Insomnia

Author Sarah Pinborough from Behind Her Eyes has a new twisted psychological thriller in Insomnia. Emma can’t sleep. She tries and tries, but as she approaches her 40th birthday, she wakes up at 1:13 am and can’t get back to sleep.

How long can someone go without sleep, she wonders? Why is she suddenly developing obsessive tendencies, checking and rechecking the locks, standing with her hand against the window, and losing time?

To make matters worse, Emma’s mother went insane just before her own 40th birthday and tried to smother Emma’s sister Phoebe. She has spent the last few decades locked up in an asylum and was recently admitted to a hospital for trying to kill herself. It doesn’t help that Emma’s mother always told Emma she would go crazy and that it runs in the family.

Emma has always wanted to keep her tortured past from her current life. She has a great job, a wonderful family, and everything has been working perfectly until just a few nights ago. As her insomnia deepens, Emma begins to wonder where the line is drawn between dreams and reality. As she feels herself slowly slipping into madness, she grasps at everything she can to keep her sane.

I am a huge fan of Pinborough’s Behind Her Eyes and think she is the master of utilizing psychological components to change a reader’s point of view. She is a fantastic writer and uses the slow build paired with a gradual release of information to really wow the reader. I loved the plot of this story and felt an overwhelming sense of dread as I read the book. Everything culminates in a heart pounding climax that will leave you wondering what just happened and want to immediately go back and read the book again.

Thank you to William Morrow Publishing and Sarah Pinborough for my ARC of this book. Opinions are my own. Insomnia comes out on April 12, 2022.