Emma Averell is 39, a lawyer and a married mother of two - Chloe, seventeen and Will, five. Something terrible happened when Emma's mother turned 40 and Emma lives in fear of history repeating itself. Now approaching her own fortieth birthday, Emma is plagued by insomnia and strange occurrences are happening throughout the day...

Insomnia is a riveting tale containing multiple twists and misdirection, and Sarah Pinborough hovers between the possibility that Emma is being set up or that she might be on the brink of doing something terrible. Compelling from start to finish, the denouement was one that I never foresaw. Bold and exciting, Insomnia is well worth reading.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from HarperCollins via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

If you read a 'how-to-write-fiction' manual, you're usually advised to batter your protagonist with several difficulties, and just when s/he thinks it can't get any worse, you add more! Boy, Sarah Pinborough has taken this advice and then some! Poor old Emma, the main character in this novel, has had or is having huge trauma with... wait for it....
her mother,
her sister,
her husband,
her daughter,
her son,
her boss,
her colleagues,
her subordinates,
her clients,
her clients' enemies AND
her friends.

Just as well she doesn't have a cat.
It's ludicrous.
The idea, I guess, is to heighten the drama and tension and to ramp up our empathy for Emma. But it doesn't do any of this because it's ridiculous. I had zero empathy for Emma, just irritation.

Emma repeats a lyric about a book and a candle so many times (25 occurrences) I ended up developing a nervous tic.

Also, a minor point but... the author has a habit of inserting Emma's thoughts between her dialogue but within the same paragraph. All authors do this but here it's done continually, so I kept thinking she was saying aloud things that, in fact, she was only thinking.

Then we come to the ending. There's a fine line between dramatic and melodramatic where, in the latter instance, it's just plain silly. And yes, this book goes for the latter (and then some) to the point I was cheering on the 'bad guy'. And there's the silly concept about time which is a total groan-fest.

So, no. Just NO.

Exactly what it says on the tin, and then some – a gripping and twisty psychological thriller, full of complex characters and stressful situations. In the days leading up to her fortieth birthday, Emma finds herself battling with insomnia, something that causes her great distress because the same thing happened to her mother, who ended up trying to kill Emma's sister Phoebe before living out the rest of her life in a secure unit. Emma has fought to leave her mother in the past and build a life for herself, with a husband, two kids and a successful career as a divorce lawyer. Now, though, with the clock ticking down to her birthday and her sleepless nights growing ever more distressing, the cracks start to appear and Emma's world rapidly crumbles. It's hard to write much more without introducing spoilers, but it's a pacey, exciting read that's hard to put down.

Sarah Pinborough does it again !! Ever since I read Behind Her Eyes last year, I have been obsessively waiting for this book !! It is definitely one of my most anticipated books of 2022 and it did not disappoint.

"My insomnia is making me question everything, even my own guilt or innocence."

Emma has the perfect life- a successful law career, a great husband, 2 beautiful children, all of which she has worked really hard for. But she is approaching her 40th birthday, the same age her mother "went mad" and her whole like flipped upside down. Her mother always told her she had bad blood, and she would end up mad just like her, so this birthday has had her on edge..experiencing all the same symptoms her mother showed right before- insomnia, paranoia, periods of memory loss, obsessive tendencies. If the fear itself isn't enough, the insomnia is now effecting her life- her sister shows back up randomly (a reminder of her past), her son is acting withdrawn and scared, her daughter is having "dating" problems, her husband doesn't believe or support her and she is exhausted. Is the madness in her blood, just as her mother predicted? Could she end up hurting her family in her foggy, frenetic state? Is she truly beginning to lose her mind, or is something sabotaging her life?

I loved this book !! This book is told from the POV of Emma, on a countdown to her 40th birthday. The book did start out a little slow, but we get closer and closer to the big day, the story gets crazier and crazier. Pinborough does an amazing job making her characters seem as crazy as possible, but also making you want to root for them the whole time. She plants little seeds throughout the book to make you think you have it all figured out and then the WTF moment happens that you weren't expecting. The way she mixes paranormal ideas with real life and the end results leave me speechless. I love her books and she will continue to be an author I will read no matter what!!

Thank you to Netgalley UK, HarperCollins UK, and Sarah Pinborough for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Insomnia is another great read by Sarah Pinborough, I hoped I’d like this as I loved her last book I read, behind her eyes.
Emma seems to have it all, good job, stay at home husband, lovely house and two great children but she is approaching her fortieth birthday and with trepidation, she’s struggling to sleep, she’s not sure what she’s doing and how she ends up in different places with no knowledge of getting there. She has people from her last she wants to keep hidden and has done until now but they are starting to appear. The reason Emma is worried about her birthday as it was that day that her mother was admitted to a secure unit for something she did. Emma was only 5 years old then and can only remember the bad stuff and thinks it’s happening to her.
I loved how the writing really brought you into Emma’s world, her erratic behaviour and her paranoia which started to spiral out of control made you anxious for her. The characters were to most parts likeable and I had no idea where this book was taking me.
I would like to thank Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

This is my second book by this author. The first was Behind Her Eyes, which I gave 4 stars.

This one had a similar feel to it. A suspenseful mystery thriller and I ending you don't see coming.
This one follows Emma, who spent her childhood in foster care as her mother went mad on her 40th birthday when Emma was 5 years old. Emma is suffering from insomnia and keeps having weird blackouts. It is just days away from her 40th birthday and she thinks she is going to go mad just like her mum did.

I enjoyed the story but didn't guess the ending. It was a strange one. I liked it but not as much as Behind Her Eyes.
3.5/5 stars

"My insomnia is making me question everything, even my own guilt or innocence."

This was such a mind-boggling book that I absolutely loved! From the author of another wonderful thriller, Behind Her Eyes, Pinborough leads her characters into a life of mayhem and confusion that makes even the reader question what is truly real?

Ever since she was a child, Emma was afraid of turning 40 and becoming just like her mother, a woman that went insane and had to be taken away from her children. So with days to go before her 40th birthday, everything seems to be going wrong.

While she has a high-end job with a husband and two children, Emma has some things in her past life that she wishes she left behind. But what happens when they slowly come crawling back, seeping in through the cracks one day at a time?

Will Emma turn out the be the monster she saw her mother become? Or can she fight against the past and change her faith and maybe even, her family?

It was so interesting to fall back into one of Pinborough's new novels and just binge this whole novel in, I believe, two sittings. The character development was brilliant and you could really sense the fear coming from Emma and from other characters in the book too.

I would definitely recommend for lovers of psychological thrillers!!

Oh wow - I literally love this novel. Ive never read any of Sarah Pinborough's novels before but they are in my shopping basket as this novel has made me a huuuugggggeeeee fan.

Having watched Behind Her Eyes on tv (which I loved) I really could not wait to read this novel. It did not disappoint.

We meet character Emma, and it is coming up to her 40th birthday, on the surface she is one of those characters that seem to have it all - a dream, high-paid job, a lovely husband and adorable children, but her past is extremely different. When her mother hit the age of 40 she basically went crazy and therefore Emma feels extremely affected by her past. Emma starts to have insomnia, which obviously is awful and can really mess with ones mind.

Emma starts to behave differently and she worries that she may be turning into her mother. Sarah Pinborough's writing is second to none for me and I would recommend this read to all. A thriller of a ride.

Thanks to NetGalley, Sarah Pinborough and the publishers for allowing me a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Intense, dark, and with a teasing undercurrent of the paranormal, Insomnia pulsates with all the hallmarks of a classic psychological thriller. It’s a slow-burn, tantalizing read; mind-bending, twisty, and utterly, relentlessly addictive. I defy anyone to pick this up and not immediately be helplessly ensnared.

Emma Averall is living the dream: a successful career, a beautiful home, two happy children and a supportive, stay-at-home husband. But she’s having trouble sleeping. She’s developing behavior tics and other neuroses. And people and events from her deeply buried past are crashing unbidden into her present. Emma’s fortieth birthday is looming, and with it the growing terror that she’s inherited her mother’s madness.

Crikey, Mikey! What an insanely (sorry) clever piece of writing! The plot, the pacing, the masterful obfuscation — everything about this just reeks of class.

The narrative is built on the back story of Emma’s mum, who has been held in a secure psych unit since the horrifying act she committed on her own fortieth birthday, thirty-five years ago. Aged just five at the time, Emma’s memory of events surrounding that day are fogged by trauma and the passage of time. But one thing she’s certain of: the similarities between then and now are chilling.

The outstanding skill of Pinborough’s writing is how convincingly she portrays Emma’s spiraling paranoia: the progressively erratic behavior and increasingly tenuous grip on reality. I found it deeply unsettling, provocative even, especially the reaction of people around her. And always, always, the burning question: is Emma hurtling towards a psychotic break, or are there other, more sinister forces at work?

The answer may not sit well with every reader. It requires a leap of faith, an acceptance of things beyond our ken. But it’s not implausible, and this is why it’s both unnerving and deliciously satisfying.

My first Pinborough, and it won’t be my last. I’m a fan.

Emma Averell has everything - a wonderful stay at home husband, two beautiful children and a successful career. But suddenly everything starts to go wrong as her 40th birthday approaches.

Emma’s mother had a mental health episode just before her 40th birthday and ended up living in a secure unit. Her mother told her that she would be the same …… could it be that this is what is happening to Emma ? She can’t sleep, she can’t concentrate - is she really going to end up like her Mum ?

This is a great psychological thriller that will keep you guessing. If you’ve read a Sarah Pinborough book before you will know it’s not always a predictable conclusion !!

Thank you to HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

On the surface Emma Averell has it all: great career, big house, loving husband, Robert, and two wonderful children, Will and Chloe. She is approaching forty, but inside she is feeling anxious about it, which resulted in her being unable to sleep.

Emma’s mother, Patricia, has stopped sleeping before she turned forty and suffered a mental breakdown. She used to tell Emma she would go crazy too because there was ‘bad blood’ in her.

Emma has been lying to her husband about her mother. She told Robert that Patricia was dead, when in fact she has been incarcerated in a secure mental health facility for years. Emma’s estranged sister, Phoebe reappears in her life, much to Emma’s dismay. Phoebe informs her sister that their mother is in hospital in a critical condition.

Phoebe’s return brings back all the memories that Emma tried to supress over the years. She is afraid she will go ‘mad’ just like her mother. Soon, strange things begin happening around her. Is it her imagination or is it someone toying with her mind?

I really enjoyed the tension in this book. I was gripped from the first page all the way to the end. This story really played on my mind and had me guessing throughout.

At times I thought I had it all figured out thinking that maybe Emma was having a mental breakdown like her mother, and then I was dismissing the idea, as there was a number of people who could potentially wish Emma harm.

People who read Pinborough’s previous books know that the ending is NEVER what you expect, we are always headed for a shocker. I wasn’t disappointed with the ending, I quite liked the explanation and I got an inkling that history will repeat itself.

Overall, it’s a great read. I devoured it so quickly!

Thank you to Harper Collins for approving my NetGalley request to read and review this book.

Wow, this book!
Emma is fast approaching 40. The age her mother was when she went mad and ended up living out her days in a psych ward.
As her birthday inches closer, insomnia sets in and makes Emma question everything about herself, her family and her life.
This twisty mind bending thriller kept me up way past my bedtime. I loved the story and the characters and they way the story developed. I would definitely recommend this book and this author.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book.

I know that this author writes stuff with a supernatural twist and I’m not normally into that but I’ve read and enjoyed all of her books including this one. The tying up of the loose ends on this one was particularly enjoyable

Insomnia
Insomnia begins with a hit and run car crash on a deserted road. One driver escapes in his 4 x 4, telling themselves that they will ring for help on their way home, but they don’t. But as they look back at the other mangled car, they see a hand, a cry for help, from the passenger seat but they drive off. They don’t know that they have set in motion a series of events that will have repercussions for the future.
Now it’s the present, and it’s 12 days before Emma Bourrette turns 40. She lets us know that it’s an event that fills her with dread. But she is eagerly anticipating becoming the youngest partner in her law firm. Emma works long hours and her husband Robert stays at home to support her and their two children; Will aged 5 and Chloe who is 17. But this time around he’s not so accommodating and is no longer keen on being ‘part of the school gate gang’. But all is not well at home with Will who keeps complaining of a ‘fuzzy head’ and Chloe is keeping company with someone she shouldn’t be. Emma has started to suffer from serious insomnia and spends her nights trying to sleep, checking the back door and feeling that there’s someone in the house.
Then her older sister, Phoebe, rings and jolts her out of her focussed, organised, rusharound life. Their mother has had a serious self-inflicted accident that in the medium secure unit in which she has lived for years. Phoebe wants Emma to visit their mother as she may not live much longer. But Emma has told her family that her mother has been dead for years.
It isn’t until later than Emma connects her mother’s accident with the start of her insomnia and she is shocked when the police visit and insinuate that her mother’s death may not be due to natural causes. She loses her wallet and when a stranger returns it, Emma feels strangely drawn to her. And as Emma’s insomnia worsens as the approaching birthday draws closer, she becomes focussed on getting some sleep while it spirals out of control and she wonders increasingly whether she is turning into her mother. It was as she approached 40 that her mother started acting strangely which culminated in a night that Emma and Phoebe have never forgotten. And now with Emma who seemed to have it all, she could end up losing it all.
Insomnia is a very fast paced thriller and would make a great holiday read. However, at times I felt that I needed to catch my breath. I really felt that the author captured Emma’s state of mind as her life spun out of control and she clung increasingly to a stranger for comfort. The twist was an interesting one and I thought that the author could have explored it more. I won’t say anymore because of spoilers. It was unpredictable but it did feel almost like an afterthought. I liked the way the author describes Emma’s confusion at how life has suddenly derailed; Robert with his own plans, Chloe embarking on an affair and Will’s drawings and then she’s fired. Suddenly her life is on shifting sands. But what if she’s right, that someone is behind it all and is targeting her for some reason? The twist came in a little late for me as I found Emma irritating as she foisted herself on a complete stranger over and over again. Insomnia wasn’t really for me but I would read another book by Sarah Pinborough.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC

Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough.
Emma Averell worries that her crippling insomnia is a sign that she’s slowly going insane—like the mother she’s worked so hard to leave in her past.
Omg what a read. Such a twisty and tense read. I was second guessing everything. Couldn't put it down. 5*.

This was certainly a psychological thriller, what is real and what isn't? Is Emma becoming paranoid or is someone really trying to destroy her?
I enjoyed the twists and turns, until near the end when (trying not to give spoilers) the motive seemed very contrived and unlikely and the explanation for Emma's behaviour completely nonsensical.
Thank you to netgalley and Harper Collins for an advance copy of this book

I wasn't the biggest fan of Behind Her Eyes so I was actually kinda avoiding this author as "probably not for me". But, a book buddy of mine assured me that I would love this book so I decided to give her another go. And, although I wasn't as blown away as my buddy, it was a good solid read nonetheless.
Emma has left her tragic past behind and reinvented herself with a high-powered legal career, supported by her wonderful stay-at-home husband who looks after their two children. A far cry from the foster homes and mad mother of her past. She has worked hard to put it all behind her but, as her 40th birthday approaches, the same age as her mother was when she turned into a monster, Emma fears the same will happen to her. And it all becomes a case of is it going to happen or is she making it happen cos she thinks it will... As her life then starts to disintegrate, her insomnia ramps up, and the reappearance of her sister and dying mother into her life, threatens to undo all that hard work...
This is a bit of a slow burner, and also a bit repetitive in places. But I guess both those things fit with the narrative insofar as they reflect the madness that the main character appears to be spiralling into. I do have to say that it all did get a bit much on occasion and I was willing the author to get on with it, but that's more a reflection of my (lack of) patience than all the author's fault.
She did do it again with the ending which I did not see coming and which also made me have to sit back and do a bit of thinking to get my head round things. Which I am not sure that I did fully. That said, it wasn't as blatant and mind-bending as BHE, and this time I was kinda half expecting something, so it wasn't as "Out Of Left Field" to me. It also wasn't the be-all and end-all like I found BHE.
All in all, this resurrects the author in my eyes and I will probably go back and see what I have missed out on, as well as being open to what she cooks up for next time. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Thanks to NetGalley, Sarah Pinborough and HarperCollinsUK for the ARC of Insomnia.

I was a big fan of another of Sarah's titles Behind Her Eyes and because that required a bit of defying belief, I was fully expecting that this book was going to be a little different from your average thriller.

Emma is a successful divorce lawyer and Mum of two children, when on the approach to her 40th Birthday, she suddenly stops sleeping and is convinced she is going mad,. As a child, Emily's mother suffered with her mental health and sanity and tried to suffocate her older sister with a pillow on her 40th birthday. In the last conversation they'd had, she told Emma it would happen to her to0 and suddenly with her birthday just days away, she starts experiencing severe insomnia, blackouts and starts acting erratically with no memory of doing it.

The book is a slow burn that builds up quickly and all the way through you find yourself wondering whether someone is out to get Emma or if she genuinely is losing her mind. I found this lack of clarity really enjoyable despite none of the characters being particularly likeable.

The twist is (as I expected) quite far fetched, but if you go in with an open mind it makes a unique and captivating read, that ironically will keep you awake all night (reading!).

3.5/5

This is one of those books that you are either going to like or not ... for me, I liked it. It's a proper mind-messing read where you don't know what's real and what's imagined.

Emma, the main character, is not what I would call a particularly likeable one; mind you, not many of the characters in this book are if I'm honest but that doesn't really matter to me that much and, if anything, it makes it even more intriguing as you don't know where the story is going to go.

It does start off pretty slowly while the scene is being set but during this time, there is the slow drip, drip, drip of information and the creation of tension, suspense and misdirection that all comes together in the end.

This is a complex and original story which uses a touch of the "unknown"; it's dark, unnerving and unsettling and I would recommend to anyone who enjoys something a bit different in their psychological thrillers.

Many thanks to HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.

A bit slow to start and at times I found it hard to like the main character. As it progressed I got hooked , dark and disturbing , I had to know the ending .
Bit of a strange twist but enjoyable .