Wow. Sleep Tight was a wild story!

This was a psychological thriller mixed with the supernatural and it was done so well. There were a few parts that genuinely freaked me out.

I loved how certain parts ended up being connected and definitely didn’t see some of it coming.

The short chapters and various timelines/POVs really kept the story interesting and I flew through this one

I definitely “slept tight” through this book and its severely uneven pacing 🥴😴

What to Expect:
After a child kidnapper/serial killer is given the final outcome of the death penalty, the town of Twisted Tree, Kentucky quickly learns he had a cult following. Detective Tess Claiborne, originally from the area, also learns the child kidnappings have not ceased. When her parents are murdered and her child is taken, it is up to Tess and her cheating psychologist husband Justin, along with a police and FBI force, to come together and solve the mystery of the continued kidnappings before it’s too late.

My Thoughts:
Listen, it wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t that good either.

What hinders this book is its pacing and the lack of clarity in its resolutions. I enjoyed the premise and felt it was unique, but it just needed something more. Just when it felt like the book would pick up, it would immediately slow back down to a snail’s pace. So much of the story dragged and was stalled by endless conversations and a plateaued plot. This could have used a few more rounds of editing for sure. SHOW ME, don’t tell me. And keep me thrilled and engaged the more I read!!

Like the rest of the buddy read group, I have SO many questions left. Things were not fully explained, even though you’d think with the endless amounts of dialogue, it would all make sense in the end. NOPE. This, combined with unreliable narrators, drastically lowered the rating for me.

ALSO! Went into this, based off the spooky af cover, that I would be spooked throughout this entire thing. And trust me, I handle horror about as well as a child terrified of the dark. I was maybe spooked .5 times?? Not what I was expecting at all.

Might be a better read towards the spooky season, but I wouldn’t anticipate being all that scared of it any time of the year.

2.5 Stars

╰┈➤˗ˏˋ 𝓠𝓾𝓲𝓬𝓴 𝓢𝓾𝓶𝓶𝓪𝓻𝔂

Detective Tess Claibourne has spent many years haunted by a terrible event that happened when she was a teenager. She can’t remember all the details but it ended with her father arresting a serial killer called Father Silence. Now, after all these years, Father Silence is executed.

But there‘s a new serial killer in town. He‘s calling himself The Outcast and he just murdered Tess‘s parents and kidnapped her daughter. To stop this new horror, Tessa must face and untangle her web of lost memories.

╰┈➤˗ˏˋ 𝓜𝔂 𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼

I'm a little conflicted with this one. Some parts were compelling with cliffhanger chapter endings and super short chapters that had me reading much further than I had planned and other areas of the book I experienced some lulls where the pacing slowed and was too detailed on inconsequential things.

There were times I found myself not eager to pick the book back up. It started strong and punchy and honestly horrific but didn't hold the momentum for me. I didn't like the FMC - I just couldn't connect with her at all. Not even as a mother of a missing child. Her character was poorly constructed and she felt half-assed.

I'm still left with questions- nothing crazy. I mean, the most basic questions that tie the entire story together. I'm trying to make the puzzle pieces all fit together so I can see the entire picture but I'm coming up empty. I'm left underwhelmed.


╰⪼ Police Procedural
╰⪼ Cult Horror
╰⪼ Crime Thriller
╰⪼ Psychological
╰⪼ Serial Killer

Thank you to my girlies for letting me buddy read along with them -💋 Courtney , Cara and Divinity ❤️

Many thanks to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books, and J.H. Markert for the complementary digital copy in exchange for my honest review 🖤🔪🩸💋

This was a HECK of a book. I don’t think I’d call it suspenseful so much as I’d call it captivating. It didn’t have the sit on the edge of your seat feel of most suspense books, but I found I couldn’t put it down. As the story wove in and out of past and present, it kept you hooked, trying to figure out who the bad guy was and how the main character was entangled with him. I totally did not see the ending coming and how the two characters stories merged together, but I really liked it. The last third of the book really pulls everything together nicely and while not a feel good novel, you feel good about how things turned out.
*I received a copy of this book for free in return for my honest opinion.*

Whew!! I am going to preface this review by saying do not read this book if you want to sleep or do anything else!!

Summary: It is the eve of the execution of the Silent Priest serial killer. Twenty years ago, the Silent Priest dressed up as a priest and hunted and collected vulnerable children and adults. He brought them to his "House of Horrors". When the police finally catch him, all but one child is dead. The investigation is led by Tess Claibourne's father. As a teen, she would listen to her father and his partner discuss the case. Now she is a detective, married (but estranged from her husband), with a daughter of her own. Her partner is her husband's best friend and godfather of her daughter. There is something in Tess' past that causes her to blackout- her husband is a psychologist and calls these episodes "holes in her memories".

The story opens in the past with a boy, drawing eyes, then coloring them black. These pictures hang all over his wall that leads to a tiny door of a dark closet. His mother is coming upstairs to punish him. He continues to scribble and thinks about her dying. His name is Noah Nichols.

We segue to the night of the execution. Tess receives a phone call the next morning from "The Outsider" saying he didn't do it. She realizes this has to do with the Silent Father and rushes to her parents where she discovers they have been murdered. Tess doesn't have time to grieve her parents because dark eyes are drawn on the window. She also is told that the last words from the Silent Father before he was executed were about finding "the one that got away", The eyes give her a clue that her daughter is in danger. When she arrives at her daughters school, she discovers that her daughter has been taken. She and her husband then receive a phone call.

This book dives right in! The pace isn't just fast- it is break neck speed. There are many characters in the story, and it is told through the perspective's of Tess, Justin (her husband), Danny (her partner), and The Outcast. The plot tells about the investigation, a cult, split personalities, and even a little paranormal aspect. Although there are all these strands, it is a tightly woven story and the revelations roll out in a way that is connected, urgent and adds to the culmination.
The atmosphere is dark and creepy with a sense of urgency. I felt like I was in the book with these characters. It is a tense read, and I found that I would have to get up and stretch because I was so immersed in the story. Although there were times I wanted to throttle Tess, I still liked her and as the story goes along, I began to understand her character much better. I like her husband Justin. He added insight to the multiple personality story line, and was supportive to Tess. Danny was also a rock star! The possible list of villains weren't just evil. I liked how the author tied their brokenness of things past, and we got to see multiple facets. There is a morally gray area with some of them as we see the motives reveal themselves.

There are many twists! And yet, when I finished this book I was completely satisfied! It is very well written, and honestly I am surprised the author was able to keep everything straight and then bring it together!

I also (guiltily) really liked the "character" Oskar!

I highly, highly recommend this book if you like tense, dark mysteries and thrillers. But be warned- there is not time to breathe while reading this, and you will not be able to put it down!

I now have to go find a simple, easy romance to read after this roller coaster ride!

Many, many thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this fantastic ARC. This is my honest, voluntary review!

Fantastic premise and plot but the execution left something to be desired. I felt that the pacing was a bit slow in parts and I wasn't DYING to get back to it. Still, definitely solid and not bad, just not my favorite!

I really enjoyed this book so much! It was such a wild scary rollercoaster! It felt like I was watching a dark horror thriller. I had no idea what was going to happen next and was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I absolutely will be checking this one out again when it releases, but on audiobook because I think this would be fantastic in that medium - especially if they got someone to do all the different characters.

J.H Markert is a wonderful author and his attention to dark detail does not go unnoticed. Every character was carefully thought out and and every location was so detailed that you can almost feel like you were reading a movie script. It was so easy to follow along and envision what you were reading. Those types of novels for me are the best in this spooky genre.

I will say at times I felt as though there were too many characters to keep track of, however overall it did work for the story being told. The flashbacks and the full circle moments of it all were brilliant. The ending of the story did not feel overdone or easy to solve - but original and fresh - which can be hard in a horror novel.

I will be recommending this to my friends! And I will be talking about this long after its official release day in Sept. 2024! Very excited to pick up some other books by J.H. Markert!

Thanks so much to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for the ARC!

I liked the premise of this book and the plotline was very intriguing, but I wasn’t a big fan of the pacing and I felt like the author tried to do too much with the story. I thought that the first 60% of the book were very slow paced and then once we hit 60% it started to become too fast paced. In other words the lead up was slow and the reveal was almost too fast.

I also thought that there were too much happening in this book. It got very confusing sometimes, because the author kept adding on to the plot. There were also a few things I didn’t feel like we got a proper answer to.

However the atmosphere of the books was very spooky and I liked the suspense in the book, so I will definitely still recommend it!

If you read this be sure to set aside enough time to read it in one sitting. This is a fast-paced psychological thriller with super crazy characters. Lots of bad people. Perhaps too many characters but I was surprisingly able to keep up. I wouldn’t say this has lots of twists, just lots of bizarre stuff happening. I didn’t like that Tess had a drug problem. It seemed totally unnecessary to the plot. Other than that I highly enjoyed this book. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

This book is so disgustingly good, I don't think I was deserving of a gift as wonderful as this ARC. J. H. Markert once again creates the creepiest detective story that is boarderline supernatural. I love that not everything can bee 100% clearly explained away, always making you wonder if there is more at play than the obvious. I appreciate that his characters are never perfect, they have their own flaws that actually bring value to the story and make them more relatable.

Though Markert is his own unique genius, he continues to remind me of a more graphic Stephen King with the cohesive worlds he is able to build across his books. When I open one of his books, I know I'm in for the craziest ride.

J.H. Markert's horror books have never disappointed me, so I went into his new horror novel totally blind. 'Sleep Tight' turned out to be one of my favorite books of 2024, perhaps ever: it's smart, atmospheric, complex, incredibly well-written... and totally scary! It's written as a crime/thriller/mystery type of a book, with a lot of emphasis on the mystery part; but when things click somewhere around the middle, you realize this is a superb supernatural horror book, selling itself not on gore, jump scares, or other cheap gimmicks, but on a magnificently plotted fast-paced cult horror story, full of uncanny evil characters, relatable family people, and terrific supporting figures. It's very hard not to care about them all, even the villains. The names are also immediately eye-catching: a serial killer named "Father Silence," a kidnapper of children, calling himself "The Outcast," and the bizarre "Mother" everyone is afraid of! Not to mention the various places the unrelenting action brings you to: an abandoned orphanage, a convent, a killer's basement, and, of course, the brilliantly conceived Playhouse, where the missing kids are taken to. Everything builds bit by bit into a supernatural adventure involving abuse survivors (some with multiple personalities - the most absorbing, chilling scenes in the book revolve around them!), creepy children, strong women, and monstrous parents. The book's style and focus is reminiscent of Silence of the Lambs and the movie Split - though the story's resolution and the characters' approach to family and evil are entirely different. In sum, this is simply an amazing read recommended to all horror fans who like slashers, cults, nasty revelations, and detective thrillers with a supernatural twist!

Thank you to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books, & J.H. Markert for the chance of an early read! All opinions are my own.

This story was dark and creepy and had supernatural undertones woven throughout, all while uncovering a compelling and complex mystery.

Our FMC (Tess) is the daughter of the small-town detective who made a name for himself after capturing Father Silence. Now, 20-ish years later, Tess is following in her father's footsteps and has become a detective as well. She's thrown into a case that involves a serial killer that has haunted her since childhood (Father Silence). Tess gets word that he's off death row and has finally been executed - but instead of getting a moment of relief, a copycat killer is on the loose; This time, Tess's own daughter is one of the missing people.

Thank you to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books, & J.H. Markert for the eARC copy in exchange for my honest review!

I had heard of J. H. Markert previously but had never read any of his books. That will definitely be changing after reading 'Sleep Tight'. I must now consume everything this man writes!

I was completely captivated and utterly enthralled by the very beginning.
Each chapter had me feeling equally intrigued, confused and on edge right up to the very end when it all came together beautifully.
Playing on personal fears of mine this book had me holding my own child extra close each and every day.
If you are wanting an amazing thriller which will keep you on your toes with every page, this is for you!

Thankyou to Crooked Lane Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review has been posted to Instagram, Goodreads and StoryGraph.

Sleep Tight Kept Me Up ALL NIGHT!

Sleep Tight is the latest paranormal horror adventure from J. H. Markert. Just like the other stories, I quickly found myself a fan. In Sleep Tight, our characters are dealing with a serial killer and the dangerous legacy Father Silence introduced into the small town of Twisted Tree. The opens up with some of the individuals who brought in Father Silence being ritualistically murdered and the arresting detective's daughter, Tess, is somehow at the center of this conflict. When it continues to get all too personal with her daughter being kidnapped, this story takes off like wildfire.

I felt like this story was truly a fast-paced adventure! This starts immediately with action and it doesn't relent as the investigation and hunt for missing children commences. I enjoyed solving the mystery with the main characters and the switching perspectives was done so well that I could not put this story down until I had answers. The writing style keeps you in the thick of the mystery! It's just really great writing and I think it continues to keep getting better with each book from J H Markert.

Readers of psychological thrillers are going to DEVOUR this book. I think it holds so much for readers of any genre, but this psychological thriller had my heart racing and with some horror thrown in, this was an amazing read for 2024!

Thank you to the publisher for giving me the chance to read a digital ARC of Sleep Tight by JH Market. I have previously read The Nightmare Man by Market and really enjoyed it, and I need to read Mister Lullaby, but this one also speaks volumes why I enjoy reading Market's books. They are creepy and the tension is palpable. When I read Market's books, I feel like I can literally feel the hairs on the back on my neck standing up. It will also make you think about going to sleep and what could happen, reminiscent of A Nightmare on Elm Street. Well done!

[Snack-Size Review] Sleep Tight, by J. H. Markert

Quick Bite: Put this one down, I dare you.

(*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*)

What It’s About: Seventeen years ago, the serial killer known as Father Silence was arrested by Tess’s father. Today, he’s just been executed. But the story is far from over - the killings are happening again, and Tess’s daughter may be the next victim.

A Word From The Nerd: The synopsis doesn’t do justice to the incredibly complex story here. I’m not going to give a lot of details, because frankly, I’d be writing for days trying to cover it all. There’s a bit of Silence of the Lambs, some cult stuff, some major family dysfunction (across several families), addiction, and the coolest serial killer moniker I’ve seen in a while.

The Nerd’s Rating: FIVE HAPPY NEURONS (and some Old Sam bourbon.)

4.5 stars rounded up. My thanks to Crooked Lane Books, J.H. Markert and Netgalley for the Advanced Copy.

Confession time: I fully went into this novel expecting to be underwhelmed. The cover certainly caught my attention, but the synopsis didn't hook me and felt very similar to many other books that didn't deliver what they promised and left me disappointed. Being unfamiliar with the author, I was quick to assume I probably wouldn't enjoy this one either. I'll happily admit how wrong I was.

At the 30% mark I stopped being an arrogant know-it-all and realised this book had all the depth and layered story telling I was looking for. Markert introduced character after character, thread after thread, and somehow weaved them all together for a show-stopping finish. I can honestly say, this is the only book from the past... year(?) that managed to surprise me and kept me guessing. I hadn't figured out the reveals before I was supposed to, which is so uncommon these days that I had to tack on another half star for that alone.

Also found the inclusion of interview snippets, articles, and evidence from previous crime scenes to be quite effective at building on the story. The multiple POVs as well, while potentially confusing for some, really just worked for me to create a sense of scope. Markert utilised a lot of techniques here that really strengthened the experience of reading.

I'll definitely be checking out more from this author.

Wow! J. H. Markert might be my favorite horror author right now!

I absolutely loved The Nightmare Man. That book was 5 stars.

Now, I love Sleep Tight. The book was absolutely fantastic. It has everything I love in horror novels. This book is suspenseful, thrilling, and horrifying without being overly gory. This was an ideal horror book for me and I can't wait to read his backlist title, Mr. Lullaby, and any future stories J. H. Markert writes.

This one started off very strong, and although I got a little bogged down toward the middle, it redeemed itself in the end. There are A LOT of characters to keep up with, and that's always a negative for me.

Serial killer Jeff Pritchard, dubbed Father Silence by the media, is being executed. He killed at least nineteen people, but one of his would-be victims escaped, a child named Noah, who is now in a hospital for the criminally insane. When a copycat killer called The Outcast kills the detective who originally arrested Jeff, that incident brings with it a lot of characters and a lot of plot lines to keep track of.

I feel like there was a lot of extraneous detail in this book that weren't present in the previous two, and while I did enjoy it, I did find myself getting bogged down a few times with all of the details.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this early copy. At the time this review was written, this title is set to publish September 24, 2024.

To me, this is easy horror to read. Every chapter ends on a cliff hanger making you want to keep reading. You’ll definitely be hooked and read most of it in one sitting.

The story has several twists that kept me guessing. At times it could be confusing. But made sense in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley, J. H. Markert, and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read Sleep Tight. I have written this review voluntarily.