Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough

I was absolutely gripped by this incredible thriller! Emma is nearing her fortieth birthday and she can’t sleep. Her insomnia is triggering anxiety about her Mum and the reappearance of sister Phoebe isn’t helping. Both girls were taken into foster care on the night of their Mum’s fortieth birthday when she’d had a breakdown - could the same thing be happening to Emma? Her Mum always said she had inherited the bad blood in the family. As the days pass and irritability, paranoia, fear and the hallucinations start to kick in Emma starts to wonder. Is she going mad or is someone out to ruin her life? Just because you’re paranoid, it doesn’t mean someone isn’t out to get you.

This was a great read and I’ll be shouting about it until publication day. The way Emma disintegrates over the course of a few days is shocking, but believable as every relationship in her life is touched by this ‘madness’. Until there’s really nothing left. Emma has always prided herself on being a competent solicitor, very organised and together. I was desperate to find out what happened in their childhood and why her sister Phoebe has popped up at this morning, I did feel there was an element of her not processing her childhood trauma. She’s locked it away in the back of her mind, but Phoebe’s appearance and advice that she should visit their mother seems like the trigger that unlocks these memories. It’s very common for people to set great store by the ages of their parents when trauma occurs - such as thinking you’ll have a heart attack before your 60th birthday because your Dad did. The worry and stress this causes can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy.

What the author does, very cleverly, is muddy the waters; just when I was starting to think she was having a breakdown, other things start happening. Her young son keeps creating a strange macabre drawing of a terrible memory that haunts Emma. How could he know? Who has told him this happened? It can’t be anyone in the home, because they don’t know. Her dictated letters have turned into a mumbled series of numbers when her secretary plays back the dictaphone. Added to these strange and inexplicable events the author also throws in a number of stressors that would make anyone struggle with their mental health. At work she is trying to avoid the advances of a very unpleasant client, not only that but his ex-wife confronts Emma over losing custody of their boys. Emma’s tyres are slashed among other nuisance acts that start to pile up over the week, particularly affecting Emma’s job. It becomes hard for the reader to see which events can be explained away, which events are incredibly strange and what are normal daily obstacles made worse by Emma’s severe sleep deprivation. I was never fully sure what to attribute to who, what is real and what is imagined, and who is to blame.

This kept me on my toes right up till the end. I felt stressed and paranoid alongside Emma, and could really feel her sense of panic and powerlessness as her carefully constructed life unravels. There are some jump scares here and there that really did give me a jolt! The way the author drew me in was brilliant and I was firmly on Emma’s side, while constantly worrying that she might be an unreliable narrator after all. The ending was unexpected with final scenes that had me on the edge of my seat, glued to the action until the early hours. This really will be an addictive and thrilling film or TV series. This was a psychologically complex novel, intelligent and exciting till the last page. I loved it.

A good thriller with lots of twists throughout. Well paced and engaging with a unique storyline. The story was quite spooky at times and has you guessing and double guessing what is actually going on!

After watching Behind Her Eyes on Netflix I got hooked on Sarah Pinborough and this one is probably her best book yet with twists and turns aplenty highly recommended.

I received this book from William Morrow & Company via Netgalley for a review.

Like the main character in this novel I found it difficult to get to sleep beI was too busy turning the pages of this book to do so, and until I finished. A gripping page turner of a book. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for giving me a copy.

I love Sarah pinborough and was really excited to read this. And I was not disappointed. A brilliant and unique story line that was so believable with well written characters. Highly recommended xx

I couldn’t wait to read this, and it didn’t disappoint! Sarah is an accomplished author who has the knack of drawing you in slowly and surely. This is a great read, full of twists. Who’d be an insomniac?!

I had really enjoyed other thrillers by Sarah Pinborough so was looking forward to this one. The main character fears that she's going to lose her mind as her mother did. She finds herself unable to sleep and the lack of sleep causes delusions and hallucinations and as the story is told through this woman's eyes the reader won't be sure of what is reality either. I thought this was a fairly enjoyable and quick read.

A brilliant thriller that I had to stay up well into the night to finish reading! I was kept guessing throughout and really enjoyed the twists and turns.

Wow! What a book!
I’ve really enjoyed Sarah Pinborough’s previous books, however this is definitely her best one yet.
It’s an ambitious plot with intriguing characters.
There are plenty of twists and turns throughout.
It’s definitely a big fat 5 star read and one that I’d strongly recommend!

This feels and reads like an ambitious novel and definitely, anyone who suffers from poor sleep will have sympathy for Emma. Almost 40, a mother of two and a job that takes up a lot of time, often to the detriment of her family, sleep isn’t on the agenda. Worse still, it reminds her of her own mother, who, at the same age, couldn’t get any rest and did the unthinkable because of it. As Emma becomes progressively slower and less alert, she’s frightened of the person she’s becoming, constantly checking on her son and daughter, ensuring windows and locks are fully secure. Couple this with the arrival of someone who knows her past all too well, and isn’t keen to let her forget it, and you have a claustrophobic novel that has the reader on edge throughout. You feel a sense of relief that it isn’t happening to you but still, you want to know how Emma is coping – if coping is the right word. Why is Emma unable to sleep and will she get any release?

I loved Sarah Pinborough’s previous novels and was super excited to read this book. It is a twisty and scary tale of a young woman who similar to her mother begins suffering from bouts of insomnia that terrify her. A dark and riveting tale!

Wow! This book was absolutely brilliant! I sailed through it, desperate to find out what was going on. A dark and twisty story with a fantastic unreliable narrator, I literally had no idea what was happening and I’d never have guessed the ending in a million years.

Emma’s just about to turn 40 and she’s worried she’s going to go crazy just like her Mum did when she was the same age. She can’t sleep and she can’t shake the feeling that someone is out to hurt her family. Suffering from insomnia, things go from bad to worse for Emma and you’re left trying to work out what’s true and what’s not, unable to trust anyone until it reaches its brilliant conclusion.

I loved Sarah Pinborough’s previous book - Behind Her Eyes but I did struggle with the ending a little bit and I worried this book would be the same but it really wasn’t. Although it takes some thinking about, it’s really so clever and brilliantly written, I can’t rate this book highly enough. I absolutely loved it!

It’s hard to review this without giving away any spoilers. It’s a fantastic gripping book with amazing surprises. I will definitely be recommending this!

3.5 stars


As someone who doesn't sleep well,some parts of this book rand so true.
You really do doubt your own sanity at times.
Those bits had me nodding along in agreement.... other bits had me wondering where it was all going.
It was an entertaining read,with a good surprise or two,that I've come to expect from this author.

Enjoyable stuff.

This was interesting enough but not fully gripping. I found it a bit repetitive and odd in places so didn’t quite get it

Insomnia, Sarah Pinborough (400 pages)
Genre: Suspense, psychological thriller, domestic thriller
Rating: 4 stars

Insomnia is the latest standalone thriller by bestselling author of over twenty-five novels, Sarah Pinborough.
Sarah Pinborough has been described as the queen of twists and after pulling off a whopper in Behind Her Eyes, I was excited to see what journey this one would take the reader on. The plot follows Emma, married mother of two on the verge of her fortieth birthday. Emma’s mother suffered a mental breakdown at this age and did something unthinkable and Emma is unable to shake the fear that the same may happen to her. As she struggles to sleep night after night, Emma becomes increasingly determined to get to the bottom of what is happening around her but can Emma trust her own mind or is she going mad too and endangering those closest to her?

This story uses my favorite mystery trope – the unreliable narrator. Emma’s insomnia and family history of mental health leave the reader for much of the novel unsure whether Emma’s perception is accurate and we’re left questioning alongside her as she wonders whether she might really be going crazy. Emma is likeable, easy to identify with and you will find yourself invested in what happens.

There is a constant almost frantic sense of unease as tension builds as the story races towards the finish line. The book was well paced and at no point did it feel a chore to get through. I read the whole thing in one sitting.
I don’t want to say anything to spoil the ending but suffice to say that Sarah has managed to deliver another shocking and thought provoking twist. Overall, this book was a well paced, solid and interesting psychological suspense story. I’d recommend this one and read more by this author.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for an early copy of this novel.

4.5 stars

It’s twelve days until Emma Averell’s fortieth birthday which is much more significant to her than most people as it links to her childhood and what happens as her mother approaches forty. Emma is still carrying the trauma of it as it haunts and overhangs her life. We’re on a countdown to her birthday and that’s a rollercoaster ride as we hurtle towards it with a number of serious incidents accumulating and careening Emma to the edge of a mentally destructive precipice. A cruel bout of insomnia exacerbates her state, is she going mad, losing her mind …. Or???

Sarah Pinborough has a way of yanking you into a plot and keeping you transfixed frequently with your mouth open in shock as the plot unfolds. There are so many clever elements to this that it’s impossible to mention them all but suffice it to say they all combine really well in another original novel. It’s conceptually amazing, in fact it’s like navigating Hampton Court maze as you reach dead ends in your thought processes and have to track back until you find the truth path. You cast a wide net of suspicion and there are several characters that give you more than just cause. Emma’s portrayal is powerfully conveyed especially her tortured soul, her insomnia, her confusion, her past, her relationships and her love for her children. I especially like how the author has shone a light on the difficulties of balancing a high powered and responsible job (Emma is a lawyer) with that of motherhood. As Emma unravels you ponder on the turn of events which are very unsettling and quite eerie at times, at others it’s positively sinister, you feel her fear and at times there’s tension so taut you could cut the atmosphere with a knife. The ending takes a bit of thinking about but it’s not left field by any means, it does make sense of a lot but I would say it’s a go with the flow ending!

Overall, if you liked Behind Her Eyes then this one will appeal too. It’s well written, a bit different, fast paced with numerous plot twists and turns.


With thanks to NetGalley and especially to HarperCollins, HarperFiction for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Fabulous psychological thriller. Really well done. Read it two hits, and won’t share any spoilers here. I’d buy it for a friend and I recommend. Five stars.

Emma Averell awakens at a few minutes past 1am and is unable to fall back asleep. Not just for that night but for many more that follow. She is convinced some tragedy has befallen her children or that an intruder has snuck into their home, despite the repeated house checks proving otherwise.

Her nights are torture but she continues to be tormented in the daylight, loosing long patches of time and acting in strange ways. She fears that her mother's illness has transferred itself to her body but is determined to continue to block all memories of her childhood firmly away, despite the return of both her sister and the fears that continue to haunt the entire family. Is history repeating itself? Is Emma now a risk to her family? Is someone else conjuring these connections to the past?

This was a truly twisted, little read, whose ending bore some resemblance to Behind Her Eyes, in shock value but not in plot device. I never accurately knew where the storyline was going and my suspicions were cast on every character that featured throughout it, as I quested for the truth along with protagonist, Emma.

The cover definitely gave off a far more sinister vibe than was ever experienced underneath it, but there was a subtle eerie undertone that dogged all that occurred. This never became a truly horrifying novel but remained an entirely thrilling and intriguing one, throughout.

The conclusion devolved into chaos and it took me a little while to acclimatise to what was revealed. Once I had done so, I could only applaud Pinborough for her repeated ingenuity and the different elements she brings to the genres she pens in.

Insomnia - Sarah Pinborough

Emma is 39 years old, a successful lawyer and married mother of two. Something terrible happened when her mother turned 40 and Emma lives in fear of history repeating.

In the weeks leading up to her fortieth birthday, Emma is plagued by insomnia and obsessive behaviour in the quiet nighttime hours when she should be asleep. As her mental state deteriorates things happens which lead others to believe she may be a danger to her family.

The depiction of insomnia and increasing anxiety is brilliant, I found it very convincing. The plot drip feeds information about past events and characters' actions with perfect timing.

I felt completely dragged along for the ride into encroaching madness and cannot fault the storytelling, as Emma struggles to piece together the events and explain them to others without further convincing them she is losing her mind.

There is one element I wasn't entirely convinced by but it doesn't detract from a disturbing, thrilling, tense and very tightly plotted novel, sure to be another huge hit.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK.