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Insomnia: A gripping new crime thriller for 2023 from the No.1 Sunday Times bestselling author of BEHIND HER EYES, and a Richard and Judy Book Club pick

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I became completely immersed in this story and felt as if I were going crazy along with Emma. I had no idea how this one was going to play out and for once I didn't even try to guess or figure it out. If you pay attention, there is even a nod to Behind Her Eyes at the end of Insomnia. Emma is a successful solicitor, helping those in an unhappy marriage move on. As a divorce attorney, she's naturally made some enemies along the way. One day when she receives a haunting message from her older and estranged sister Phoebe, she rushes to her side at the hospital only to find it is in fact her mother who is ailing. Her mother, who has been in a psychiatric institution for the past 30 years, has unsuccessfully attempted suicide. All just days before Emma's 40th birthday. Three decades prior her mother in fact went mad on the same birthday, attempting to smother her older daughter. Fast forward to present day and Emma has put her family's dark past behind her with a successful career, a loving husband and two beautiful children. But on the night of the hospital visit she inexplicably encounters a case of insomnia. One night without sleep is followed by two, then three, then four, and so on. With each night Emma goes without rest, and the closer her 40th birthday approaches the more detached from reality and sanity she becomes. Strange events begin occurring, such as someone slashing her tires and keying her car, her son experiencing a trauma only he can communicate through horrifying drawings. Has someone, possibly a disgruntled former client, targeted Emma? Is her family truly in danger, as Emma believes, keeping her up all night every night, or is she simply paranoid on account of her past? Emma and Phoebe eventually get word that their mother has passed away. It happened right after Emma left her room, causing a lot of finger-pointing from Phoebe since there was obviously no love lost between Emma and Mum. But did enough resentment exist for Emma to kill her? Robert is now barely talking to Emma, and the sleep deprivation and crazy nightmares she’s experiencing are getting worse. It’s like she knows something bad is going to happen, specifically to her son, Will. The story ends with Emma stating that she and Robert have gotten a divorce, but the kids have taken it quite well. Will is much better and happier, and Chloe is out of her previous relationship and currently dating a guy who is her age. Phoebe is seeing Darcy, Emma’s criminal lawyer friend, and Robert is finally opening a bar. Caroline is in a vegetative state and is charged by the police with trying to murder not just Emma and her family but a lot of other older women too. Emma has opened her own company, and several people are coming to her with their cases. She is finally seen looking out of the window, thinking that she would say yes if somebody else asked her out because nothing bad could come of it after all.

The show is based on the novel of the same name by bestselling author Sarah Pinborough. Pinsborough is also the author of the novel Behind Her Eyes, previously adapted by Left Bank for Netflix. Tom Cullen ( The Gold) will play Emma’s loving husband Robert, whilst Smylie Bradwell ( Wisting) and India Fowler ( The Nevers) play Will and Chloe, Emma and Tom’s children. Leanne Best ( Bolan’s Shoes) joins the cast as Emma’s estranged sister Phoebe, who shows up in town without a word of warning, whilst Corinna Marlowe ( Hysteria) is Emma’s mother Patricia. Paramount+ has announced casting for new drama series Insomnia, an adaptation of the novel of the same name by bestselling author Sarah Pinborough, which will debut on Paramount+ in the UK in 2024. I’ve finally read my first Sarah Pinborough thriller, and it absolutely won’t be my last. INSOMNIA—available today in the US—is one of the most genuinely unsettling and utterly gripping psychological thrillers I’ve read in ages, and it’s sure to be one of my favorite books of 2022. In this twisty, paranoia-inducing tale, a woman anxiously awaits her 40th birthday—but not for the reason you might think. When Emma’s mother turned 40, she lost her mind…and now, as Emma’s own 40th birthday approaches, she begins to fear the very same thing might be happening to her. INSOMNIA is an “unreliable narrator” thriller done right—Pinborough expertly draws readers into Emma’s increasingly terrifying world, where no one and nothing can be trusted, not even Emma’s own mind. This book will keep you on your toes, never quite sure who to trust, and who might be hiding dark secrets. INSOMNIA is a story about what we inherit from our family, and the pieces of those inheritances that we wish we could escape. It’s also one of the most downright entertaining thrillers I’ve read in ages. Clear your schedule and—cheesy as it may be to say, it’s true—prepare to lose sleep over INSOMNIA.It’s twelve days until Emma Averell’s fortieth birthday which is much more significant to her than most people as it links to her childhood and what happens as her mother approaches forty. Emma is still carrying the trauma of it as it haunts and overhangs her life. We’re on a countdown to her birthday and that’s a rollercoaster ride as we hurtle towards it with a number of serious incidents accumulating and careening Emma to the edge of a mentally destructive precipice. A cruel bout of insomnia exacerbates her state, is she going mad, losing her mind …. Or??? Sarah Pinborough’s latest novel, Insomnia, has all the elements of a brilliant thriller, be it suspense, a plot twist, action, fast pace, or moments of anxiety and fear. Her previous novel, Behind Her Eyes, is now a major Netflix series of the same name starring Simone Brown, Tom Bateman, Robert Aramayo, and Eve Hewson. Both these novels have established Pinborough’s reputation as a writer focusing on the mysteries of the mind and enriching it further by adding the supernatural element, which leaves the reader astounded and confused. Let’s have a look at the plot of Insomnia to get a better idea. But as Emma’s fortieth birthday approaches, her world begins to shift. Because thirty-five years ago her mother quite literally lost her mind on the cusp of her own fortieth birthday. Even worse, she had spent the first five years of Emma’s life warning her that she would lose hers as well. Now with the date looming, she finds herself unable to sleep and is plagued by terror drenched memories of her childhood. Is her greatest fear of following in her mother’s footsteps actually coming true? Possibly my favorite of Pinborough’s yet, and that’s saying something. It’s an absolute rollercoaster of a ride: twist upon twist, expertly handled. I actually gasped out loud several times. So atmospheric and sexy… A triumph!" — Lucy Foley, New York Times bestselling author , on Dead to Her

Emma Averell will be turning the big 4-0 in just 12 days and has been dealing with near-crippling insomnia. It’s so bad that she has begun to hallucinate that someone is in her house, and her number one priority as a mother is to protect her two children. It bleeds into every part of her waking life, and is impacting her marriage to her deadbeat husband, Robert, and her job as a top solicitor.And that monster emerged right around their mother’s fortieth birthday, the same milestone Emma is approaching now. The story line seemed to be going in one direction, but, as usual, in an effort to come up with a spectacular twist, all credibility went out the window towards the end. Snakes eating their own tails, indeed! And to top it off, at the very end, a massive breach of the solicitor/client confidentiality rules - this just blew this wild, meandering story off the plausibility grid for me.

McClure will play successful career woman Emma Averill, who fears she might be losing her mind, when her hard-won dream life starts to turn into a nightmare. A couple of weeks before her fortieth birthday Emma stops sleeping — just as her mother had done right before she suffered a violent psychotic breakdownon the night of her own fortieth birthday. Fourthly: the reason I rounded my 3.5 stars to 4 is THAT AMAZING AND SMART ENDING! If you read “Behind Her Eyes”, you’re gonna adore this part! But you should read the book or watch the brilliant Netflix adaptation at first ( or do both for comparing the differences ) I have been intending on reading a Sarah Pinborough book for some time but have never gotten around to it, so this was my first. I have no idea about her other books, but this one was a winner!Confused and overwhelmed with everything going on, Emma breaks down and starts sharing whatever she is going through with a nurse named Caroline, whom she hardly knew. Caroline had once come to Emma’s house to return her wallet, which she had dropped in a parking space. They both meet again in a medicine shop, and Emma, feeling safe and secure in her company, tries to strike up a friendship soon, telling her every minute detail of her life, but this is where Emma went wrong. Little did she know that Caroline was actually the person who was trying to mess up things for her. She is the daughter of the first couple who wanted to adopt Emma when she was little. The conclusion devolved into chaos and it took me a little while to acclimatise to what was revealed. Once I had done so, I could only applaud Pinborough for her repeated ingenuity and the different elements she brings to the genres she pens in. The next day while at work, Emma receives a call out of the blue from her older sister, Phoebe, with whom she is not close. Phoebe is only calling to let her know that their mother has been hospitalized and is not doing well. Emma reluctantly meets Phoebe at the hospital; as expected, Phoebe lays a huge guilt trip on her. All Emma can recall is that Mum is crazy, and everyone said she was just like her. This is the main reason she fears her 40th birthday; this was right around the time that Mum lost her mind. Mostly written from the first person Emma's point view we follow her thoughts and feelings as she tries to establish whether she is going insane or someone or some people are messing with her. I didn't expect much from this one, but found myself fully pulled in, until the conclusion (and indeed the core concepts) which really annoyed me, despite them making sense of sorts. I can see why many will adore this read and many will think it's ultimately just a weak overall idea, but I'd like to think that we can all agree that the narrative voice of someone feeling on the brink and the suspense around her reality and the people she interacts with was pretty good? A 6 out of 12, Three Star read for me :)

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