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.

I read my first J. H. Market book, Mister Lullaby, last year and really enjoyed it. When I was approved for an eARC of Sleep Tight, I couldn't wait to get started.

The story is part police procedural, cult horror and crime thriller - definitely something I like to read.
The mystery was compelling and the story held my interest from the beginning. There were lots of unexpected twists and some of the imagery creeped me out.

I‘m not necessarily a fan of an amnesiac narrator who doesn’t remember important parts of the backstory. It always feels a bit unbelievable and too convenient. But it still worked in the context of this story.

What didn’t work for me was the huge amount of characters. This in combination with the multiple POVs was quite confusing and I had a difficult time remembering who certain characters were and how aspects of the story fit together. There was just too much going on at times. Sometimes less is more.

In “Sleep Tight,” Father Silence, a serial killer, is finally executed. However, before anyone can rest tight, a new killer emerges targeting those connected to the original case and kidnapping children. Detective Tess Claibourne, haunted by her past and desperate to save her kidnapped daughter, goes back to Twisted Tree and seeks help from the sole survivor of Father Silence's crimes, hoping to unravel the mystery.

The book delivered a thrilling ride with its fast pace and constant tension. Despite the number of characters, the author skillfully developed each character, making them integral to the story and adding depth to their character. The inclusion of multiple perspectives offered a truly immersive experience. It was nice getting a glimpse of their minds throughout the story. I enjoyed the plot build-up with the author using police interviews from the past and showing memories. It can be predictable (if you read a lot of mystery/thrillers), but it didn’t diminish my overall reading experience– there were still moments that had me in awe. The suspense is strong, but I wouldn’t necessarily tag this as “horror.” There were also times were I struggled with the writing style and plot– it can become too messy and hard to follow. However, while the complex plot occasionally required me to pause and absorb everything, it ultimately kept me intrigued and wanting more.

I’ll keep more of my thoughts once this is published and everyone can read it to avoid spoilers, but I still definitely recommend this book! For the plot, I would give this 4 stars, but since the writing and plot can be hard to follow, I’ll give this a 3. This book will come out on September 2024! Thank you Crooked Lane Books, J. H. Market, and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy!

Review posted: July 13, 2024
Reviews can be found on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6664090684?book_show_action=false) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/p/C9XAb3yS2vQ/).

The cover of this booked grabbed me from the start so I had to request!

I loved "Sleep Tight" by J.H. Markert. It is a fast-paced thriller/crime/police procedural masterpiece that is packed with tension from cover to cover. The story is filled with so many likeable, though flawed, characters that make the storyline incredibly captivating.

I would highly recommend if you’re looking for a police procedural horror. I have never read any books from this author but have recently purchased The Nightmare Man and this was a great introduction to his writing style.

Thank you, #NetGalley and #CrookedLaneBooks, for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

JH continues his nighttime theme brilliantly with "Sleep Tight." In the dark, all the scary things come out to play, and I find this incredibly interesting. He has a talent for blending fantasy and reality in such a masterful way that it keeps you hooked.

There were parts where I had to slow down my reading because there was so much happening that it was hard to wrap my mind around the story. Despite this, the pace is steady, and the plot moves forward nicely. The characters are complicated yet well-developed, making the story all the more engaging.

Overall, "Sleep Tight" is a fascinating read that balances horror and fantasy in a way that only JH can. If you enjoy stories that challenge your perception of reality and keep you on your toes, this is definitely one to add to your list


I would like to express my deep gratitude to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for their generosity in allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Twisted and creepy, I enjoyed this horror read immensely. Tess is a cop with a messy personal life. Separated from her husband, her daughter hates her and she’s barely keeping it together when an infamous serial killer is executed. The police officer who stopped him is Tess’s father, so she gets involved in a very complicated but engrossing series of events featuring cults, multiple personalities and the kidnapping of her daughter. I loved the characters. Tess is messed up, but really trying to be a good mother. Her police partner, Danny, and his wife Eliza are specially adorable. The baddies are, as usual with this author, a little over-the-top but so scary that it doesn’t matter. The plot involves supernatural elements along with a procedural. Every single location is hair-raising, and the last part is very suspenseful. Markert’s novels should be in any horror reader’s library. Five stars.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Crooked Lane Books.

When a serial killer is put to death 2 decades after terrorising a local community, it seems like the end of a nightmare. But a matter of days later the people involved with the case are being by systematically murdered and children are going missing. With another killer on the loose and her daughter missing it is up to the daughter of the original arresting officer and the one victim that got away to solve the case…but the surviving victim is in an asylum for the criminally insane….

This is a really compelling read: part Silence of the Lambs, part Split I really loved the way that trauma is examined and mental health highlighted as a very terrifying thing.
Sleep Tight combines psychological thriller, slasher and folk horror in one brilliant package. The chapters are short and the narrative shifts perspective which means you are kept on the edge of your seat the whole time. There are some classic tropes in here with some plot twists I saw coming, but there are other totally original plot points that completely absorbed me. This was a great read

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers!
Serial killers, cults, missing children, and missing memories-this book had it all! Creepy in all the right ways, I tried to limit myself to only reading during daylight hours-yes, it was that creepy-but had to binge read it nice and quick because it was just that good!

***SPOILERS***

The author did a great job of setting up the premise and then immediately getting right into the action. Loved all the different POVs! The little snippets we got of Tess’ past as the memories resurfaced were very intriguing. At no point in reading did I ever have any idea of how this was going to end. As soon as I had an idea it was squashed and I was left confused again. Loved the way everything came together in the end. I only noticed one inconsistency but it didn’t bother me much. When “Father Friday” shaved his head and suddenly the warden knew who he was with the new description, it didn’t make sense to me. If he had been coming to see the prisoners the first Friday of the month for a while then that means the warden would’ve saw him with hair as him shaving it was new. But like I said didn’t bother me much just left me wondering if I possibly missed something. I liked how the ending was somewhat left open and gave the possibility for a second book. Overall very well written and attention grabbing.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

What a psychological read this was! I was hooked on every word. Tess is battling demons both past and present as she searches for her daughter and through her memories to uncover the truth. I thoroughly recommend anyone read this book. I will be searching for other books by this author.

This book was amazing and so twisted with layers upon layers. It's a dense read but all the information in the book is necessary. J.H Markert has a brilliant mind to create this story. The last half of the book made me gasp so much and made me think back to the bread crumbs that were left throughout. A great read for fans of psychological thrillers with a focus on split personalities. I would love to see this as a movie in the future and can't wait to read more of his books.

SLEEP TIGHT by J. H. Markert

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC ebook.

The book starts off with Father Silence finally being put to death after terrorizing the rural town of Twisted Tree, nearly two decades ago. He disguised himself as a priest and preyed on the most vulnerable. The day after his execution, the detective that put him behind bars has been found murdered. A new serial killer is taking the credit for this murder and calls himself the Outcast. Tess Claibourne, the detective’s daughter, is also a detective. Tess has suppressed childhood memories and is terrified with the resurgence of Father Silence’s legacy. Tess’s daughter has been kidnapped by the Outcast and Tess must face her fears and find her daughter.

A dark, chilling, psychological crime thriller that will have you turning the pages fast. This delves into the dark and complex framework of the human psyche. I throughly enjoyed reading this and thought it was one of the better dark crime thrillers I’ve read. Touching on mental health, cults, addiction, abuse, and relationships. James Markert writes under the name of J. H. Markert too. I’ve read A White Wind Blew, by James Markert and enjoyed. I will be reading more of his books.

I struggled to put this book down.

Every chapter leads you further and further down a dark path and honestly, no matter how hard you try to guess what’s at the end, you never will.
I’m usually pretty good at figuring out plots but this one had me blindsided.

I had a little issue with the different pov’s in the beginning but the author makes it effortless to settle into the different narratives and timeframes.

I loved the characters. The inclusion of trauma and mental illness in different scopes was a diverse tough that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Brilliant read.

A low-key horror hit to look forward to this fall. It feels like Alex North's Whisper Man (which the blurbs reference). It also feels like J.D. Barker's "The Fourth Monkey." It's a psychological horror story that leaves a gossamer shadow in your heart the deeper your read.
The writing is pretty sharp. I think I was expecting something that re-invented the wheel, which is the only reason I considered docking a star. Ultimately, however, the story doesn't need to reinvent the genre. It delivers an outstanding story of menace and dread. Pick it up if you like psychologically dark stories.

Thank you Crooked Lane Books for the gifted ARC!

I LOVED everything about this book. The pacing was great, we got different character POV chapters, and the way everything weaved together was so intriguing to me.

There was a slight element of paranormal in this one, like Markert's other novels, and it was really well done. I wasn't really expecting a "big reveal" but we did get one and it was SO good! I cannot say enough good things about this one. I think it has dethroned The Nightmare Man as my favorite Markert novel!

Sleep Tight pub date is September 10.

Sleep Tight is a suspense thriller that borders on horror. J.H. Markert really knows how to keep you on the edge of your seat. It was intense and kept me up late at night reading longer than I should because I wanted to know what would happen next.

The execution of a high profile killer sets things in motion for Tess and the small town of Twisted Tree. There is murder, kidnapping, a cult, and mayhem in this book, plus a lot more.

I really liked how Tess had holes in her memory from something that happened in her past and how what she had blocked out tied into what was happening in the present.

I thought the characters are well-written and every plot point in the story comes together nicely in the end. I thought the handling of sensitive subjects was done well, also.

Trigger warnings for this book include: murder of adults and children, drug addiction, kidnapping, mental health issues, mentions of child abuse.

Last fall, I read “Mister Lullaby” by this author, and really enjoyed it. I thought it started slowly but then finished strong, and I liked all the imagery. I liked this one too, though maybe not quite as much. This felt the opposite to me - it started really strong, then got a bit too drawn-out towards the middle and end. In both books, I felt like there were too many characters to keep track of, but this one may have been worse in that aspect, as several characters have several names, and this spans several generations.

We start this book with a serial killer named Jeff Pritchard (aka Father Silence) being executed. He killed at least nineteen people, but one got away - a child named Noah, who is now in a hospital for the criminally insane. When a copycat killer calling themselves “The Outcast” kills the detective who originally arrested Father Silence, it brings into the story Tess and Justin, his daughter and her soon-to-be ex-husband. While Father Silence kidnapped/killed the neglected, the mentally ill, the drug addicted, The Outcast seems happy taking anyone, including Tess and Justin’s daughter, Julie.

The whole book is about trying to find Julie, and it also has the story of the past. I really loved this as it started out, but the more I read, the more convoluted it felt. This was an interesting concept, but it just got too muddied and the ending felt abrupt compared to the rest of the relatively slow book. It also went from more of a straight horror story into a fantasy story, and that’s something I usually don’t care for. This was good, but I liked “Mister Lullaby” better (and I still haven’t read “The Nightmare Man!”). 3.5 stars.

(Thank you to Crooked Lane Books, J.H. Markert and NetGalley for the ARC I’m exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on September 10, 2024.)

Thank you Netgalley for this eARC. 4.5 for this book. This is a slow burn thriller with lots of characters. However it all comes together nicely at the end. There were times when I needed more to happen but needed to know what was going on. It had a nice psychological aspect to it but some was harder I believe. I can’t go into detail as it will spoil anything. There were parts that creeped me out and will probably continue from this author.

Solid thriller and not what I expected. The inclusion of D.I.D. was certainly unique and not something that has been overdone in the genre. The plot twists were well timed and keep me reading late into the night. My only complaint was that some of the side stories and characters we just unneeded or not advanced. Noah and Benjamin sharing a mind and only mentioned twice? Just unnecessary for the storyline. It was realistic and then...what? Completely removed me from the realism of the story. But he got me back. The infidelity? Justin's drinking? Tess's addiction? Killing all the farm animals? And then the reveal of how the grandfather actually died? Glossed over. That I would have liked to hear more about. Home girl was deranged!

Overall a great thriller, and makes me want to read more by the author.

Creepy and suspenseful.

My only complaint is there are a lot of characters to keep up with as well as a lot going on. At times it was hard to keep up with who was who and what is actually happening.

Tess is a detective just like her father. Her father is known for putting away the notorious Father Silence and that case haunts him to this day. It becomes clear that Tess's father is to be punished for his involvement in putting away the murderer. A new murderer comes to the surface, Outcast, and a series of events unravels as people end up murdered and ultimately Tess's daughter gets kidnapped.

Many twists that keep you guessing, and the reveals are flawless. Well written and thrilling.

"Sleep Tight" by J.H. Markert is my first read from this author, and it did not disappoint. Channeling the eerie and captivating style of Stephen King, this book has been generating quite the buzz, and for good reason. Once the story gets off the ground, it becomes an utterly compelling read.

The novel intrigued me on all fronts that I love: true crime, psychology, forensics, police procedural elements, and multiple POVs that keep the narrative fresh and engaging with every turn of the page. This is horror at its finest, complete with serial killers and dark, twisted elements that left me riveted.

The portrayal of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) did become a bit confusing towards the end with the multiple personalities, but it didn’t detract significantly from the overall experience. In fact, I appreciated how the ending left the door open for a potential sequel (fingers crossed).

"Sleep Tight" offers a wild ride featuring druggies wearing weird animal masks, thunderstorms, an old amusement park, priests, the paranormal, kidnapping, mommy issues, &&& lotssss of murder. The blend of these elements created a unique and terrifying atmosphere that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Overall, I have no critiques for this one; chef's kiss. I highly recommend it if you're looking for a police procedural horror with a sprinkle of cult activity and a lot of terror. It’s so unique, and I’m definitely interested in exploring more of J.H. Markert’s work.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books, and J.H. Markert for providing a complimentary digital copy in exchange for my honest review.