I've read two of C.L. Taylor's previous books; The Lie and The Escape, Sleep is the sixth book written by her and is just as absorbing as the other two I've read.

An utterly gripping psychological thriller mystery and "who done it" similar to Murder on the Orient Express, where the cast of characters are all trapped together in one place, with a murderer among them. The tension builds along with the pace of the book, and it will make any reader lose "Sleep" due to finding it impossible to put it down.

With thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the opportunity to read this ARC, in return for an honest and unbiased review.

The title just about sums it up - sleep! I couldn’t sleep until I finished the book and even then thoughts were going round and round in my head like little after shocks preventing me from sleeping.

Like all of Ms Taylor’s other books this book was fast paced and before you know it you have lost a few hours of your day without knowing it. It’s just so good!!!

Anyway the story: Anna has left London and her now ex-boyfriend behind after an accident leaves her making life changing decisions and moved to a remote Scottish island where she takes up a job in an hotel. However, strange events and happenings make her think she is being stalked and then, as things progress, become convinced that someone wants her dead but who?

I have read all of C L Taylor’s books and they never disappoint - this is no exception. So clear your diary, close the blinds and curl up in your favourite arm chair just make sure the door is locked after all you never know who is watching you! Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of the book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

My thanks to NetGalley and Avon for giving me the opportunity to read SLEEP. When Anna is involved in a dreadful car accident that kills two of her work colleagues she feels increasingly responsible. She is injured in the crash, but after making a recovery she's plagued by debilitating insomnia and terrifying night terrors. She is overwhelmed with guilt, the fallout of which her relationship breaks down. She decides to change her life, to get away from everything that happened and take a job on a remote island. When the guests turn up however, Anna realises that her decision to go on a retreat could turn out to be her biggest mistake. The guests each have a secret and Anna is convinced one of them is after her for revenge. But which one?
I loved reading SLEEP. It gripped me from beginning and actually put me in mind of Agatha Christie's novels. There was the remote island, the hotel cut off from everywhere, the failing electricity, the lack of food and the weirdy guests. Yes, very much like them and just as enjoyable.

I enjoyed the author's last book and this one is equally as good. Another page Turner that I read in 2 days.

SLEEP.... the book that keeps you awake! I'm sure there are going to be many jokes about this, but for good reason! Aptly, albeit paradoxically, titled, SLEEP is an absolutely spine-tingling read, a perfect suspense thriller with with its deliciously eerie atmosphere and cosy-mystery feel. I loved every second of this story and didn't want it to end! Plotted to perfection, the characterisation was flawless, and I enjoyed the 'Murder on the Orient Express' vibe (a cast of characters all trapped together and one of them is a murderer!)
Loved it, loved it! SLEEP is going to be a huge success, I'm sure. Highly recommended!

Sleep reminded me of those ‘Whodunnit’ books from days gone by. A group of people in an isolated location, and one of them is the baddie. The suspense built and it was hard to work out who might be the threat.
Well written and would work for female or male readers. I hadn’t read one of C L Taylor’s books before, but I will keep an eye out for her others.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this book #NetGalley
#DareToSleep

Anna is driving three of her work colleagues back from a team-building exercise when she is involved in an accident. Two of her colleagues die and the third is unlikely to ever walk again. Traumatised and suffocated by guilt she abandons her job and accepts a position as a hotel receptionist on a small Scottish island – Rum. Filled with trepidation she prepares for the first group of guests who are booked in for a week on a walking holiday.

What follows is predictable inasmuch as we are introduced to all the characters and Anna’s assessment of them. The weather closes in and the hotel becomes isolated with no communication. Sound familiar? Of course it does, remember Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. That said, I don’t mean to denigrate Sleep, it really is a very satisfying read. Plenty of surprises and good characters and more than enough to satisfy your curiosity and your interest.
Well, you can’t keep a good plot down.

Highly recommended.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

Yet another great book by my favourite author! This certainly is a page turner that kept me guessing all the way through I would highly recommend as with all of her other books.

Sleep opens brilliantly, with a letter from protagonist Anna.

“If you are reading this, I am no longer alive. The following people came to Rum for a walking tour... I am pretty sure one of them killed me.”

This grabbed my interest immediately, with vague echoes of the likes of And Then There Were None.

Following her involvement in a terrible accident, Anna has walked away from her home, her career and her boyfriend and taken up a job in an isolated hotel on a remote Scottish island. She’s hoping to start again... and maybe, finally, get some sleep. But it seems like someone isn’t prepared to let her away that easily. As a storm rages, cutting the hotel off from the nearest civilisation, Anna begins to fear her life is at risk - but from whom? And why?

Sleep is carefully plotted with some clever misdirection. I did guess who was responsible - but it was only a guess, I wasn’t sure and I didn’t know why. The “In Memoriam” snippets scattered throughout added an intriguing and slightly macabre dimension.

A very enjoyable read - my only reservation was the very end, a type of ending which I particularly dislike. But that’s just me. Otherwise, I liked it a lot.

An easy read which I did enjoy. However I found it more and more outlandish the more I read. I didn’t connect with the characters really and didn’t care very much for any of them except perhaps Mohammed.

Anna blames herself for a fatal accident which killed two of her colleagues. After a series of frightening incidents leave her feeling fearful, she decides to leave London for a job as a hotel receptionist on the remote Scottish Isle of Rum.

As the guests begin to arrive and the weather takes a turn for the worse, Anna has an uncomfortable feeling that she is being watched. As the storm intensifies and the hotel becomes isolated from the rest of the island, Anna knows someone is out to harm her but she doesn’t know why. Does someone blame Anna for the accident? Is someone seeking revenge? Who can she trust?

A great thriller with numerous twists along the way which keeps you guessing until the end.

Oh what a creepy and unsettling book!
I loved this story!

I really felt a sense of unease while reading it and I was so eager to find out what was going to happen next. C.L. Taylor has once again delivered something amazing.

Wow another amazing read from this author. When a car accident causes two work colleagues and another to be seriously injured Anna who was the driver blames herself. The trouble is someone else also blames her and wants to get her. After splitting up with boyfriend she moves away and starts an entirely different job on a remote island helping to run a hotel. She was hoping once there the feeling that someone was watching her would end but she was wrong. Messages telling her to sleep were being left for her to see and other disturbing things were happening. Which people could she trust that were staying at the hotel and who was threatening her. The book kpet me enthralled all the time and couldn't put it down. I love the twist to the story at the end and wouldn't have guessed the outcome at all. I would highly recommend this and the author's other book Fear that I also enjoyed.

Sleep is the 6th psychological thriller CL Taylor has written. It is a stand alone. And it is awesome.

Cally put on Instagram that this was on NetGalley and I got super excited and high tailed it on over there. Only to find it had already gone to wish. Gutted! So I wished. And I was extra happy that I got approved for it the next day! 😊 Wahoo!

Sleep is about Anna, a young woman who is involved in a fatal car accident involving her and three colleagues. Two of her colleagues died in the crash and one is now paralysed from the waste down. Anna miraculously escapes with 'minor' injuries compared to the others. But the psychological effects are impacting her really badly.

"No it doesn't hurt there. It hurts here, in here, inside my head."


She's feeling guilty and she can't sleep. When she does manage a couple of minutes, she wakes up screaming and thrashing.

After a receiving a couple of disturbing messages, she decides to split up with her boyfriend, Alex, and move to the Isle of Rum to get away from it all. Unbeknown to her, her stalker is closer than she thinks and she may not be safe all the way up on the Scottish Isles....

I thought this book was absolutely fantastic. The usual standard from CL Taylor. All her books have been great. The suspense and tension is so thrilling to read and it's one you can read all in one go - I didn't want to put it down!

We meet a small group of travellers at the hotel Anna has come to work at. They are all there for a hiking/walking holiday and all have their own little quirks. Melanie and Malcolm are there with their niece Katie. Joe, Trevor, Christine and Fiona are there solo. Each have their own secrets and reasons for being on Rum. Are one of these people Anna's tormentor?

CL Taylor sets the scene of the dark, mysterious, creepy hotel- cut off by a raging storm - well, and the story feels claustrophobic and frustrating. Anna feels so much guilt, which is the main reason she can't sleep. We explore the relationship between mental illness and sleep. We explore the different meaning sleep has to different people.

Although we know early on that someone is there and trying to harm Anna in some way, I didn't guess who it was until it was revealed, I guessed the reason and the motivation of the 'stalker', but I couldn't work out who it was.

As a character I really liked Anna. She felt the guilt that you would imagine she would, but you also knew it wasn't her fault and felt sympathy for what she was going through. Taking that leap and moving to a different country, was brave. Even if it could be seen as running away, I think she was more like trying to survive, and did what she had to do.

I really enjoyed this one, thanks you NetGalley and Avon for letting me have a copy to read and review! And thanks CL Taylor for writing such a thrilling book! 😊

(Also, love to see a character called Becca in there - it's a great name! 😊 )

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

If you’re reading this, then I’m dead!

What a way to throw you right off the cliff edge. I honestly couldn’t get enough of this book. I had my suspects, and every single one of them was wrong.

I love all CL Taylor’s books and this one hit the bullseye again. It’s faced paced and exciting. I can’t wait for the next title.

Keep up the sterling work. If you are a first time reader of this author, you don’t be disappointed

I am a big CL Taylor fan, but I found this book wasn't for me, I'm afraid. I found it hard to get into due to the large cast of characters and the many points of view, which seemed to keep me distanced from the story. I'm sure other people will love it, though, just not to my personal taste.

I'm a huge fan of C.L Taylor so I was so excited to read this. It did not disappoint one bit. The imagery of this book was phenomenal, I could envision the little island and the people. It's gripping, shocking and sooo addictive. I can tell why she called it Sleep, because you'll get none if you start this before bed! (Finished at 3am oops) 5*

C L Taylor’s books never disappoint. The setting for this one (mainly a hotel on the island of Rum) was intriguing and the characters and plot held my interest. It took a while to work out who was behind the murders and the eventual motive given was unusual. Well worth a read!

I was super excited to get a preview of C L Taylors new novel Sleep, after wishing for it.

This really is a dark, claustrophobic novel very much in the Agatha Christie genre.

Crippled with grief and shock after her involvement in a fatal Road Traffic Accident, Anna moves to the Scottish Island, Rum to work in a hotel. Seven strangers arrive for a walking holiday. All of them have secrets and one of them appears to want her dead.

This really is a who-done-it. The isolation of the strangers due to the extreme weather, and Anna’s lack of contact with the outside world adds the suffocating claustrophobia. I didn’t work out who the culprit was which is unusual for me, and the twist of the end left me feeling very uncomfortable.

Definitely recommend this.

Wowsers this was like a perfect game of Cluedo, who did it, where and with what? Imagine being trapped in a hotel cut off from the rest of the island in a storm and knowing one of the guests are trying to kill you,?? This is the position Anna finds herself in!!!! After a car accident where she was driving and two of her colleagues died and one left paralyzed for life after a team bonding weekend, she quits her job and takes another a job in a small hotel on an island off the Scottish Isles of Rum to get away from it all, has it followed her? Before she left someone had been leaving cryptic messages "Sleep", who and why? A relative of one of her colleagues who blames her?

With only 8 guests in the hotel and the Manager/Owner having passed away suddenly, its all left to Anna to run everything and keep everyone safe, but how can she when she doesn't feel safe herself, who is out to get her?

This was a gripping psychological thriller which I devoured in quick time, the twist shocked me to the core, not what I expected at all but I love when I'm not able to work it out.... Will be highly recommending this to my friends/family.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books UK for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.