguing) ticking clock: Emma is about to turn forty, and worried that she will go mad like her mother did. Her growing insomnia and unravelling grasp on reality mirror what happened to her and her sister under her mother's unstable - and increasingly abusive - care. Or do they? This is a book with multiple twists, dead ends, possible suspects and Sarah Pinborough absolutely walks the razor edge between the possibility that Emma is being set up - and that she is a dangerous woman on the brink of doing something terrible. I found it utterly compelling, and the denouement was one that I never saw coming. A truly bold narrative choice, and one which will stay with me for a long time. Highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the loan of this book.
Sarah Pinborough is a genius writer. "Behind her Eyes" was outstanding and was made into a series for TV. Cross her Heart and Dead to Her were also amazing so I was eager to read her latest installment. I wasn't disappointed. Sarah somehow manages to bend the mind of the reader to such an extent that you feel like you are the one with Insomnia who thinks they're going insane, like the main character, Emma. Emma has had a troubled childhood which she has buried deep, keeping it from her husband and children. Her mother lost her mind and tried to smother her sister, which resulted in them being taken into care. As her 40th Birthday approaches, a milestone that Emma dreads, (this was the age her mother tried to kill her sister) her behavior becomes increasingly erratic and disturbing. Is the past repeating itself and she's losing her mind like her mother? Or is there other forces at work? Prepare to be surprised!
I love how the author adds an element of the supernatural in her books, it makes it more intriguing and mysterious. I would definitely recommend this book, or previous Sarah Pinborough books as they are always surprising and complex. She is one of my favourite authors and I always look forward to reading her books. This one was no exception and I devoured it. A must read!

Sarah Pinborough has done it again, I couldnt put this book down and read it in one sitting. This was so well written with well developed characters and a relatable and believeable storyline. This book was dark disturbing and gave me goosebumps the whole way through. It was unpredictable and kept me guessing right until the end. A really enjoyable read.

The author's ' Behind Her Eyes' was outstanding. A very different,compelling , brilliant work of fiction....one hard to follow. Unfortunately, Insomnia did not come close. Although it was complex story, the protagonist was a self absorbed woman who was difficult to like,even given her circumstances and troubled past. Much of her narrative was repetitive. The answers to many of the questions were hard to digest- fanciful. The twist, was one I half guessed and the reasoning was only explained at the end with little clue given beforehand.
Behind Her Eyes was a exceptional. Insomnia was disappointing. I'm sorry but that's the last book I'll read by this author.

As with ‘Behind Her Eyes’, I read this in one sitting and I didn’t see the twist coming at all!
It’s a gripping tale of an overworked mother, Emma ,who’s trying to balance a high flying career with motherhood and dealing with an increasing distant husband. When her sister shows up after years of no communication, she dredges up past memories of their mothers psychotic break when she was exactly the same age as Emma is now. As Emma spirals into paranoia it’s hard for her (and us!) to tell what’s real and what’s all in her head.
I was absolutely hooked. I thought that Emma was losing her grip on reality but at the same time her rationalising seemed reasonable, so it was very difficult to unpick and even hazard a guess at the ending - which did not disappoint.
4.5 stars from me - I took off half a star because I felt that Emma could have been a little more likeable!

Emma can’t sleep. It’s been like this since her big 4-0 started getting closer. Her mother stopped sleeping just before her 40th birthday too. She went mad and did the unthinkable because of it. Is that what’s happening to Emma?

This is a truly terrifying read. It is very haunting and chilled me to my core. What makes it so terrifying? Well the fact that the events are so ordinary and I could imagine them happening to anyone. Having said that, the events of this book are a bit out there but they are not out of the ordinary and very believable.

As the book progresses, I got a real sense of Emma's decline, is she losing her mind or is something else going on? This is incredibly intense to read and as a result, I could not put it down. 'Insomnia' is a real page turner.

As well as being chilling, the book is very exciting as well, particularly towards the end when Pinborough ramps up the tension and drama. A lot unfolds in a short space of time and it made for electrifying reading. The characters are good, we do not get a great understanding of who they are but that suits the plot and what we do know is good.

'Insomnia' is a fantastic psychological thriller that you will not be able to put down.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for an advance copy.

This isn’t my first book by this author and the previous one I read was one of my favourites from that year. This hasn’t surpassed it in my opinion but still a very enjoyable gripping thriller.

Another great read from Sarah PInsborough. Not my favourite from her but enjoyable nonetheless.

I always enjoy the slight supernatural theme running through her books and this was in the form of future premonitions, which I didn't see coming and kept me guessing throughout.

Would recommend reading to anyone who has enjoyed her books before and / or anyone who enjoys a tense thriller with a mix of the super natural.

Loved this twisty turner psychological thriller and could hardly put it down! Emma's mother had a breakdown just before her 40th birthday as Emma is approaching hers very soon, she's worried as her behaviour and lack of sleeps escalates,that she's headed the same way

Oh my, what a fabulous thriller. Twisting and turning. Is Emma really going mad as she struggles with sleeplessness.? Terrified that she is following in the steps of her mother, her nights become more and more wakeful. Emma is plagued by memories of the past that she doesn't understand.
Her sister Pheobe has reappeared on the scene. Is she really intent on revenge.
A really good read. Part thriller, part family drama where the events of the past merge with the future.

I blitzed through this book over the weekend as I just could not get enough. Light and witty I enjoyed every second. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the majority of the book, but my gosh the ending! It has left a really sour taste for me and I probably won't pick up another Sarah Pinborough.
The story was tense, atmospheric, unreliable narrator, I disliked most of the characters and I still wanted to know more, I still kept turning the pages....until I got to the ending and I did know more - it was very disappointing!
Big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was a clever and well-written book, but the storyline was a bit too complex for me and I didn’t really understand it. It kept me reading because I wanted to know what happened in the end, but I found it all quite disturbing and upsetting – particularly the chapters that featured little Will. I didn’t like any of the characters and was quite relieved when I got to the end of the book. Sorry, just wasn’t one for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

A suspenseful four-star read. This was so close to being five-stars the story, would have gotten it but sadly the pace was lacking at times, it just meant that it dragged a little and that spoiled it a little to start. But my goodness once it got going, I was hooked. Honestly this one had me up at night, I normally read some before bed, but I had to stop, this will leave your mind racing and your nights long.

2.5 stars
This was my third book by Sarah Pinborough and it’s likely to be my last. I found it pretentious, tedious and repetitive. Nothing much happened apart from the endless rumblings of an exhausted woman. Every character was a cardboard cliche and don’t even get me started on the far-fetched coincidences. Hoping for a jaw-dropping twist at the end, I skimmed through the last quarter of the book, but unfortunately the ending was as disappointing as the rest of the story.

this is my first Sarah Pinborough and based on this one I will read others. For once the suspense didn't feel forced and I genuinely felt the narrator's pain and fear at not sleeping. Add to this a very satisfying end and you have the best in psychological crime fiction.

This was a real page turner although I did reach a point where Emma’s constant number murmuring, visits to the understairs cupboard and absence of any interest or communication with Robert, her husband, became a bit wearing. It all seemed to go round in a loop, but I didn’t stop there and I’m so very glad I kept going as the twists and turns grab you from there on. I don’t know why Emma had no friends or hated her sister so much, and felt the need to arrive at work at 6.45 in the morning rarely leaving before any other member of staff. She seemed to be working fourteen or fifteen hour days, surely no salary is worth that where you hardly spend time with your husband and children, especially when your youngest is only five. Some parts stretched realism towards the end of the book, in particular Caroline turning up at Emma’s house and managing to take over and stay the night. But without that there would be no gripping conclusion.
It was an excellent read and I will definitely look for more by this author.

This book should carry a WARNING on the cover because once you start reading the deliciously, dark story it's literally impossible to put down. It's immersive with cleverly written characters and a plot to die for. The main character Emma is dreading her 40th birthday because her own mum went insane and tried to kill Emma's sister Phoebe, it plays on Emma's mind constantly, therefore she never sleeps and she becomes paranoid and she thinks something really bad will happen to her family. When things start to go wrong in her life Emma questions everything and she no longer knows who to trust. It's a thrill ride of twists, it's seriously creepy and the ending is mind blowing. This is a story about jealously, mental health, greed, love and I honestly think this is Sarah's best book to date. It's PHENOMENAL, UNPUTDOWNABLE, GRIPPING, I LOVED IT, it deserves so many more stars than five. This will be a MUST-READ THRILLER of 2022 and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this power house of an author.