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.

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