Sleepless is a gripping psychological thriller about an insomniac who gets the wake-up call she needs after causing a car accident. What seems like a solution to the insomnia slowly becomes something more dangerous and deadly.

Thea, the main character, has suffered from insomnia for years and decides to take part in a new sleep programme called Morpheus. I found Thea to be quite likeable and I instantly felt sympathetic to her situation. While I’ve had a few sleepless nights here and there, I’ve never suffered to the extent that Thea does. I felt the author perfectly captured how it feels to get through each day on only a few hours sleep and the zombie-like experience of it as Thea struggles to get through her working day.

While the trial seems legitimate to start with – aside from the fact that it takes place on an island with no phone signal and some questionable rules the subjects have to follow – Thea soon begins to notice strange sightings on the island and teams up with other subjects to investigate. Unfortunately, this is where the story took a rather bizarre turn for me and I found myself enjoying it less and less. I was still invested in the plot and curious to find out the true purpose of the programme but I wasn’t as enthusiastic about the sci-fi turn the story had taken. Sleepless is plot-driven rather than character-driven and uses action scenes to keep the story moving. For this, it relies a lot on the tech and what it’s actually doing to the subjects. Is it really helping them or is it seeking to control them? It was interesting, however, I felt that it could have been explored better.

This brings me onto the tech used in the trials. One thing I was interested in and would like to have found out more about was the metal discs that are used. When Thea first arrives at the island, two discs are placed on each temple and she’s told the discs will get to know her and find out her sleep pattern and from that point on, it will know what to do with her. I figured it wasn’t as straightforward as that but I felt like I never quite understood what it was actually doing to the subjects. I’d have like more explanation behind the tech and how it really worked. I appreciated the twist though that the trial might not actually be trying to help people and was actually taking advantage of people’s desperation.

I enjoyed the ending and how much of a darker turn it took, however, it was rather abrupt and I was left with more questions than answers. It wasn’t a very satisfying ending, unfortunately. While I enjoyed the first half more than the second half, the overall concept is very unique and I was hooked on the story despite the loose ends. I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for what Louise Mumford writes next.

**Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**