Title: Are You Sleeping
My
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟1/2
Book Description (Goodreads):
Josie Buhrman has spent the last ten years trying to escape
her family’s reputation and with good reason. After her father's murder
thirteen years prior, her mother ran away to join a cult and her twin sister
Lanie, once Josie’s closest friend and confidant, betrayed her in an
unimaginable way. Now, Josie has finally put down roots in New York, settling
into domestic life with her partner Caleb, and that’s where she intends to
stay. The only problem is that she has lied to Caleb about every detail of her past—starting
with her last name.
When investigative reporter Poppy Parnell sets off a media firestorm with a mega-hit podcast that reopens the long-closed case of Josie’s father’s murder, Josie’s world begins to unravel. Meanwhile, the unexpected death of Josie’s long-absent mother forces her to return to her Midwestern hometown where she must confront the demons from her past—and the lies on which she has staked her future.
When investigative reporter Poppy Parnell sets off a media firestorm with a mega-hit podcast that reopens the long-closed case of Josie’s father’s murder, Josie’s world begins to unravel. Meanwhile, the unexpected death of Josie’s long-absent mother forces her to return to her Midwestern hometown where she must confront the demons from her past—and the lies on which she has staked her future.
My musings:
I love mysteries that feature or revolve around strong
dysfunctional family dynamics, and Are You Sleeping certainly fits the bill.
Two estranged sisters. A father who was murdered when the twins were in their
teens. A mother who abandoned her children to join a cult. Wow, that makes my
own life look pretty normal!
Out of this cast of dysfunctional characters, Josie – our
narrator – is probably the most level headed one, trying to escape her past and
the legacy of her father’s murder, for which a (then) teenage neighbour is
currently serving time in jail. Having changed her name and dissociated herself
from everyone who knew her then, Josie has managed to create a normal life out
of the spotlight. Even her boyfriend has no idea who she really is. But as
false identities go, Josie’s is about to burn down in flames after her mother’s
suicide in Northern California. Returning to her old hometown for the funeral,
Josie must not only face her estranged twin Lanie, but also the reasons which
drove the sisters apart all those years ago. To make matters worse, the Buhrman
twins are being relentlessly pursued by Poppy Parnell, a true-crime reporter
who has been questioning the verdict in the twin’s father’s murder case, which
hinged solely on Lanie’s testimony at the time.
By including excerpts from Poppy Parnell’s true-crime podcast
and social media feeds into the story, Barber not only creates a very
contemporary and unique narrative, but also manages to build tension as Josie’s
life is once again thrown into the spotlight. I admit that it took me a little
while to get engrossed in the story, due to the many different elements in the
beginning, but once the whole extent of the mystery was unveiled, I was well
and truly hooked.
There are plenty of skeletons in the Buhrman family closet,
which were intriguing and unsettling and made for compulsive reading to find
out all the gory details. Whilst the main plot held few surprises for me, the general
theme of the brutal impact of social media on the victims’ lives was an
eye-opener. We know that this happens, but to be honest, I had never given it much
thought before. Having to change one’s identity to escape the media spotlight
and live a normal life out of the public eye seems like an extreme measure to
take! It was unsettling to read the online trolls’ judgments and opinions about
the Buhrman family, so brutally and thoughtlessly discussed in public forums,
with no feelings spared for the people involved. I really felt for Josie, an
innocent victim in the whole sorry saga. The complicated dynamics between the
sisters added an irresistible psychological element to the story, even though I
thought that some of the darker elements could have been explored a bit more
deeply to create extra tension.
Summary:
All in all, Are You Sleeping is an original and contemporary
psychological thriller focusing on dysfunctional family dynamics and the impact
of social media on victims’ lives. Including several different elements into
the narrative made for interesting reading and reflection, and I really liked
Barber’s engaging writing style. Whilst lacking some of the dark tension some
readers may look for in the genre, this slow-burning mystery made up for it in originality
and character development. I really enjoyed it and would not hesitate to
recommend it to lovers of the genre. I look forward to reading more from this
author in future.
Thank
you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the free electronic copy of this novel and
for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.
More mysteries featuring sister relationships:
Click on cover for link to Goodreads
What's your favourite book featuring sisters?
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