While You Slept by R. J. Parker is one of those stories that you don't want to put down. Edge of you seat moments leave your heart pounding. Looking forward to reading more by this author. I want to thank One More Chapter and Net Galley for an early copy to review.

Lily and her five year old daughter Maisie finds themselves trapped in a living nightmare when they wake up one morning and discover that they are trapped in a building that is a exact replica of their own home,right down to a replica of their ginger cat.

Why are they being held captive and by whom?.Was there any connection between the situation they have found themselves in and the mysterious man who had been standing in Lily's garden wearing a mask of Maisies's face the previous afternoon?. Lily's ex Ewan might hate her but surely he wouldn't subject his beloved daughter to so much anguish and terror?

When the truth is eventually revealed, it is even more shocking than Lily and the reader could ever have imagined.

This gripping, fast paced thriller hits the ground running from the very first page and rockets along at full speed until the final jaw dropping sentence..It is the chilling story of a mother's battle to protect her young daughter,whilst trying to figure out a way to escape and convince their captors that they were obeying their instructions. Lily and Maisie were believable characters, Lily with her realistic mood swings, her fear for her daughter's safety and her own fear and confusion. Maisie was a typical five year old, fearless, feisty, disobedient but she was also very intuitive and clever beyond her years. They were both likeable characters but there was one aspect to Lily's character that I struggled to understand especially considering the situation they have found themselves trapped in.

Wow...just wow and wow again, I really really loved this utterly brilliant, well written,enthralling, thrill ride, in fact I loved it so much that I read it in one sitting. It was packed full of action, shocks, twists and turns and had me completely hooked in from the first page and frantically turning the pages. I would love to watch a film adaptation of this outstanding book, I think it's worth far more than five stars and is very very highly recommended.

While You Slept has one of the most unique premises I have come across in a thriller in quite a long time. A woman named Lily is at work one day when she gets a mobile alert from her at-home security system. When she checks, she is horrified to find a hooded man wearing mask of her daughter's face. The next morning, she and her daughter wake up to find themselves in an exact replica of their home, the mask man from the previous day as their captor.

I was rooting for this book. I kept hoping it would improve as I continued to read. Unfortunately, the flaws do not outweigh its uniqueness. The syntax and dialogue were just a bit off. I felt like characters (particularly the daughter, Maisie) were saying things and speaking in ways that did not sound normal. The word choice frequently didn't make sense for the conversation. The twist at the end while good, didn't flow. It came out of left field. As a thriller lover, I enjoy being able to pick out the easter eggs throughout the book that lead to the twist. Unfortunately, I didn't find that in this.

Overall, While You Slept had amazing potential and R.J. Parker came up with some interesting ideas. It was almost there, but didn't quite make it this time. I look forward to seeing what else Parker writes in the future.

Imagine having a stalker show up at your door while you are at work, in a mask with your 5 year old daughter's face. You call the police and they promise to keep an eye on your family and your house overnight, but you wake up the next morning in your own personal prison, which is an exact replica of your house, down to the books you own and the pictures on the wall. There are no good explanations, just a kidnapper that has complete control of your life, and they want you to pretend this is perfectly normal.

Welcome to the reality of Lily and Maisie Russell as they fight for understanding and their lives.
I enjoyed most, but not all of this book. Lily's ex Ewan would have been the obvious choice for the kidnapper, but it was far more sinister once you found out the who and why. I do not recall any mention of a deceased relative, so it was something that was simply thrown in to the story later and really didn't feel like it fit very well. The last sentence was a terrible way to end it and from my perspective, had incestuous implications and really did not wrap the entire story up. Thanks NetGalley once again for this book, all opinions are truly my own.

I really need to be more selective when requesting these thrillers.

An amazing premise that was executed poorly. No tension, no suspense, an ending that came out of left field, and a cliffhanger to boot. Le sigh.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This sounded amazingly twisted but was quite slow. There's no rhyme or reason for them being kidnapped and held in a replica house. I didn't finish this book as it didn't make sense to me

When a man wearing a picture mask of her daughter Maisie's face stands tauntingly in her garden, Lily Russell does the smart thing and calls the police. When she and Maisie wake up the following morning in an exact replica of their home, held captive by that same man, the police are no longer an option.
Surrounded by the rooms and things that once provided comfort and now only promote fear, Lily and Maisie must fight to survive. Because when no one knows where you are, you are your only hope.
I had so much hope for this book.. I am so sorry to write this review, but I did not finish this book. It did not work for me. It was such a good premise, but I found the book very hard to get into and lost interest 1/4 of the way through!
Sorry!

3.5 stars
The description of this story had me wanting to read it asap but unfortunately, it wasn’t quite what I was expecting.
The first half of the book is a fast-paced read with a lot of scary and edge of your seat moments, a lot of questions like Who and Why and How? And Is this for real? I don’t think I’ll be having the same behaviour as the heroine especially having my daughter with me and not knowing what is actually happening and what to answer to her questions. In my opinion, the daughter felt a bit older or more mature in her interaction with her mother. The second half of the book felt dragging a lot and quite repetitive in many moments but the end was a surprise as it has an unexpected twist.
Overall it’s a good book, my first by the author and I’ll definitely try other stories by her.

The premise of this book sounded absolutely amazing and I definitely think the first half of the book was thrilling and exciting. The action started right away and kept me on the edge of the seat until about the halfway point.

My issue with the book is that it got really slow and repetitive around the 50% mark and then didn’t pick up again until the last 10%. The ending was so far-fetched and out of left field that I couldn’t help but be disappointed with the conclusion. The ending also felt really rushed and I would have liked to see more closure for the characters.

Overall, this one was just okay for me but I’d definitely try more books by this author in the future. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Lily and her five year old daughter Maisie are trying to get over the divorce. Maisie misses her daddy, but Lily is glad he's gone. She has been hypervigilant and placed security cameras all over her home. The app of her phone lets her know if anyone has entered or been around her home. She can't trust Ewen, he was extremely angry when she was given full custody of Maisie.
One day her app alarm goes off on her phone. When she looks at the cameras around her home she sees a man in a mask in her yard. The mask is a photo of her daughter with the eye holes cut out.
She rushes home but the intruder is gone and the police don't find anything.
She wonders how a recent picture of her daughter was acquired by the intruder and used as a mask.
The terror is just beginning for Lily and Maisie. They will have to fight together to survive the trauma and torture they will endure.
A thriller of a read! I couldn't put it down!
Excellent!

Gosh! But this has an amazing beginning! A woman and her young child wake up to find themselves in a replica home. Everything internally is the same, but, they are prisoners and they don't know why.
It's a well written, gripping, terrifying beginning. From there, I found it a 'good read' but there were some things that let it down. Firstly, the storyline became as claustrophobic as the experience as, for chapter and chapter, you only have the voices of Lily and Maisie (the mother and daughter) briefly interspersed with input from the kidnappers. Secondly, there is little or no backstory, so, you are left with no reasoning until the last pages and then it's unsatisfying. It's definitely set up well for a sequel and there are parts to the ending I enjoyed.

Overall, it's a well written decent read and I'd recommend.

Solid 3*

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to preview.

Unfortunately the depth of this novel can be summed up the synopsis. Parker delivers on the premise but ultimately failed to fully develop the plot line or characterization. Readers are held close and walked through the storyline with kid gloves. Overall, pretty benign and underwhelming. 2 stars.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC which was read and reviewed voluntarily by @wayward_readers

This book turned me into pillow biter, feather choker, heavy breather and high pitched screamer! While You Slept by R.J. Parker is everything you crave in a top notch thriller; addictive, edge of your seat tension that does not let up, even for a moment, and a conclusion that you will never see coming. You will want to devour this one in a single session.

Lily is at work and her security camera alerts her to an intruder in her garden wearing a mask of her 5 year old daughter’s face. When she wakes up the next day Lily and her daughter, Maisie, are in a home but it’s not their house it just looks the same!
I have read Richards books before and enjoyed them but this was a DNF for me. I gave up quarter through as it was just not working for me.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Lily and her daughter, Maisie, have had quite a scare. A hooded stranger had been videotaped in Lily's inaccessible back garden while Lily was at work.

Lily rushes home from work and replays the tape - the stranger is wearing a mask of Maisie's photo!

The police do not think Lily has to worry as they check her home and talk with the upstairs neighbor.

Divorced from Ewan, she hopes this is not HIS prank. She calls him and she doubts it is him.

A number of people are introduced (aside from Ewan) who could have had a possible reason for this "prank". Eventually, Lily and Maisie are drawn into a much more drastic situation...

One of this year's best!

HIGHLY recommend!!!

Many thanks to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, and NetGalley for a suspense-filled read!

I really enjoyed the story and the authors way of writing . Entertaining and twisted , everything I love In a book !!I would like to read more by this author !!

This book was creepy from the beginning and it will keep you guessing until the end.

Lily and Maisie wake up in a replica of their home as prisoners not knowing how, when or who did this to them. You have to stay up late to finish this so you know the who and why.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy.

This was an impulse book for me. The blurb really caught my eye. And I have to say this book kept me up until late in the night! It was creepy and definitely made me a touch paranoid which I mean as a complete compliment! I would definitely recommend this one!

Lily and Maisie are kept imprisoned in their own home... they think. This story mainly tells us how they react and of course, how they plan to escape.
I liked the plot but it turned out to be a bit thin and the ending could have been worked out much better. It feeled rather rushed and I would have wanted to have more signals during the story as to who their enemy is and why.
Also, this is the second book in a row that I read with a whining child and a whining mother. The child is only five. One moment Lily expects Maisie to act like a grown up, the other moment she wants her to be even smaller than her age. You cannot expect a five year old, frightened as she is, to react like you think is necessary at that moment.
All in all a nice read but it could have been much more.

Thanks to Netgalley for this digital review copy.

This book was wild, and not a good way.

It just jumped right into the story without really building anything up. Unfortunately the pacing and the writing style was very beginner. It honestly distracted me from enjoying the story.