About the Book:
IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT, MADNESS LIES . . .
Emma can’t sleep.
CHECK THE WINDOWS.
It’s been like this since her big 4-0 started getting closer.
LOCK THE DOORS.
Her mother stopped sleeping just before her own fortieth birthday.
She went mad and did the unthinkable because of it.
LOOK IN ON THE CHILDREN.
Is that what’s happening to Emma?
WHY CAN’T SHE SLEEP?
My Review
“Trauma is a time traveller, an ouroboros that reaches back and devours everything that came before.” – Junot Díaz
My first book by Sarah Pinbourough and I loved it! I would describe the tone as darkly sinister with a touch of paranormal.
Emma Bournett is a driven family law attorney who is extremely stressed about her approaching 40th birthday. Her own mother’s mental illness manifested itself when she turned 40, and Emma is fearful the same fate awaits her.
Emma also can’t sleep. Her insomnia is driving her to believe that her family is somehow out to get her, plotting and scheming behind her back. She seems to have good reason for her paranoia, but maybe she is just an unreliable narrator. As her paranoia increases, I felt the stress in the audiobook narrator’s voice and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next.
This is an intelligent, character-driven thriller and literally nothing was as straightforward as it first seemed. I also went back and listened to the Prologue after the shocking conclusion and it all made sense!
I first became aware of Sarah Pinborough’s books after watching the incredible series ‘Behind Her Eyes’. This book is just as complex as that story and just as surprising! Emma was not the most likable protagonist and yet I still was fully invested in the story. Was her sister really plotting behind her back? And was her husband really as good-natured as he seemed? This is also a terrific domestic drama, and I could not wait to see how the story would play out. I related to many of the issues of a working mother, the stress of a difficult job and the pressures of everyday family life. And I never saw that ending coming! If you like your thrillers on the dark side, then you’ll love ‘Insomnia’.
