Romy Hausmann's *Sleepless* is a psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end. This dark and twisted tale revolves around manipulation, revenge, and the lengths people will go to protect their loved ones.

The story follows Nadja Kulka, a woman attempting to rebuild her life after being released from prison. She becomes entangled in a dangerous web of deceit when her friend Laura asks for help covering up a murder. As Nadja gets drawn deeper into Laura's world, she begins to question everything she thought she knew about both her friend and herself.

Hausmann expertly weaves a narrative that is both suspenseful and psychologically complex. The characters are flawed and multi-dimensional, making them relatable yet unpredictable. The plot is filled with twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

One of the aspects that makes *Sleepless* so compelling is Hausmann's exploration of themes such as guilt, trauma, and identity. Nadja is a character haunted by her past, and her struggle to come to terms with her actions is both heartbreaking and thought-provoking.

Overall, *Sleepless* is a well-written and gripping thriller that will linger in your mind long after you finish reading. If you are a fan of psychological suspense, this book is definitely worth checking out. The plot is twisty and unpredictable; just when you think you've figured it out, Hausmann throws another curveball.

The characters are well-developed, and their motivations are believable, even when their actions are not. Hausmann delves into the darker side of human nature and the lasting effects of trauma.

Some readers may find the beginning of the book a bit slow, as the author sets the stage for the unfolding suspense. Additionally, some may find the ending to be somewhat open-ended and unsatisfying.

I find this novel a true psychological thriller - meaning, it is not the kind where you realize that a character is a psychopath without any plot backing. Because this HAS a lot of backstory, more than one. You know something is wrong with someone´s mind. You just do not know how wrong. Wrong the good way or wrong the bad way? And what if...what if the "normal", but cruel mind might be even worse?

The tone is dark, sad and harrowing, the plot arcs criss-cross and you really do not know who to like, whom to trust from these (many) complicated characters. They have complications, they have secrets.
But...the thing is, this is not important. What is important here is if they are kind. And best is if the characters can love themselves, also. Can forgive themselves, also.

So, how is this a thriller with these words of kindness and forgiveness? Well...we have deaths here. Murders. Some are red herrings, some are important for the story. But it is how the people behave and WHY they behave the way they do.
Nadja could tell you a story or two. How she experienced pain, how she longs for companionship. How she is paralyzed. How she could give anything for the sake of friendships. And she is SO going to help another lost soul. It is her kindness what got her to do the most stupid thing - and it is her love for herself that will save her.
Disturbing, eerie, yet hopeful. A strange novel, yet I gained much food for thought here.

This was a good psychological thriller, a locked room and lots of creepy tension. The first half of the book is fairly slow paced, but the second half makes up for that.

This didn’t live up to the promise of Dear Child in my opinion. The writing isn’t bad; it may be that this genre is over saturated in recent years?

I really struggled with this one, probably because I thought Dear Child was so brilliant and I wanted more of the same. This author is great and so I would never suggest not reading one of her books but I probably wouldn't start with this one.

I really enjoyed Dear Child so was looking forward to this one, sadly it did not live up to my expectations.

Thanks for the opportunity to read and review this.
Sadly it’s taken me a long time to finish, even after publication. The story has such a great premise - love a locked room, psychological thriller- but the overall delivery fell flat.
I’ll still look for further books by this author as I loved Dear Child but I would not recommend starting with this one if new to this author.

Found it hard to keep my interest at early points of the story however it did pick up about half way through. Thanks for the opportunity to read

After reading Dear Child I was so excited to pick up Romy Hausmann's newest book.

This book was a bit of a disappointment in comparison to Dear Child.

I found the story hard to stick with. Some of the story lines seemed redundant and there were no real plot twists.

I did enjoy the multiple perspectives in the book but I do feel that more could have been done with them .

Many thanks to those involved for sending me a copy in return for an honest review

Absolutely loved this book. I was totally enthralled by the plot and I loved the main character. A must for fans of Romy Hausmann.

I was so excited to receive an ARC of Sleepless having devoured her previous book Dear Child but sadly I just could not get into it. it was messy and muddled and very confusing, sadly I did not finish this book

Having LOVED Dear Child, I was incredibly excited to read this second book from Romy Haussmann. However, this story felt quite chaotic in comparison and lacked the nuance and drive of her first.

I enjoyed Dear Child but this novel did not engage me. I could not immerse myself in the narrative and failed to finish.

I really enjoyed Romy Hausmans book Dear Child and was excited about this book, unfortunately this book didn’t grab me as much as the last. It was ok, but I struggled at times.

I had to DNF this book at 27% because I was so confused. I was trying to focus but I just couldn’t get my head around what was happening. Some parts had way too much detail, which made me bored so I skipped them. I liked Dear Child by this author, but unfortunately this one isn’t for me.

𝙎𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙗𝙮 𝙍𝙤𝙢𝙮 𝙃𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙣

I was super excited to read this after loving Hausmann’s DEAR CHILD but I have to say, I sadly just didn’t love this. A story of guilt, power, jealousy and people-pleasing told through multiple POV, as well as flashbacks and extracts from unsent letters, there are essentially two separate stories going on here. Both are told in differing timelines and each chapter’s structure is unclear. They do tie in eventually, and I mean eventually, but it was confusing to follow and for me there was no clear point to the second storyline resulting in too much going on and not enough focus on one plot.

Now I love my complex thrillers and mind-bending plots but this really didn’t make a lot of sense until about half way through. The characters were intriguing and the plot was thrilling once I wrapped my head around it but I felt the overall execution was chaotic. I also felt unable to connect with any of the characters. Nadja was weak and made incredibly poor decisions, Laura was two faced and conniving and Gero was just plain twisted. I always struggle with a plot based around someone helping cover up a murder, especially someone you’re barely friends with, because really? would you? I just find it very unrealistic.

This may not be your usual fast-paced, mind-blowing thriller but I did enjoy the second half once I’d wrapped my head around the complex narratives. Despite this not blowing my mind, I loved and highly recommend Hausmann’s first book and will definitely read more of her work.

𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ (2/5)

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫 + 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐀𝐑𝐂!

I loved Hausmann´s first book, and had high expectations going into this one. Hausmann certainly knows how to craft a thrilling story where nothing is what it seems. I also like how she used some Hitchcock-like elements to the story. That said, compared to her first novel, this was not that good. It took some time before the story engaged me, and I was thinking about putting the book away. I also had a hard time believing some of the character´ s motivations.

Hausmann's novel has the feel of a nightmare, unfolding at breakneck speed and exposing the terrifying vulnerability of a woman who wants nothing more than to be loved

The previous book, Dear Child, was fantastic so I really looked forward to discovering Sleepless.

I like the authors writing style which is always a great start but I still didn't enjoy this.

It starts on two timelines which are seemingly not connected, but of course they are, although a little far fetched and to be honest just too confusing at the start. It does come together, but its not an enjoyable journey.

Thank you for ARC Netgalley and publishers

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.