Insomnia : a novel

Title:

Insomnia : a novel

Author:

Pinborough, Sarah, 1972- author.

Summary:

Emma Averell loves her life--her high-powered legal career, her two beautiful children, and her wonderful stay-at-home husband--but it wasn't always so perfect. When she was just five years old, Emma and her older sister went into foster care because of a horrific incident with their mother. Her sister can remember a time when their mother was loving and "normal," but Emma can only remember her as one thing--a monster. And that monster emerged right around their mother's fortieth birthday, the same age Emma is approaching now. Emma desperately wants to keep her successful life separate from her past, so she has always hidden her childhood trauma. But then she's unable to sleep, and now losing time during the day, also one of the first symptoms her mother showed. Is the madness in her blood, just as her mother predicted? Could she end up hurting her family in her foggy, frenetic state? Or is she truly beginning to lose her mind?

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

322 pages ; 24 cm

Genre:

Thrillers (Fiction)

Psychological fiction.

Subject Term:

Mental illness -- Fiction.

Insomnia -- Fiction.

Mothers and daughters -- Fiction.

Child abuse -- Fiction.

Publisher:

William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers,

Publication Date:

2022

ISBN:

9780062856845

9780062856869

Publication Information:

New York : William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2022]

Call Number:

PINBOROUGH

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003598896	Adult Fiction	PINBOROUGH Sarah	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Named One of the Best Thrillers by the Washington Post

"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

In this mind-bending thriller from the bestselling author of Behind Her Eyes, Emma Averell worries that her sudden insomnia is a sign that she's slowly going insane--like the mother she's worked so hard to leave in her past, soon to be a series on Paramount+

In the dead of night, madness lies...

And that monster emerged right around their mother's fortieth birthday, the same milestone Emma is approaching now.

Emma desperately wants to keep her childhood trauma in the past, but as she stops being able to sleep, she also can't stop thinking about what happened all those years ago. Is the madness in her blood? Could she end up hurting her family in her foggy, half-awake state, just like her mother? Or is there another explanation for the strange things that keep happening around her? Emma must unravel the dark strands of her past to protect the people she loves... or risk losing it all, including her sanity.

Unsettling and utterly addicting, Insomnia is a heart-pounding thriller that will have you up all night.

Reviews (1)

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.)