Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough

23 reviews

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I thought this story was quite good, and I was really REALLY upset when Emma was getting gaslit by everyone around her. I do wish the reveal was a bit more expertly unfolded; I didn't feel like everything was really wrapped up nicely. The end did hit me hard, but I think based on how into the story I was, the ending could have been just explosive. And the whole daughter side-plot seemed maybe too much? When describing the plot to my partner, he commented that there was quite a lot going on in here, and that's the truth.

I also feel like if an author is going to use the kind of supernatural aspect, then it needs to be established as a possibility throughout the book. Like, the reader is looking for a realistic answer until told otherwise, so I supernatural answer doesn't feel very satisfying.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Abandonment, Gaslighting, and Mental illness

Moderate: Alcohol, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Drug use and Emotional abuse

deanchaudhri's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.25

Had really high expectations cuz Sarah Pinborough’s previous book is one of my all time faves. While this didn’t live up to that book, it’s still a very clever, twisty thriller with some creepy supernatural elements. Scarier than some horror books iv read tbh. The twist didn’t twist as much as I wanted it to but it was very well crafted and so hard to put down at the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Confinement, Car accident, Blood, Child abuse, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Mental illness

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Alcoholism, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Miscarriage

meeklovestoread's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I'm not gonna lie, the main reason I read this book was because the twist for "Behind Her Eyes" was spoiled for me and I thought it was the craziest twist I've ever heard about. So I decided to see if her other books were the same.

This book was pretty slow in the first half in my opinion, but it kept my intrigue enough to continue. I have to admit it did take me a while to get used to her writing style. The book was kind of like a slow burn with many leading plot elements. It was entertaining enough.

I love how we really got into the main character's head.

At one point I seriously thought she was going crazy. I'm so happy she left her no good unsupportive husband. He really got on my nerves. And I'm also glad she was able to gain a better relationship with her sister and finally understand her mother.

Also, the twist (many might think it's outlandish) but I really liked it. It bumped the book a 0.5 star for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Grief, and Mental illness

Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Death of parent, Child abuse, and Violence

Minor: Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, and Misogyny

megelizabeth's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0

This was hard to rate because it's a book I have super mixed feelings about. As a thriller, it's really strong, and I loved the absolutely batshit turn that it takes and I just know that, like Behind Her Eyes, it's one that's going to stay with me and continue to haunt me every time I think about it. I also really loved the way the protagonist's complex relationships with her mother and sister are dealt with, and appreciated the look at difficult childhoods and generational trauma.

However - and it's a big however and potentially a little bit spoilery - there is one fairly prominent element of the book, outside of the main thriller-y storyline, that is just dealt with so, so, so fucking awfully and that I cannot in good conscience neglect to mention, and that's the way the grooming of a teenage girl is portrayed and dealt with. The way one character in particular, and one we're clearly supposed to root for, reacts to the situation is both ridiculously unbelievable and insanely infuriating. I was so mad and it ruined so much of the reading experience for me that I probably would have rated this lower had there not eventually been one whole character who finally points out how horrific what's happened is. That redeemed it just enough for me to still come away feeling like I enjoyed this overall, but this whole aspect of the book still let it down a lot for me. What makes it even worse is that plot-wise the book still would've worked absolutely fine had the grooming storyline either not been included or been included but dealt with appropriately.

I have another gripe with this book - though this one is more personal preference - and it's what happens in the epilogue. It's infuriating because in a way it's really clever and adds another haunting dimension to everything that's already happened, but it also does something that I just absolutely hate in any book that it happens in. I'm just going to pretend that the book ends at the end of the last chapter, as everything still would've made sense and I'd still have been left absolutely mind-blown.

So yeah, a mixed bag. I'm not sure whether I'll pick up anything by this author again, which is such a shame as her mind is clearly incredible and I love that I can go into her books just knowing that whatever I predict, the whole truth is going to be so much wilder than I could ever guess. But the grooming thing just so badly rubbed me up the wrong way and isn't something I can forget or brush over.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Death of parent, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Blood, and Child abuse

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

moonylovesstars's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious relaxing sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child abuse, Murder, Stalking, Death of parent, Violence, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, and Death

katosta8815's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Very creepy. Repetitive at times, a lot of filler sub-plots, but overall interesting and mysterious enough to want to continue.

There are some plot holes regarding the “family curse/gift” — there is mention of family members before Patricia having similar issues, however when the story concludes, we only get an explanation for Patricia, Emma, and Will.

Trigger warning for

child abuse and statutory rape (I have a big issue with the way this topic is handled in this book….)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical trauma

ashleyalyse's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

While I did really enjoy this book, I still found myself with unanswered a questions at the end that I felt should have been resolved better. 
It was an enthralling read, I listened while I did chores around the house which allowed me to forget about how much cleaning I was doing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Death of parent, Mental illness, Death, Stalking, Murder, Car accident, and Child abuse

theinstabookworm's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny

Moderate: Death of parent and Miscarriage

soobooksalot's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Maybe 40 isn't the new 30 in Insomnia.
 Emma - wife, mother, lawyer - is about to turn 40. The same age her mother was when she stopped sleeping and became debilitated and institutionalized due to mental illness. And declared her youngest daughter would be the same.
 In the days preceding her birthday, Emma has also stopped sleeping.
 I did enjoy Insomnia, full of unreliable events and characters and gaslighting, but I had hoped it would be creepier.
 There's definitely tension and foreboding throughout. I think the pacing was off for me with this one - if the entire book was like the final quarter, it could have been more of a win.
 I enjoyed Sarah Pinborough's Behind Her Eyes and will read more of her backlist someday.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Infidelity

markedwithanm's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Blood, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis