**MAY HAVE SOME SPOILERS**

I read The Dinner Party a few months ago and absolutely loved it! I was so excited to get my hands on a new R.J Parker book!
What a great book! This book had me staying up all night because I just had to know if Maisie and Lily make it out alive.
This book starts off with Lily noticing a strange intruder in her garden wearing a picture mask of her 5 year old daughter, Maisie. She calls the police, but they don’t catch the intruder. The next day, Maisie and Lily wake up in their home… but it’s not their home just an exact replica. They’re trapped and cannot get out or call for help.
This book is quite fast and definitely brings the creep factor. I did struggle with Maisie as she didn’t sound like a 5 year old and she was definitely a little annoying for my liking and found her to be a little distracting to the overall story… I enjoyed the ‘surprise’ connection of the kidnappers, but felt like I need more of their backstory to make sense of it…I had a lot of questions, but I guess that may be the point!!

* Spoilers 

There's a lot of good stuff in this book.
It's quite fast and furiously paced.
It opens with a creepy scene of a man wearing a mask of main characters child,standing in her garden,waiting to be noticed.
It keeps up being creepy for the majority of the book.
I struggle with the character of Maisie,who seemed far older than her five years.
The ending seemed rushed,I'd have liked more back story on how you go from being a broken 16 year old single mother,to someone who has the funds to set up this operation.

I wasn’t sure about this book. It was an interesting premise but it didn’t really work for me.

I was hoping for a creepy story that was promised based on the blurb, but I lost interest a few pages into the book. I found the talks between Lily and Maisie too advanced for Maisie’s age. There also seemed to be an awful lot of unnecessary description, which was often quite clumsily written.

The ending of the book felt very rushed and it wasn’t particularly satisfying. An interesting story, but not for me.

Oh my. This was a great book. I could physically feel myself holding my breath sometimes at the suspense. Intrigue right from the start. Highly recommended.

I really wanted to like this one but I didn’t. The premise of the book is creepy but I had a hard time getting into the story. Some parts were completely unrealistic and Maisie, the daughter, acts more like she’s ten than five. The ending was okay but leaves you kind of hanging. Even if there’s a sequel the end just seemed cut off.

I started reading this book at night and the first few chapters really creeped me out. I found them really well written but once Maisie and her mum were in the room it went downhill ....

First they were in the room for hardly any length of time at all before they found the way out
Also ... the escape ... sooooo drawn out and not very believable. They go to all those lengths to recreate their apartment but no back up in case they escape?
Maisie appeared a lot older than 5
I did enjoy guessing who it could possibly be but that leads me to the ending ......

It felt so thrown together, the characters (even the ones originally behind the reason) weren’t even really in the story !!! And all those years of planning for something the main character has no idea about !?!?! Seemed strange - actually I felt there were other characters who would have had much more reason!

And the last few sentence - gosh no. So so unsatisfactory. There is no lead up for a follow up so why lead with that?

2.5 stars

This was a page-turning read with a very original premise. I loved the claustrophobic feel and, unlike some other reviewers, didn't find the repetition off-putting - for me, it was all part of building the tension.

I found myself continually wondering how the characters would get out of that situation and who the perpetrators were. I did find Maisie a little annoying and at times unconvincing as a five-year-old, to the extent that I quite hoped she would be killed off (!).

The one big let-down for me was the 'reveal' at the end. The character whose actions precipitate all that happens was not 'on stage' at all and only mentioned a few times, which felt unsatisfactory.

But I really enjoyed this thriller overall.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read it.

A decent thriller, if you can suspend reality a little as well. The book centers on a mother and daughter who wake up one day in a replica of their home, held captive by a stranger. A great premise. I will say that the daughter seems really, really advanced for her age which threw me a little reading it. The ending came out of nowhere, and was a shocker.

ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

I wanted to love While You Slept, I really did. I was very excited when I got the ARC because the blurb sounded so creepy and cool to me. Unfortunately, all I got was a boring, repetitive story about a mother and her suspiciously articulate five-year-old daughter do almost nothing for 70% of the story, a few pages of good action, and then an explanation that almost made me whip my phone (my kindle app is on there) out the window.

The Good: As I mentioned, the premise was interesting and had a lot of potential. Despite not being a parent myself, I do like stories of badass moms doing anything to protect their kids. However, this often fell a little flat in While You Slept. I liked the weirdness of the situation and the feeling of wrongness that was portrayed pretty well.

The Bad: There's a lot tbh. I know this is an unedited manuscript, but there were an excessive amount of errors and formatting problems here, more so than in the usual ARCs I read. The writing is sloppy and basic, and the dialogue is completely unconvincing. This brings me to Maisie. I've seen other reviewers mention this and it is 100% true that NO FIVE-YEAR-OLD EVER would understand facial clues and be able to hold conversations the way Maisie does. I have several friends with children, as well as young second cousins, and I can say without a doubt that Maisie would have to be at least eight for this story to have been believable while keeping the same dialogue. Then there's the ending. *insert angry sigh here*. I mean, I didn't guess the ending, which I suppose is a mark of a good mystery, but that's only because the ending made no goddamned sense and seemed to be a total cop-out. It was basically the equivalent of vomiting and having a fever and thinking its because you have the flu but then the doctor tells you it's because you pet a random cat a few weeks earlier. Like okayyyyyyyy sure. Whatever.

TL;DR: Honestly if it gets a really good edit and somethings are changed around this might be a decent thriller, but as it stands I found it rather disappointing and dissatisfying.

Thank you to Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to R&R

Omg 😮 what a book!

I’ve literally had so many emotions I’m unsure how to write a review that will do this justice.
I definitely recommend this book, I’ve bitten my nails wanted to scream and on times been slightly terrified.

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review

This one was pretty twisty- some more obvious than others but still an enjoyable ride. You really do you fall in love with the main female character.s Solid four

Lily and her daughter Maisie are in for the fight of their lives in R.J. Parker's While You Slept. This book was a classic thriller that was disturbing and chilling.

Lily is a single mother raising her daughter with little help from her ex. Her divorce is pretty new and she hasn't dated too much. At work one day her security cameras turn on and she sees a man in her garden. Not the average intruder, this man is wearing a mask with her daughter Maisie's face on it. The intruder knows she is watching and waves at her. Lily calls the police. The police agree the intruder is disturbing but there isn't much they can do except keep watch.

When Lily and Maisie next awaken they aren't in their home at all. This prison is an exact replica of their home and they are being watched. Their prison has been prepared for them meticulously. Everything is the same, but not. As she is taunted by an unknown person in her new prison she can't figure out who would go to this much trouble to hurt her and why.

While You Slept was a definite page turner. Readers will be engrossed and vested in Lily and Maisie's safety. Highly recommended!

3.5 - 4 stars. I liked the concept of this book and the ending was great too! I felt like some of the details put into descriptions lost my interest a bit and found I was skimming a few pages to get past them.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

Holy Cow! This was a crazy good thriller. Will will get goosebumps from this one. Even from the first page you read down to the last it has you pulled in to where you can't stop. I mean who would really cut out a picture of you daughters face and wear it.... that is haunting right there.
Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange in my honest opinion.

This was a heart pounding and fast moving book. Lily and her daughter wake up realizing that they are prisoners in a replica of their home. Who would do this and why? I enjoyed the story and there were moments of sheer stress but the author rushed the reason for why this was done to Lily and Maise. I wish he would have explored that angle in depth. I also felt the wrap up was too abrupt and left me thinking is there more to the story.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for ARC.

4 NAIL BITING STARS!

THIS
BOOK
WAS
SO
INTENSE.

Guys. GALS. From page ONE, I was STRESSED. This is one of those thrillers that never relaxes. Had I of read this in non-Coronavirus times, I would have bitten all of my nails off. But since I'm trying to avoid touching my face and biting my nails, I did not literally bite my nails, BUT OMG I WANTED TO.

This book made me sweat. It made me heartbeat go crazy. It gave me ANXIETY people. For the entire book.

But I've finished the book, have taken many deep breaths, and feel ready to tell you about it. NAMASTE BITCHES.

I read a lot of thrillers. So many, that I find a lot to just be a retelling of a similar one I've already read. But this one was different. The story revolves around a mom and her darling little daughter. They are living their best life (for maybe 2 sentences) until some creepy-ass man shows up on her home camera wearing a paper cutout of her daughters face. And he's just standing there waving at the camera.

UM NO.

The next morning, mom and daughter wake-up in a complete replica of their house, but it's not their house. They've been kidnapped by creepy mask man and are being held hostage in this weird mirror apartment of theirs. You have no idea why or who these people are.

AND YOU ARE STRESSED THE ENTIRE BOOK.

That's all you need to know. I loved this thriller. I sorta felt like I was reading a (good) Pretty Little Liars episode (dollhouse episode anyone?).

I'm still unsure how I feel about the ending though....looking forward to hearing what other people feel about it.

If you like thrillers, definitely give this one a shot!

And wear a lot of deodorant because you will be sweating.

A big thanks to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for the ARC and wanting my honest opinion!

I requested this title through NetGalley entirely based on the synopsis and title name itself. I had no idea that R. J. Parker was new to the fictional world of writing, and more known for his work on true crime, serial killers and cold cases.

I’m rather partial to dark twisty thrillers, and the darker the storyline the more hooked I find I am. Finding an author that has the ability to write in a way that draws you in and makes you want to read more is rare, but that is exactly what R. J. Parker does here with “While You Slept”.

This is a fast-moving storyline with short and snappy chapters, so if you are someone who overthinks how things are carried out, you may not enjoy elements of this, such as you never find out exactly how the kidnapping was achieved.

I whipped through this title in record speed as I really enjoyed the concept overall. My one and only criticism is R. J. Parker could have made this a much longer and more involved read. There was certainly more scope to give us more information surrounding the main characters and I would have liked to see some sort of reference to those left behind who must have been worried in the absence of their work colleague and school friend etc.

Regarding the ending I cannot say too much without giving away the plot’s secrets, but the cliff-hanger that we are left with, is certainly one that stirs up an emotional response and plays on your mind.

UK Release Date: 24th July 2020

#OneMoreChapter | #HarperCollinsUK | #WhileYouSlept | #RJParker

Great premise, but I didn't love the execution. As the story goes on, it just reads as more and more implausible. The amount of money alone that it would take to pull off something like this puts this story squarely in the realm of fantasy. And the resolution of it all is underdeveloped to say the least.

A big thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the free copy of this book. Last fall i read my first R.J. Parker book The Dinner Party, and enjoyed it. So, I was really looking forward to this one. What an unusual premise, so intriguing. I really enjoyed this book. The creep factor is high right from the start and I had no idea where the story would end up. There is a lot of mystery and then a ton of action. I stayed up nice and late to finish this one. I was just slightly disappointed by some of the ending since it seemed to lack set up. Part of the final plot seemed to come out of no where. I may have missed something but I am not sure. However, despite this, I still would give this 4 out of 5 stars. It earns this rating by having a seriously interesting plot, and an amazing start plus the last couple of pages are wow!

Such a great, well written thriller with great pace, twists and a decent plot. I managed to finish this in two sittings and would thoroughly recommend.