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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
If you're looking for a spooky read to kick off the Halloween season, "Sleep Tight" by J.H. Markert should be on your radar. The story is set in the eerie town of Twisted Tree, where a serial killer, Father Silence, seems to linger even after his execution. With nineteen victims to his name and only one survivor, you'd think the terror would be over, but the nightmare is just beginning. A new killer, known as the Outcast, emerges, and Detective Tess Claibourne is thrust back into her personal hell when her daughter is kidnapped. Tess, grappling with her own unresolved trauma, must return to the scene of past horrors to find answers and face secrets buried deep in the town’s past.
This novel is a blend of horror, crime, and mystery, with plenty of religious and cult undertones. The plot moves at breakneck speed, packed with complex, grisly scenes that feel both creepy and suspenseful. Told through multiple points of view and shifting timelines, the narrative keeps you on edge, and cliffhanger chapter endings only add to the tension. At times, though, there’s almost too much happening— with themes of multiple personality disorders, addiction, childhood trauma, and grief, it can feel overwhelming.
Still, "Sleep Tight" delivers on its promise of a dark, disturbing atmosphere. The characters are well-developed, and despite the whirlwind of events, it’s easy to get caught up in their stories. Fans of serial killer thrillers will appreciate the inventive twists and the tight pacing. While the ending feels a little rushed, the journey is gripping enough to make this a worthwhile read for thriller fans.
Thank you to Crooked Lane Books for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This novel is a blend of horror, crime, and mystery, with plenty of religious and cult undertones. The plot moves at breakneck speed, packed with complex, grisly scenes that feel both creepy and suspenseful. Told through multiple points of view and shifting timelines, the narrative keeps you on edge, and cliffhanger chapter endings only add to the tension. At times, though, there’s almost too much happening— with themes of multiple personality disorders, addiction, childhood trauma, and grief, it can feel overwhelming.
Still, "Sleep Tight" delivers on its promise of a dark, disturbing atmosphere. The characters are well-developed, and despite the whirlwind of events, it’s easy to get caught up in their stories. Fans of serial killer thrillers will appreciate the inventive twists and the tight pacing. While the ending feels a little rushed, the journey is gripping enough to make this a worthwhile read for thriller fans.
Thank you to Crooked Lane Books for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Huge thanks to @dreamscape_media for the audio arc and for sending along a physical copy as well some little extra goodies too!
I found this book to be a good thriller, just entertaining enough to keep me interested, but nothing that completely blew me out of the water. My main complaint is that as the story progressed, we kept adding more and more elements in, from supernatural to cult to body swapping. In the end, I felt like the story lost its focus because of all the extra bits in there when in actuality, this book stands on it own as a fun, fast-paced detective mystery.
And to contrast my 3 star rating (leaning more towards good than bad), I loaned this book to my grandma and she loved it so much that she bought J.H. Market’s other books and loved them too!! So I think I’ll give one of their other books a read and see what I think!
I found this book to be a good thriller, just entertaining enough to keep me interested, but nothing that completely blew me out of the water. My main complaint is that as the story progressed, we kept adding more and more elements in, from supernatural to cult to body swapping. In the end, I felt like the story lost its focus because of all the extra bits in there when in actuality, this book stands on it own as a fun, fast-paced detective mystery.
And to contrast my 3 star rating (leaning more towards good than bad), I loaned this book to my grandma and she loved it so much that she bought J.H. Market’s other books and loved them too!! So I think I’ll give one of their other books a read and see what I think!
This book would make an excellent movie! I loved it! My first from this author but won’t be the last.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm honestly really confused about my rating for this book, because while it was a true page turner and kept me engaged all the way through, it was also fairly problematic from my point of view. It used mental illness (specifically DID) as a plot device for the villain of the story, had an overarching cheating and subsequent forgiveness plotline, and no likeable characters. Honestly, I found myself being most intrigued by one of the main villains, with his interesting but partially understandable motives? It was also just absolutely wild. Like I know it's a horror but it felt like a thriller with some weird shit thrown in (animal masks and cults). The main villain also wasn't that big a part of the story prior to the reveal, which kind of sucked because it made it impossible to solve as you were going through. Also, why were there SO MANY characters?? I had so much trouble keeping everybody and their perspectives straight even through the end. Usually I adjust, but this was just name after name and perspective after perspective thrown at us with little explanation. Finally, this literally supposedly took place over 2 days but felt like it was at least several weeks, which was wild. Go ahead and read it if you want a quick, easy, and weird thriller but honestly, there are much better out there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Violence, Murder, Sexual harassment
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes