LOVED this book. This was my first book by this author and I can't wait to read more. We follow Tess and Justin as they try to locate their missing daughter. Years ago, a man was convicted of murder of many children, but he would not speak of his crimes. Thus, the media began calling him Father Silence. Finally, he is put to death but before he dies, he utters his final words, "Be aware the one that got away". In the days following his execution, Tess and Justin's daughter is kidnapped by the "Outcast" who idolized Father Silence and thus is beginning a new wave of murders. So many twists and turns, but everything about this amazing, heart pounding and fast paced. You won't want to put it down.

Sleep Tight by J. H. Markert was received directly from the publisher and I chose to review it. I had never read this author before and I would read more if given the chance. This book, while touted as a "horror" book, is more a police drama that starts out fast and furious. At some point, maybe 20%, it starts to become difficult to follow with so many characters being introduced. Around 40% I personally got to the point where I just wanted the book to end or to become real horror. If you, or someone you buy gifts for enjoys long police procedure books, certainly give this one a read. I gave it three point five stars but rounded down to three.

Sleep Tight opens with the execution of Father Silence, a murderer who pretended to be a priest and refused to provide the police with details of his crimes. Detective Tess Claibourne’s father was one of the arresting officers, but flashbacks to Tess’s childhood hint at her involvement, as well.

Tess’s parents moved her away from the town of Twisted Tree, Kentucky following Father Silence’s arrest, but she’ll head back there when murders resume on the heels of the execution and her daughter goes missing. Did Father Silence act alone, or were there others involved? Aided by her best friend/partner and her estranged psychologist husband, Justin, Tess must face her past to save her daughter.

Children in danger, a flawed protagonist, and an institutionalized patient suffering from dissociative identity disorder propel this twisted thriller forward while the author provides context and backstory through witness statements and interviews from the original case, which is my favorite way to glean history.

The writing style is fluid and tense, but the identities of multiple characters who aren’t who they seem to be convolutes and dilutes the plot, watering down the impact of critical reveals through repeated use of the same device. There are multiple priests and imposters, a dissociated patient with more than a handful of personalities, and others, though I don’t want to spoil anything. I would have to re-read the novel in order to put all of the pieces into context now that I know the truth about the characters.

Speaking of characters, Tess Claibuorne is a complicated one whose fear of thunder storms and flashbacks to repressed memories add to the tension and mystery but whose addiction leaves me scratching my head. She’s the iconic mother character, desperate to save her missing child, but reverts to prescription drug abuse at critical points, making her husband Justin’s affair seem like the lesser sin. Hers isn’t a recovery arc, per se, and the author’s decision to make her an addict lessens her likability, reduces her credibility, and shifts blame away from Justin while scratching the surface of the quasi-relatable antagonist trope—an evil character saving children from bad parents although Justin Claibourne never fit that mold to me.

Sleep Tight is an excellent thriller with lots of moving parts. It relies heavily on genre tropes that lends a familiar mashup feel to this otherwise original story. The blurb cites The Black Phone, but Sleep Tight evokes more of a Joe Hill NOS4A2 feeling for me with the “rescued” children, Silence of the Lambs and Billy Milligan with the interviewing of the dissociative identity disorder patient, the execution and fallout reminds me of Chuck Wendig’s Book of Accidents, and religion in horror is a trope in itself; a sub-genre, really.

Sleep Tight is highly recommended for fans of any of the above and crime fiction readers who enjoy tense abduction stories rather than horror. The gore is mild and might appeal to readers who also enjoyed Ronald Malfi’s December Park for straddling of the lines between horror, mystery, and thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley, J.H. Markert, and Crooked Lane Books for the Advance Reader Copy.

The book is twisted, heartbreaking and creepy. The ending was jaw dropping. The characters were intriguing. So many unthinkable things happens in this book.

To rectify the present, sometimes one has to face the demons of their past. The fear, creepiness, mystery and suspense kept me on the edge of my seat. Detective Tess Claibourne talked with her father last night. She did not see this coming and the next day, the news of her parent’s death arrives. But unfortunate happenings don’t stop there, now her daughter is also missing. She is in such a dilemma whether she grieve for her mother and father or she find her daughter. The mystery of her disappearance is linked to her childhood town and twisted tree. She herself is traumatised by her childhood memories and all the murders that took place at twisted tree. Will she be able to find her daughter? The book was so creepy, haunting and the kind of book which keeps the readers at the edge. The twists and turns were unpredictable.


Many Thanks to the Author, Publisher and Netgalley.

Rating: 4.5

Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC. The review is my own honest opinion.

This horror thriller sucked me in and buckled me up for one hell of a wild ride. With as many twists, turns, dives, and loop-de-loops you go on to get to the grand finale, I definitely needed that seat belt. Whew!

I will say, that because of how twisty this gets and how much information is fed to you from both past and present, it can get confusing. I also felt like some of the characters kind of meta-ed the information, not acting very shocked by new information as if they knew it all along and they shouldn't have. It made any shock factor dissipate, as I was more confused by their non-reaction to react myself.

But beyond that, and perhaps a few hiccups with spelling and awkward sentence structure that I hope will get polished before it gets published, I did truly enjoy this book. Haunting, creepy, fucked up, nerve wracking, and oddly heart warming at points for that brief break from all the tension.

Please be aware of trigger warnings, especially centered around childhood trauma. Neglect, abuse, SA, substance abuse, brutal unaliving, mental illness, etc. There's also mention of an affair between two of the PoVs (there's multiple PoVs in this book). I can't stand cheaters, so I instantly hated that character. But that's my own personal gripe for the character and not used against my rating.

I was able to read this book early and I'm really glad I did!
It felt like a mix of an episode of Criminal Minds and that awesome first season of True Detective. Amazing twist and turns through out the book...
The only downside was that it was a bit too long. Other than that, I loved it!

Posted this review on Goodreads, on April 8th and will also post it on Amazon.com, on publication day Sept 10th 2024

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. I absolutely loved this book! I loved the mystery of who the Outcast is, and how the story actually unfolds. I loved how the author developed Noah's DID, and how his identities came to be. I like how strong Tess is, and how smart and caring Justin is. This kept me guessing until the end and I just could not put it down.

Thank you NetGalley and J. H. Market for this ARC. This book was an amazing ride! From start to finish I was totally enthralled with the story and the characters.. It was a mix of crime, cult and horror, and I loved every minute of it. This is a new author for me, but I will definitely be reading more of their books, and I would highly recommend this book! This would be a perfect book, if you’re stuck in a book slump, and you need a book that’s fast paced and hard to put down! I also loved the cover as well!!!

This had a great overall feel to the horror thriller element in this story. The characters were what I was expecting and glad that they worked with the overall feel of the story. The horror elements worked with everything that I was hoping for and thought the concept was beautifully done. J. H. Markert has a great writing style and that they created characters that worked overall.

4.5 or 5 ⭐️ (still deciding) but wow!!! That was a wild ride of a book. I was hooked from the very beginning and got completely sucked into the story. There was nonstop action and plot points happening throughout the entire story, that my brain hurt trying to process it all 🤣

I’m not going to lie, when I first saw this book cover, I thought it was going to be a haunted house story, but it is not lol. This is in my opinion a mix between a crime thriller and a horror book. It was about a serial unaliver and how there may be a new copy cat now after he was executed. But there are also horror like elements like creepy animal mask cults.

I will say this was so twisty and insane that sometimes I got a little confused or overwhelmed at the info and had to sit back and think about it. Which is why I am thinking of taking the .5 off the rating. But once everything was unraveled, I was gasping! I could not read this book fast enough.

Thank you to netgalley and crooked lane books for this arc!! Releases September 24th

Although I still have a few questions after finishing this book, I really enjoyed it! The suspense and intrigue kept me in my toes til the very end and would definitely recommend!

This book was fantastic!! From beginning to end, this read had me on the edge of my seat with too many questions to hold still. The character development was excellent and I was invested in each character and their relationships. It straddles a cast of characters from the past and present and you’re constantly in a state of trying to connect the two. And the horror - holy fear!! There are drugged up adults wearing creepy animal masks and making animal noises, thunder and lightening, a haunted forest and an amusement park… oh, and priests. This book has it all!! Excuse me now while I go read every book this author has ever written.

Thank you, NetGalley and JH Markert, for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I'm not usually a fan of crime thrillers, but this author was recommended to me by several folks in my book club, and the premise sounded super interesting, so I took the dive.

And I'm glad I did!

Sleep Tight was a fantastic read, super suspenseful and kept me hooked the whole way! I loved the way the author combined the mystery behind the kidnappings and murders, and how they related to our MFC Tess, with Tess being an unreliable narrator herself due to her past trauma.

The author also did a great job of hiding the identity of the villain until the big reveal, and let me tell you, whatever you think is going on, I promise you you're wrong.

"I don't do the Bad Thing, Tess, the Bad Thing does me."

I think this one will be on a lot of people’s favorites list for the year. I personally think there were way too many plot points going on and I think people would be very lost and confused if they were to listen to this on audio. Instead of a twist or reveal, a new plot point would open up and it was a little overwhelming to follow.

Wow… just wow. This was such an entertaining book to read and just an incredible reading experience. This really plays into the fears many people have of being kidnapped or having their child kidnapped. Growing up, I was such a scared kid, I mean I’m still afraid to answer my front door! There were so many elements at play here from cults, serial killers, detectives, horror, animal masks, I mean it had a lot! The way J. H. Markert wrote this story made this such an unputdownable read!

Detective Tess Claibourne finds herself once again mixed up with the horrors of Father Silence’s legacy. Following the execution of Father Silence, a new serial killer called the Outcast begins their own reign of terror. As she digs deeper into finding her daughter and the identity of the Outcast, Tess goes back to where it all began, back to Twisted Tree. Tess must unearth memories from her childhood and face her fears if she truly wishes to be successful. Sleep Tight packs all the punches and is such an entertaining read and is one I would highly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read this ARC!

TW: substance abuse, sexual assault, murder, child abduction.

I feel like I was sold on this book being a horror novel but it's really a police procedural with some creepy elements. Was I entertained? Mostly. However, the frustrating aspects of this book weighed down any attempts to conjure up excitement to pick it up and read each evening. On the positive side, the author is great at holding tension and I definitely had moments of being really creeped out. Unfortunately, This book suffers from cramming way too many ideas into a story. In my opinion, it's begging for more edits. There are so many characters and so many convoluted things going on furiously flipping back and forth amongst the chaos, by the time I got to the last 20% of the book I was begging to get it over with.

This was my first novel by this author. I’ll give it 3.5 stars. First, it was an incredibly long book (in my opinion). With all the introduction of characters, which I’m pretty good with keeping straight, I was confused a few times. In addition, the references to Tess (main character) and growing up in Twisted Tree with her Detective Father, Leland. Something sinister happened all those years ago. Tess’s daughter Julia has been kidnapped, and only Noah (who suffers from multiple personalities) can help them find her. Understanding what happened in the past plays a vital role with everything in the present.

I saw someone say this mixes crime thriller with cult horror perfectly and couldn’t agree more. If you’ve been looking to dip your toe into the horror genre, this would be a great one to start with. Its not over the top and the “gore” I would consider relatively light but still leaves you chilled.

You start the story with the execution of the serial killer, Father Silence. Who, after all these years, finally breaks his silence with the chilling warning to “beware the one that got away”. We quickly meet the "Outcast" that makes everyone question everything about Father Silence.

This story is told from multiple POV’s and each one is like you’re peeling back a layer just for it to bring you deeper into the mystery. You wont be able to stop turning the pages to figure out what is going on. By the end, you hit this crescendo that leaves you reeling. And the imagery?! Top notch.

I do want to add a little bit of a trigger warning, there is substance abuse, some involving a relapse and childhood trauma, which does involve r@pe.

3.5 stars rounded down. I’ve heard lots about Markert so I was pretty psyched for this one. I enjoyed the story overall but felt there was a bit too much going at once. The story started off strong but between the characters and potential personas, there was just a lot to keep up with. Some have nicknames and it was hard keeping everything straight.

I also struggled with the way this book toed the supernatual line without firmly committing. I would’ve preferred it pushing the line a bit harder if supernatural was the intent. Instead it’s just used to justify any convenient bits.

I enjoyed the characters but there was some major cliches there.

Overall I still would love to check out future works for Merkert. The book has a lot going on but would interest those who enjoy books about cults and buried secrets.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I'll be honest--what first grabbed me about this book was that fabulous cover. But once I delved deeper and read the synopsis, which intigued me beyond words, I knew I had to request it on NetGalley! And oh my goodness, am I glad I did! On to my review!

The prologue was compelling, leaving you as the reader with so many questions, but setting the stage for an enthralling psychological thriller that will often leave your heart racing. The plot-line surrounds a serial killer known as Father Silence, his House of Horrors, and the gruesome legacy he leaves behind. There was so much going on in SLEEP TIGHT that my head was spinning during most of it. You need to bring your A-game to this novel — don’t expect an easy read where your mind can wander. Don’t read it while you're sleepy, either! I found myself rereading passages just to make sure I was following everything correctly. As a former psychology major, counselor, and professional student (haha), I was truly fascinated by so much about this book. I don’t want to divulge anything, though, because any spoilers going into the novel would be tragic. The less you know, the more you’ll enjoy it, trust me!

There are many characters in this book, which sometimes negatively impacts character development. However, the author does an amazing job of developing his characters with such detail, helping the reader become even more immersed and invested in the story playing out on the pages. Tess (our MC) is a complex, flawed, brilliantly written protagonist. Her strained relationship with husband, Justin, added to the tension and helped truly humanize both of them. The antagonists in SLEEP TIGHT are equally well developed, including the Outcast and Noah, making both absolutley intriguing, especially when we are given glimpses into their troubled minds. Long held secrets, as well as traumatic suppressed memories, slowly make themselves known—a gradual process, but only helping propel the plot forward in ways you couldn’t possibly imagine going into this book.

Oh, and I especially loved reading the "BEFORE" chapters in the novel, including the police interviews. Each was deftly placed in the book to help build up the mystery and suspense. It's a cat-and-mouse thriller that will have you asking who is the real villain, whom can you trust, and what’s with those masks? My one complaint is about the ending, which was very good but seemed rushed in my opinion. I would have liked to see more regarding confrontation and closure. But without a doubt, I'd recommend this book to everyone who loves horror-filled stories filled with mysteries, twists, and memorable serial killers.

I want to thank NetGalley, J.H. Markert, and Crooked Lane Books for gifting me the ARC of SLEEP TIGHT! It was such a privilege to read this before publication. And I appreciate you trusting me with an honest review!