"Sleep"

"Sleep"
Written by C.L. Taylor
Reviewed by Diana Iozzia

"Sleep" is a psychological thriller, that draws from the legendary Agatha Christie to create a well-plotted and thorough mystery. As I have read from Taylor before, I was eager to jump into this. One of my favorite types of thrillers consists of a small group of people in an isolated setting with the suspicion that one of the group members may have sinister intentions.

After a horrific car accident, Anna Willis is healing. She has found it incredibly hard to forgive herself for driving the car, although the accident was not entirely her fault. After breaking up with her boyfriend, Anna moves to a small island in Scotland, to work in an inn, which she will offer hospitality to tourists. The first weekend of the job, seven tourists come and fill up the inn, as an impending storm looms over the inn.

Anna and the owner, David, prepare for cozy indoor activities and fast walks before the storm hits. They meet the guests: Joe, Christina, Fiona, Trevor, and Malcolm, Melanie, and Katie of the Ward family. Some guests are more suspicious than others, and some are just flat out bizarre. The author, Taylor, creates a compelling and atmospheric setting, using strange characters as great tools to build the mystery.

Told in multiple perspectives, we also see the story through other characters' eyes. This appealing technique allows suspicion to be cast on other smaller characters, such as Mohammed, Alex, and Steve.

There are many great elements to this story that create a good book. However, there are some that did bring the book down a bit in my mind. I was first highly impressed with how Taylor creates a very realistic protagonist. Her main fear is not being forgiven, as well as the guilt that she holds from the accident. Additionally, there's a fantastically created red herring, with a brilliant pay-off. Lastly, I just did not enjoy the final reveal. The climax proved effective, but the true villain seemed a bit flat. I did enjoy the final motive and past of the villain, but I would have preferred a few more hints as the story progressed.

In conclusion, I rated this book at four stars out of five. I did enjoy this very well, but the small elements that I disliked did count enough for me to like it less. I absolutely recommend this to fans of Ruth Ware, who is my favorite claustrophobic setting modern writer.

I received an advance review edition of this novel, in exchange for reading and reviewing purposes. Thank you to Avon Harper Collins for the opportunity.