Member Reviews

This is a great thriller as I’ve come to love from Kerry Wilkinson. The story is great and twisted conclusion had me so surprised!


Thank you, Kerry Wilkinson, Bookouture, Bookouture audio & netgalley for my ecopy & audiobook! All opinions are my own.

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In the chilling mystery thriller with a haunting narrative that revolves around a night of friendship turned inexplicably tragic. The story opens with four close friends sharing laughter, pizza, and movie choices during a sleepover. However, the morning after, Leah awakens to a scene of confusion and dread—her three friends have vanished without a trace.

Fast forward twenty years, and Leah is still haunted by the unanswered questions surrounding that fateful night. The small hometown remains steeped in rumors and whispers, intensifying Leah's quest for the truth. The plot takes an intriguing turn when a documentary on the disappearance is in the making, threatening to unveil long-buried secrets.

The story builds suspense as Leah receives an anonymous email with a cryptic message: 'Stop them.' The narrative explores the tension between Leah's desire to uncover the truth and the fear that some secrets are better left buried.

This is a riveting exploration of the lasting impact of a mysterious event and the relentless pursuit of answers. It masterfully captures the atmosphere of unease and suspense, keeping us on the edge of our seats. The novel's premise, coupled with its well-crafted characters, promises a gripping and emotionally charged mystery that delves into the consequences of a night that changed everything. If you enjoy psychological mysteries with a blend of suspense and emotional depth, this novel is a must-read.

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Thrilling book that kept me guessing all the way. Very talented author. Edge of the seat that will have you reading all night.

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While the mystery of this book intrigued me and the writing was good it still took me a long time to get into it. I felt like I was forcing myself to read it for the first few chapters even though I was invested in what happened to the missing girls and why Leah wasn't also taken. That said I still recommend this one for fans of mysteries.

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The Night of the Sleepover by Kerry Wilkinson

Published: October 23, 2023
Bookouture
Genre: Domestic Thriller
Pages: 284
KKECReads Rating: 5/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Kerry Wilkinson has sold more than two million books - and had No.1 crime bestsellers in the UK, Australia, Canada, South Africa and Singapore. As well as his Jessica Daniel series, Kerry has written a trilogy featuring private investigator Andrew Hunter, the Whitecliff series, the Silver Blackthorn trilogy - a fantasy-adventure serial for young adults - plus numerous standalone novels. He has been published around the world in more than a dozen languages. Originally from the county of Somerset, Kerry spent way too long living in the north of England, picking up words like 'barm' and 'ginnel'. When he's short of ideas, he rides his bike, hikes up something, or bakes cakes. When he's not, he writes it all down.

Oh, my stars. I love Kerry Wilkinson. He knows how to write engaging stories that suck you in and then rip the floor out from under you.

The build-up for this story was told through alternating timelines, which told stories. The way things connected was clever. I liked the characters and their development.

The twist left me speechless. I did not see any of that coming. I am stoked there is a second book because I need to know what else will happen. There is no way this will stay as neatly packed away as this book made it seem. Keeping secrets is difficult.

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The premise of this book hooked me and while the story did not feel incredibly original I enjoyed it nonetheless. My only really critique is that the ending felt very rushed. It felt like the author just wanted to end the book and the whole thing was wrapped up very quickly.

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WOW, this was twisted and cleverly written. I thought early on I had figured out THAT twist, I hadn't! I love Kerry's ability to weave together a twisted and fast paced story. This was an excellent read! It did leave me wanting MORE?.

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Twenty years later there is a documentary about the night of the sleepover that four girlfriends attended. The next morning only one, Leah, survived! This was an easy, suspenseful read that felt a bit rushed towards the end. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a copy.

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This book confused me from the beginning but sort of went with it. It took me a while too really get into it there were a few gripping bits in it and the end was ok.

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BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'The Night Of The Sleepover' by Kerry Wilkinson.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Kerry Wilkinson, Bookouture publishers, Bookouture Audio and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 23rd October 2023.

This is the eighth book I have read by this author. It is also the fourth book in the 'Whitecliff Bay' series. I have previously read 'The Child Across The Street', 'The Party At Number 12' and 'The Child In The Photo', 'Truly, Madly Amy', 'The Boyfriend', 'The Ones Who Are Hidden' and 'The One Who Fell' which I would also recommend reading. It is also the first book in 'The Sleepover'.

This novel consists of 47 chapters. The chapters are short to medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

Well, well, well Wow!!! What another absolute cracker of a book by an extremely talented author!!! This book sucked me straight in from beginning to the explosive ending. It was very well written with excellent descriptions which put me straight into the storyline. The blog and the cover suited the book perfectly.

An absolutely perfect start to an addictive and edplosive series!!!

This is yet another absolutely fantastic page turner by the extremely talented Kerry. Kerry's evocative writing skills really brings the story to life. This was helped by Olivia Darnley's brilliant narration of the audiobook that I listened to. In this book we go on a trip down memory lane to 15 years ago when Leah and three of her friends had a sleepover. However, by the morning four have become one and only Leah is remaining. One of the missing girls brothers is a film maker in present day and wants to commemorate the anniversary of the date by creating a documentary. Where did the other three girls go and will they ever be found? This book is a locked room mystery with only a small number of characters who could know the truth. I absolutely love locked room mysteries, especially if they are done well, because they make you look even closer at each of the characters than you normally would. When each of these characters hiding their own secrets it leaves the reader suspect every single one of them but whether for the right reasons or not, you will have to grab your copy to find out. The storyline is addictive and filled with suspense, tension, mystery and everything you could ask for in a fantastic page turner!! I loved all the twists and turns and throughout it kept me guessing what was going on and who was doing what. I would NEVER have guessed at the ending so a MASSIVE WELL DONE to Kerry . I have read many thrillers and it's getting harder and harder for me to be surprised so great job there. I loved the storyline and just loved everything about it. It was all done perfectly!! An absolutely addictive page turner that kept my heart in my throat on the edge of the seat and absolutely absorbed me. The fact there were so many different red herrings and so many possibilities that all would have worked perfectly I could not put this book down!!! I was so invested in the storyline that I was up until 2am!! I would LOVE to see this turned into a movie!!! I cannot wait to get hooked into the second book in this series and see what happens next!!

WARNING ⚠ DO NOT START THIS UNTIL YOU HAVE CLEARED YOUR SCHEDULES AS THIS BOOK IS ADDICTIVE!!!!

This is one of the books that I have listened 100% on Audiobook. If I listen to a book on audiobook I usually also read the physical book between but I listened to the whole book and I was impressed! I must say a HUGE congratulations to the narrator Olivia Darnley who did a great job bringing this story to life. I would listen to it in the car and while walking at any opportunity and Olivia did a fantastic job on both male and female characters voices!!! I'm not only looking forward to reading more books by Kerry but also to listening to more books narrated by Olivia!

.There was a great eclectic mix of characters that were all strong, realistic and believable...or not? Kerry's fantastic evocative writing skills and Olivia's brilliant narrative brought each and every one of them to life and it felt like you were standing next to them throughout. With a small cast of suspects you are left with no idea who you can trust and if any of them are telling the truth especially when you start discovering they each have something to hide. When it came to what actually happened there was no chance I would have ever worked it out so well done Kerry!!!

They all had such different and strong personalities and all suited the storyline perfectly.. There were such a mix of personalities and its hard really to say too much about any of them without giving too much away!!! Regardless of whether you liked, loved or disliked any of the characters they all work perfectly together to bring this story to life. I cannot wait to see who will return in the next book in this series!! A great cast of characters that come to life thanks to Kerry's extremely evocative writing talent!!

CONGRATULATIONS KERRY ON YET ANOTHER ABSOLUTELY ADDICTIVE PAGE TURNER!!!! AN ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC START TO A PAGE TURNING AND ADDICTIVE SERIES!! THIS IS EXACTLY WHY YOU ARE ONE OF MY TOP 5 MALE AUTHORS!!! HERE'S TO YOUR NEXT SUCCESS 🥂

Overall a compelling, addictive, action packed and fantastic addition to an explosive page turning series!!

339 pages/ 8 hours and 47 minutes.

This book is 99l to purchase on kindle via Amazon, free on kindle unlimited, £7.99 in paperback and £16 for the audiobook (at time of review) which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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Leah’s 3 friends went missing 20 or so years ago. A documentary is being filmed about the missing girls when Leah begins to receive anonymous emails demanding she stop the film from being made. Leah is afraid someone out there knows the truth about what happened to her friends. And you’ll never guess! What a great read! A suspense until the very end.

#netgalley

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I’ve not read a Kerry Wilkinson book for quite a while. I used to follow the Jessica Daniel series but lost interest. I welcomed the opportunity to read another of Kerry’s books through NetGalley and was certainly not disappointed.

The story of 15 year old Leah and her 3 friends was well told and the plot slowly grew as the book progressed. Just as we thought we knew what had happened to the 3 missing friends, we realised all was not as it seemed and an extra twist was added.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and am about to start the follow up.

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This was not as good as the first one, it was slow in places and I didn't enjoy it as much. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

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Easily one of the best books ive read in quite a while, the story from start to finish was just fantastic, the characters were all very relatable also, highly recommend

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Leah and her 3 best friends are having a sleepover…a night of pizza, vodka, and girl talk. The next morning only Leah is in the room where they all slept. The other 3 girls have vanished without a trace. Now it’s 25 years later and a sibling of one of the missing girls wants to do a deep dive documentary. Someone out there wants Leah to stop that from happening. Does someone know what actually happened that night? Is one of the girls still alive?

This was a solid read…it had a really good plot and the now/then storytelling worked for it. There was a good twist that I didn’t see coming. I didn’t know this was going to have a follow up book which I do like to know before I read something…but overall I enjoyed it!

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The Night of the Sleepover is the first book in Kerry Wilkinson's Sleepover series. Having never read from this author before, I had no real expectations going in. I found Wilkinson's writing to be quite engaging. She was able to hook me from the start. I was intrigued and couldn't stop thinking about this when I wasn't reading it.

In this story we are following single-mom, Leah, who 20-years ago had a her three best friends disappear during a weekend sleepover. Four girls started out the night, comfy in their pajamas, eating pizza and even sneaking some vodka, but only one remained in the morning. Leah.

As you can imagine, the years since haven't been easy. She's had a difficult time getting close to people. It's a small town, everyone knows her troubled past. Some even cast suspicion on her, how could she have slept through that? Those who don't, tip-toe around her with pity in their eyes.

As the 20th-anniversary approaches, Leah receives word that, Owen, the little brother of one of her missing friends is going to be making a documentary on the disappearance. He reaches out for her help. Soon after the news of the upcoming documentary spreads, Leah receives a mystery email from a dummy account stating two words, 'stop them'.

Leah is scared. Is this message from a friend, or a foe? What could their motivations be? Why would someone want to stop the truth from coming out? After all these years, is the truth better off staying buried?

As mentioned above, I was hooked into this story very quickly. I liked Leah's perspective and we do get her both in the present, as well as flashbacks to the time of the infamous sleepover. I thought both timelines were equally intriguing and liked following along as they perfectly-pieced together the truth of what happened that night. This is the kind of story where you need to know and there's no stopping until you find out.

I enjoyed the level of intensity that Wilkinson was able to conjure here as well. I felt for Leah, to have that night always looming over her like a dark shadow, and then with the anniversary approaching! Honestly, it was like cutting open your own old wounds.

I wasn't sure who to trust either. We meet a few different side characters throughout Leah's story and many of them seemed suspicious as heck to me.

The narrator for the audiobook had me feeling like I was literally listening to Leah recount what was happening to her. It brought it to life and in my opinion, made the narrative even more thrilling.

Full disclosure, this was a 3.5-star book for me, which I would have rounded up, pretty much the whole way through, but that ending! Yeah baby, that's what I like!!!

I'm so excited for the next book, After the Sleepover. I haven't read too much about it, so I am not sure in what direction it is going, but regardless, the anticipation is real. I'm starting it tonight!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Bookouture and Bookouture Audio, for providing me copies to read and review. I can't wait to pick up more from Kerry Wilkinson!!

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I kept wondering what really happened to the missing three girls. Someone has to know, but Leah, the only girl left from that night isn’t saying.
Yes, she had a horrible home situation but when I read the ending and what she had really done I was truly appalled at what she had done.
Leah needs to get her comeuppance and I’m hoping she does.

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Really liked this one! Twists I didn’t see coming. The alternating timelines kept the story moving, and interesting! I can’t wait to read part 2!

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This book was so good! It was intriguing and really drawed me in. I'll be reading more of this authors work.

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I have enjoyed every single one of this author's books - he's my go to author when I'm in a reading slump. His books get me out of my slump and always, always deliver. And this book was just brilliant. I could not put it down. This author sets a very high bar and with this book, he raises it again.

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