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Emma Averall is a successful divorce attorney with a loving husband who manages the day-to-day lives of their family as the stay-at-home parent of their two wonderful children. Granted, her husband has been a bit standoff-ish lately as his resentments about not being the money earner have festered. And sure, her teenage daughter has become a closed-off shell of the bright, bubbly girl she used to know and her endearing five year old son has become worryingly withdrawn. But surely with a little time everything will sort itself out.
While I am not 100% satisfied with the reveal, it is more plausible than the plots of many of her previous thrillers. I disliked Emma’s blatant favoritism of her younger son and the gaslighting trope is becoming overused in thrillers. Once again, the epilogue is unnecessary. The next day while at work, Emma receives a call out of the blue from her older sister, Phoebe, with whom she is not close. Phoebe is only calling to let her know that their mother has been hospitalized and is not doing well. Emma reluctantly meets Phoebe at the hospital; as expected, Phoebe lays a huge guilt trip on her. All Emma can recall is that Mum is crazy, and everyone said she was just like her. This is the main reason she fears her 40th birthday; this was right around the time that Mum lost her mind.Overall, if you liked Behind Her Eyes then this one will appeal too. It’s well written, a bit different, fast paced with numerous plot twists and turns. The synopsis alone had me wanting to read this one ASAP! Unfortunately, I did feel like this book read a little bit long at times, and I truly felt like I was experiencing every single ounce of fatigue and anxiety as our protagonist! I knew that there was something more at work here than just the paranoia that accompanies insomnia, but I was conflicted in what exactly I thought could really be happening and I feel like this could have been less drawn out. OVERALL: Pinborough remains a cut above other suspense authors, and I will always read anything she puts out, no matter what the topic, because of her writing skill and her awesome plots and ideas. The execution of these ideas varies for me from book to book. This one did not end up being one of my favorites and the execution was not on the level of Behind Her Eyes for me (a book I loved until the very end - that divisive last twist!), but I am still glad I gave it a try.
INSOMNIA is the type of book that very fittingly will cause many sleepless nights and continues to prove that Sarah Pinborough is a multilayered, complex writer capable of excelling at many different genres." Also joining the cast are Dominic Tighe ( Suspicion) and Jade Harrison ( Wedding Season) who will play the Averill family’s close friends Julian and Michelle Simpson, whilst Lyndsey Marshal ( Inside Man) is Caroline, Emma’s friend and confidante. Robert Gilbert ( Killing Eve) is Faisal and Michelle Bonnard ( Unforgotten) is D.I Hildreth. As someone who has suffered from chronic Insomnia, I can say that going without sleep can truly make you feel like you are going crazy. The stress and anxiety that you feel from not being able to fall asleep at night and the state of exhaustion you feel all day is the absolute worst. Sarah Pinborough upped the ante and made an already terrible condition into something completely nightmarish. I’ve finally read my first Sarah Pinborough thriller, and it absolutely won’t be my last. INSOMNIA—available today in the US—is one of the most genuinely unsettling and utterly gripping psychological thrillers I’ve read in ages, and it’s sure to be one of my favorite books of 2022. In this twisty, paranoia-inducing tale, a woman anxiously awaits her 40th birthday—but not for the reason you might think. When Emma’s mother turned 40, she lost her mind…and now, as Emma’s own 40th birthday approaches, she begins to fear the very same thing might be happening to her. INSOMNIA is an “unreliable narrator” thriller done right—Pinborough expertly draws readers into Emma’s increasingly terrifying world, where no one and nothing can be trusted, not even Emma’s own mind. This book will keep you on your toes, never quite sure who to trust, and who might be hiding dark secrets. INSOMNIA is a story about what we inherit from our family, and the pieces of those inheritances that we wish we could escape. It’s also one of the most downright entertaining thrillers I’ve read in ages. Clear your schedule and—cheesy as it may be to say, it’s true—prepare to lose sleep over INSOMNIA. Tom Cullen ( The Gold) will play Emma’s loving husband Robert, whilst Smylie Bradwell ( Wisting) and India Fowler ( The Nevers) play Will and Chloe, Emma and Tom’s children. Leanne Best ( Bolan’s Shoes) joins the cast as Emma’s estranged sister Phoebe, who shows up in town without a word of warning, whilst Corinna Marlowe ( Hysteria) is Emma’s mother Patricia.Emma and Phoebe eventually get word that their mother has passed away. It happened right after Emma left her room, causing a lot of finger-pointing from Phoebe since there was obviously no love lost between Emma and Mum. But did enough resentment exist for Emma to kill her? Robert is now barely talking to Emma, and the sleep deprivation and crazy nightmares she’s experiencing are getting worse. It’s like she knows something bad is going to happen, specifically to her son, Will. But as Emma’s fortieth birthday approaches, her world begins to shift. Because thirty-five years ago her mother quite literally lost her mind on the cusp of her own fortieth birthday. Even worse, she had spent the first five years of Emma’s life warning her that she would lose hers as well. Now with the date looming, she finds herself unable to sleep and is plagued by terror drenched memories of her childhood. Is her greatest fear of following in her mother’s footsteps actually coming true?
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