Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the latest thriller by Kerry Wilkinson, with the audio narrated by Olivia Darnely - 4 stars!

Twenty-five years ago, Leah had a sleepover with 3 friends. By the time morning rolled around, Leah was the only one left. Now history appears to be repeating itself. Three boys decide to camp out near one of their homes; when morning dawns, they're gone.

This is the second book in this series, which I didn't realize, but it definitely works as a stand alone too. It's tense and as a parent, you can only imagine the heartbreak of both of these situations. This one had an open ending, so I'm definitely hoping there is another book in this series!

Really good story line and wasn't any issue that it was the second book in a series.
The characters were a similar age to me so I totally understood and followed everything that was happening.
A little twist at the end was also good.

Thank you to Bookouture for giving me this book to read and review. While I did receive this book free of charge, my review is honest and in my own words.

It was difficult when a small town tragically lost three teenage girls the night of a sleepover. One of the girls was left behind while the others vanished and were never seen again. Now twenty-five years later, the same town experiences a loss again. Three teenage boys go missing after a sleepover. Is this a coincidence, or two horrible yet unrelated events?

Leah, the girl left behind from the sleepover twenty-five years ago, finds herself in the middle of this investigation. She was called in as a friend although she had no relationship with anyone involved. While reading this story, I asked myself why several times. Why was Leah called in, why was Leah so closed off, and why was Leah so quick to get involved?

There are many plot twists in the story with moments of tension building and then fizzling out again. I thought I had the story figured out at one point, but I was wrong. There are points in the book that you question every character. Are they are friend or foe?

The author created a wonderful visual picture of the farm and the town in which the story takes place. I actually felt like I was there while reading. The characters were written with great detail although I found myself being unable to relate to them. I always felt something was “off” with both Leah and Jennifer . The “off” felt a bit sinister at times but it could have been that they were not very friendly and outwardly loving.

The story was very interesting and I would definitely recommend it to other readers. It’s a great book for a book club, as there is a lot to discuss.

I finished the book wishing I had definitive answers to one of the big events in the story. I don’t want to say too much and give anything away. I heard that there may be a third book so hopefully the answers I’m looking for are in there.

Happy reading!!

This book has so much mystery and suspense that it kept me turning the pages. As I read, I thought I had the mystery figured out and then I would read on and I was wrong :).



Thanks so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc. The opinions are my own.

I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘After The Sleepover’ written by Kerry Wilkinson in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Exactly twenty-five years after Leah Pearce’s three friends disappeared during a sleepover, the premiere of a film is being shown at the Community Centre documenting what happened during the disappearance and how the town has coped with the notoriety afterwards. It’s during this evening that three boys, Dylan, Alf and Mo, are having a sleepover in the field backing onto Dylan’s home. When his mother Jennifer goes out to the three tents and finds them empty she rings the police who start searching for the boys and when she asks if Leah will stay with her Leah agrees but it only brings back memories she’d rather not think about.

After reading ‘The Night Of The Sleepover’ I was keen to read the sequel ‘After The Sleepover’ and find out how life has treated Leah during the years since the disappearance of her friends. Although I thought it slow at times and there wasn’t much in the way of excitement, it did capture my imagination as I tried to work out what had happened to the boys and where they were. This isn’t once of the author’s best thrillers but I enjoyed it and as it’s book two of ‘The Sleepover Series’ I’ll be looking forward to reading book three.

Twenty-five years ago Leah Pearce had a sleepover with her three best friends. During the night the other three girls were taken and never found. In the previous book Leah found out the fate of her friends contemporaneous with the brother of one doing a documentary on the disappearances. Now on the night of the film’s premiere in their small town a group of three boys are having a camp out in the yard of one. The next morning the boys are missing. Jennifer, the mother of one of the boys was a schoolmate of Leah’s and she asks for Leah’s assistance, thinking Leah will understand.

The first “Sleepover” book must have been fairly popular, and it was a good thriller, as is this. There isn’t a huge amount of overlap between the two except, of course, with the character of Leah, but a reader could easily read this as a standalone. This didn’t break new ground in the genre or anything, but I liked it, and I really found Jennifer quite enjoyable to read about. Recommended.

As a sequel there was great expectation and anticipation boy was I not disappointed.. Although this is a sequel you dont need to have read the first one to enjoy this. The same thing has happened again and the syory focuses on that with interwoven links to tge past. Its full of twists and turns. The final act leads me to beluve there may be another instatelment. I loved the way the chatacter continued to evolve and the addition onf a new chatacter linked to the past but part of a new mystery. The mystery itself being solved at points felt like the police were just an escape goat to move tge story along. However once as acrrader you had more interactions with charlie you understood that it was just the character way .
This was a throughly enjoyable 5 start highly recommended read from start toi finish. Thank you netgallery and publisher and author for thus arc.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #Bookouture for the ARC #AfterTheSleepover by #KerryWilkinson. This second book in the series was just as good as the first. It was twisted and demented and the fact that the ending could happen is utterly devastating. But that’s what makes this book so dang good. Highly recommend this series and this author.

This is the 2nd book in this sleepover series. I really enjoyed the fast pace and twists in the first book so was looking forward to reading this one. Although I enjoyed it I felt it was a real slow burner and even though it was a shorter book it felt longer in places. I was disappointed I didn’t love it as much as the 1st one but I think the slower pace was the reason. Having said that I can’t wait for the next book.

★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)

Three teenagers disappeared...now it's happened again...

The follow-up to "The Night of the Sleepover" , I actually liked this one more. I'm not sure why. Maybe because there was more of a sense of closure at the end? Throughout this book I was thinking "4 stars"...and then, the ending. Ramped it up 4.5 stars rounded up to 5. Definitely worthy of it with that bombshell ending. While this is the second in the series, it can easily suffice as a standalone although you do get more backstory to the original mystery by reading the first book.

The story opens with a premiere screening of the documentary that was being made in the first book about the disappearance of the three teenage girls at a sleepover at which Leah attended when she was fifteen. She woke up the following morning and her friends' sleeping bags were empty; they had gone. And their disappearance has remained a mystery for twenty five years. The documentary didn't really rake up any new information, just rehashed old theories, introduced new ones and ended as ambiguously as it only could without the mystery ever being solved.

The following morning after the screening, Leah awakes to a couple of police officers on her doorstep. Three teenage boys have disappeared overnight and the mother of one of the boys was asking for her. Did Leah know her? She wasn't sure but apparently they were at school together. But school had such a vague recollection of memories mostly due to the fact three of her friends had vanished overnight and she was expected to carry on as normal despite no one knowing what had happened to them. Now it seems Jennifer Bailey wanted her at her side as the only other person to know what it feels like to be "left behind".

The mystery deepens as police continue to search Jennifer's farm. How can three teenagers disappear overnight? For it to happen in a small town not once but twice in its lifetime? It seems the town's WhatsApp group is full of theories and answers, all of them pointing fingers at someone or something. Questions are raised and allegations made. But does anyone really know what's happened?

As much as she doesn't want to be, Leah become embroiled in this latest mystery as Jennifer rants and figuratively cries on her shoulder. Suspicion falls on their weird neighbour who has threatened violence if her son Dylan, one of the missing boys, continues to trespass on his land. And when asked about Dylan's father, she reveals a not so nice picture of the absentee parent. But through it all, Leah listens and takes note. Before the end of the book she will have the mystery figured out...but at what cost?

AFTER THE SLEEPOVER is a slow burning mystery like the first one, it's startling difference being that jawdropping ending which I felt was a perfect touch. There are plenty of red herrings throughout to keep you guessing as to where this story will go. Will you figure it out as Leah does? Or will Kerry have you hoodwinked?

While this book does refer to Leah knowing what happened to her missing friends, that mystery is reserved for the first book and is not actually revealed in this one. And while you can read this one as a standalone, I don't think you will pick up on a lot of the nuances peppered throughout unless you have read the first one also.

None of the characters are really likeable, even Leah is pretty hard to connect with. I found her relationship with Ben a bit of a non-starter as it didn't really go anywhere in the story so I kind of felt what was the point?

As always, Kerry's trademark wit can be found throughout which had me chuckling at times. But the piece-de-resistance of this entire tale was the final pages. I cannot say enough how perfect that ending was.

I would like to thank #KerryWilkinson, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #AfterTheSleepover in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

After the Sleepover is the second in a series.

I really liked the first one with it's jaw dropping moments.

This one felt a little slower. Yes there were shocks in this one too, but it seemed to take forever to get there. I can't really say why it didn't grab me quite like the first one did. Maybe just the slower pace.

I liked the characters and was interested to see what would happen.

Thanks to netgalley and Bookouture for the arc.

I've read a couple of books by Kerry Wilkinson previously and enjoyed them, so I picked this one up because I recognized the author. This is the seond book in the Sleepover series and I had not read the first one, but it was easily read as a stand alone.

How three children can disappear at the same time seems strange, but for it to happen twice in the same town - almost unbelievable. This was told from the point of view of Leah who was with her three friends at a sleepover twenty-five years ago when it was her three friends who disappeared. Now she is pulled into the midst of the investigation when another three children disappar and one child with them did not. This time it's boys who were camping at the farm of one of their mothers. Red herrings abound in this mystery full of lies. A well written mystery for anyone who likes lots of twists and turns in a story.

Thanks to Bookouture through Netgalley for an advance copy.

Truly enjoying this Sleepover series! Kerry Wilkinson has a way of leaving mini cliffhangers at the end of most chapters that propel and compel you to keep reading. The first book seemed to end in a major cliffhanger, so I was very happy to read this one! Here's hoping there's a number 3!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

This was a bit of a letdown unfortunately. Very slow paced and it seemed everything was just revealed as Leah uncovered things and the ending felt incredibly rushed and anticlimactic. Only 250 pages but I feel like at the same time it was too long during the plot but then too short for the ending. 3.25 stars. If you like slow burners then this one is for you. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is quite intriguing. It keeps you guessing the whole way through and then when you do find out what you've been wondering, you want to know more. I felt a little bit frustrated that not all the puzzles were answered, I wanted to know more about what happened 25 years before but still, a good read.

Review After The Sleepover.
This is the follow on to night of the sleepover
25 years on....... Leah was at a sleepover when her friends disappeared, now 3 boys have disappeared after camping in the families field.. is this linked to what happened to leah and her friends all those years ago? Nobody knows what really happened that night, apart from one person. Jennifer was at school wit leah and her son is one of the boys that is missing , and knows what she went through., she asks for leah personally to be by her side, but does jennifer have an agenda and if so what is it? As i progressed through the book, i thought i had it sussed as to what had happened to find out i was nowhere near..... great read, edge of the seat stuff, i was engrossed to see what would happen next, definately recommend this book

Twenty-five years ago, Leah was a young girl at a sleepover. When she awoke, her three friends were missing. They were never found, and it’s haunted her for the past decades.

Leah is shaken when a former classmate’s teenage son, Dylan, and two friends go missing while sleeping out in tents in Dylan’s backyard. Leah has a son the same age, and comforts Dylan’s mother, Jennifer, as she deals with the agony of waiting. While Leah supports Jennifer, she also relives the anguish of the experience that has defined her for almost three decades.

There was a lot to enjoy in this twisty tale set in smalltown England. For me, however, the story slowed considerably in the middle, but then picked up at the end. When selecting this story, I did not know it was part of a series, and there were numerous mentions teased out about the resolved mystery from the kidnapping when Leah was a child, with no resolution by novel’s end. As a reader, I’m not fond of cliffhangers of this nature answered in previous or subsequent novels.

Despite that, it’s an enjoyable, slow burn psychological thriller. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy - all thoughts are my own.

Once again, Wilkinson has confirmed that they very much belong with the best of the thriller writers.

I wasn't sure how much I'd enjoy the book as I hate feeling like i've come in to the middle of a story (the three missing girls from 25 years ago), but I was pleasantly surprised. There's enough gradual exposition to not feel like you're in the dark, but still a satisfying enough reveal.

Stick with it if you're faltering at the end of the first 3rd or so, the slow burn and reveal is worth it (although perhaps a it slower than I'm used to!).

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for this eCopy to review

Having read The Night of the Sleepover I was very excited to read this follow on novel After the Sleepover. Whilst it is not necessary to read the first book it makes it easier to follow if you have done.

After the Sleepover was a gripping read, 3 boys go missing after a sleepover. Leah is summoned by one of the mothers, Jennifer to try and offer some comfort having gone through this experience herself. However, Leah is convinced that there is more to Jennifer and Dylan's story so she carries out her own investigation and uncovers a host of secrets and lies

A superb fast paced novel that had me guessing until the end

25 years after Leah’s three friends disappeared during a teenage sleepover, she is till the centre of town gossip after a documentary is premiered in her home town. The spotlight is shifted after three teen boys disappear while camping. Has there been a copycat killing or is there more to the story?

This is a fast paced thriller, in which people are not who they seem. I really enjoyed this one, there were definitely novel aspects to the plot, and I enjoyed the small town setting. I do wish I had read the first book in the series- you can definitely read this one as a standalone, but there are quite a few references to the initial crime form the first book and it’s never mentioned as to what actually happened (guess I will have to go back and read that one to find out!).

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the advance copy!

4 stars