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A review by gareindeedreads
Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber
5.0
ARE YOU SLEEPING is a spine-tingling, creepy, and atmospheric thriller with a phenomenal plot, beautifully dysfunctional characters, and a great twist on America's obsession with cold cases. Diving into this one, I knew that Barber was onto something great. This isn't your typical thriller as the multi-layered plot is often beating the living hell out of the characters without regret. The beginning of this one was creepy and left me with dry-mouth. Paranoia really set in as I continued to read this one hours after the sun had gone down. Let me tell you, I double-checked the locks on my doors before going to bed.
With an opening reminiscent of THE BREAKDOWN by B.A. Paris-another one of my favorite thrillers released this year, ARE YOU SLEEPING starts off with our main protagonist waking to a disturbing call at 3AM. Barber then pulls the reigns back and slowly builds our plot with a fantastic prose and a well-paced mystery that often goes back and forth between present time and the lives of our protagonist Josie and her twin sister Lanie from the night their father is killed until they part ways over a shocking reveal of the night they last saw each other. What I really enjoyed about this one was at some points, Barber did such a great job of delivering this twisted plot, that the murder of Josie and Lanie's father would sometimes slip to the back burner as I was hungry to find out what would happen next. By far, my favorite part that set this aside from other thrillers was not only the character of Poppy Parnell, but the added chapters of her podcast complete with interviews of people who knew Josie, Lanie, and their family. I loved the media spin on this novel combined with how hungry America treats this as well as real cold cases and crimes as entertainment, but we also get a look into the lives of the family and how this affects them. There are other entertaining Reddit articles and tweets that coincide with new plot developments that really draw a thin line between fiction and reality.
The characters in this one are all dysfunctional and beautifully written. While you may not like most of them (or in my case any), you will root for each and every one of them as you do not have a choice. Poppy Parnell, the investigating and often blood-thirsty puppeteer of the podcast about the murder of Josie and Lanie's father is the new-age Gale Weathers from the SCREAM film series. She is ruthless, brilliant, and will stop at nothing for fame and the truth of what happened that night. Josie and Lanie are two other standout characters as the couldn't-be-different twins. I loved how we got to see how each sister dealt with the death of their father, the disappearance of their mother, and the results of the podcast and America's fascination with the thirteen-year-old death of their father. This aspect brought heart to this thriller and brought some pretty heavy issues to the forefront of this novel. The character of their cousin, Ellen brought some lighter and often comedic elements to this novel as it is a pretty heavy and emotional read. As for the rest of the characters, I will say that after finishing this one, I miss them all already...even the terrifying and love-to-hate Poppy Parnell.
The ending to this one is not only brilliant, but gut-wrenching. With a beautiful final installment of Poppy Parnell's podcast, this one ends with one of the best last lines in a book I've read. As to not spoil anything, the reader will be left wondering where Barber will go from here...and maybe, just maybe we haven't seen the last of Poppy Parnell yet.
This book is a thrilling and gorgeous read that perfects every aspect of what thrillers should be and Barber did a fantastic job of really making it her own. Between the creepy plot, the amazing characters, and the media-obsessed element-this is one that will stick with the reader far after it's finished. I shudder to think how many times I will fly through this one again and again before Barber releases her next novel.
*This title releases 8/1/2017. Special thanks to Simon & Schuster for a review copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
With an opening reminiscent of THE BREAKDOWN by B.A. Paris-another one of my favorite thrillers released this year, ARE YOU SLEEPING starts off with our main protagonist waking to a disturbing call at 3AM. Barber then pulls the reigns back and slowly builds our plot with a fantastic prose and a well-paced mystery that often goes back and forth between present time and the lives of our protagonist Josie and her twin sister Lanie from the night their father is killed until they part ways over a shocking reveal of the night they last saw each other. What I really enjoyed about this one was at some points, Barber did such a great job of delivering this twisted plot, that the murder of Josie and Lanie's father would sometimes slip to the back burner as I was hungry to find out what would happen next. By far, my favorite part that set this aside from other thrillers was not only the character of Poppy Parnell, but the added chapters of her podcast complete with interviews of people who knew Josie, Lanie, and their family. I loved the media spin on this novel combined with how hungry America treats this as well as real cold cases and crimes as entertainment, but we also get a look into the lives of the family and how this affects them. There are other entertaining Reddit articles and tweets that coincide with new plot developments that really draw a thin line between fiction and reality.
The characters in this one are all dysfunctional and beautifully written. While you may not like most of them (or in my case any), you will root for each and every one of them as you do not have a choice. Poppy Parnell, the investigating and often blood-thirsty puppeteer of the podcast about the murder of Josie and Lanie's father is the new-age Gale Weathers from the SCREAM film series. She is ruthless, brilliant, and will stop at nothing for fame and the truth of what happened that night. Josie and Lanie are two other standout characters as the couldn't-be-different twins. I loved how we got to see how each sister dealt with the death of their father, the disappearance of their mother, and the results of the podcast and America's fascination with the thirteen-year-old death of their father. This aspect brought heart to this thriller and brought some pretty heavy issues to the forefront of this novel. The character of their cousin, Ellen brought some lighter and often comedic elements to this novel as it is a pretty heavy and emotional read. As for the rest of the characters, I will say that after finishing this one, I miss them all already...even the terrifying and love-to-hate Poppy Parnell.
The ending to this one is not only brilliant, but gut-wrenching. With a beautiful final installment of Poppy Parnell's podcast, this one ends with one of the best last lines in a book I've read. As to not spoil anything, the reader will be left wondering where Barber will go from here...and maybe, just maybe we haven't seen the last of Poppy Parnell yet.
This book is a thrilling and gorgeous read that perfects every aspect of what thrillers should be and Barber did a fantastic job of really making it her own. Between the creepy plot, the amazing characters, and the media-obsessed element-this is one that will stick with the reader far after it's finished. I shudder to think how many times I will fly through this one again and again before Barber releases her next novel.
*This title releases 8/1/2017. Special thanks to Simon & Schuster for a review copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.