While You Sleep by

WHILE YOU SLEEP

by STEPHANIE MERRITT 

You may wonder if the title to this novel is ironic, because believe me, sleep is the one thing you will not be doing either while or after you've read this book! Luckily it's not something that's high on my agenda and I like nothing more than to be terrified witless late at night, when everything seems more strange and unsettling in the shadows cast by my kindle backlight...

Those who know me well will know why I wanted to read this book... One woman. A Scottish island. A big house with a dark secret. C'mon, there was no way I was not going to read and love this book! 

*Shudder* 

Be warned, there's no respite with this book. It opens with a woman screaming, with nightmares and with graphic imaginings. We are thrown in to the story and within moments, I was caught, hooked and glued to the pages. There are some quite explicit scenes so be warned, there is some disturbing content concerning the motivations of the some of the character, but it all makes for a book which tries to take the psychological thriller in a new direction.

Back to the opening of the story though. As we stand on the beach and turn back towards the remote island, we are introduced to the McBride house; tall and dark, with its 'shifting shadows, shapes that shiver at the window' and the sound 'a woman's keening that grows louder as the gale seeks unprotected corners of the house...'

*Shudder*

I love all of this stuff. It's fantastic. And it gets better. Local history tells of a boy that disappeared over one hundred years ago, with his mother, a widow, and then last year, another local boy also goes missing. No trace left. Curiouser and curiouser. Mysterious and more mysterious. Then along comes Zoe Adams, all the way from America, seeking refuge from her failing marriage, and takes up residence in this clearly haunted and unwelcoming house. Is it going to end well? I doubt it, but I was sure going to read on and find out. As should you!

The story progresses just as you would want a truly psychologically chilling thriller to unfold. We learn more about Zoe and her situation, we learn more about the history of the house and the dark secrets it's hiding. We meet the locals, with their beliefs about the house and then we watch as Zoe starts to uncover the truth, even if it might unwittingly placing herself in danger at the same time. It is 400 pages long so it is quite a long read, although I didn't particularly notice and I think the author has been brave to include some of the content and scenes, but it makes for something different and there was nothing that made me feel uncomfortable or that I wanted to stop. 

This is a novel full of deliciously terrifying nighttime disturbances, with great descriptions of strange noises, wailings and crying. The author has created a story full of odd happenings and has effectively captured a very convincing sense of a unwelcome presence, exaggerated by the sound of unknown voices. At times, it echoes The Woman in Black by Susan Hill and The Unquiet House by Alison Littlewood. 

*more shudders!*

I liked the gothic influence, I like the ghost story element, and clearly I always enjoy a bit of the psychologically thriller aspect. And I like the supernatural twists. In fact, I was amused by how much more I seem to enjoy a sprinkling of the supernatural or paranormal in books these days! I'm interested in the growing popularity of this genre, particularly when it overlaps or blends itself into thrillers, like Miss Peregine Home for Peculiar Children and Behind Her Eyes, and it's far to say, when it's done well, I am really captivated by it. 

So, I recommend this book. It's a nightmarishly good page turner! I would warn about some of the explicitness and there is a significantly paranormal influence on this novel, but it will also intrigue fans of the gothic and the ghostly. Who needs sleep anyway? 

While You Sleep is published by Harper Collins on the 8th March 2018.