Sleep by C L Taylor tapped in to a well worn story line of apparent strangers cut off from the world and among them there's a murderer.
Anna, or Jonah as I prefer to think of her, attracts bad luck like wasps to a jam pot. She is involved in a car crash where as the driver, she escapes without serious injury but two passengers are killed and a third is severely injured. Anna's life falls apart on the news of the deaths, blaming herself even though a lorry driver was prosecuted over it. She cuts and runs to the island of Rum to start a new life in hospitality. This is where the main drama starts, starting with the death of her hotelier boss and then a storm of biblical ferocity which cuts the hotel off.
There are a few issues with the story. Would anyone continue in their role when their sole employer died? Who complained to the hospital over the passing of confidential information? Finally, the closing cliff hanger with the letter to Katie.......I felt it was an add-on that might work but didn't.

C.L Taylor is an absolutely brilliant writer who can create a claustrophobic and unsettling story that will make you second guess everything right up until the end. The characters were sympathetic and well written and i loved the twists and turns. I've read every book Cally has written and i've never been let down.

Anna is lucky to escape wth her life from a horrific car accident caused by an articulated lorry ploughing in to her vehicle. Her colleagues were not so lucky, two died and one was paralysed.
She cannot help but blame herself and is tortured by the event. To try and escape she decides to leave her old life behind and accepts a job on the remote island of Rum. She has received some odd notes and is disturbed by them, she’s convinced she’s being stalked.
Once on Rum events begin to spiral, it is far from the quiet escape she was anticipating. A walking group check in at the hotel where she is working, but is anyone really who they seem? Is someone targeting Anna and blaming her for past events? Has someone followed her to Rum?
The air of mystery kept me engaged, an easy and entertaining read.

Nail-biting, hugely entertaining and disturbing. Accusations and paranoia seep from every page. The remoteness of Rum (island off Scotland), the Agatha Christlie claustophobic setting (one of the walking group is a killer) makes this thrilling to read. Anna’s gulit over her colleagues deaths shadows her from London to Scotland. It’s a shadow which lengthens and deepens as the weather turns for the worst cutting the group and the hotel off from the rest of the world. It’s not just who the killer id which hangs over this story but their disturbing actions and motivation too. You may not sleep very well yourself if you read this in a hotel on a remote island!

Really thankful for my opportunity to read this book. I'm a huge fan of C.L. Taylor, so I was excited to get stuck in.
As always, this author weaves a perfect thriller, and this one is particularly spooky and dark.
I enjoyed the characters, and as always each POV character had a distinct voice.
A great read overall.

Another great book by this author. Kept me guessing right up to the end. I really enjoyed the different points of view between the chapters. A few niggling annoying things but generally a very good read. 3 stars

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. From start to finish it had me wanting more. Absolutely brilliant writing, brilliant storyline and great characters. I thought I knew who done it, but was wrong. The twists where brilliant. The best book I’ve read in a while. It’s one of those books that stays with you for a long time after you finish it. Definitely recommend 5stars

Didn't really connect with this book which is a real shame as i have enjoyed this author previously. It seemed so far fetched at times and utterly unbelievable which spoiled my enjoyment of reading it.

Had to dnf at 57% unfortunately. I couldn’t connect with the story or the characters as it had a very similar feel/plot to a book I’ve previously read. Such a shame as I loved all her previous novels but this one wasn’t my cup of tea as I like to be on my toes with a story and it wasn’t blowing me away.

Another high quality psychological thriller by one of my favourite authors C.L. Taylor. I find her writing instantly entertaining and so difficult to put down once you start reading the opening page. This one was no different and shortly after starting reading it I was already re-planning my day in order to finish it, so you are warned.
The lead character, Anna is involved in a road accident and three of her work colleagues are left dead or seriously injured. Anna was driving and feels responsible and following her release from hospital decides that she needs to make a clean break in her life, heading for pastures new. She breaks from her boyfriend and takes a position in a hotel on the small Scottish island of Rum.
Anna felt that she was being stalked before she left for Scotland and she has an unnerving feeling that someone is out to harm her. Shortly after starting her new job, seven guests book in and each of them 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.
Excellent psychological thriller guaranteed to thrill.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Avon Books for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I was really pleased to be given an advanced copy of this to review - especially as I have really enjoyed C L Taylor’s previous books. This however did not excite me as much as her previous books! It was claustrophobic at times and there were some spooky twists, but it was so far fetched it was laughable at times! Strangely it had a really familiar edge to it - like I had read/watched something similar previously - and then I realised - it is kind of similar to any cabin/hotel/cut off from the outside world horror film I have ever seen! How unlucky could 9 people be? No heating/no food/rotten corpses/flooding/no WiFi/multiple psychos/accidents/no electricity .... I think I would have taken my chance with walking! All in all it was readable, sinister and spooky at times - but not the best I have read, by far.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the ARC.
This is a book I really couldn't put down. Anna opens the story by actually telling the reader that if you're reading this, then she must be dead - OK, better keep going then! A motorway accident she feels is her fault leads her to change her city life for the reception desk of a remote Scottish hotel. (There are several other intervening factors in that decision which would spoil things were I to write of them.) The story is well-written with good characterisation, and unfolds through the point of view of Anna herself and mainly the people involved in, and on the periphery of, the accident. But meanwhile she has greeted 7 guests of a walking tour to the hotel, where we begin to learn of, or guess at, their backgrounds. Unfortunately Anna begins to believe, through various happenings, that one of them has malicious intent - but which one?
Pure Agatha Christie - a tried and tested formula of mystery and intrigue, however, the author's excellent writing thoroughly conveys the menacing atmosphere, the fear, and horror of the situation. Miss-direction and twists abound, but I certainly didn't see that ending coming!

I have read all of C L Taylor’s previous books and love the author. This was just as good as the others. ‘Sleep’ Follows Anna after she was the driver in a serious accident, which killed two work colleagues and injured another. She blames herself even though the other driver was convicted and jailed for falling asleep at the wheel.

Her recovery is difficult and leads to her leaving her life behind and moving away to a remote Scottish Island. There are numerous twists and turns and although I never really warmed to Anna I found the whole story clever and intriguing.

Following her and realising how different people react and all the intensity towards the finale was excellently portrayed and I liked the ending.

Excellent Read. Recommended.

Following a serious accident, Anna is plagued by guilt and decides to escape by taking a job in a hotel on a remote Scottish island. As a number of guests arrive at the hotel for their walking holiday, a storm strikes and the guest house becomes cut off from the outside world. It becomes clear that some of the people have secrets to hide and that Anna is not as safe in her chosen retreat as she thought.

There were some good aspects to this, especially the sense of claustrophobia and some really tense moments. However, I thought that some of the plot twists were a bit unbelievable and some of the red herrings a bit obvious. It was engaging and kept me reading, but I don't think it is one that is very memorable. I didn't really like Anna that much, so it was quite difficult to be that invested in the outcome.

Overall, a lively and entertaining read, but not as twisty and clever as I had hoped.

I found this book gripping from the very beginning. I had a very slight problem with the very first paragraph in that it’s alnost the same as another book but apart from that I really enjoyed it. I must remember not to go to the Isle of Rum for a holiday!

Anna is in a terrible accident and The repercussions are her relationship fail, her health suffers and mentally she is exhausted. She moves to a remote Scottish island to start a new job in a small hotel but soon it’s obvious she is being stalked and someone wants to kill her.

I loved this, the small number of characters means it’s easy to establish who everyone is and how they are interlinked. Can’t wait for my book club to enjoy this at release date. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I was delighted to get sent an early copy of Sleep and I was not disappointed. I loved all the twists and turns and the ending was unexpected. It’s a dark, intriguing thriller set on a remote Scottish island. The plot was a little far fetched at stages but enjoyable nonetheless.
If you’ve liked CL Taylor’s previous books, you’ll definitely enjoy this one too.

Thoroughly enjoyed this latest book by CL Taylor.

It had so many twists & turns & kept me enthralled throughout.

In some ways it reminded me of an Agatha Christie setting - isolated from the mainland, people dying, all characters could well be suspects.

So looking forward to the next adventure from this author.

C L Taylor is one of my favourite authors however I wouldn’t consider this book to be one of her best.

As ever there was a great plot with twists that caught me off guard; but, I wasn’t too taken with the characters and as a result I wasn’t invested in the outcome.

3.5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley, C L Taylor and Avon Books for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was delighted to get an early copy of Sleep and I wasn’t disappointed
Anna is the driver of a car, that kills two of her work colleagues and seriously injures another. She blames herself for what happened. The guilt makes her leaves her job. Her boyfriend is not supportive and they end up splitting up. So she decides to leave everything that is similar to her and she takes a job at a small hotel on the remote Scottish Isle of Rum. This change of career is not only a fresh start but, to help her forget what happened that fatal night. Seven guests arrive at the hotel and also the worse weather, the Island has seen for a long time. Each of them a different character. When Anna thinks someone is stalking her. She thinks it’s one of the guests.
This is another excellent un-put-down able novel from Callie Taylor. Her novels always captivate the reader, and keeps you guessing right up to the end. This was well written, I loved the descriptions of the remoteness of the island of Rum and the atmosphere. The island so small that there was nowhere to run.

Thank you Avon Books and Netgalley for a co