Review by Booklist Review
Internationally bestselling author Pinborough brings her uniquely twisted genius to her fourth psychological thriller (following Dead to Her, 2020). Emma simply cannot sleep. Her fortieth birthday is almost here. The "Night Night" meds are not helping. Oddly, Emma's mother also developed insomnia just before her fortieth birthday. And that was right before she did an unspeakable thing. Too ill for prison, she was committed to a care facility where she has vegetated to the age of 75. Emma's older sister, Phoebe, always said that Emma inherited the same "bad blood." Despite her traumatic past, Emma loves her career, her family, and her home, but she feels them slipping away. Is she descending into madness, or is someone gaslighting her? Emma has given a few women reason to dislike her, but there is a spooky factor involved here that leads her to think this is something that has been on the way for quite a while. A real mind-twister, guaranteed to please fans of genre-bending thrillers.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this gripping if flawed domestic thriller from British author Pinborough (Behind Her Eyes), Leeds solicitor Emma Averell sees her enviable existence start to implode days before she turns 40, the age at which her mother's psychotic breakdown shattered their family. As Emma struggles with insomnia, her mind races with obsessive thoughts--what if she really is going off the rails like her mother? Increasingly exhausted, she bungles client conferences and snaps at her stay-at-home husband, Robert, and their two children. Emma loses it when an emergency call from her estranged older sister, Phoebe, tricks her into a situation that lands her in a murder investigation. She becomes convinced she's being gaslighted by either Phoebe or Robert, who kicks her out of the house because of professed concern about the impact her deteriorating mental state is having on their kids. As she strives to figure out who's trying to destroy her and why, the suspense becomes almost unbearable. Only a paranormal-tinged deus ex machina to tie up the unruly plot twists disappoints. Readers should be prepared for a page-turner that at times is too unsettling to be thoroughly enjoyable. Agent: Grainne Fox, Fletcher & Co. (Apr.)
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