Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC. Although this review is for the audiobook it is equally applicable to the written text.

Sleepless by Romy Hausmann explores the themes of guilt, revenge, and justice.

The audiobook is narrated by the author herself, (I LOVE that) who delivers a captivating performance that brings the characters and the plot to life. The audiobook is divided into two parts: the 1st follows Nadja Kulka, a woman convicted of a brutal crime years attempting to begin a new life. The 2nd part reveals the truth behind her past and how it connects to Nelly Schutt, a young woman who made a fatal mistake in her affair with a married man.

This captivating novel audiobook is not only entertaining, but also it is thought-provoking. It raises questions about morality, law, and human nature.

How far would you go to protect yourself or someone you love? What are the consequences of your actions? How do you cope with your past? These are some of the questions that Sleepless challenges you to think about as you listen to this thrilling story.

This story by Romy Hausmann is a great choice for a captivating thriller that will keep you Sleepless.

I hope you enjoy this story as much as I did, 5 stars for the audiobook, and kudos to the author for narrating her story herself!

Dark and immersive, this is a recommended purchase for collections where Hausmann's previous work is popular.

This one didn't hit the mark for me. Unfortunately I was not able to follow along easily and the characters were not my fav at all. I've seen some pretty good reviews about this book so I know some people enjoyed it, however it was missed on my end and I couldn't keep the momentum going.

I want to thank NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with an audiobook version of this publication. In return, I have promised to provide an unbiased review.

Though the darkness and the psychological suspense were there, SLEEPLESS wasn't as gripping as DEAR CHILD was for me. The narrator was wonderful, but the story was a bit lacking for me.

This was a beautifully written and unique read, It felt a bit scattered in the middle for me, but it all ties up in the end. I wouldn’t say I loved this one, but it was definitely worth it. Thank you for the advanced copy.

While I loved their previous book, Dear Child, this one was just not for me. The jump in timelines and stories was confusing and hard for me to follow. Also, the multiple characters were hard for me to separate and follow their stories. The narration kept me interested enough to finish even though I was completely lost. Maybe if I listen to this a second time I will have a better grasp on it.

Sleepless is a twisty, wild read. Nadja is released from prison and wants to sink back into the world and lead a normal life. Najda gets a new job which introduces her to some new people. Laura is the wife of Nadja's boss. Laura gets herself into trouble and coaxes Nadja into helping her. Can Nadja trust Laura? Probably not but she tries anyway. The two women take off and try to problem solve. What happens next is full of suspense and twists.

Unfortunately I sort of struggled through this book on audio and I'm so disappointed as I loved Dear Child. I found the pace of Sleepless very slow and had difficulty keeping track of the characters.

Nadja grew up as the neglected child of a prostitute. When her mother is found murdered, Nadja doesn't really understand what is going on as the police question her and before she knows it she is picked out as the scapegoat for her mother's death. That protects all the influential men in the town who were customers. Nadja is sent to prison for several years as a child offender.
But those days are behind her. Now she is out and living her life as normal people do. She has a job and likes her boss who is kind to her. She has a few friends and a life where she can go where she wants and do anything that appeals to her. Nadja is fairly content until the day Laura comes to her.

Laura was Nadja's first friend when she came to her job. That continued until Laura caught the eye of the boss and soon married him and left the workforce. Now Laura is distraught and begs Nadja to help her. Nadja agrees of course. But when Laura takes her to her house, Nadja finds the dead body of Laura's lover on the floor. Laura begs Nadja to help her hide the body.

Nadja agrees and the two women take the body to a lodge deep in the forest. But Nadja discovers that her past has come back to haunt her and that she is being set up as the victim to take the blame again for a crime she did not commit. Will this be the same as all those years ago?

Romy Hausmann is a German author whose debut novel, Dear Child, became a runaway bestseller. This is her second novel. The reader will sympathize with Nadja. The plot contains many twists and turns and it goes back and forth in time, some of which can confuse the reader. There is a separate thread about another woman who is found dead in the forest also and it takes quite a while to reconcile the two plotlines. I listened to this novel and the narrator did a great job, echoing the fear and childlike nature of Nadja. This book is recommended for thriller readers.

Such a fun and unique thriller. The first part of the book had me totally confused, but once I got through the beginning and realized you are supposed to be confused...I got super into the story and enjoyed it all throughout. I do think it's best to go in blind and just enjoy the ride. The narrators were all perfect and I think audio is the best way to consume the story.

There have definitely been mixed reviews for Sleepless, but I went into it with an open mind. I will say, because of the plot structure and the multiple characters, this is one that I enjoyed more from the text version than the audio. That said, the narrator is fantastic!

I really wanted to enjoy this audiobook, but sometimes I felt really lost. I think books like this I almost need the physical copy to kind of follow along because there were two separate storylines that I kept getting lost in. There is also a lot of deceptive writing that makes it hard for me to focus on when I'm listening and doing chores (so that part is on me, and not the writing of the book). The timeline jumped around a lot. Around the 50% mark things started to ramp up on the thrills and chills which kept me interested. I did eventually have to stop doing other things and just focus and listen or the timeline jumps would confuse me. I think chaotic books like this are super fun, but maybe not for audio (for me because I can't focus).

Having read and enjoyed Dear Child I was looking forward to reading this book. I enjoyed it a lot . It’s a slow burn complex and engaging audio book. The narrator did a wonderful job telling two stories in two timelines with alternating chapters.

I really loved Dear Child by this author and was highly anticipating this book. This book left me feeling a little confused as it seemed to jump around a bit and I had difficulty keeping up with who was who. I'm pretty sure it was just me but sadly I didn't love this book.

Very hard to get into. I was confused by the characters and the storyline. After Dear Child, I was really looking forward to this title, but it just didn't do it for me.

Nadja is an assistant to a famous criminal lawyer, Gero. Years ago Nadja was convicted of a crime, and when her boss’s wife, Laura, comes to her begging for help, she quickly agrees to help her friend. It turns out that Laura has been having an affair, and has accidentally killed her young lover. Laura knows that Gero will ruin her life if he finds out, so Nadja offers to help by moving the body to another property, planning to dispose of it later on. Now begins the trouble – double-crosses, another story involving a young woman, and a mystery that is difficult to understand. I admit to being lost through parts of the story. There were some great reveals, but the confusion was pretty aggravating at times! I enjoyed Hausman’s first book much more than this one. Thank you for the ARC to NetGalley and the publisher.

Last year, I read and thoroughly enjoyed Hausmann's English-language debut novel, DEAR CHILD, so I was ecstatic to get my hands on an early copy! At first, it is a little hard to get over the fragmented style that flits across both years and perspectives, making it more challenging to see where this is all building. The narrative includes letters that try to communicate the truth of past horrors, multiple affairs that end ugly and an overall building of menacing tension that steadily makes this one impossible to put down. Honestly, I read it in practically one sitting! The latter half moves especially fast. While the characters aren't always likable, Hausmann develops them all to have moments where you can't help but feel sympathy towards them. This really rounds out the characters and makes them feel so real.

It's a suspenseful read and the format really makes it hard to predict just where the plot will go. But, I especially appreciate that by the end, nothing is left dangling. It really is a truly satisfying read! I did find myself enjoying to actually read it more than listen- largely because of the formatting. But, I kept my two versions synced up to get a good feel of the audio performance and appreciated their voices and to get to hear some of the proper pronunciations of names and places. But the nonlinear format made me gravitate more towards physically reading over listening.

Hausmann is a talented author and the translation here feels smooth and flawless. I will definitely continue to keep an eye for more of her work to be translated into English! this one is quite original and a definite page turner!

As much as I tried, I couldn't get into this book. I was granted an audiobook from the publisher. I had to stop and restart the book after being more than an hour and a half in each time because I was just so confused on what was happening. The character POVS blended together and the jumping timelines made it very difficult to keep up with what was going on.

Thank you to #Flatiron Books, Romy Hausmann and #Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
I requested this book because the premise was intriguing. Two women venture into the woods to hide a dead body, One is a housewife and mother while the other is a convicted murderer. One is betrayed by the other and a cat and mouse game begins. I dove in and finished the audiobook in two days. This description is just the tip of the iceberg of the story.

What a story it is! Instead of being a traditional psychological thriller, the book is a dark and chilling and as much character driven as it is plot-driven with many puzzle pieces that do actually fit together in the end. The one problem I had with it is that it was disjointed in places and a bit harder to follow as an audiobook without giving it your complete attention. I like not always knowing where things are going with a story or why there are so many narrators and threads to weave together as long as everything comes together at some point. And I was not disappointed.

I really enjoyed Romy Hausmann's last book, "Dear Child" and was looking forward to this one. I must say, it was not what I was expecting. I listened to the audiobook and perhaps that was one of the problems. The story was interesting with damaged characters and a convoluted plot. Nadja was a character with baggage. She has never gotten a break and didn't in this story either. Life was cruel to her. When she is released from prison, she is able to get a job at a law firm and wants to live a normal, quiet life. She has panic attacks and attends therapy to help. She is vulnerable and that is noticed by others. When her co-worker murders their boss, she asks Nadja for help. Nadja becomes a suspect, she has a record after all. This story highlights how people use each other's past to get what they want, some people are just not worth caring about or believing. Beauty blinds people from the truth. Unfortunately, this is a book that jumped around in different timelines and I got quite confused. By the time things came together, I had lost interest. This could have been a great story if told chronologically, but I did not enjoy the way it was written. Lucy Paterson and Michael Fenner did a fine job with the narration.