Thea is an insomniac; she hasn’t slept more than three hours a night for years.
So when an ad for a sleep trial that promises to change her life pops up on her phone, Thea knows this is her last chance at finding any kind of normal life.
Soon Thea’s sleeping for longer than she has in a decade, and awakes feeling transformed. So much so that at first she’s willing to overlook the oddities of the trial – the lack of any phone signal; the way she can’t leave her bedroom without permission; the fact that all her personal possessions are locked away, even her shoes.
But it soon becomes clear that the trial doesn’t just want to help Thea sleep. It wants to control her sleep…
An unputdownable, gripping thriller for fans of The One, Behind Her Eyes and Girl A!
My Thoughts
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thea has battled with insomnia for many years now, something that is massively impacting upon her life on a daily basis. When she is involved in a car accident, she knows she has to do something about it, so when she learns of a trial that could help her get the sleep she so desperately needs she jumps at the opportunity to take part.
However, all is not as it initially seems. Thea is initially overjoyed to be sleeping for longer than she has in years, something that distracts her from the more troubling aspects of the trial. But as she begins to adjust to her new normal, she realises that the expectations from the participants of the trial are alarming – and before long she realises that all of those sleepless nights she had experienced before are far better than the life she has found herself signed up to.
This is a truly unique psychological thriller that had me engrossed from the start. I loved how complex the storyline was as we were introduced to the life that Thea found herself living following her acceptance into such a trial. Thea’s character is wonderful and has a well fleshed out personality that really draws you in and makes you feel connected to her and her situation much better.
The storyline itself is chilling and had me holding my breath at times as the story pushed forward with an increasing amount of tension and suspense that makes it difficult to part with at the best of times. This is a wonderful debut by this author, and I will certainly be looking out for future releases of Louise Mumford.
About the Author
Louise was born and lives in South Wales. From a young age she loved books and dancing, but hated having to go to sleep, convinced that she might miss out on something interesting happening in the world whilst she dozed – much to her mother’s frustration! Insomnia has been a part of her life ever since.
She studied English Literature at university and graduated with first class honours. As a teacher she tried to pass on her love of reading to her students (and discovered that the secret to successful teaching is… stickers! She is aware that that is, essentially, bribery.)
In the summer of 2019 Louise experienced a once-in-a-lifetime moment: she was discovered as a new writer by her publisher at the Primadonna Festival. Everything has been a bit of a whirlwind since then.
Louise lives in Cardiff with her husband and spends her time trying to get down on paper all the marvellous and frightening things that happen in her head.
Her debut thriller, SLEEPLESS, will be published by HQ on 10th Dec 2020.
Twitter: @louise_mumford
Instagram: @louisemumfordauthor
Facebook: @LouiseMumfordAuthor
Website: http://www.louisemumfordauthor.com
*Thank you to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours, HQ Stories and Louise Mumford for providing me with a gifted copy of this book in return for my honest review. All thoughts are entirely my own and not influenced in any way.*
Victoria Wilks 