Cos I felt like I was going mad with her! The book is THAT good!!!!…what a great novel, I highly recommend this one, I loved her previous book and this one was also brilliant, had me hooked from the start and didn’t let up, can’t wait for the next one…

A claustrophobic and gripping read. A bit disorienting at times, you cannot help wondering what will happen next. The protagonist takes you with her in her descent into doubt and paranoia which leaves you unsettled on the edge of your seat. The slight paranormal element is interesting and surprising if not a bit gauche but does not spoil this fascinating read.

I am torn about what to write about this book.
Some was very slow but good to read, it then became exciting and I wanted to read and read but the last part I have no idea what it was talking about, far too deep for me.

I normally love Sarah Pinbrough’s books and I really wanted to enjoy this book but really struggled with it. Whilst I think the concept itself is great I found it to be very drawn out, so much so that I was losing interest. There are some great reviews for this book so I think on this occasion my lack of enjoyment could be down to my mood at the time .

The writing style of this one is not my cup of tea, it made me cringe and the main character is quite unlikeable... so unfortunately I did not finish it. Thank you for the opportunity of reading this.

Readers of Pinborough’s first novel Behind her Eyes will no doubt also enjoy her latest offering that also combines a thriller with paranormal elements and literary depiction of paranoia. This novel’s protagonist is Emma Averell, a lawyer and mother of two, who is dreading the arrival of her impending fortieth birthday. Her paranoia about this chronological milestone is rooted in her familial history: Emma’s own mother had also been forty years of age when she slid into mental illness and was forced to spend the subsequent years in jail and in psychiatric institutions, away from Emma and her sister Phoebe. Emma has always kept secret the details of what she thought was a shameful childhood, but Phoebe is determined they should make peace with their mother. Additionally, Emma suffers from extreme insomnia and exhaustion. Surely this means she struggles to make rational decisions, and her perceptions are impaired? Read it and decide for yourself….
I would like to say thanks to William Morrow publishers and NetGalley for my complimentary ARC that enabled me to write this honest review of a novel that will surely garner Pinborough additional fans.

I first came across Sarah Pinborough through the "Behind Her Eyes" Netflix drama and subsequently read the book. I somehow thought it wouldn't be easy to top that novel as it was absolutely unique. However, "Insomnia" isn't your average psychological thriller, it's a Pinborough thriller with a supernatural twist.. The writing is just brilliant, and the paranoia that can happen through lack of sleep is portrayed perfectly in this novel. Is Emma responsible for all the crimes that go on in the story? Why is she so fearful of turning 40? Will she go mad like her mother? These questions are answered in a fantastic explanation at the end.

Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough is a very astute novel, with many twists and turns, designed to keep the reader awake thinking! Emma Averall is concerned that the crippling insomnia that she is suffering from will drive her crazy by her 40th birthday. This happened to her mother who is now in a secure unit from events which happened to Phoebe, her elder sister and Emma, whey they were both children. Emma has a high powered career, in the legal profession and two children. Her husband Robert is a stay at home dad.
Everything starts to crumble around Emma and life will never be the same for any of them.
Highly recommended.

A strange and complex story. We all know the sleep deprivation can cause the mind to do very strange things. But Emma is haunted by a past trauma and as her birthday approaches she is convinced that something terrible will happen on that date. She can't sleep now - and someone is making her family think she is mad. Unless....she's mad ?

As Emma tries to control her paranoia and desperately tries to get some sleep, she suspects the persons closest to her are playing terrible tricks with her mind. Sara Pinsborough does a good job of keeping suspicion on each one, totally confounding the reader - until in the end, it all becomes bizarrely, perhaps supernaturally clear.

I like this author so was really excited to get a copy of this book. However, I didn't really enjoy reading it. I didn't like the main character or any of the other characters either, I can see beyond that usually but it bugged me this time. I also found the book to be quite repetitive and lacking the punch I was looking for. I am sorry, and can only hope other readers enjoy the book more than I did.

Absolutely loved this book! Highly recommend this one.
Thanks for the opportunity to read this ARC.

After reading Sarah Pinboroughs Behind Her Eyes I was itching to get into Insomnia.
Coincidentally, I have just read two books in a row that have a similar underlying thread. I’ll leave it at that in order to avoid spoilers, other than to say that are both great books.

Sarah’s portrayal of insomnia and the inception of insanity is chilling to say the least. It is both palpable and scary at the same time, and leaves you continuously questioning the characters actions. And although the plot unfolds brilliantly, you can’t help but question the whole Ouroboros effect. Thankfully Sarah addressed this question poignantly with “There are somethings you can’t try to understand. You’d go mad trying”.

Insomnia is a brilliant and compelling thriller from start to end.

Couldn’t put this down.

Great psychological thriller end the characterisations keep you guessing.

This book is so well written and easy to read, I highly recommend.

A psycological thriller in every sense of the word. Highly addictive and a real rollercoaster ride from start to finish. A superbly written novel that had me guessing right until the end.

As Emma Averell approaches her 40th birthday she begins to suffer from insomnia. This fills Emma with dread as exactly the same thing happened to her mother and for the past 35 years her mother has been in a secure unit after attempting to murder Emma's sister. Emma is terrified that the family curse is about to strike her.

This book really lives up to it's title as you'll have insomnia wanting to find out how the story ends. The introduction really grabs the reader. Snippets of seemingly unrelated events:- a car crash, an acrimonious divorce, a family feud, a mentally ill mother and trepidation about an approaching birthday all pique the interest of the reader. How do the events fit together?

Emma Averell is a likeable character, she appears to have it all. She's a successful solicitor, has a lovely home and a stay at home husband raising the children. As we peek into Emma's life we realise that things aren't as perfect as they initially seem and added to this is the family history she has kept secret from everyone around her.

As Emma's fortieth birthday approaches the insomnia begins to set in. Her perfect life begins to unravel. As things begin to go wrong you get a real sense of fear intensifying. The loss of control starts to spiral and the descent into madness kicks in. Is Emma losing her mind or is she being manipulated?

3.75⭐️ which I’ll round up.
This best selling UK author is new to me.
Emma Averell is a high powered lawyer dealing with family law.
She has worked hard at keeping a secret that her mom is housed in a secure unit. She fears that with her 40th birthday rapidly approaching that her worsening insomnia is in fact hereditary and that she will follow the same path as her mother.

The spiralling mood swings and decreasing cognitive function from sleep deprivation are handled really well. This is on top of the fear and stress of the possible underlying cause which she can’t talk to her husband about, and she has a poor relationship with her sister so can’t confide in her either.
We are not witnessing Emma at her best, so she doesn’t come across as a likeable character, although before her insomnia started it didn’t look as if she had friends.
Emma’s life is spiralling out of control. It is really well depicted as she starts unravelling. I didn’t find any of the characters likeable.

At 50% in,I needed something different added to the scenario. Only when I got what I craved I wasn’t very impressed by it. There’s an awful lot of repetition too.
So this is a book of 2 halves. The first running at 4⭐️ the second 3.25⭐️ overall I’m settling for 3.75⭐️

So Clare MacIntosh recommended this in an interview which made me immediately go and request it.
Its dark, chilling and so many times I wanted to shout out loud "what on earth is going on". Definitely one of those where you suspect that every single person is in on the act as you just cant tell which way it'll go.
Superbly creepy.

I don't know how to review this book without giving away any spoilers but I will just say if you are looking for a gripping and compelling psychological thriller then look no further.
It is a bit repetitive at times but there are lots of twists and turns, the anxiety builds and it is hard to put down. If you like an unreliable narrator then you are in for a treat because you really will start to question everything.
Highly recommend!!

Ironically this book was called insomnia and it made me want to sleep every time I picked it up

I want to start of by saying I love Sarah pinboroughs book behind her eyes so that's why I was super excited for this book however this was a very big disappointment. The characters were lackluster and the plot was extremely repetitive and the big reveal was just boring.

You can always rely on Sarah P to deliver the unexpected and this was no different. A psy thriller with a 'I did not see that coming' quality. A little repetitive in places but that didn't hinder the story at all. You'll want to stop everything else and just devour this!