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travelseatsreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I was very excited when the team at Quercus got in touch to do a review for Sleepless, the new release from Romy Hausmann. Dear Child (her English-translation debut) was easily one of my favourite books of 2020.
Sleepless is a dark, twisty, multi-layered, complex thriller which revolves around Nadja Kulka, a young Polish woman living in Berlin. At the beginning we see many different threads which appear to have nothing to do with each other meander through the pages. There came a point where I almost put the book down thinking 'huh, what's going on here'. Once I got past that part it was easy to see these seemingly disparate threads be slowly woven together to form a very clever and intricate plot.
The book is set in Berlin for the most part and that was always going to be a winner for me. Berlin is easily one of my favourite cities so I loved the descriptions of the areas within the city that perfectly built the atmosphere and allowed me to feel like I was almost back there.
I think Romy is an absolute genius when it comes to creating characters that we actually don't like but still feel the need to root for. This book is full of them. It takes a very gifted writer to be able to make those characters maintain a reader's interest and Hausmann kept me hooked right until the very last word.
Unreliable narrators, a multifaceted plot and whiplash-inducing twists made this a thriller I could not put down.
Sleepless is a dark, twisty, multi-layered, complex thriller which revolves around Nadja Kulka, a young Polish woman living in Berlin. At the beginning we see many different threads which appear to have nothing to do with each other meander through the pages. There came a point where I almost put the book down thinking 'huh, what's going on here'. Once I got past that part it was easy to see these seemingly disparate threads be slowly woven together to form a very clever and intricate plot.
The book is set in Berlin for the most part and that was always going to be a winner for me. Berlin is easily one of my favourite cities so I loved the descriptions of the areas within the city that perfectly built the atmosphere and allowed me to feel like I was almost back there.
I think Romy is an absolute genius when it comes to creating characters that we actually don't like but still feel the need to root for. This book is full of them. It takes a very gifted writer to be able to make those characters maintain a reader's interest and Hausmann kept me hooked right until the very last word.
Unreliable narrators, a multifaceted plot and whiplash-inducing twists made this a thriller I could not put down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship