Wow! Another excellent psychological thriller from this prolific author.

Anna is the lead character who can't sleep following an accident that has left her guilt ridden and paranoid. There are many more fascinating characters in this really good read and red herrings aplenty. As others have said, don't plan anything once you start this, as, it's a page turner.

I thoroughly enjoyed the unusual setting, the edge of the seat stalker / killer thread and the 'In Memoriam' detail peppered throughout the book.

Thanks so much to net galley and Avon publishers for the ARC in exchange for this honest review.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the book in exchange for an honest review.
Sleep by CL Taylor is a totalling engrossing, fascinating , psychological thriller that just keeps the reader enthralled from the beginning of the book until right up to the very last page.
Highly recommended.

Anna Willis is drowning in guilt during the aftermath of a tragic road accident involving her work colleagues. The fatal incident leaves her plagued with insomnia, flashbacks keeping her up at night. If she does fall asleep, she soon wakes up screaming. What’s more, she has an unnerving feeling that she is being stalked and targeted. As a means of escape, she leaves her already broken relationship with Alex and starts fresh in the remote Scottish Island of Rum working in its only hotel. However, she may not be as safe as she thinks.

Seven guests book into the hotel, each with their own secrets. One guest, however, is hiding behind a mask of lies with their sights set on Anna. This retreat quickly snowballs into a real-life nightmare.

This psychological thriller is what you call a page-turner. Taylor’s writing was so engrossing that I felt as if I was in the thick of it all. I, too, was trapped on this remote island, feeling claustrophobic as the raging storm cuts us from all civilisation. I was completely invested as the plot thickened. There was an abundance of revelations and little threads which gradually wove together as the tension continued to rise.

The characters all had their own quirks which meant for a diverse group dynamic. Any of them might have had their sights set on Anna. Like our protagonist, I didn’t know who to trust and what their true motivations were. I spent the entirety of the novel playing detective as I puzzled possible clues together. However, I didn’t once guess ‘whodunnit’.

Sleep was full of suspense and the ending did not disappoint. While I was surprised by who Anna’s stalker was, what shocked me most were their twisted motivations. Finally, the darkness of the last chapter left me with chills.

Overall, this is a story about guilt and its immense power to consume us. This was thrilling, gripping, a book worth losing sleep over.

4.5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I absolutely loved this book and read it in 2 days. It’s a taut, well written thriller with twists and turns; the last section was breathtaking

It starts with a letter, if you reading this I am no longer alive. Anna was involved in a car accident leaving two people people dead and one seriously injured. Although the accident was not her fault she struggles to cope. Feeling someone is stalking her she flees to a remote Scottish island to work in a hotel. The guests arrive and far from being safe she is in mortal danger. Brilliant story from start to finish. The twist at the end is genius. Would really recommend this book one of the best reads this year.

A psychological thriller at its best. I read this under my duvet! Set on a remote Scottish Island it was atmospheric and conjured up images of dark and wild weather with the threat of evil lurking around every corner.
A group of holiday makers stranded by the weather - which one amongst them is there to commit murder!? All have stories to tell and most have secrets to keep. This book will grip you from the first page to the last

I love CL Taylor and this was a fabulous book, I particularly liked that the story led you to think "is it, no it can't be them because, what about..."

A book full of great twists and turns throughout, I found this book gathered in pace throughout and the last 30% I read in one sitting as I just had to keep turning the pages. This book kept me guessing until the very end and had a great ending. I would definitely recommend this book as it was a brilliant read.

Cally Taylor’s writing is consistently intoxicating and before you know it you’ve been up reading half the night. “Sleep” is a cracking thriller which ratchets up the tension from the word go. A fantastically compulsive read!

Once again C L Taylor produces a brilliant read. The first pages will have you gripped and the pace does not slow down. It has everything in this book and it reminds me very much of classic Agatha Christie. To say too much would totally give the game away but who did it will leave you guessing until close to the end.
Another must read from one of the countries great crime writers a real treat to start 2019.

I was fortunate enough to be given an ARC copy of Sleep from Netgalley. I've read a couple of books by C L Taylor and I must admit, while I am always hooked by the premise - there always seems to be something missing for me.

Ironically, all I wanted to do whilst reading this was - go to sleep. There seemed to be a total lack of substance. I didn't find a reason to like/care about ANY of the characters. There was no empathy. No excitement. No suspense. Yet I found myself thinking about it in between breaks (You know, when I actually had to work and stuff) so this is why I rated it a 3 star read.

The book opens with a letter, from Anna - explaining that someone in the hotel she works in is planning on murdering her. It gives you the list of suspects, but then quickly changes into the main plot. (Not a flashback - more like the start of the story)

Anna is the survivor of a car crash along with one other passenger, unfortunately two passengers do not survive and Anna is left feeling responsible for their deaths. The father of the deceased blames Anna for his son's death and wants justice, something he feels isn't served when the driver of the other vehicle is sentenced to two years in prison.

Soon after her discharge from hospital Anna believes someone is tormenting her - she is left cryptic messages advising her to sleep - using Shakespeare quotes, so is convinced someone is out to get her/murder her. Following the rapid break up of her relationship she decides to move to Scotland. This is when the cat and mouse thriller kicks in. Anna realises that she has been followed to Rum and someone wants her dead!

There were plenty of red herrings in this book - you're constantly trying to guess who the killer is aswell as trying to figure out why the story flashes back to Anna's Ex and the other surviving passenger of the accident. However, I didn't find myself shocked or surprised at any of it. I find C L Taylor always has a really good plot - yet I always hate every single character I find myself eye rolling quite a lot of events. Also, as I didn't find any reason to like any character I didn't feel any suspense throughout the book, I wasn't at all bothered if the killer succeeded or not.

Overall: 3 *** - A slow-paced cat and mouse thriller, it gives nothing away until the very end!

I’d like to thank Avon Books UK and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Sleep’ by C L Taylor in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Anna Willis is driving her colleagues home from a team-building exercise in the Brecon Beacons when a lorry veers across the motorway crashing into her vehicle. Two of her colleagues, Peter and Freddy, die and Mo has two broken legs and is unable to walk again. When someone leaves Anna messages with the word ‘sleep’ she’s terrified that she’s being watched and applies to becomes assistant manager at the Bay View Hotel on the remote Scottish island of Rum. But the messages continue and Anna fears her stalker has followed her there. When a ferocious storm hits the island everybody’s trapped in the hotel and Anna needs to discover which of the guests want her dead!

‘Sleep’ is a tense and gripping psychological thriller with a spine-chilling plot, twists and turns and several suspects who are hiding their own secrets. Throughout the novel there are chapters written by the other characters which give added depth to the story and italicised inserts from Anna’s stalker, although it’s impossible to guess the person’s identity until the final scary twist. This is an intriguing thriller which I’ve enjoyed reading.

When Anna is involved in a car accident two of her passengers - colleagues from work - die and one suffers traumatic injuries. Anna suffers terribly with guilt and opts to get away from London and its pace of life as she feels her life is falling apart. Rum, a remote Scottish island should be the perfect location as not only does no-one know her history but the work, as an receptionist in the island's only hotel should give her a chance to get her life back. But remoteness can be both an escape and a prison. When a dreadful storm totally isolates both the hotel and the guests trauma piles on trauma and Anna realises one of the guests is out to kill her. But who?Taylor keeps us guessing as the storm rages outside and Anna's paranoia is fully justified. As it should be, you are unlikely to predict the outcome until the very last pages but, gosh, it's an exciting tale!

Great novel. Very suspenseful throughout. Character development kept me guessing as to the guilty party throughout.

I read this in one day. Loved the atmospheric setting and lived the storyline along with the characters.. WOW

This was not the first book I read by C.L Taylor and I doubt it will be the last (I have one still to read in my Kindle queue). Her books are actually getting better and better.
It is a fairly typical psychological thriller, Anna is a woman in her early 30s live with her boyfriend in London and has a good job. Something awful happens. She is involved in the death of two young people with a third person ending up disabled. Although she is not considered legally responsible she is feeling guilty and tense. Following a few incidents, she starts to feel watched and is scared.

She decides to go and work in a small hotel in a very remote Scottish island to escape from it all. But strange things keep happening and you end up in a very claustrophobic atmosphere with no way out and only a handful of people. One of them must be the person who is scaring Anna.

The good thing about this book and what sets it apart from similar tomes is that it really flows. You can read it really quickly without noticing, although not much actually happens, the pace is fast and relentless. Overall a very good psychological thriller to be placed definitely above the average.

#Daretosleep #NetGalley This is the second book of Cally Taylor's I have read, the first being The Fear and I am fast becoming a big fan of her work. I read this in just over 24 hours - a real whodunnit with several potential suspects. I found myself, along with the main character Anna, switching between the various people within the hotel!! Easy to read and kept me on my toes throughout. I don't think there are any plans for a sequel but the story left you guessing as to how the relationship between Anna and Joe may/may not develop and what was to become of Katie. A great read.

A genuinely spooky, quick read with great characters - lots to work out and not a heavily signposted conclusion. Would highly recommend.

Great little mystery story full of suspicious characters and red herrings!
So why only three stars? The use of multiple character narratives was annoying and didn't add anything to the plot.

400 pages read.....just like that! Yep 400 pages whizzed past me without me even recognising how many pages were in this latest book of CL Taylor’s.

I opened the book after studying the cover (like you do) and wondered what relevance and connection, if any, would be within these pages.

Well, you soon find out.

The beginning of the story makes me feel for Anna. She was the driver of the car that killed two people, one injured. I couldn’t help but think and feel for her. To blame yourself is the first human instinct, she was at the wheel. She had her passengers lives and other road users in the palm of her hands. We all do. As soon as we take that wheel and start to drive......

But someone feels that justice has not been mete out.
Anna is plagued by terrible insomnia, she doesn’t sleep well and if she does she wakes up terrified.

Anna needs to get a grip so she finds a job on a remote island in Scotland.

There are all types of characters that come to stay and we learn that each one is not who they seem to be.

It’s edgy, it’s thrilling and it’s full of suspense. The reader really gets pulled into the story at an alarming rate, and with such penship as this author writes you can help but feel everything, be right where the characters are staying, imagine yourself as part of this plot.

She really has such a way of twirling and entwining the reader, luring you into each sentence, each narration.
It’s hard to explain, but her descriptive writing just plonks you into the middle of it all. If the person is terrified, then I am. If the person is hiding and it’s creepy, then so am I, holding my breath so I can’t be heard. That’s the only way I can discribe this authors writing.

Many times I was holding my breath. One time was when Anna was searching rooms I was right there as a watch out for her. If she heard a creep on the stairs I’m biting my nails saying “quick....hurry....hide....don’t get caught” I kid you not. I was so invested in this plot I forgot all time and heard my sons alarm clock ring to get him out of bed and go to work.

The only book I’ve not read yet is Treatment.
I plan to read this over Christmas.

Thank you publishers for sending me an early copy.
This does not influence my review or thought. I anticipate every book this author writes.

Driving three colleagues back to London from a bonding weekend in the wilds, Anna’s vehicle is hit by an oncoming lorry. She eventually comes round in hospital only to find that two of her passengers are dead and the third paralysed. The accident haunts her, despite her name having been cleared by the coroner. She cannot sleep, she feels she is being stalked and that someone blames her and is intent on killing her. Her relationship with her boyfriend Alex has been rocky and her feelings of insecurity rapidly lead to a complete break up. After time spent with her parents she is offered a job on the lovely, but remote, island of Rum as assistant to the owner. On arrival she finds that she is the only employee and sets to work hoping her nightmares will cease. Still troubled, she has to deal with the arrival of seven guests booked in for a walking holiday. They are a mixed bunch, obviously with their own past problems, and her uneasiness, never far from the surface, develops into another nightmare scenario. She is convinced that one of them will murder her - but who?? Many twists and turns make this novel extremely intriguing and very hard to put down.