Decent psychological thriller that never *quite* had me ‘all-in’. Follows a classic formal and delivers well on tension.

I wanted to read this the minute I read the description! Right up my alley! Intrigue, suspense and a big “WHO DID IT?!”. Great book, a really good read!

Anna is stuck in a hotel in a storm with a bunch of guests. One of them is a killer and she is next. Who is it? And why?


I really enjoyed this one! There was a lot of suspense, action, intrigue and mystery. They could absolutely make a movie out of it!

It didn’t totally blow me away, but it was a solidly good read!

I really enjoyed the characters, I didn’t have a CLUE who did it until the reveal. It was amazing how EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER could have done it, and you really had no solid evidence against one person in particular. Points for that. I usually can guess it, but NO IDEA.

Would I recommend Sleep?
Yes, absolutely! Any thriller or mystery fan should enjoy this one! Good fun!

Many thanks to the publisher via Netgalley for a copy of Sleep to read and review.

This book started out well. In London, Anna, our heroine, believes she is being stalked. No one else takes her seriously as it’s obvious, due to recent events which I won’t go into so I don’t spoil, she is having trouble sleeping and is suffering from PTSD. She escapes the hustle and bustle by moving to the tiny Scottish island of Rum where she gains a job in the local hotel. The remote location means Anna, her boss and the hotel guests are trapped when a storm hits, cutting them off from the rest of the island and the mainland.

Obviously, being a thriller, one of the guests is Anna’s stalker and they take advantage of the storm and the setting to escalate their crimes. In Agatha Christie-like fashion, all the guests have a secret and could possibly be the stalker.

I always love the inventive way writers come up with placing their characters in isolated, controlled environments. I’m not sure, however, I bought this one. Maybe it was the time Anna and the guests were isolated. I’d have to research Rum weather but it felt like it went on so long (7 days from memory) that the characters should have perhaps been less interested in Anna’s stalker and more focused on building an ark.

Unfortunately my biggest issue with the book though was that I didn’t like Anna. Her age was confusing. I'm sure she says she's only in her 20s and yet she was supposedly in a supervisory role in her previous job and the guests kept looking to her for guidance during the storm. I know if I was staying at the hotel, I would have started bossing her around and sorting things out for myself because I'm afraid I didn't get any evidence of her being competent. Her detecting skills were weak, at best. She rifled through the guests’ belongings and basically blurted out her suspicions to all and sundry, even to the point of accusing one guest who happened to be a 14 year old girl. Inappropriate much?

On a side note, again I’d have to do some research but is it truly possible that a 14 year old girl would receive no government help and be forced to leave school and become her mother’s full time carer in the UK? Surely not.

The mystery plot itself was clever enough but I don’t think Taylor’s style was completely perfect. The first person point of view of certain characters was weird and the info dump near the end was excruciatingly long.

Oh, and the romantic subplot was extremely odd and I didn’t know what to make of it really.

There were some good points though. The book has a fabulous twist about halfway through that I didn’t see coming at all, along with a few heart stopping jolts and exciting action scenes. It's also made me want to visit Rum. Sounds an interesting and unique place.

All in all this was an enjoyable read but I wouldn’t put it into my favourite books category. Still, I’ll probably give Taylor’s books another go.

3 out of 5

COVER LOVE! This book was a total cover love impulse read – just look at that spooky cabin in the mist. I knew I had to read it!

As for the cover’s promises of an atmospheric setting – yes, it totally delivers that! Set on the remote Scottish island of Rum (this is indeed a real place – I googled it and the pictures are amazing!), the story follows a more traditional “locked room” type mystery, with seven strangers trapped in a small hotel on the rugged island coast, cut off from civilisation by a terrible storm that rages around the house. As is the wont of mysteries, the visitors cannot just be run-of-the-mill middle-aged tourists who peacefully settle in front of the fire and play cards together to weather out the storm. No, of course there are some strange goings-on, and the possibility of a murderer amongst them, which has everyone on high alert. It doesn’t take long for all the dirty secrets come out in spectacular fashion and each character’s deepest darkest character flaws to be exposed.

Slater joins the line of authors I have read this year who have been trying to make their mark on this timeless theme. I must say that this setting was especially appealing to me, and I have put Rum on my travel list, murderous hikers notwithstanding. This island practically asked to be cast in this particular type of thriller!

What I am going to say now may reflect my general fatigue with mysteries and unusual twists at the moment, because some things worked for me, and others didn’t. Personally, I did not warm to Anna. It wasn’t for a lack of trying, because she has been through a truly horrible event, and I so wanted to reach out to her and feel her pain. That said, I thought the author did a great job in portraying her PTSD and guilt after the accident, so I’m not quite sure why she irritated me at times. In hindsight, none of the characters were particularly likeable, which is ok, given that each and every one of them is supposed to have the potential to be a vicious stalker. But oh boy, at times this read like a camp for the screwed up and dysfunctional! If the remote island really attracts bunches of those types of people, I may have to reconsider my travel plans.

When I reflect on novels that have really ratcheted up the tension, I find that mostly they didn’t rely on bunches of unlikeable characters doing crazy things and putting themselves in ridiculous situations. Rather, they relied on an undercurrent of menace so subtle that it snuck under the radar and quietly settled into my very soul, without even realising. Despite the implied danger to Anna, I never felt that sense of foreboding or menace here. It certainly didn’t keep me up at night, as the cover promised. I think the setting was a bit underused here, as it could have delivered all that and more all on its own! At times, the characters acted so crazily that I felt like getting out a prescription pad for a bunch of psych meds. And the ending just capped that feeling off for me – it was all just a bit too implausible for my liking, and some threads never fully came together for me.

As I said earlier, I am currently in a thriller reading slump, so take my words with a huge grain of salt. C.L. Taylor is a talented and popular author, who showcases her talent in creating this wonderful claustrophobic setting and has delivered a thriller that worked brilliantly for a majority of readers. If you like the genre, and enjoy a locked-room type mystery, than ignore me and definitely give this a go, knowing that a certain degree of suspension of disbelief is required.

If you’re reading this then I am no longer alive......
And so this how Sleep starts and as it continued it had me well and truely hooked.
Anna Willis is suffering survivors guilt, she was driving the car that was involved in an accident, of which two of her work colleagues were killed and another was extensively injuried. She wasn’t to blame as a truck driver had fallen asleep at the wheel and ran into then but that doesn’t help her guilt.
Soon Anna has suspicions that she is being stalked and with her long term relationship with boyfriend Alex failing she decides to take up a housekeeping position for a small hotel on the remote Scottish isle of Rum.

This is where the book became extremely atmospheric for me, I could imagine the isolation and weather as the story increased in pace as Anna suspects her stalker has followed her to the hotel.
I really liked Anna and I was kept on my toes wondering if Anna was imagining things, or if one of the seven hotel guests was really trying to harm her. This story certainly had me guessing right to the heart stopping end. A fast read.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to read.

There’s a certain irony in the fact that I’m writing this review at 3.20am because I can’t sleep, although fortunately not for the same reasons as this book’s protagonist! It’s certainly a suspenseful page-turner that’s worth tomorrow’s inevitable yawns...

Wracked with guilt over her role in the car crash that killed two of her colleagues and paralysed a third, and unsure if the creepy notes she’s finding are the work of a stalker or her own paranoia, Anna quits her job and her failing relationship and moves from London to work in an isolated hotel on the remote Scottish Island of Rum. When a walking tour group book in, she hopes the work will help resolve her insomnia, but then a fierce summer storm cuts them off from outside help, things start to go missing and a sudden death leaves her in charge of seven strangers who all seem to be keeping secrets, Anna doesn’t know who she can trust, when one of them seems determined that she should sleep - forever.

I had read and quite enjoyed one of this author’s earlier novels, (The Lie) but this was a far more accomplished psychological suspense/mystery that had me unsure what on earth was going on despite plenty of clues. I don’t like first person present narration but it worked well here, and the other third person scenes helped fill in the rest of the story. The writing is excellent, just enough descriptions to get a feel for the wild and beautiful island setting without distracting from the plot. I suspected each character in turn, as I was meant to, but didn’t guess the guilty party at all. Anna grew on me as a heroine with her courage and strong principles and I liked the ending. I will certainly be looking out for more from this author.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc which allowed me to give an honest review.
Sleep is available from today.

I enjoyed this book by UK author CL Taylor and ended up reading the entire thing in one sitting.

There were a few pacing issues for me, which seems to be something I'm mentioning a bit lately... perhaps it's me - the common denominator - becoming pedantic. Or forgetful. I should also mention I had an early electronic copy so it wasn't always clear when scenes finished and started. That aside though, it's an intriguing novel. Not scary as such, but readers are presented with a likeable lead character who we come to care about and whose life is at risk... so there's some suspense thrown in.

I really liked Anna. The book does alternate narrators, but it's Anna we spend the most time with, and engage with the most. She's a sympathetic character and devastated by her role in a car accident that resulted in the death of colleagues. She can't move on, hamstrung by guilt and fear that the father of one of the men killed is stalking her.

Anna is cleared of blame by the police and courts. It should be cut and dry with responsibility for the accident clearly allocated elsewhere, but the dead man's father wants revenge, not justice. He's not going to make it easy for we readers either, as it's not him we have to watch out for, instead he's hired someone to seek vengeance.

Hence the escape from her old life for the tiny island of Rum, with a population of 31, but a popular destination for tourists wanting to hike and commune with nature.

It's there we meet our potential killers.

I should mention the book opens with a 'if you are reading this I've been murdered' type letter from Anna. It confused me a little as we then flip backwards to the accident that changed her life and lead up to it. I initially assumed the 'retreat' she and her colleagues were returning from was the one she mentions in the opening letter. 

But - spoiler, but not quite a spoiler - it's an entirely different event and time. Completely separate from the life she lived before the accident. Anna's escaped her guilt and fear of being stalked by working at the small hotel on the remote island in Scotland. (But has she.....? #dumdum)

And we finally meet our suspects. Agatha Christie-style we're introduced to them one by one as they arrive at the hotel, and over coming days (as they're trapped by a storm) Anna becomes increasingly fearful. Anonymous messages about 'sleep' started appearing when she was still in London. She can't sleep though and isn't sure if she's being taunted, or if she's being threatened.

Of course the fact we've read the letter in the opening chapter means that something has happened and Taylor ekes out the 'what' (and the who) over the course of the book.

Like Agatha Christie, our limited suspect pool offers up an obvious guest or two. But, there may be some surprises afoot.

As a Christie fan I liked the way Taylor introduces the group and the secrets we slowly uncover about each. There's an obvious red herring and I think I would have preferred that 'reveal' to take place later in the book, though guess it builds tension re alternative motives and suspects.

I mentioned the timing in my opening paragraph. It may have been the early copy of the electronic version I had... but it seemed as if Anna arrived on the same day as the guests. The hotel owner David, drops her off and heads off to get other guests. But on their arrival she's familiar with the hotel and check-in system. And then, on what I thought was day two, the one and only neighbour comments on David singing her praises. She later mentions having been there 10 days (which would have been several days before the guests' arrival.) 

And then the transition between scenes was a bit odd. One minute Anna's in her bedroom, looking out the window after a shower clad only in her towel, and then someone's walking in the door. I waited for a comment about the inappropriateness, but was then obvious she's now in reception. Again this could be because the paragraphs in my version simply followed on from one to the other and didn't have obvious breaks between scenes. (Hopefully this isn't an issue in the final version.)

I have to admit I wasn't sure about the ultimate reveal. I'd thought Taylor was going in a different direction entirely (not the dead man's father but... well, I can't say, cos perhaps we're supposed to think what I thought!)

Although slightly disappointed in the end, I still enjoyed this enough to want to know who'd 'dunnit' so think it'll be popular with fans of mysteries and suspense.

3.5 stars

After the horrific accident which claimed two of her colleagues’ lives and severely injured another, Anna could find no peace. Blaming herself was easy, although everyone told her it wasn’t her fault. But when the break up with her boyfriend Alex occurred, Anna wasn’t surprised. In fact, she was relieved. She needed to get away; start again. Maybe she could find some peace of mind if she did.

The Scottish island of Rum seemed to be her answer – only 36 residents on the whole island and the local and only hotel needed a receptionist. Her application and acceptance made Anna happy – it was meant to be. But the arrival of seven guests, then a massive storm which completely isolated the hotel, leaving them without phone signal or internet was the beginning of a horrible nightmare that Anna thought she would never wake from. Who was trying to kill her? Who was threatening her with a permanent sleep?

Sleep by C.L. Taylor is a dark and intense psychological thriller with the heart-thumping scenarios coming in waves. Just when I felt I could take a breath, something else would happen. This is my first read by this author and I’m impressed. My guesses on who the perpetrator was kept changing – and changing! Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting psychological thriller, solid, yet not quite reaching the chilling heights it could have. Anna has taken up a position in a small hotel on the Scottish island of Rum, trying to deal with the aftermath of a fatal accident that she was involved in. She has seven guests in the hotel when the weather turns bad, and they are cut off from the rest of the world with no phone signal or WiFi, and the only way out, over a local river, is flooded.

Soon things start happening that shouldn't, guests possessions go missing, creepy messages appearing in the condensation of windows. Someone seems out to get Anna, and in the claustrophobic nature of a closed off hotel, with a bunch of guests she knows nothing about, she wonders if one of them is stalking her, trying to kill her because of her involvement in the accident.

I found Sleep to be enjoyable enough, probably not as creepy as the setting could have been made. Yes, you do have questions of all of the guests at one stage or other, yet they're such an obnoxious lot, you don't really care which of them might be the culprit. The characters didn't quite hit the mark for me, and I think the setting was underused. Still, it's a good one to curl up with on a rainy day.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"If you're reading this I am no longer alive. Someone has been stalking me for the last three months and, if I am dead, it wasn't an accident."

So starts a note written by Anna Willis for the police should she be found dead on the remote Scottish Island of Rum.

Anna was struggling to get back to a normal life after a serious car accident where some of her work colleagues were killed or seriously injured. Although it was not her fault that a truck ploughed into her car coming back from a work team bonding weekend, she feels very guilty and has trouble sleeping without nightmares. Someone has been leaving her messages and she is concerned that she is being stalked. She decides to escape to a new job as assistant manager of a small hotel on the isolated Scottish island of Rum. As she is still learning the ropes, a huge storm hits the island, cutting off their phone and wifi and flooding the roads so that she becomes trapped with a group of seven strangers there for a walking tour. All of them have issues or secrets of one sort or another and once again Anna feels someone is watching her with evil intent in mind.

This is a very atmospheric psychological thriller and a real page turner with many twists in the plot as eight dysfunctional people cope with cabin fever and Anna tries to find out who is trying to kill her. I did find the scope of problems experienced by all the hotel guests a bit extreme and was not totally convinced of the motive of the killer but I did enjoy the fast pace of the plot.

Sleep by CL Taylor is a creepy psychological thriller that keeps you guessing as to who and why the main character Anna is being stalked and threatened with harm.

When Anna survives a car accident that kills two of her fellow coworkers, she escapes to the small island of Rum, Scotland to work in the islands only hotel. When a group of travellers are stranded there during an intense storm, things quickly become dire and Anna and the guests become suspicious of each other and accidents begin to occur.

I liked this book and it was definitely an easy read. I enjoyed the obituaries scattered through the book that kept me trying to guess who was after Anna.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Avon, HarperCollins Australia and the author, C L Taylor, for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of Sleep in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I absolutely loved reading this book. I was hooked from the start. I thought it was well thought out and written with plenty of twists and intrigue. I have preordered my copy already.
Definitely worth a read.

I received an advanced reader copy of this novel via NetGalley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Anna is on the run. Not from the law, but from her own guilt. Following a tragic accident that leaves her feeling at fault, Anna can't help the feeling that someone is watching her, wanting to make her pay for her mistake. She escapes to a Scottish island to get some perspective and hopefully be rid of that unnerving feeling of being watched. Soon she realises that she can't escape her past, especially when it seems to have followed her...

This book was unlike I expected. While it wasn't mind blowing or one that I'll be raving about in the years to come, it was hard to put down. I loved the different character perspectives and the insight into the mystery. I never knew what was coming next and the last page absolutely made it worth the read. I love a fantastic ending that will leave me shocked.

After a devastating accident cominghome from work conference, Anna jut want to rest but someone is haunting her and her life is going seriously wrong.
She gives everything up and takes a job at a Hotel on an extremely remote island. But as the 7 guests arrive, they all seem to have secrets and Anna feels as if her tormenter has followed her to this isolated place, where there is no place to run.
Quite a good story, has you on the edge of your seat at rimes. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

I’d heard so many amazing things about this book so of course I wanted to dive in. I’m not sure if I’m in some kind of funk but I just can’t read thrillers right now. This one was written really well but I found I couldn’t connect to the story as much as I wanted to, and I found I kept getting distracted by reading.

This is no fault of the book’s. The story was solid and I’d be willing to read more of the author’s work once I’m not in as much of a reading funk.

‘If you’re reading this then I am no longer alive.’

‘Someone has been stalking me for the last three months and, if I am dead, it wasn’t an accident.’

Anna Willis was driving three members of her work team home after a team-building retreat when their car is hit by a truck. Two of Anna’s colleagues are killed, the third is badly injured. Anna herself has minor physical injuries but the psychological impact is enormous. Anna is haunted by guilt, by memories of that night, memories which are worse at night and make it nearly impossible for her to sleep. Anna also believes that she is being stalked. Her relationship with Alex, which was in trouble before the accident, fails completely. Anna takes a job at the Bay View Hotel on the remote Scottish island of Rum: perhaps this will enable her to put the past behind her.

Shortly after Anna takes up her new position, seven people arrived at the hotel. The seven of them are booked in for a walking tour. But a ferocious storm isolates the guests, one of whom Anna is convinced is trying to kill her. But which one? Each of the guests seems to have secrets but which one of them has murder on their mind?

The weather and isolation on the Isle of Rum heightened the psychological impact of this novel. I could well imagine Anna’s terror, compounded by her feelings of guilt and lack of sleep. And the ending? While I have some reservations, they did not stop me enjoying the novel. This is the first of Ms Taylor’s novels I’ve read, but it won’t be the last.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

*thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

2.5 stars.

I found this to be only slightly interesting. I kept thinking the story would pick up along the way and get better and better but it stayed the same level of enjoyment throughout. It held my attention just barely but I found it to be a bit too much of a struggle to get through. It wasnt a bad book its just my enjoyment level was low. I had higher hopes for it as the description of the story made it sound so good. Unfortunately it's not one I'll remember.

Thank you C.L Taylor and Netgalley for a copy of this title.
I have to say I have noticed this author many times and never got around to reading one of her books. Well I have definitely missed out on a great read.
I loved this book before I even finished it so it looks like I have a bit of catching up to do.
Thank you C.L Taylor for keeping me so engrossed in your imagination.