Insomnia is a twisted, dark ride that keeps you gripped, unable to look away. Utterly addictive and highly recommended’ Lucy Clarke Piled on top of all of Emma’s worries, however, is the very real sense that someone is out to get her. Slashed tires, an anonymous note, and the very real sense she’s being watched. Is it possible she has a stalker? Or are her sleepless nights creating a rising paranoia that is coloring her days? Unsure whether she can even trust her own sanity, Emma’s world begins to fall apart. Can she save herself or was she always doomed to lose her mind? Emma's sleep problems have started before her fortieth birthday and of course without sleep, 💤 she is aware her view of reality is slipping. Her mother is in an asylum and from what we hear from Emma a truly horrible mother who set the tone years ago for their eventual estrangement. Emma's life is falling apart 😪 and as her birthday approaches, she becomes more and more irrational, unable to handle the stresses of family life and her high prestige position of lawyer in a very well-known firm. Emma feels like everyone is out to get her from her sister, to her husband, no one is spared her inability to be rational. It's a recipe for disaster 🌋 and the disasters 🌊 seemed to be headed straight for Emma's door. The cover definitely gave off a far more sinister vibe than was ever experienced underneath it, but there was a subtle eerie undertone that dogged all that occurred. This never became a truly horrifying novel but remained an entirely thrilling and intriguing one, throughout.

Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough - Serenity You Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough - Serenity You

I became completely immersed in this story and felt as if I were going crazy along with Emma. I had no idea how this one was going to play out and for once I didn't even try to guess or figure it out. If you pay attention, there is even a nod to Behind Her Eyes at the end of Insomnia.

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

In this twisty, mind-bending thriller from the bestselling author of Behind Her Eyes, Emma Averell worries that her crippling insomnia is a sign that she’s slowly going insane—like the mother she’s worked so hard to leave in her past. Pinborough starts off at a very harrowing but controlled slow pace. She set the scene so well - too well, maybe? Foreboding creeps in: a sense that this is not going to end well for this happy little family. (As I got to the final quarter section of the novel, I got a sense that Pinborough had started off with one viable plot line in mind, then decided to trash her ending and inject this totally off the wall summation into the mix? WHAT I ALSO LIKED: The subject matter. As a fellow insomniac, I could definitely relate to the horrible feeling of being unable to sleep and going slightly mad about it. I also know that some people are getting tired of the “is the main character going crazy or being gaslit?” narrative, but I most certainly am still a fan of this trope. I am here for the alternate reality plot lines, and the feelings of claustrophobia and terror, and the creepy dread about one’s one mental health. (Haven’t we all worried at times if we were going a little crazy?) Overall, if you liked Behind Her Eyes then this one will appeal too. It’s well written, a bit different, fast paced with numerous plot twists and turns. Prepare to be totally and utterly blown away by Insomnia. Sarah Pinborough is a twisted genius’ Lisa Jewell

Insomnia: A Novel - Kindle edition by Pinborough, Sarah

The story line seemed to be going in one direction, but, as usual, in an effort to come up with a spectacular twist, all credibility went out the window towards the end. I did really enjoy the plot of this one, because it was much more complex than it seems - there are many characters to suspect here - even Emma herself - and Pinborough does a fantastic job at switching focus on each of them. I also liked Emma (although her character was perhaps a bit cliché - exhausted professional mother with a seemingly perfect house husband. Friends and neighbors find her cold and unfriendly with a husband who does little to alleviate this image, yatta yatta). I did not like Robert at all - I was hoping he would be the next pillow victim lol, and Phoebe was not much better. For the love of god, get these people a good family therapist! 🤦‍♀️ The one thing I will say is that I sometimes struggle with books where the gaslighting is so thorough that I feel uncomfortable and tense, as it leaves me unsettled. This is most assuredly one of those reads, and a few times, as much as I enjoyed the book, I just wanted it to end (if that makes sense!). I'm not sure I loved the ending either, but I will leave that there. Emma desperately wants to keep her childhood trauma in the past, but as she stops being able to sleep, she also can’t stop thinking about what happened all those years ago. Is the madness in her blood? Could she end up hurting her family in her foggy, half-awake state, just like her mother? Or is there another explanation for the strange things that keep happening around her? Emma must unravel the dark strands of her past to protect the people she loves… or risk losing it all, including her sanity. Emma Averell loves her life—her high-powered legal career, her two beautiful children, and her wonderful stay-at-home husband—but it wasn’t always so perfect. When she was just five years old, Emma and her older sister went into foster care because of a deeply disturbing incident with their mother. Her sister can remember a time when their mother was loving and “normal,” but Emma can only remember her as one thing—a monster.I have been intending on reading a Sarah Pinborough book for some time but have never gotten around to it, so this was my first. I have no idea about her other books, but this one was a winner! Emma is a solicitor in Leeds who specializes in high profile divorces. She’s worked hard and has built her reputation up to the point that she is about to be made a partner at her firm — all right before her 40th birthday. The only problem is that the milestone is even more anxiety-ridden for Emma than it is for most women, because she's been keeping a big secret from her husband and kids - Emma’s mother suffered a psychotic breakdown when she turned 40 and tried to smother Emma’s older sister, Phoebe, with a pillow. Emma has told Robert and the kids that her mother died years ago. When Phoebe, who has been estranged from Emma, turns up at Emma’s house right before her birthday and tells Emma that their mother, who has been in a sanitarium since her breakdown, is dying, Emma knows she cannot keep her secret much longer. She has already been experiencing sleepless nights, and Phoebe tells Emma that she has the same “bad blood” as their mother. Even more chilling is Robert’s accusation that she is terrorizing their young son by standing beside his bed at night with a pillow in her hands. Emma has no memory of this behavior, but it’s hard to think straight when she’s functioning on so little sleep. Is she really a monster or is someone just going to great lengths to make her think so? Possibly my favorite of Pinborough’s yet, and that’s saying something. It’s an absolute rollercoaster of a ride: twist upon twist, expertly handled. I actually gasped out loud several times. So atmospheric and sexy… A triumph!" — Lucy Foley, New York Times bestselling author , on Dead to Her Secondly: Emma is absolutely likable character who reminds me of a juggler: trying so hard to balance all those balls above her head, multitasking all the time by putting the others first.

INSOMNIA by Sarah Pinborough - Crime by the Book Book Review: INSOMNIA by Sarah Pinborough - Crime by the Book

I’ve finally read my first Sarah Pinborough thriller, and it absolutely won’t be my last. INSOMNIA—available today in the US—is one of the most genuinely unsettling and utterly gripping psychological thrillers I’ve read in ages, and it’s sure to be one of my favorite books of 2022. In this twisty, paranoia-inducing tale, a woman anxiously awaits her 40th birthday—but not for the reason you might think. When Emma’s mother turned 40, she lost her mind…and now, as Emma’s own 40th birthday approaches, she begins to fear the very same thing might be happening to her. INSOMNIA is an “unreliable narrator” thriller done right—Pinborough expertly draws readers into Emma’s increasingly terrifying world, where no one and nothing can be trusted, not even Emma’s own mind. This book will keep you on your toes, never quite sure who to trust, and who might be hiding dark secrets. INSOMNIA is a story about what we inherit from our family, and the pieces of those inheritances that we wish we could escape. It’s also one of the most downright entertaining thrillers I’ve read in ages. Clear your schedule and—cheesy as it may be to say, it’s true—prepare to lose sleep over INSOMNIA. OMG! What an utterly transfixing and mind-bending novel Insomnia was. The first I’ve read by Sarah Pinborough (what on earth has taken me so long?!?), there is no possible realm where I could have ever guessed where the plot was leading. And let me tell you, it was so deftly engineered that only an absolute maestro of the written word could have created such an absolutely perfect (I’m going to overuse this word in my review, so get used to it) novel. The synopsis alone had me wanting to read this one ASAP! Unfortunately, I did feel like this book read a little bit long at times, and I truly felt like I was experiencing every single ounce of fatigue and anxiety as our protagonist! I knew that there was something more at work here than just the paranoia that accompanies insomnia, but I was conflicted in what exactly I thought could really be happening and I feel like this could have been less drawn out. One crazy sleepless ride building up to a hideously tense climax. Expertly done – Sarah Pinborough is the queen of unsettling, twisty reads’ Harriet TyceEmma Averell just can't fall asleep. Emma went through a traumatic event when she was only 5 years old at the hands of her mentally ill mother, on her mother’s 40th birthday. The week before the incident, Emma’s mother also suffered from Insomnia. Emma turns 40 in one week and is terrified that she is going to follow in her mother's madness and a terrible history will repeat itself. As someone who has suffered from chronic Insomnia, I can say that going without sleep can truly make you feel like you are going crazy. The stress and anxiety that you feel from not being able to fall asleep at night and the state of exhaustion you feel all day is the absolute worst. Sarah Pinborough upped the ante and made an already terrible condition into something completely nightmarish. Even though two of her books are problematic AF towards the gay community, I still was interested in reading Sarah Pinborough's upcoming psychological thriller, Insomnia. As usual, Pinborough takes her mystery/thrillers to the next level with nods to the supernatural, but this time it's really more of a dash and it works perfectly. Long story short is Emma is turning 40 which apparently means she will just go mad. A few days before her 40th she is experiencing insomnia and things are happening to her that she can't explain. That's about it, there is a bit of history as her mother had similar issues so it must be genetic. There is nothing more to this then that and it just becomes sooooo repetitive.

Insomnia’: Paramount To Adapt Sarah Pinborough Novel Into TV ‘Insomnia’: Paramount To Adapt Sarah Pinborough Novel Into TV

Pinborough’s unsettling, remorseless psychological thriller is horribly plausible and expertly plotted’ Sunday Times I went into this book giddy with anticipation as Sarah Pinborough is one of the most creative writers in the thriller genre. Even when I'm not totally on board with an ending, and that's the case with Insomnia, I can still say I enjoyed the crazy and wild ride.What I didn't like: sigh...yawn...I believe I mentioned repetitive. Caroline and Robert. Caroline just came out of left field even the friendship blew my mind on how comfortable Emma was with Caroline and her home. Example: I'm dirty and bloody and I barely know you but can I just use your shower while you leave for work? Sure...yeah no. Then Robert.....supportive much? Nope. Ultimately, this story was filled with too many rehashed, overdone stereotypes. Also, characters would appear to be diabolical or ruthless, only to appear lamb-like or "not so very bad" at the end. So exhausting and annoying! And yet, the first part of this book was a riveting read - very reminiscent of the author's earlier efforts. Fourthly: the reason I rounded my 3.5 stars to 4 is THAT AMAZING AND SMART ENDING! If you read “Behind Her Eyes”, you’re gonna adore this part! But you should read the book or watch the brilliant Netflix adaptation at first ( or do both for comparing the differences )