Member Reviews
Synopsis (From Netgalley, the provider of the book to review)
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Four girls close their eyes. Only one wakes up.
Leah and her three best friends get changed into their pyjamas, eat pizza and argue about what film to watch. They laugh together until the early hours. But the next morning, Leah blinked open her eyes and saw three empty sleeping bags. The other girls are gone.
Twenty years later. In her small hometown, still-haunted Leah has never been able to shake off the rumours and whispers. How could she have slept through it all? She must know what happened.
Now, a documentary is being made about the night Leah’s best friends disappeared. Is the truth about to come out?
Then an anonymous email arrives in Leah’s inbox. ‘Stop them’.
Somebody out there knows what happened the night of the sleepover. Is Leah in terrible danger? And will she ever find her missing friends – or are some secrets meant to be kept forever?
This book really creeped me out as I thought of the two surviving roommates in that Idaho house where all those beautiful, full-of-future-hopes college kids were slaughtered by that madman. These girls have just disappeared but nonetheless, it is a gripping and thrilling ride of a read in the pages of this book. Maybe don’t read it before bed…and double-check your locks. Highly recommended.
#shortbutsweetreviews
Leah comes from a troubled home. Her father is in and out of prison, and her mother is distant with her to say the least.
Leah wants to be loved, and she finds that with her three friends.
They have a sleepover, over-indulge in pizza and vodka, and fall asleep in their sleeping bags. However, when Leah wakes up in the morning, she is alone. They have disappeared without a trace. Whatever happened to them, Leah slept through it.
Leah seems to have such a normal life, with her son being a normal teenager, and apart from getting the side-eye from some people who know of her past, she is supported by Deborah and the family liaison officer, even after all these years. She has a proper family, something she craved for when she was a teenager.
Twenty Five years later, a documentary is being made about the disappearances, and Leah starts getting anonymous emails telling her to stop the documentary at all costs.
She is convinced one of her friends is still alive.
Wow! Kerry Wilkinson had me on the edge of my seat! I did NOT see that particular conclusion coming! What a massive, eye popping twist! It absolutely kept me rapt right to the end. It had me completely mind-blown!
What I thought would be a run of the mill kidnapping, turned out to be much more, I would say the ending is unguessable.
Thanks to Netgalley, and the publisher for an awesome read in exchange for an honest opinion.
The Night of the Sleepover
On the surface, Leah seems like your average small-town thirtysomething, a woman who made it through a difficult upbringing, who brings empathy to her work as a victim advocate and does her best to provide stability for her son. Utterly average, really. Sounds like plenty of us, more or less the details. Any of us who grew up in a similar small town knows how the gossip mill turns in these kinds of places, especially about whatever Big Thing happens to have happened there, no matter how long ago. Leah’s hometown is no different - except that the unavoidable gossip is about her, and the mystery that she lived through nearly 25 years ago, when Leah fell asleep at a sleepover with her three best friends and woke up alone - the sole girl not to have disappeared without a trace. The questions surrounding that night have hounded Leah ever since, and after all these years, it seems like the truth may finally be about to come to a head.
‘The Night of the Sleepover’ sucked me in to wanting answers before I realized it - what really happened to the missing girls? Might they even be alive after all this time? What is true and what is a red herring? Who knows more than they’re saying? Whose memories are reliable - or not?Several times I thought I knew what the twist was, but each time things went in a different direction, right up until the very end. I would have liked to have spent more time in the past with the missing girls, getting to know them, so as to care more about them as people. The conclusion felt abrupt, though I know that this is to be a series, so all the more reason to keep an eye out for the next chapter of Leah’s story. For any criticism I may have, the fact is that I had no choice but to finish the book in one sitting, as I HAD to know what had happened to the missing girls before I could lay down for the night.
Who will enjoy “The Night of the Sleepover”? Fans of small-town mysteries & suspense, who enjoy a vibe that’s a little creepy but not overtly scary. People who understand that teenage girl sleepovers are inherently a little bit spooky ;)
Survivor’s guilt is real. In this story, Leah is apparently the sole survivor of a childhood sleepover, where the other 3 girls mysteriously disappeared. Now, almost 25 years later, the brother of one of the missing girls wants to make a documentary and hopefully find answers to the mystery. This book had several twists and final surprise that I did NOT see coming! Loved it!
Wow, I would not want to trade places with Leah. This must have been the worst nightmare. The difference is that nightmares end as soon as you wake up.This one only starts as soon as she woke up.
This story is very intriguing. I could not stop wrecking my brain trying to find out which piece of the puzzle fitted where. No matter how I turned them around, one crucial part was still missing.
The only thing left for me to do was to shut the world out and dive into the book. I would not put it away before I knew all there was to know. :)
And then BOOM!
Every time this author puts his pen on the paper, his writing turns into gold! I loved this book. I could not believe my eyes when it was all revealed. It was shocking, but sad too.
Normally surprises are hidden in stories, but here we were given a little gift after everything was said and done or wasn't it...? 5 stars
Thank you
My first book by Kerry Wilkinson - I was excited to be have the chance to read The Night of the Sleepover after reading the description. It did not disappoint.
4 girls going to sleep at a sleepover and only one waking up, with a mystery that was never solved was such a good storyline. I absolutely loved it. Kerry's style of writing is so engaging, I loved the characters, the side stories and the twists and turns. I Genuinely did not see the ending coming and am over the moon that there is going to be a sequel.
One of my top five reads of the year, will be telling everyone to read this. 5 stars without a doubt
The Night of the Sleepover by Kerry Wilkinson is another jaw-dropping read from this bankable author who never fails to deliver the goods. Add his latest to your TBR immediately.
Twenty years ago, Leah attended a sleepover with three of her closest friends. It is a night she will never forget, but not for the reasons that one would expect. When morning comes, Leah is the only one of the four left, her friends mysteriously vanishing into the night, and never to be seen again. For years, Leah has dealt with the whispers and speculations in the small town where she grew up. How could she have slept through an event that, for some reason, has left her as the sole survivor?
I was immediately intrigued by the original spin placed on this storyline, and raced through the pages to get to the crux of it all. With twists and turns that left me blindsided, the author has crafted a diabolical tale that will leave you speechless.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an ARC.
Yikes, The Night of the Sleepover by Kerry Wilkinson was a rollercoaster of a ride. This truly was an addictive psychological thriller filled with head-turning twists.
Four girls close their eyes. Only one wakes up.
Leah and her three best friends get changed into their pajamas, eat pizza, and argue about what film to watch. They laugh together until the early hours. But the next morning, Leah blinks open her eyes and sees three empty sleeping bags. The other girls are gone.
Twenty years later. In her small hometown, still-haunted Leah has never been able to shake off the rumors and whispers. How could she have slept through it all? She must know what happened.
Now, a documentary is being made about the night Leah’s best friends disappeared. Is the truth about to come out?
The story and writing were done well as the author unraveled the story and brought tension and twists to this story. The plot is quite clever, and the characters are written well and believable. I thought I might have had it figured out, but then so many good twists kept me guessing until the shocking end.
And, yay, there is a sequel to this book. Cannot wait. I would recommend this book and this author.
#TheNightoftheSleepover #NetGalley @bookouture
Having read everything this author has written i was so excited to be given the opportunity to read this latest book. How on earth does the author keep coming up with such brilliant and original idears?
This has everything including believable characters and a storyline set in two time zones.
The reader is led along various paths with twists and turns here and there but i have to say i didn't see the ending coming. I read in two sittings, rather upset that i had finished it.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.
I would give ten stars if i could.
Loved it!
When I saw that this was available, I immediately paused my current book because I already knew this would be absolutely amazing..... and of course it was!
The plot has such a unique premise and the the whole story is so realistic and possible that it sent shivers down my spine! More than once I teared up at the pain and distress the characters were facing and its all just real!
The characters are well written, the behaviour so human, the plot is cleverly written and so layered that I was immersed from tbe start. Once I started I couldnt stop and the fact that this is being written at 3am proves that.
What a book! A must read!! This is exactly what you want from a thriller
I was impressed by the complexity of Kerry Wilkinson's book What My Husband Did, which I read awhile ago. So when I saw that he had written a new book, I was very interested to find out more.
As it turns out, Wilkinson's latest has an interesting and quite original premise. Four girls are at a sleepover. They have a great time, doing all the silly and enjoyable things that girls do at sleepovers. But when one of them wakes up the next morning, three are missing. What happened to them?
And years later, still struggling with questions that she has no answers for, the survivor has to live with the fact that many in the community remain unconvinced that she has no idea what transpired that night...
After it is announced that a documentary will be made about the incident, there is a possibility that Leah may find out more about the events that have shaped her entire life.
But when she receives a threatening message warning her to prevent the documentary plans from going ahead, the grim truth is brought home to Leah once again that someone out there certainly knows more than they are letting on - and they are determined that nobody else will discover the facts of this decades-old case.
This is an excellent thriller, delivering twist after twist on what is already an unusual idea. Gripping and creative, well worth reading.