Y’all this book was a TRIP. I started this thinking it didn’t have any chapters….? It turns out the first chapter was just 110 pages...

Though not realizing that was my mistake. There was an evidence list at the beginning that served as a ~table of contents of sorts which I completely ignored. But after I figured it out and got in the groove, this was really interesting! It had some absolutely wild formatting but that just made it unique and fun!

This story is told through a combination of letters, notes, journal entries and an audio transcript. And, honestly, it is a WILD ride. I did guess several of the twists but that didn’t make this any less enjoyable.

However, there was one twist that I felt had a bit of a clumsy reveal but thankfully it was revisited at the end. And I did want just a tad more resolution for the whole thing, even though I did like the style choice for the ending.

But, I mean, I devoured this whole book in a day. It definitely kept me HOOKED. It also made me want to watch the White Lotus (which I haven’t yet) and eat all the Greek food. So the setting was spectacularly on point!

Overall I really enjoyed this and would highly recommend! If you’re looking for a good, quick thriller, please pick this one up! I cannot stress enough what a wild ride this is and what an excellent time I had read it!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for sending a finished copy my way and to NetGalley for the e-galley!

I picked this book up a few times over several months, but I could not quite grasp and stay engaged with the writing style that this story was told in. It was unclear who the speaker was to be in each part so it felt disjointed and confusing. Eventually I was able to get through this by grabbing the audiobook. While that did help with understanding, it still wasn’t enough for me to give a higher rating. For me, I would’ve enjoyed this more not as a reader reviewing parsed information (letters, etc.), but as dual POVs with a clearer transition.

Either I got a bad galley download or the author randomly stops the story, mid sentence, and then starts up in a completely different place.
The first couple of times, I figured it was on purpose, as the entire narrative is told in letters written to other characters; like, maybe the letter writer was interrupted…? But then it would happen at times that made no sense, including the very end of the book, so I don’t even know what to think.
Either way, there weren’t any characters that were super likable, and it was sometimes hard to follow (see above). All in all, it was okay.
Thanks to #netgalley and #simonandschuster for this #arc of #thesleepwalkers in exchange for an honest review.

This book was totally fine until like 50% and then it just went off the rails 😂. Some spoilers below.

This is a drama/thriller, heavy on the drama light on the thriller. It’s written in like, letters from the wife to the husband and vice versa, and in the beginning it’s got unreliable narrator vibes, the husband telling the wife she’s crazy for thinking the owner of their honeymoon hotel is up to something because she acts weird towards her and things start to go missing.

Then there’s all this crazy stuff revealed about the wife (she’s a MESS) and all this stuff revealed about the husband (ALSO A MESS) and all the crazy dynamics within the family with the in-laws (YIIIIIKES) and you sort of lose sight of the thriller hotel so when you get back to it it’s like wait what’s going on here again?

Then in the end, I don’t really feel like we got any sort of closure. Unless I totally missed something I have no idea what happened to a specific person and who exactly was responsible. It was all just messy.

SO, if you’re looking for something messy, you can pick this up. Note it’s way more drama than thriller, and the way it’s written is a little confusing sometimes. Also, the sleepwalkers are a thing, but you lose sight of that too amongst everything else.

Thank you @netgalley and @simonbooks for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
So the summary of this book really made me want to like it. I just didn't really enjoy it though. I was not a big fan of the characters and I struggled to try and stay interested.
Just wasn't for me.

Eerie, unsettling, foreboding, suspenseful…this dark domestic thriller checked all the boxes for me! It features fear, secrets, relationship drama, narcissism, art imitating life, and other dark elements that I won’t mention as it will spoil the twists (and it is indeed very twisty!). There is a lot of foreshadowing, suspense, and intrigue from the very beginning. Something happened. But what? Something is <i>going to happen</i>. But what?

Reminiscent of Emma Cline’s The Guest,  Elena Ferrante’s The Lost Daughter, and Rachel Koller Croft’s Stone Cold Fox, this novel features a semi-unreliable, rather unlikeable, potentially unhinged FMC. However, told in an engaging epistolary format consisting of letters (the first of which comprises 40% of the novel!), audio transcriptions, notes, and guestbook entries, we do get multiple POVs here. These documents are often incomplete, and as a result, we get an ending that is almost as mysterious as the rest of the book. I do believe this is intentional, and I’m a fan of the author’s choice here. I'm left with questions, but I like that - it's fun to chew on them and think about the story for days and weeks after reading.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel's experimentation (via such a unique format/voice/tone) and will definitely be recommending it. Big thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the eARC!

What a funky book! I enjoyed this story, and it took some twisty turns I wasn't expecting. The book was made up of a series of letters, some of which were missing parts and some of which abruptly ended. They also weren't actually letters, so much as they were long essays that went on for huge swaths of the book. I think the pacing could have been better, perhaps with shorter, more digestible chapters. I sometimes got lost, especially when letters ended and a new one began. The comparison to The White Lotus is was got me to try this book, and that was somewhat accurate. The White Lotus made me think there would be some humor, of which there was not. But the creep factor was definitely there, and ultimately I am happy I read this one!

Scarlet Thomas’s, “The Sleepwalkers,” is aptly named because I felt as if I was in a befuddled daze the entire time that I was wading through the mire of this conundrum of an epistolary treatise about sexual trauma, grooming, misaligned love, trafficking, paranoia, and murder.

In this convoluted tale, newlyweds Evie and Richard are gifted a questionable honeymoon trip by his mother to a remote Greek isle across the sea from Turkey. It is hurricane season and most of the businesses are boarded-up and closed in preparation for the storms. Although Isabella’s inn is still open and ready to receive the couple.

Almost immediately, new bride Evie feels that Isabella is fawning over her husband while being subtly rude to her. Before long, Evie suspects that Isabella and Richard are playing her for the fool, and she’ll have none of it.

Determined to leave Richard on this horrendous honeymoon, Evie begins writing Richard a goodbye letter that is basically the entirety of this story and a regurgitation of their life and relationship ad nauseam.

There is actually a good story hidden in the murky depths of this novel. Sadly, it’s just so poorly conceived in structure that only with patience can one truly grasp what Thomas is attempting. I do look forward to reading her future work. This experiment just doesn’t thrill me.

JoyReaderGirl1 graciously thanks NetGalley, GoodReads Giveaways, Author Scarlett Thomas, and Publisher Simon & Schuster for this advanced reader’s copy (ARC) for review.

The comparison to Patricia Highsmith in the summary reeled me in, but the structure was too confusing. The story begins with a woman reading a letter she has written to her husband. Her casual references to people, places, and situations had me scrambling to put together and make sense of who the people were and what she was talking about.

This is an unusual book told in an untraditional way, and is about quirky characters experiencing mysterious things. I give the author credit for keeping everything held together just enough for the reader to continue to be curious while grasping at the threads of uncovering what it is that is happening. Hints are uncovered throughout but never really fully spelled out clearly. Definitely a unique book that keeps you guessing and wondering all the way to the end.

#thesleepwalkers #netgalley #bookreview

Evelyn and Richard arrive on a small Greek island for their honeymoon as a storm threatens their idyllic getaway. The storm is indicative of the trouble that is brewing within their marriage and within their hotel. Isabella, the woman who runs the hotel, is distant and focused on appeasing Richard's every whim when two Hollywood producers arrive to hear the story of The Sleepwalkers, a couple who disappeared the year before. The story is told through letters and various forms of communication from one character to another.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoy the first chapter, which were letters from Evelyn to Richard detailing their courtship, wedding and her various transgressions against him. It detailed Isabella's weird treatment of her from the minute she arrived at the hotel. The chapter was well written and created tension right from the start. The second chapter was a letter from Richard to Evelyn, which had the reader questioning everything Evelyn had written, and exposed a very toxic relationship between the two.
In my opinion, it was at this point that the book was at its best.

What followed afterwards was a confusing compilation of other writings and some unbelievable twists and turns. I found it a confusing to understand the POV from one chapter to another, and to keep track of all of the people and how they were connected.

Overall, I think the story had great bones! It was a great idea, unique writing execution and fantastic writing style however there was just too much competing by the climax of the book and it left me wishing slight alterations had been made!

Still reeling from the chaos of their wedding, Evelyn and Richard arrive on a tiny Greek island for their honeymoon. It’s the end of the season and a storm is imminent. Determined to make the best of it, they check into the sun-soaked doors of the Villa Rosa. Evelyn is wary of the hotel’s owner, Isabella, who seems to only have eyes for Richard. Isabella ostensibly disapproves of every request Evelyn makes, seemingly annoyed at the fact that they are there at all. Isabella is also preoccupied with her chance to enthrall the only other guests—an American producer named Marcus and his partner Debbie—with the story of “the sleepwalkers,” a couple who had stayed at the hotel recently and drowned. But their honeymoon quickly becomes a living nightmare when Evelyn and Richard are separated the night of the storm and forced to face dark truths.

This was a very unique story, told entirely through letters, notes, audio transcripts, and other media. I loved the book's atmosphere and stormy Greek setting, which was much darker than the happy honeymoon vibe one might expect. The story begins with a list of "contents," rather than chapters, and explains that some of the letters have burn marks or rain damage. This explains why many of the letters are abruptly cut short. The beginning is a slow burn, with the first letter taking up nearly half the book, but it did pick up speed with many unexpected twists and turns.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schustwr for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Sleepwalkers
By Scarlett Thomas

This is a very strange book. Somehow it never came together for me. It is about a couple on a Greek island on their honeymoon. Right from the beginning, the sense that they really don't like each other very much is pervasive. As the book progresses, the mutual dislike becomes more and more obvious.

I really could not engage with these characters. Nothing in their relationship rang true and never caught my interest. I gave up after the first 100 pages.

Disclaimer: I received a free advanced reader’s copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review.

I chose this because I love Scarlett Thomas's fiction: PopCo, The End of Mr. Y, Our Tragic Universe. I haven't really read her mysteries. I would classify this book as a smart, literary thriller.

We start with a cover with a vacation-esque scene split down the middle. It immediately gives us both the idea that something is not right, and that there are (at least) two sides of the story. This reflects the strong theme throughout of appearances, perceptions correct and mistaken or misunderstood, secrets, discoveries.

The first page of the book reinforces this context by giving us a "Contents Note," listing what will be the sections of the book (ie. "letter on hotel stationary") in a form reminiscent of a court case or some type of archive.

The book is in epistolary form, so we immediately understand that each piece of this puzzle will be strongly one character's viewpoint. In the first letter, we read immediately of a married couple, Richard and Evelyn, who, thought just married, have a strange relationship. Evelyn calls it "cursed," without explanation (that will come later.) We also get a sense that Evelyn's relationship with her in-laws is at least strained. We see scenes of them interacting that just seem a bit off.

In the first few pages, Evelyn asserts that Richard doesn't listen to her. She says he has "always seemed so innocent." And she reports that Richard "said I'd been determined not to like the Villa Rosa from the start." She starts sentences like, "I want to write that you [said X thing]..." with an implication of desires unmet.

Richard and Evelyn are on their honeymoon, a gift from Richard's mother which Evelyn finds strange. Again, this is presented strongly from Evelyn's perspective, and so we have to take things with a grain of salt. Is she an unreliable narrator? Is Richard, in his letter later? Can we derive any "truth" of the events or will everything be colored by different viewpoints?

We have secondary characters like: Isabella, the hotel owner who just seems a little off to Evelyn, the "beautiful people," young people Evelyn keeps seeing around, and Paul and Beth, friends of Evelyn and Richard who meet them for part of their honeymoon.

We learn things about the main couple as they wait for "the fabled storm that we didn't really believe in," doubting each other and other people's assertions.

The writing is beautiful in places, like "our suitcase wheels red with crushed berries." It is also evocative and foreshadowing, with hints of things to come, objects that recur significantly, or objects loaded with symbolism, such as a warped mirror, or how the hotel keeps all doors unlocked. The book gets its name from another married couple, "The Sleepwalkers," who'd drowned in the sea the year before Evelyn and Richard arrive.

This was a great read, uncovering the truths as we go, putting the pieces together, and seeing how it all came together. There is a little work that the reader has to do, particularly in understanding the uncorrected transcript of a voice recording. But for the most part you can let the story take you where it will, slowly uncoiling and coming together into a picture larger than any one person's perspective and viewpoint.

I quite enjoyed it, but I didn't love it the way I loved PopCo. Recommended for people who like literary thrillers, flawed or perhaps not-so-likeable narrators and epistolary novels.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

In the labyrinth of modern literature, Scarlett Thomas's "The Sleepwalkers" emerges as a beacon of gothic suspense and dark humor. Set against the backdrop of a stormy Greek island, the novel weaves a tale of secrets, lies, and the haunting legacy of past guests known only as 'the sleepwalkers'.

Thomas masterfully crafts a narrative that is as unpredictable as the island's looming storm. The protagonists, Evelyn and Richard, arrive at the Villa Rosa for their honeymoon, only to find themselves entangled in a web spun by the enigmatic hotel owner, Isabella, and the island's peculiar inhabitants. The atmosphere is thick with tension, and Thomas's prose captures the claustrophobia of the setting with unerring precision.

The story unfolds through a series of fragmented letters, torn notebook pages, and audio transcripts, challenging readers to piece together the puzzle. Thomas plays with the concept of the unreliable narrator to such an extent that we are left questioning not just the characters' perceptions but our own understanding of the narrative.

Humor is deftly used to undercut the suspense, providing a satirical look at the absurdity of privilege and the blindness it can entail. Yet, beneath the humor lies a chilling exploration of relationships and sexuality, as well as a critique of contemporary society's darkest corners.

"The Sleepwalkers" is a novel that refuses to be pigeonholed. It is at once a thriller, a mystery, and a piece of experimental fiction. Thomas's writing is a tightrope walk between the experimental and the accessible, proving that a novel can push boundaries while still providing a gripping read.

Scarlett Thomas's "The Sleepwalkers" is a fiendishly gripping novel that offers a fresh take on the thriller genre. It is a testament to Thomas's skill as a storyteller and her ability to keep readers on their toes. For those who enjoy their mysteries wrapped in layers of complexity and served with a side of dark wit, this book is a must-read.

The Sleepwalkers seems to have a lot going for it. The main characters are young, beautiful, wealthy, and on their honeymoon. The setting is an expensive hotel on a remarkable Greek island, and the advance publicity is not shy about comparing this novel to The White Lotus, the iconic television series that is wildly popular. Throw in a murder, as The White Lotus always does, cross your fingers, and just maybe you have a bestseller on your hands.
Except . . . The Sleepwalkers does not have Mike White, the creative force behind The White Lotus, at the helm. Instead, this book was written by Scarlett Thomas, an author who is no slouch but is not Mike White. Her highly praised and critically reviewed novels have sold over a half million copies and have been nominated for prestigious awards.
And this novel does start with promise. The writing is sharp and distinctive. Thomas is a master at descriptive characterizations, referring at one point to “the prettier girl, the dark-haired one, a sleek heron in a black bikini and a thin orange sarong. She was walking down the road in the sun carrying a bag that said, Istanbul is Contemporary.”
The protagonist of the book is Evelyn Masters, a young woman on her honeymoon. Because the book begins with a long letter Evelyn is writing to her husband, these are her observations we’re reading. “I look at the young women and remember what it was like to be them,” Thomas has Evelyn write. “but I don’t remember ever being her, with those sharp wingish bones and her extraordinary long calves.”
The writing feels like it has the stamp of approval from MFA programs everywhere. Thomas’ descriptions jump off the page and allow the reader to get into the headspace of Evelyn Masters who, if you can believe it, is honeymooning with the son of a man she has had a long affair with. What’s more, Masters started out as the father’s housekeeper and now has not only bedded father and son but succeeded in marrying the son, getting access to the family money.
It's a very tangled though lucrative arrangement, but as long as the main character is writing this initial letter, the reader is in for the ride. It’s when this letter ends and the husband’s begins, that the trouble with which the story starts.
We begin to meet many different characters, so many that it’s hard to keep track and it’s very tough for the reader to know who is on whose side and what’s at stake since nothing is made clear. This is a tough story to follow. At one point, the reader is asked to understand the transcript of a secret recording where words are misspelled because the translator is not fluent in English. At another point, emails (or are they letters? Who knows?) have entire paragraphs missing but readers are expected to decipher them.
And all the key action takes place during a major storm. We’re not sure and neither is Evelyn; her husband Richard dies that night but apparently someone is trying to kill Evelyn as well, so she goes on the run without many resources. She is, however, not above having sex with just about any businessman to get plane fare to keep running or to make her way back to the Greek Island where the story began.
There is also an evil inn keeper named Isabella who is Evelyn’s nemesis, and also some movie producers trying to buy the story of a couple nicknamed “the sleepwalkers” because they apparently walked into the sea to their deaths while one of them was, er, sleepwalking.
This plot is so convoluted that the reader wants to beg for mercy—either end this mess of a story or clarify the plot so it’s understandable. Alas, neither of those things happen. The book goes on and on and does not become any easier to understand.
The lesson? Just because your story is superficially like The White Lotus, doesn’t mean it has the same wit, compassion, and deep understanding of human relationships.

This novel consists as a bundle of papers collected at a boutique hotel on a Greek island. The first section is a letter, written by Evelyn to her husband, Richard, on their honeymoon. In it, she explains why she is leaving him, going back through their relationship, but with the most detail on the events of the past days. It's compelling--and sets the reader up for a she said/he said dissection of a relationship, an impression enforced by the second section beginning with a letter written by Richard about their relationship, but that's not what Thomas is doing here, or not all that she is doing here. There's also the hotel owner, about whom the couple react to strongly, but very differently. In this novel, what is happening is happening, but so is a lot of other things, events and perspectives on the same events.

Thomas is a skilled writer and she's managed to pull off a novel that begins as one thing and ends as another. It's best to go into this novel knowing as little as possible about it. All I will say is that the novel is both a portrayal of the sexual dynamics between a newly married couple and something else entirely.

I am so thankful to Simon and Schuster Books, Scarlett Thomas, and Netgalley for granting me advanced digital access to this fast paced book before it hits shelves on April 9, 2024. I was captivated by the narrative and couldn't get enough.

I really enjoyed this one! A high suspense novel featuring a heavy dose of marital drama and discord, this epistolary work is one of those rare epistles that I highly enjoyed. The story is told from multiple points of view, and features an actress/playwright, a finance whiz from a wealthy family, a mysterious hotel owner, and various other Greek locals. It's the honeymoon in hell, which is getting a visit from Charybdis. The new marriage is possibly dysfunctional, and turmoil is seething in every sentence, every omission, every action - add in sexual competition, isolate everyone in a hotel and watch the hurricane swirl around competing viewpoints, including argument over whether or not the couple in the eye of the storm is in physical danger or not. Highly recommend.

ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴏʀʏ: A couple (Richard and Evelyn) spend their honeymoon at a remote villa on the coast of Greece during the offseason. Upon discovering a tragic story about an old couple that walked into the ocean the year before, Evelyn becomes fixated on their love story and determined to uncover what’s beneath the strange vibes she’s getting from the villa owner.

ᴍʏ ᴛᴡᴏ ᴄᴇɴᴛs: This book was so creatively written! Told in pieces of letters between the husband and wife, as well as random notes and receipts, it was a unique format. It also allowed the reader to get differing perspectives of the story from unreliable narrators. Both Richard and Evelyn had messed up pasts that they were keeping secret and seemed to have just gotten married to check off the box rather than being in love with each other. Scarlett Thomas did such a great job of capturing their rocky relationship and holding out on dropping some bombs until later in the book. Used to reading a lot of thrillers, I can usually figure out what’s going on pretty early on, but I had no clue what was up with Isabel (the villa owner) or any of the villa characters.

The most exasperating thing was that every “chapter” ended in the middle of a sentence, but I can also appreciate the genius of it and it really did add a level of intensity to the reading experience.

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮:
🏝️are a fan of domestic thrillers
🏝️enjoy stories told through letters
🏝️want to take a trip to the islands of Greece