About Sleep by C. L. Taylor

All Anna wants is to be able to sleep. But crushing insomnia, terrifying night terrors and memories of that terrible night are making it impossible. If only she didn’t feel so guilty…

To escape her past, Anna takes a job at a hotel on the remote Scottish island of Rum, but when seven guests join her, what started as a retreat from the world turns into a deadly nightmare.

Each of the guests has a secret, but one of them is lying – about who they are and why they’re on the island. There’s a murderer staying in the Bay View hotel. And they’ve set their sights on Anna.

Seven strangers. Seven secrets. One deadly lie.

Someone’s going to sleep and never wake up…

My thoughts on Sleep by C. L. Taylor…

There is probably not much as atmospheric as a remote island off the coast of Scotland in the middle of a storm when it comes to the world of psychological thrillers. That’s definitely the case with Sleep by C. L. Taylor, which makes very good use of the surroundings to create tension and drive the story of a young woman trying to run away from her secrets forward.

In many ways, the setting reminded me of Agatha Christie. Not that I think she ever wrote a story that took place on Rum or anywhere similar. More in the idea of a group of people trapped with their lies and someone determined to make sure they get their comeuppance. It worked well for Christie and it works well for C. L. Taylor.

What didn’t perhaps work quite so well for me were some of the characters, who I felt were a little too stereotypical (but then again, I often feel that way about Christie, so maybe this was intentional?). I did like Anna, and I cared what happened to her but beyond that, I’m not so sure.

Saying that, it didn’t stop me reading this book pretty quickly – it really is a page-turner – meaning it comes with a recommendation to give it a go. Enjoy!

Emma x

Note: I received this book in return for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and feelings are my own.