Dieser neue, düstere und intensive Thriller „Are You Sleeping“ von Kathleen Barber (English Edition) konnte mich sehr fesseln. Gebundene Ausgabe: 336 Seiten. Verlag: Macmillan.

2002 wird Chuck Burham in seinem Haus von hinten in den Kopf geschossen und stirbt. Verurteilt wird der 17-jährige Nachbarsjunge Warren Cave. Weil man seine Fingerabdrücke findet, er kein Alibi hat und Chucks Tochter angibt, die Tat gesehen zu haben. Lanie und Josie sind die Zwillingstöchter, die zum Tatzeitpunkt 15 Jahre alt waren. Josie schlief als der Mord geschah.

Nun rollt aber die Journalistin Poppie Parnell zu Josies Entsetzen nach dreizehn Jahren den Fall wieder auf. Die Zwillinge hatten seit einem Jahrzehnt schon keinen Kontakt mehr. Josie erfährt zufällig über den zugehörigen Podcast im Internet. Der Mann ihrer Cousine ist Anwalt und will sich darum kümmern.

Nachdem sie stundenlang den Podcast gehört hat weiß sie selber nicht mehr was sie glauben soll und wird von Ängsten und Paranoia gequält. Während ihr Freund in Übersee im Einsatz ist, verlässt sie Wohnung nicht mehr und schläft kaum noch.

Kurze Zeit später erhängt sich ihre Mutter. Sie lebte in einer seltsamen, sektenähnlichen Kommune, in die sie sich kurz nach dem Tod ihres Mannes geflüchtet hatte. Sie hat damals abrupt alle Kontakte abgebrochen und ihre Töchter ihre Schwester Tante A überlassen. Zur Beerdigung muss Josie nun widerwillig nach Elm Park reisen. Zunächst ohne ihren Freund, den sie immer noch nicht über ihre Vergangenheit aufgeklärt hat. Sie fürchtet das Zusammentreffen mit ihrer Zwillingsschwester Lanie.

In Rückblicken erfahren wir von ihrer Zeit bei Tante A und wie sie sich mit der Unterstützung ihrer Cousine Ellen in der neuen Schule einpassen konnte. Aber Lanie
verweigert ihre Körperpflege und das Tragen ordentlicher Kleidung, sie freundet sich sofort mit den Problemkindern der Schule an. Von da an trennen sich die Wege der Zwillinge, die sich bis dahin für unzertrennlich hielten. Lanie schwänzt die Schule, riecht süßlich schwer nach Drogen, kommt manchmal nicht nach Hause und bleibt eines Tages ganz weg.

Josie wollte nie mehr nach Elm Park zurück kehren aber der Suizid ihrer Mutter zwingt sie nun dazu, auch zu einer Begegnung mit ihrer Schwester.

Poppy Parnell und ihre Podcasts treiben die Geschichte und die familiären Auseinandersetzungen voran. Die Situation wird immer ernster, intensiver und unüberschaubarer. Man folgt sehr gespannt der Entwicklung, die Josie und Lanie nehmen und ihren bruchstückhaften Rückblicken. Das Ende überrascht dann.

Das Buch kann gleich vom Einstieg an fesseln. Besonders durch die zum Teil verwendete Interview Form kommt man schnell in die Geschichte rein und zweifelt mit Poppy an den Beweisen, aber auch Josies Entsetzen berührt.

Die Männer der Zwillingsschwester, Tante A und Cousine Evelyn sind nachvollziehbare, sympathische Nebenfiguren. Die zum Teil wirren Verhaltensweisen und Gedankengänge der beiden Schwestern sind sehr gut vorstellbar und beängstigend beschrieben.

„Are You Sleeping“ von Kathleen Barber ist ein sehr intensiver, düsterer Thriller. Jeder der Beteiligten spielt seine ureigene Rolle, mit ganz unterschiedlichen Motiven. Die Ereignisse werden von ihnen sehr unterschiedlich interpretiert und verarbeitet. Die Geschichte ist durch die eingearbeiteten Podcasts und Twitterdiskussionen spannend und temporeich im Erzählfluss.

Innerhalb sehr kurzer Zeit ist das nun mein dritter Thriller, der wohl eher eine Familientragödie ist. Wie „Die gute Tochter“ von Karin Slaughter und „Die Moortochter“ von Karen Dionne konnte mich auch dieses Buch überzeugen. Vielleicht kann man das schon einen Trend nennen. Ich würde mich freuen, wenn auch dieses Buch bald übersetzt würde.

Fazit: Dieses Original ist eine Übersetzung wert!

5 von 5 Punkten

Sure you can run from your past but how long do you have before it catches up with you. This was a fast intense read about a cold case, a family torn apart and an investigative journalist ready to find the truth at any cost.

I love mysteries that feature or revolve around strong dysfunctional family dynamics, and Are You Sleeping certainly fits the bill. Two estranged sisters. A father who was murdered when the twins were in their teens. A mother who abandoned her children to join a cult. Wow, that makes my own life look pretty normal!

Out of this cast of dysfunctional characters, Josie – our narrator – is probably the most level headed one, trying to escape her past and the legacy of her father’s murder, for which a (then) teenage neighbour is currently serving time in jail. Having changed her name and dissociated herself from everyone who knew her then, Josie has managed to create a normal life out of the spotlight. Even her boyfriend has no idea who she really is. But as false identities go, Josie’s is about to burn down in flames after her mother’s suicide in Northern California. Returning to her old hometown for the funeral, Josie must not only face her estranged twin Lanie, but also the reasons which drove the sisters apart all those years ago. To make matters worse, the Buhrman twins are being relentlessly pursued by Poppy Parnell, a true-crime reporter who has been questioning the verdict in the twin’s father’s murder case, which hinged solely on Lanie’s testimony at the time.

By including excerpts from Poppy Parnell’s true-crime podcast and social media feeds into the story, Barber not only creates a very contemporary and unique narrative, but also manages to build tension as Josie’s life is once again thrown into the spotlight. I admit that it took me a little while to get engrossed in the story, due to the many different elements in the beginning, but once the whole extent of the mystery was unveiled, I was well and truly hooked.

There are plenty of skeletons in the Buhrman family closet, which were intriguing and unsettling and made for compulsive reading to find out all the gory details. Whilst the main plot held few surprises for me, the general theme of the brutal impact of social media on the victims’ lives was an eye-opener. We know that this happens, but to be honest, I had never given it much thought before. Having to change one’s identity to escape the media spotlight and live a normal life out of the public eye seems like an extreme measure to take! It was unsettling to read the online trolls’ judgments and opinions about the Buhrman family, so brutally and thoughtlessly discussed in public forums, with no feelings spared for the people involved. I really felt for Josie, an innocent victim in the whole sorry saga. The complicated dynamics between the sisters added an irresistible psychological element to the story, even though I thought that some of the darker elements could have been explored a bit more deeply to create extra tension.

All in all, Are You Sleeping is an original and contemporary psychological thriller focusing on dysfunctional family dynamics and the impact of social media on victims’ lives. Including several different elements into the narrative made for interesting reading and reflection, and I really liked Barber’s engaging writing style. Whilst lacking some of the dark tension some readers may look for in the genre, this slow-burning mystery made up for it in originality and character development. I really enjoyed it and would not hesitate to recommend it to lovers of the genre. I look forward to reading more from this author in future.

DISCLAIMER: Book received for free in exchange for a honest opinion.

Review: Thank you NetGalley & Pan Macmillan for sending this book to me. What really caught my eye was the title & the synopsis of the book. The idea of a podcast & it’s host reopening a “open and shut case” really interested me. The book is written in Josie’s POV & was a really good book that I do recommend. The social media aspect of the book was something that does happen, things go viral really quick & thousands of people respond to it just like they did in the book.

*SPOILER CONTENT*

I really suspected Lanie or Melanie to be behind the whole thing but the discoveries made towards the end of the book were shocking.

When Josie hadn’t told Caleb the truth about herself I really thought that when things went down, shit would hit the fan. It was a genuine (but good) surprise that Caleb stuck around.

I really wanted to know if midwesternmama was Melanie or just some other person.

*SPOILERS END*

This book immediately sucked me in. I have not listened to serial, so I can't say how much cross over there is between the book and the podcast.

It was entertaining enough, but if you're searching for a book that is mainly mystery solving, THIS is NOT that book.

This book carries you on a journey of familial hurt, mental illness and deceit. Our main character makes some very stupid decisions where her sister and boyfriend are concerned and her sister likewise, reverts to a version of herself that she least likes when the twins meet up.

All in all, it's not a terrible read, and worth your time if you're here for the family drama.

Are You Sleeping was an enjoyable, fast-paced, twisty murder mystery that I read over the weekend. The podcast plot was reminiscent of Matt Wesolowski’s Six Stories, and I really enjoyed Josie and Lanie’s characters. This isn’t a particularly dark thriller and I figured out the killer fairly early on, but the author wrote the dysfunction of the family so well that I could not put it down. If you like your thrillers on the lighter side with a heavy dose of betrayal, then this is one you won’t want to miss.

Josie's father was shot during the night in her home when she was a teenager. She and her twin sister were in the house and her twin's testimony about the killer lead to a conviction. Years later, a podcast emerges that questions whether the man serving time is the actual killer. This was a clever mystery that used the idea of the podcast masterfully. Going from straight narrative, to the podcast to a twitter feed, the plot was very fast paced and the resolve was satisfying.

his book was pretty good. It was written well and the plot was very interesting. I loved Josie, the main character and her narrations. A fast-paced psychological thriller. About 1/3 of the way through I figured out what was going to happen but the book was still good and I definitely did not stop reading. I liked the way the author used social media and comments on websites to help convey the story along with interviews of the people involved in the story and also, the story actually going on. It made the book more interesting and more fun to read. Definitely not as twisted and dark as several other books I have read recently. I liked the focus on the twins and their relationship and the family as a whole. There were a few flaws in the story line but in general it was a really good book and definitely worth reading.

A promising debut

Josie Borden is living in New York with her boyfriend Caleb and is enjoying her life. Her peace is torn apart when a new podcast set up by Poppy Parnell becomes an overnight sensation. Poppy is reinvestigating the murder of Chuck Buhrman, a married man with twin daughters who had been shot 10 years previously. Lanie, one of his twin daughters claimed to have seen the murder take place and her testimony has put the next door neighbour’s son, Warren Cave, in prison. This had appeared to be an open and shut case especially when it is revealed that Warren’s mother Melanie had been having an affair with Chuck. Erin, Chuck’s wife, unable to deal with the murder and the revelation of the affair had abandoned her daughters and gone to live in a cult in California.

We then discover that the other twin is, in fact, Josie who has left her home, changed her name and is finally settling down with her long- time partner Caleb. The only problem is that she had never told Caleb about her family history and has not spoken to her twin for 10 years.

When the episodes of the podcast become ever more popular, Josie has to return to face her demons and try to discover whether the original murderer has been wrongly accused and, if so, who did commit the crime. The main witness, Josie’s twin Lanie has had a very unstable youth, rebelling against everything, drinking, doing drugs and compounding her bad behaviour by deliberately seducing Josie’s first love, Adam. She is now married to him and they have a 7-year-old daughter. Lanie seems to have become a changed person but as the podcast reveals, even more, details of the case and their mother Erin commits suicide the whole family begins to fall apart.

The whole case revolves around Lanie’s testimony and I did not find her to be a particularly real character. She seems to have no real reason for her behaviour and is totally unpredictable. The whole murder is finally resolved due to what Lanie finally reveals but I did find it difficult to understand how something she was completely sure about 10 years before can suddenly change.

As I said earlier this was a promising debut. It is one of those books where you want to know what happened but I thought the characters maybe needed a little more depth, I did not feel any real empathy with any of them and just felt slightly unsatisfied at the end.

Dexter

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

Great book! Thank you for the advance copy. The story line was great. The characters very developed. I read this book in 3 days. Can't wait to read another one from this author. Would defiantly recommend this to a friend.

Are You Sleeping tells the story of the inseparable twins Lanie and Josie. When Lanie was a little girl she witnessed the vile murder of his father and her testimony sends their neighbor to jail. From that moment on her relationship with Josie will change forever as Lanie will fall into the path of drugs and becomes the rebel/evil twin, pushing away her sister with her actions such as sleeping with Josie's boyfriend and her many addictions. 10 years will go by without them speaking to each other until something unexpected forces them to face each other again. This will reopen wounds that Josie believed were already healed, like her ex, her mother and the murder of her father. When I started this book I could not stop reading it for at least the first 100 pages. Then it becomes a bit tedious, as it goes around and around the climax a little too much. A little too wordy, I found myself almost skip-reading pages.
It is a 3/5 stars read for me

Book blurb...
Josie Buhrman has spent the last ten years trying to escape her family’s reputation and with good reason: her father was murdered, her mother ran away to join a cult, and her twin sister Lanie, once Josie’s closest friend and confidant, betrayed her. Now, Josie has settled in New York with her boyfriend Caleb, and that’s where she intends to stay. The only problem is that she has lied to Caleb about every detail of her past – starting with her last name. Then investigative reporter Poppy Parnell sets off a media firestorm with a hit podcast that reopens the case of her father’s murder and Josie’s carefully constructed world begins to unravel. She is forced to return to her hometown where she must confront the lies from her past – as well as those on which she has staked her future.

My thoughts…
I loved everything about Are you Sleeping: the overall plot, the characters, the use of a podcast to facilitate the opinions of the people and direct the investigations is inspired. I could not stop reading.

The characters had depth and I was at one with the twins emotionally throughout their journey as they come to terms with their fathers murder.

There were times when I wanted to pull the plug on the investigative reporter. I hated what her podcast and what the associated Twitter feed was doing to the family, but it was the catalyst bringing Josie and Lanie’s relationship to a head. Very clever story telling

Are You Sleeping is Kathleen Barber's debut novel. It's the story of one woman's need to make peace with her past, and it's utterly engrossing.

Josie Burhman has done everything possible to distance herself from her childhood. She's changed her last name, moved to New York City, and told countless lies to her boyfriend Caleb, all in a misguided attempt to escape her family's reputation. Her father was murdered thirteen years before the story opens, leaving his wife and twin daughters adrift. Josie's mother eventually ran off to join a cult, leaving Josie and her sister Lanie in the care of their aunt. Lanie and Josie were once best friends and confidantes, but the loss of both their parents changed all that. Lanie becomes a drug addict and eventually betrays Josie in an unforgivable way. But no matter how hard you try, the past can't stay buried forever - and Josie is about to find this out.

She begins hearing rumors about a new podcast hosted by investigative reporter Poppy Parnell, a podcast asking way too many questions about Chuck Burhman's murder. Poppy believes the wrong man was convicted of the crime, and she blames Lanie, the only eye witness. Against her better judgment, Josie listens to the first couple of episodes, and finds herself quite shaken up by what she hears. Is it possible Lanie could have lied all those years ago? Is an innocent man serving time for a crime he didn't commit? And if so, who is responsible for killing her father?

As if all that isn't enough, Josie's cousin Ellen calls to tell her that Erin, Josie's long-absent mother, has just committed suicide. Ellen begs Josie to return to Illinois for the funeral, and at first, Josie refuses. How would she explain it to Caleb, who thinks both her parents died long ago? But Ellen is persistent, and eventually Josie gives in, telling Caleb she's attending her aunt's funeral instead.

Once back in the small town where she grew up, Josie is forced to come face to face with pretty much every facet of the past she's tried so hard to put behind her. She is reunited with Lanie, who seems to want to make amends - but Josie's not sure she can be trusted. Lanie's husband Adam was Josie's high-school sweetheart, and it's hard for Josie to see them together, especially when she learns they have a child. In addition, Poppy Parnell is bound and determined to get Josie and her family to share their side of the story on her podcast. And when Caleb shows up against Josie's wishes, she's forced to admit to all the lies she's told him over the years. In short, Josie's life is unraveling fast.

As Josie does her best to uncover the truth while staying out of Poppy's way, she learns more than she bargained for about her parents, her sister, and herself. This kind of exploration is always difficult, but it was easy for me as a reader to empathize with Josie's mixed emotions during this process. I loved that she wanted to know the truth, but I could also understand some of her reluctance to keep digging into things so many people wanted to keep secret.

There are so many characters with obvious motives for killing Chuck Burhman, and Ms. Barber made it impossible for me to guess who the real killer was until the very end of the story. There were a few times I thought I had it figured out, but I was always wrong, and honestly, that's how I like it. I admire authors who can cleverly craft a mystery as complex as this one.

The author does a great job of exploring the various relationships between her characters. Family dynamics play a big part here, and Ms. Barber has created a cast of deeply flawed individuals who are incredibly life-like. Their dealings with one another aren't always kind or unselfish, but they are definitely believable.

Most of the story is told from Josie's point of view, but the author also includes excerpts from Poppy's podcast. While Poppy's character was difficult for me to like, I did appreciate the way her journalism was woven into the narrative. The reader is allowed to learn things Josie herself doesn't know, adding an extra element of suspense to the novel.

Are You Sleeping isn't the scariest book I've ever read, but it's certainly one of the most compelling. It's one of those novels I hated to put down, even when real life tasks needed to be performed. If Ms. Barber is capable of creating something this gripping in her very first novel, I can only imagine what her future releases will be like. I'm hoping she won't make readers wait too long for her next book.

Buy Now: A/BN/iB/K

This is the story of Josie. Thirteen years ago her father was murdered. His murder was witnessed and the murderer Warren Cave was sent to prison. Josie has built herself a new life and has even changed her surname to distance herself from the case. A new podcast starts up questioning Warren Caves innocence. This is really upsetting to Josie and puts her in an awkward position as her boyfriend knows nothing about her past. Josie reluctantly goes back to the area that she lives to confront her past and find out if there is any truth to the podcasts claims.

What really appealed to me about this book was the fact that the story had a lot of multimedia in it. I did not enjoy reading the podcast as much as I thought I would. I loved the Reddit and Twitter posts. I really enjoyed the story although at times the main character Josie annoyed me a lot and I questioned her decisions. I didn't guess the exact ending but I had the general idea. I would happily read more by this author.

I had high expectations for this whodunit thriller about a years-ago murder and a podcast that stirs up family secrets and tragedies. Josie and Lanie's father was killed in the middle of the night, and Lanie identified their neighbor as the murderer. The trial is televised nationally, and the Burhmans the topic at many dinner tables. Years later, Josie is in NYC, estranged from her sister, living under a different last name. Her mother ran away to join a cult, but her death brings Josie back to her sleepy hometown, and back to her sister.

Meanwhile, Poppy Parnell is the podcast investigative reporter attempting to clear the neighbor's name. She casts suspicion on everyone near or at the murder site, and isn't afraid to stalk the Buhrmans at their homes and even their mother's wake. Not at all classy, but Poppy succeeds in shaking up her intended victims.

There are a lot of clues throughout the novel, so I wasn't at all surprised when the identity of the killer was revealed. I don't mind if a thriller isn't very twisty, as long as the characters are well-developed, and here, a lot of them felt flat. I loved Josie's cousin, Ellen, and her aunt was also memorable. Everyone else seemed one-dimensional, especially the ones that counted, like Lanie and her husband.

I also felt that the ending was a bit abrupt. I know that the main storyline was wrapped up, but I wanted to see how the characters picked up the pieces and reacted to one another, now that the truth was out.

*Thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macillan for an ARC*

This book completely exceeded my expectations! It kept me guessing until the very end. After more than a decade Josie Buhrman's father's murder became the topic of a highly publicized podcast. Poppy Parnell is trying to shed light on Chuck Buhrman's murder and the fact that she thinks an innocent man is behind bars. Josie just wants life to go on and not to dredge up the past. However, as she listens to the podcast herself she also begins to wonder if the right person was convicted. I loved the way this book was written as it kept be guessing the whole time. I thought I had it figured out and when it was all revealed I was shocked. If you love a book with twists and turns then, this book is for you. This is the best book I've read so far in 2017!

4.5/5

I'm loving this new style of podcast meets book (Six Stories by Matt Wesolowski is another great one if you enjoy this style!). For me, it makes quite the binge-able/addicting read and breaks up the monogamy of paragraphs.

Are You Sleeping is somewhat of a slow-burn and build-up. It begins with our main character, Josie/Jo who is trying to live a somewhat normal life after a tragedy in her childhood. Josie's father was murdered in her home while she was home and her twin sister witnessed the killer. Lanie stated that their neighbor, Warren yielded the gun and killed their father. While the case was pretty open/shut...a new podcast starts to shed light that perhaps things were not what they seemed.

Josie and her twin, Lanie have had a major falling out, and no longer speak. However, that doesn't change that Josie still feels certain twin-to-twin feelings. She has a strong feeling that something is wrong with Lanie. Josie wants to keep living her new life, but can't help but peer into the podcast. It leaves her questioning her sister's testimony and what Lanie is capable of. With all of this happening, they find out that their mother commits suicide. Their mother had fled to a cult and cut all ties with her family. Josie and Lanie are certain that the podcast aided in her suicide. Now with the podcast questioning everything, will we learn that Lanie told a lie?

This book is so much more than a mystery, but also an intense character study. The characters are well-built and lived-in. This was a wonderful debut from Kathleen Barber and I look forward to reading her novels in the future. Thank you to the author, Pan MacMillan and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

„Are You Sleeping“ is a predictable psycho thriller with quite annoying main characters. Besides that, it is an easy and entertaining read.

Lanie and Josie are twins who estranged from each other years ago. The reason was the killing of their father. Her mother lost it after that gruesome event. She soon left and joined a cult and leaving her girls behind. Her aunt Amelia took care of them. Lanie handled this development with rebellion. She did drugs and booze. Josie wanted to be the nice girl everybody loves. But then something happened between the twins and they estranged. Josie travelled the world, never staying long at a place. Until she met Caleb. Now she has a life with him in New York. But he doesn’t know the truth about her family.

One day Josie learns about a podcast which is about the murder of her father. The neighbor’s son was convicted to be the killer. Lanie saw him that night shooting her Dad. But the journalist who runs the podcast says that maybe the guy was innocent. Josie goes paranoid. Then she learns about the suicide of her mother. So she returns for the first time in a century to her hometown.

The story is interesting and gripping. There is a family tragedy. A man was shot and one of his daughter witnesses it. His wife could not cope and went away to join a cult. She abandoned her children. Both children struggle but they get along somehow. Then this podcast happens and the mother suddenly committed suicide. What’s this all about? What really happened?

I personally struggled with the main character Josie. And Lanie as well. They are both such drama queens. They make a spectacle out of themselves all the time. I know horrible things happened to them. But as a reader I think they were just annoying. All this throwing up, the ill-feeling, the not-sleeping, the drama. Josie started asking herself some questions a decade too late. There was just too much drama about the girls feeling ill and insomnia and horrible and there was too less focus of everything else and the story. That annoyed me and it affected my enjoyment of reading this book in a negative way.

This book is an easy read. Interesting story but I so disliked the main characters. Just too much drama.

An excellent engrossing read from beginning to end.