Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Insomnia

There were some decent twists in this book that I enjoyed - definitely similar to Behind Her Eyes so if you enjoyed that I'd recommend this book. However, a lot of it was very repetitive and boring, I honestly think this book could've been about 50-100 pages shorter. Plus, I'm tired of the trope of a woman not being believed & being gaslit by everyone in her life, it's just exhausting to read in a thriller for the millionth time, especially with how repetitive this book gets. Also there was a lot of ableism in this book from all of the characters, including internalized ableism from the MC, and a shit ton of throwing around words like 'crazy' and 'mad' which I thought wasn't properly addressed at all.

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mondovertigo's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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onemorepagecrew's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I love psychological thrillers and the premise in Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough was intriguing. The protagonist, Emma, is experiencing insomnia in the weeks leading up to her 40th birthday and it’s causing a multitude of issues in her work and personal lives. The situation is further complicated by the fact that her mother experienced similar issues at her 40th birthday which led to a traumatic situation for Emma and her sister, leaving them in foster care and their mother in long-term psychiatric care. Emma spends the duration of the book trying to figure out if she is following in her mother’s path or if someone is intentionally harming her.

As far as psychological tension goes, this book did a good job creating the mental puzzle that keeps a reader searching for clues. The pace is fast and there are thrilling points, though it is not scary (in my opinion). As far as a satisfying ending, I felt resolution with a realistic plot twist and a touch of supernatural. It wasn’t shocking and there were a few loose ends I thought needed to be addressed, but overall if you like a fast-paced mystery that you can crunch through in a day or two, this will do it.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least mention that the language around mental health is… outdated and cringey. Primarily using words like insane and crazy to describe a person experiencing mental distress and a few therapy scenes that felt off. I read the acknowledgements and didn’t see any reference to a mental health professional who consulted on the book and perhaps it’s just not listed, but it also wouldn’t surprise me if it was a miss.

Content warnings: Mental illness, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Stalking, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Car accident

Content Warnings

missymoomoo6888's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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doreyghc's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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