This thriller keeps you guessing right to the end. Jasmin and her five-year-old son are alone at their holiday cottage on Minsøy island, and while Jasmin tries very hard to uncover the truth behind an accident she had, she finds herself drawn into a shocking long-held secret by the locals on the island. She discovers that there is no-one she trusts enough to turn to for help and when the treats start piling up, she understands that her life might be at risk.
I am not usually a fan of translated works, but this book is beautifully written, and the translator did a great job ensure nothing was lost in translation. The characters are lively and realistic, and the scenic descriptions transport you to the island as you are reading.
Jasmin experiences a lot of flashback and dreams and at times it was a little difficult to keep track of what was real and what was memory or dream, but as you keep reading you start understanding the difference.
Don’t Wake Me tells the story of a mother, Jasmin, who after being in a serious car accident is convinced that she killed a man. However, her husband and doctor insist that she hit a deer. She keeps seeing the face of a man in her dreams which leaves her feeling haunted. She is determined to uncover the truth and regain her memory. This leads her the island of Minsøy and soon she uncovers long-held secrets that put her and her son in danger.
The author draws you into the story very quickly, and you feel Jasmin’s confusion and desperation for the truth. I was rooting for her to get to the bottom of all the uncertainty. I doubted everybody as much as she did and was convinced I understood what was coming – only to be surprised by the ending – I was completely wrong and shocked by what turned out to be the truth.
Jasmin was depicted perfectly. Her doubt, fear and confusion at every turn was written so beautifully you shared her experience on every page. She is without a doubt my favourite character and by the end of the book, while she left you a little confused at times, you simply cannot help but love her. When reading Don’t Wake Me, expect to be left surprised – it does not go where you anticipate it too.
This was one of those books that kept you guessing all the way. The final plot twist comes as a surprise. While my opinion shifted between love and hate from one chapter to the next – my final opinion must be - loved it!
This is a mystery thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat and if you enjoy a mystery that packs a punch with its final twist then this is a book you are going to love!
Go ahead, get yourself a copy of Don’t Wake Me – it is a quick read that will not leave you disappointed.

"Don't Wake Me" is a story set on a small island on the Norwegian coast. A woman, struggling to overcome trauma, moves to her vacation home on the island and that's when things unravel. The small village reels from bodies washed up on the beach, disappearing children, mysterious drifters, and deep conspiracies. Seen through the point of view of a woman lost in guilt, it's increasingly difficult to ascertain what's real and what's not. Ultimately, quite disjointed and confusing.

An island,a lighthouse,a storm coming... these are nearly always good ingredients for a great thriller.
I had my suspicions very early on where this book was going,and picked up clues all over to back up the idea.
Towards the last third of the book,it all gets crazy busy,and indeed crazy.

The whole thing got twisty and turney and everyone seemed a bit dodgy,and you have to feel for the poor confused main character not knowing which way to turn.

However,the ending left me a bit flat.

This was a terrific read, very tense with a shocking revelation at the end. I don't want to give anything away, it's hard to go into the story for me in case I slip up and reveal too much.
The translation by Jozef Van De Voort is excellent. I tore through this book at lighting speed, just couldn't put the book down. Hopefully more of the author's books will be translated!
Highly recommended for everyone who loves a good psychological thriller.
Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for the eARC of this nailbiter of a book!

Wow, holy unreliable narrators, Batman! The first 40% of this book was a little slow but very atmospheric — honestly a perfect book for this time of year specifically! However, the pace picked up a little at 40% and from about 75% to the end, it went at a breakneck pace. (Not going to lie — I read the final 50% of this book in one sitting! I couldn’t set it down!)

The setting was excellent — a small island in an unnamed Scandinavian country — and the characters were intriguing. As mentioned above, the narrator is very unreliable and as a result, I spent 99% of the book questioning what was happening, what was reality and what was not, and who — of the cast of characters — was someone I could trust.

**Spoiler alert**

I’m not sure how I feel about the use of mental illness as a plot point. As a mental health professional, I get uncomfortable when trauma is used as a major plot driver and I also dislike the overuse of Dissociative Identity Disorder and similar disorders — that most of the public/lay people view as “mysterious” or “fascinating” (as compared to the boring and common depression, anxiety, etc). However for the most part, it worked in this book. It did ding my overall rating down a star, however.

Overall — an excellent tale. A good spooky read, perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Gillian Flynn, and Ruth Ware.

For most of this book, I was sucked into the main character’s story. Then, toward the end, the author made the unwise decision to copy a popular book/movie. Yes, some of it is different, but so much of it was the same that I couldn’t help comparing them. I won’t mention the name because that would be a spoiler.

3-1/2 stars, rounded up to 4. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

Jasmin takes her little boy, Paul and heads for a vacation escape to the remote island of Mimsoy. Jasmin wants desperately to believe her husband, who told her she only hit a deer with her car, but deep down inside, she knows better. Her escape plan backfires, however, when she realizes someone on the island knows what happened that night, and they don’t intend to let Jsmin get away with what she did. Filled with dread and a creeping sense of doom, this is a dark, atmospheric read

I received an advance copy of, Don't Wake Me, by Martin Kruger. This book is a delicious thriller. Jasmin knows she did something wrong, but is trying to forget. Somebody else knows too, but who?

This was an amazing noir thriller that kept me on my toes the whole time. The author’s depiction of the characters was spot on and the plot had me breathless! Very atmospheric and in general a great read!