A mother about to turn 40, struggles with childhood memories and the recollection of her own mother at 40. Then she can’t sleep.

I didn’t enjoy I’m afraid. . It’s atmospheric, but, I had no empathy or interest in the lead character and I found the ending unbelievable and bizarre.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to preview - thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but, not for me.

What an incredible book! I was hooked from the start. It's incredibly tense and gripping and full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing.

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

Emma is on the cusp of her 40th birthday when the insomnia starts. Emma has been afraid of this happening since she was a young girl. She’s sure only bad things can come of it. She seems to have it all, a lovely home, a great career, a husband, and 2 children. But events start happening that strip everything away.

This was another great story from this author. As with her previous work, it was atmospheric and creepy, with a domestic thriller element thrown in. The characters were well written and, Emma especially, was really relatable. An excellent read and highly recommended.

I've read quite a few books lately that have been unique to me and unexpected. This is one of them. The only thing I knew was... Emma isn't mad. A book where the character is going mad, people are telling her she is mad and it turns out the plot is they were all right... it just wouldn't have felt "enough". Any other option was fair game.

There were a couple of times I thought, "Ha, I've sussed it!" And I did manage to. Literally, a chapter or two before the big reveal, once a couple of hints had been given.

I actually felt so saddened to see all of Emma's family turn against her. She was in an extremely vulnerable position and needed support and people onside. It's scary to see how you can go from having everything to nothing. I'd like to think if I hit a bad place mentally, my family wouldn't be so quick to turn on me. But this is where I have a small issue in the form of her daughter. I understood the son being scared of her and her husband wanting to protect the children... but her daughter had no redeeming qualities. She turned on her mum extremely easily and fit perfectly into the role of rebellious teen... but there wasn't anything I liked about her. I couldn't connect with her in any way and therefore had no sense of care when it came to her. I think she needed one or two positive traits added to her personality. Saying that, from this book, what I learnt was: the good ones aren't always good and the bad ones aren't always as they seem.

One thing is for sure, your perception of some of these characters will change the more you read on.

@currentlyreading__
Book 18 of 2022

Thank you to @netgalley, Harper Collins and the author @sarahpinboroughbooks for the ARC of 'Insomnia'. Being someone who can sleep anywhere (apart from a plane!) and very rarely having sleep related issues, the concept of someone suffering with insomnia really interested me. Our main character is Emma who is quickly approaching her fortieth birthday. Instead of the usual festivities and celebrations, Emma is dreading this milestone birthday due to her own mother's mental breakdown when she turned forty which resulted in Emma and her older sister Phoebe being placed into care. Emma, usually so together and in control of life spirals out of all control, finding sleep elusive and despite taking sleep meds, finds herself wandering the house in the small hours, sitting in the cupboard under the stairs whilst nursing a camomile tea and repeating random numbers as some sort of puzzling mantra. This, along with the strange behaviour of her son, her suspicions about her sister's recent involvement in her life and her mother nearing the end of her life, Emma is falling apart.

I love @sarahpinboroughbooks writing. The writing is sparse but evocative and she really gets to the pith of painting a disintegrating and dysfunctional family. As the unreliable narrator, I won't be alone in saying that I had no idea which direction this book was going to say as I didn't know who or what to believe. But, as always with Pinborough, all ends are neatly tied up but each completely unexpected. Twists and turns galore and even though I claimed to rarely have sleep issues, I woke with two nightmares whilst reading this, such was the subject matter obviously playing on my mind! All is forgiven though - it was a great read and one I'll be sure to recommend.

#bookstagram #bibliophile #bookworm #book #booknerd #bookstagrammer #kindle #instabook #reader #bookobsessed #instareads #currentlyreading #bookchat #bookish #books #sarahpinborough #insomnia

Another clever, complex and twisty psychological thriller from the author of Behind Her Eyes, you'll probably have high expectations for this one and be eager for another mind-bending thriller that will leave you shocked. And for me, Insomnia definitely didn't disappoint.

Pinborough's writing is so transfixing as you rapidly fall through this chilling and ethereal story about the loss of self-control. As you get a really powerful perception of Emma's insomnia and paranoia, it feels like you're reading through a fuzz, suspicious of what's going on and feeling the presence of a sinister figure watching you from the darkness.

Although you are, admittedly, waiting for the expected twist to come, the journey there has you absolutely gripped as you become desperate for Emma to keep it together and get her family onside. I had many theories, but no idea of what was going on and I loved every minute of it.

I was slightly worried that I wouldn't completely understand the answers, but Pinborough brilliantly explains everything in the final few chapters, giving readers a clear understanding of how everything was possible (or as possible as it can be) while still leaving you in a complete sense of bamboozled awe.

If you like authors who take risks and thrillers with original twists with a nod to the supernatural, you definitely need to read this one this year.

slow burner but brilliant way to build the tension. I enjoyed the plot of this book but felt the ending let it down. I guessed very early on what I thought may happen in the end. I think reading he authors first book gave me high expectation and while I still enjoyed this book I preferred the other.

Two and a half stars rounded up to three.

I didnt really get on with this one overall. The story of a woman suffering from Insomnia approaching her 40th birthday with a disturbing family past, she is the typical unreliable narrator as we try to figure out whats real and what isnt.
Her lack of sleep also leads to periods of black outs in her memory and she is unsure whether or not she is responsible for crimes committed to her family.

The spiel for this sounded really interesting but the execution and story I found poor overall, albeit with sparkles of real tension and excitement.

The first half of the book is extremely slow and repetitive and its hard to connect with any of the characters. They are a bit of a chore to spend time with.

The big reveal towards the end I saw coming a mile off and it really jumps the shark as it veers towards scifi with a bizzare almost tacked on theme to explain things.

I did consider giving this 2 stars as I didnt really enjoy the book overall and found it extremely frustrating but when my interest was waning I would turn to a new chapter and be drawn back in so 3 stars I think is fair.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC through Netgalley.

Sometime you read a book and it makes you wonder what the author is like, what goes on in their head, how do they think. This is one of those books. I'd love a peek inside the mind of Sarah Pinborough, I don't think I'd stay in there long though!
Usually when I read a thriller I'm looking for a high body count and for it to be action packed. I've stopped reading domestic thrillers as I didn't find them at all thrilling. This is the exception.
I was completely drawn into this from the start, I was really invested in Emma. She's an unreliable narrator, you have no idea what is actually happening and what she is doing, or not doing. You see her rapidly descending into madness as she approaches her 40th birthday.
I loved that I'm reading this and I had absolutely no clue where it was going to go. You're reading thinking there's no bad guy to catch, there's no love interest to get together with, how is it going to draw to a conclusion. I was still feeling like this up until 3/4 of the way through, I thoroughly enjoyed it but had no clue how it could be closed off. And then you get to the final 1/4 of the book and things are drawn together and start to make sense.
A very clever, twisty, thriller

On the surface, Insomnia is a tightly plotted, attention holding domestic noir focused on our protagonist and narrator, Emma Bournett, as she navigates the week leading up to her fortieth birthday. Stressful enough for a good few people (a lot of us have been than and passed that ...) but even more so for Emma who is well aware that this is the age that her mother started to show worrying mental health issues, issues that she always predicted that Emma would inherit. Cue inexplicable and inescapable insomnia, a whole host of events which Emma cannot pin down or explain, and an increasingly fractious situation at home and at work, and we are drawn into a twisted and tense world which grabbed my attention from the beginning and just didn't let go. Right from the beginning, That is one heck of a prologue, a shocking and dramatic opener which comes out of nowhere and seems almost unconnected to the main story. But this is a Sarah Pinborough book. Nothing is going to be straightforward. Just how I like it.

If there is something that the author excels at, aside from catching readers unaware, it is creating complex and multi-faceted characters who we both like and dislike at the same time. This was very much the case with Emma. I had sympathy for her situation, an already testing milestone which is complicated exponentially by her family history. Heck, even by her present family situation to be fair with a teenage daughter who is growing much faster than Emma would like, a son who is showing very worrying behaviour and a husband who is going through his own mid-life crisis. I didn't always like Emma, but in many ways I could relate to her and even at her coldest moments, she wasn't dark enough for me to give up on her. And I was intrigued and completely invested. I wanted to know if she was to befall the same fate as her mother, or if there was something, or someone, darker in play.

This is a wonderful examination of the family dynamic, with Emma's sister returning from Spain after a long absence, her presence increasing the pressure and the tension throughout. There is so much in what goes on that I think. a lot of people would relate to in their own family lives, extended or otherwise, the jealousies and complications of a family drifting apart, and Sarah Pinborough has rendered them perfectly on the page. But she has also infused the story with a really intense sense of fear and an almost claustrophobic sense of the world closing in on Emma which just had me reading faster and faster. That increasing paranoia being driven by the lack of sleep and the overwhelming exhaustion, tainted by that feeling that Emma needs a lot more help than can be gain from prescription sleeping tablets. All the little clues being drip fed throughout the narrative, that even though I spotted them, still sent me off in the completely wrong direction. It's fair to say that Emma might not be the only person in need of a damned good therapist ...

Sarah Pinborough is the queen of the twist, and this book did not disappoint. The truth of what is happening is kept until the critical moment and it is both surprising and yet fitting and left me with a smile on my face. It may not be an ending that will satisfy everyone - and the author has form for polarising finales - but it worked for me. Even without it this is a completely compelling read, a dark psychological thriller in which you can never quite settle down ot trust anyone or anything you see on page. But I didn't pick up the book for a taste of the traditional. I came looking for something a little different, and I was delivered that and more. If you like the author's unique style if twists, you are going to really like this book.

I've really enjoyed Sarah Pinboroughs books and this one is no exception. Just like the book is called you might get a bit of book insomnia if you read this at night time. Meaning that you won't want to put it down and man where did that ending come from.

"Insomnia" by Sarah Pinborough is a fast-paced mystery thriller where we follow our main protagonist Emma, who is afraid of turning 40 and suffering the same fate her mum did.

Starting with the positives, I have to say this novel got my attention from the first page. Having an unreliable narrator suffering from insomnia and fearing going mad worked really well. It created a lot of questions that were solved throughout the story. It never felt boring or repetitive.
Even though the cast is quite small, every character played a very interesting role. There were 2 or 3 very minor characters just used as a plot device but the main ones were nicely fleshed out and their actions made sense inside this particular story.

As she has done in previous books, the author throws a bit of a twist at the end to complete the story. This kind of twist won't be everyone's cup of tea. I didn't mind it, even if I would have preferred other ways to finish the story. But I can understand some people being put off by it.
However, for me, the story worked really well as a whole and I just loved reading this novel. Once I reached 70% of the book, I couldn't put it down. And that's the first thing I want from this genre, to be invested in the story and the characters. To care for them.

I would highly recommend this book.

Having loved Behind Her Eyes, I was intrigued by this one! I found it almost as good, it's incredibly well written, full of unease and strangeness.....a perfect ending! Well worth picking up :)

Having enjoyed Behind her Eyes I was pleased that I had been selected by Netgalley and Harper Collins UK to read this advanced copy.
Unfortunately I think my expectations were a little high. Whilst I enjoyed the book I found myself wanting to sleep due to Emma's insomnia and behaviour. However I did also feel sorry for her due to her husband Robert who seemed to have a chip on his shoulder that Emma was the breadwinner to the point that she was also the person who would do chores after a 12 hour day.
I felt much of the book could have been condensed into a novella as there was quite a lot of repetition but then the ending felt rather rushed. I guessed the perpetrator early on but not the reasoning why. For this reason I'm boosting my review from a 2.5 to 3 stars.
Sadly this book wasn't for me but I will check out more of Sarah's books.

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the story of Emma. Emma is approaching her 40th birthday which she is not looking forward to because on her own mother’s 40th there was a horrific incident that affected Emma and her sister resulting in Emma and her sister being put into care and her mother entering an institution. Now Emma cannot sleep and strange things start happening which Emma can’t fully explain which was exactly how her mother started. Emma fears that she is going down the same path and is powerless to stop it.

As an insomniac myself I was really interested to read about the subject and see if I could relate. Overall yes I could. That overwhelming desire to get some sleep but the harder you try the harder it becomes. I think the author really captured the frustration of the situation and feeling out of control.

There is the mystery of what her mother actually did which actually worried me because I am a very sensitive person and a lot of subjects I just can’t read about. Thankfully it was not something that I am personally sensitive to.

I really enjoyed the unravelling of Emma’s life and not knowing whether it was of her own doing, if she was going down the same path as her mother or if someone else was behind it.

I really enjoyed the book overall and would say out of the three or four books I have read by this author this is definitely my favourite

An insanely addictive thriller that actually causes insomnia!

I lost an entire nights sleep reading this book but I literally couldn’t put it down and make myself stop reading it is such a gripping, addictive narrative. The writing is flawless as is the characters and a strong female protagonist who instantly pulls you into her world.

Set in the days leading up to Emma’s 40th birthday it all comes to a mind bending, explosive conclusion.

As a child, Emma’s mother spiralled into madness just before her 40th birthday and on the day of her birthday her mother snapped and the madness fully consumed her. Ever since Emma has been living in fear of history repeating itself and that she will end up just like her mother.

As the big 4 0 draws ever closer, insomnia kicks in leading Emma down a dark, lonely road and with it, her behaviour begins to change. How long was it before her mothers 40th did she stop sleeping? Is this how her mother felt? Is she fated to end as her mother did?

What is actually happening to Emma, is it as her mother warned, the second child’s curse of insanity or is everything that’s happening down to paranoia brought on through lack of sleep? How long can a person go without sleep before they start to lose their mind?

This book is fast paced that gets its hooks into you and won’t let you sleep until you reach the implosive end. A truly must read for fans of thrillers and psychological suspense.

Reading the acknowledgements at the end of the book it mentions that this is going to become a tv series so that is something I will definitely be keeping an eye out for. If they stay true to the book then tv series will be a huge binge worthy one to watch!

As someone who finds it incredibly easy to sleep anywhere and everywhere, I have a worry that one day I’m going to find out I have used up all of my sleep and end up with insomnia! Therefore, Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough seemed like the perfect, unsettling read for me.

We meet main character Emma who is worried about turning 40, as that’s the age her mother was when she stopped sleeping and started having mental health issues. We watch as Emma starts to battle with insomnia and deal with her life unravelling around her in the week leading up to her birthday. I enjoyed the unreliable narration of the novel, with events being missed out from Emma’s perspective and being revealed later on. This really kept the reader on the back-foot at all times, unsure what was real and unable to fully trust our narrator. Emma isn’t the most likeable of characters though, keeping a lot of memories private and making some really silly decisions.

Although there’s a lot of twists and reveals through the book, I did feel that it got a bit repetitive in places. There’s a lot of night-time chapters where the same unnerving things happen to Emma which I think could have been edited down. I like the progression of the story though and the stakes are kept high throughout. I didn’t have any sympathy for the rest of the family– I would have liked to think that if my husband noticed any worrying change of behaviours, particularly insomnia that he would talk to me about it with compassion, unlike Robert who just seemed to accuse Emma of things without any love or care. I think a lot of the issues in the book could have been made 100 times better with some basic communication between the characters which stretched my suspension of disbelief a little.

The end twist was a good one and although I had guessed who the person responsible was, I hadn’t really been able to work out how they slotted into the story. Although it seemed a little convenient, it was a good idea and made for a satisfying reveal. I’m finding it hard to read about books that make mental health their punchline twist or main storyline at the moment as it seems a little dated for the 2022 climate. However, adding an almost supernatural element to the story helped to not make the story as controversial as it could have been. This does however, leave the reader with more questions than answers by the end.

Overall, Insomnia is an unsettling and chilling psychological thriller with a supernatural twist. Thank you to NetGalley & HarperCollins UK – Harper Fiction for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Quite a slow burn but definitely built up the tension and I was intrigued to see where the story was going. Short chapters and an easy book to binge read. I did like the unreliable narrator theme and the use of insomnia to make us question what was real. Slightly disappointed by the ending.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a cracking read. This is a brilliant psychological thriller. Honestly, any book that can make you feel as paranoid and stressed as the narrator is onto a winner! The author really knows how to create an atmosphere of tension, and create a story where you really don’t know who or what to believe. And best of all was the ending, I knew there were would be a brilliant ending but I really didn’t see this one coming.

My thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for a copy of “ Insomnia” for an honest review.

As with Sarah Pinborough’s previous books, this was a tense and engrossing read that kept you guessing right to the end.
Was the insomnia , that Emma developed leading up to her 40th birthday , along with repetitions of worrying behaviour a sign she had inherited her mother’s insanity ?
I felt you had to suspend your belief with the ending ,but on the whole I really enjoyed this book.