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

▪️There is a sentence near the end of this book that encapsulates my feelings about it perfectly: “They felt it was too experimental and too dark.”

▪️ The novel unfolds through a unique format—an unrealistically long letter from the wife to her husband, another from the husband to the wife, transcripts of audio recordings, entries in a hotel guest register, and more. While I admired the attempt to tell a story in this manner, it didn’t quite achieve the desired impact. The format felt awkward and occasionally confusing, with timelines all over the place.

▪️ However, the book did exude a captivating gothic atmosphere—the storm, the old hotel, and the enigmatic characters all contributed to a vibe I adored. Despite my reservations about the format, I remained engaged just to see what was going to happen. However, as the story delved into darker territory, it deviated greatly from my expectations. The narrative introduced too many topics by the end of the story, leaving it somewhat lost and jumbled. And that big twist on page 210? Not much of a twist—didn’t everyone see that coming?

▪️ So, while I appreciated the attempt at a unique format and I loved the gothic feel, the book was only so-so for me overall.

Thank you @simonbooks for a copy of this book, which I have read and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

wow! What an intriguing book. An interesting way to tell a story from a letter perspective. I highly recommend.

The Sleepwalkers by Scarlett Thomas #thirtiethbookof2024 #arc

CW: murder, death, rape, human trafficking

This book starts off as a letter from Evelyn to her husband Richard, explaining why she’s leaving him during their honeymoon. At first the descriptions of the honeymoon seem normal, if not a little fraught—there are allusions to information learned at the wedding that is traumatic. The innkeeper clearly has something against Evelyn and stories about previous guests who died run rampant. Then the book goes off the rails and turns into something different.

The format of the book is interesting and I enjoyed that. But once I finished, I can’t say that I completely understood the entire thing. The reveal wasn’t completely earned. I feel like it came out of nowhere. I also didn’t care enough about any of the characters to be bothered by their fate. No one was likable or enjoyable enough for me to worry about them, and there was too much going on at the end for me.

Thank you to @simonandschuster and @netgalley for the advance copy. (Available now, pub date was 4/9/24)

#thesleepwalkers

AACK I loved this book so much.
I felt like cackling with glee when I finished, like I do when the lights come up after a completely deranged independent film. The Sleepwalkers out-Highsmithed Patricia Highsmith.

It may not be for everyone, it's an out-of-the box novel written creatively with a back and forth timeline and a dark, morbid main storyteller. The cover is confusing to me as the story felt VERY gothic and dark, and took place for the most part during a large storm.

I don't want to say too much about what happens. The story should be enjoyed in as few sittings as possible while just savoring the crazy.

This book would be for those who love gothic storytelling and unsettling mysteries, who are fine with differently structured narration, and likely those who loved House of Leaves. But if you didn't love House of Leaves, don't let that scare you away!

Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book earns 5 stars for ALL the reasons above, for some great writing, for being unafraid to do something different, and for getting me to cackle with glee. Loved it.

I am in love with this book. The found documents structure of it is so intriguing and kept me flipping the pages. I will be getting a physical copy of this book and re reading it often. The characters are so perfectly constructed and there is so much to unpack with each one. The unreliable narrator aspect of it is so perfectly written. This is a book of character studies wrapped up in a mystery. I recommend this book to all. I read a NetGalley copy.

Would recommend for fans of…
🏝️ The White Lotus
🏝️ The Talented Mr. Ripley
🏝️ The Fury

The Sleepwalkers was pitched as ‘Patricia Highsmith meets The White Lotus’ which immediately caught my eye. I was very ready to be swept away by a suspenseful story on a Greek island.

Instead, what I got was a very middling literary thriller, though thriller might be a bit of a generous description for this very slow book. While I enjoyed the premise and thought the story had potential, it was not a hit for me.

My biggest issue was that the book felt very disjointed. There were a lot of POV changes that were hard to pick up on. I think they were included to make the story feel twisty and shocking, but in practice they were just confusing. There were also so many weird plot points that I often found myself asking how they were contributing to the larger story. Many of these elements felt like an overdeveloped side plot that wasn’t important enough to resolve.

Long story short, I think Thomas was trying to say something important about marriage and economic disparity, but the novel was so unfocused that those messages weren’t very clear. But if you’re a fan of super literary mysteries, or stories about rich people behaving badly, you might enjoy this one.

The Sleepwalkers is out now! Again, thanks to SimonBooks #SimonBooksBuddy for the free books!

This may have been a case of just not for me, but unfortunately I did not enjoy this book. I was interested at the beginning but the epistolary format didn't work for me continually over the whole book. It made it feel like one very long run on sentence. There were also some breaks in the writing and that were rather jarring. I don't know if that was intentional or a kindle version problem, so maybe this would have read better via a physical copy. There were also some big plot points that just left me very confused. I did like the secluded island setting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me a digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This is the first book in a long time that I have read and am just not sure how I feel about it… Was there some incredibly interesting themes and plot points? Absolutely! Was the writing captivating? Once I got past the writing style, for sure!! Were any of the characters likable? Could I find one single redeeming quality for any of them? That’s a big fat no.

I love an unlikable character. Hell, I have loved books with an entire cast of characters I didn’t like, but there has to be something that is keeping me immersed in the story otherwise. This had that something extra, but still, I’m unsure.

I didn’t like the newlyweds we follow in this book. I didn’t like the stupid things they did and the way they spoke to each other. I didn’t enjoy the gaslighting and the manipulation between the two (mostly from the husband). And then we go on to learn even more about the history of both the couple and both of them individually…

The resort they stay in, and the storm that hits while the couple is there just didn’t seem to get enough on page and that was what I wanted more of.

I both enjoyed and hated this book. And I kind of love that. The author definitely created this unsettling, darkly humorous situation and it was a wild ride.

Well, that was depressing. Two people go on their honeymoon just after their wedding and I'm wondering why they ever bothered. These two don't seem to like a single thing about each other. The place is pretty horrible and the two wait for the storm, literal and figurative, to hit them. Almost the entire first half of the book is the wife, Evie, writing to her husband about why she is leaving him. Then he gets his chance to write a letter. Each are retelling in great detail things they both experienced. Most of the rest is a collection of other exhibits in the trial of what happened with between and to Evelyn and Richard. Everything that is revealed is terrible, including the most horrific of "coincidences" a person can experience.

I did enjoy the story itself. Unfortunately, it didn't matter who was writing each part. Every voice was exactly the same. I don't think there is a single character in the entire thing who was likable.

Scarlett Thomas is a new author for me, but I chose to read this book because it is set on a Greek island (and I've always secretly wanted to go to Greece) and because the description says the book is "very funny" and I like humor in a book.

Description:
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. Already feeling insecure after seeing the “beautiful people,” the seemingly endless number of young models and musicians lounging along the Mediterranean, 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.

Everyone seems to want to talk about the sleepwalkers, save for Hamza, a young Turkish man Evelyn had seen with some “beautiful people,” as well as the “dapper little man”—the strange yet fashionable owner of the island’s lone antiques and gift shop she sees everywhere.

But what at first seemed eccentric, decorative, or simply ridiculous, becomes a living nightmare. Evelyn and Richard are separated the night of the storm and forced to face dark truths, but it’s their confessions around the origins of their relationship and the years leading up to their marriage that might save them.

Exhilarating, suspenseful, and also very funny, The Sleepwalkers asks urgent questions about relationships, sexuality, and the darkest elements of contemporary society—where our most terrible secrets are hidden in plain sight.

My Thoughts:
The book is atmospheric and gave me a sense of being outside looking in. Evelyn seems to have some issues and some of that is revealed later on. I had some trouble with the prose stopping midsentence and the next paragraphs being seemingly unrelated, like some of the text was missing. This occurred at various times during the book. I failed to find any humor here. Maybe I'm dense, but even at the end I wasn't sure what I'd read and what really happened and what was imaginary. The writing was easy to read, but this book was just not for me. I do see some people really loved it though. I'm on the fence about whether I would recommend it to my friends. Some might find it interesting, it just seems too unfinished to me.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster through Netgalley for an advance copy.

I liked the sleepwalkers. This was an interesting story with interesting characters. I liked the way the Author delved into the characters true identity. This was an early review copy and very rough around the edges. I don't think the ending was fully developed and hated missing out on the twist. I will have to check the new release version, but it was a good read.

#TheSleepwalkers #Netgalley

I did not love this book, but this could have been very specific to me! The plot mainly hinges upon the legend of the sleepwalking lovers-a woman who followed her sleepwalking husband into the ocean where they both drowned. However, it is not clear if their deaths were accidental or intentional and that is what frames the rest of the narrative. The new couple on vacation in this resort where the incident happened try to tease out this legend but find darkness and a sense of dread everywhere they look.

This plot sounds fun but it didn’t work for me. While I usually like the epistolary form-it did not work well for me here. I felt very detached from the characters and plot. The characters could become hard to keep track of due to the format as well. However, I do give the author props for creativity and trying to introduce something new into the genre of domestic suspense.

Thanks to the publisher for providing the arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

“The Sleepwalkers” by Scarlett Thomas could not earn more than one star in my opinion. I should preface this review by saying that many renowned publications gave this book glowing reviews (including The New York Times and The Guardian), so maybe this is a case of me just not getting it.

The premise could have made for an interesting novel. Honeymooners Richard and Evelyn are vacationing in Greece, when they come across some suspicious people (including the mysterious hotel owner, Isabella). They hear several accounts about a couple who stayed at the hotel the previous year who drowned under strange circumstances (they’re the ones deemed ‘The Sleepwalkers.’) Richard and Evelyn are far from a match made in heaven – they bicker and snipe at each other. And both characters have some extremely unlikable qualities. When a huge storm hits, the couple must try to confess to each other about their own misdeeds and survive the night at a hotel that seems to be harboring some pretty serious secrets.

This novel’s downfall in my mind was the structure. It just made absolutely no sense to me. First, most sections are written in epistolary form, but this quickly loses its charm and effectiveness. There are so many instances when the characters are explaining events that the other person was present for. It might have been logical to start every chapter with a letter, and then move into regular prose. There were also sections thrown in from the perspectives of side characters, that only left me feeling even more confused. One whole section was a ‘transcript’ that detailed a recorded conversation between characters, but the recorder missed words or misunderstood what the speaker had said. It felt like torture to try to slog through what was actually intended (and I never need to feel challenged in that way just to read through an unnecessary chapter in a book).

The main emotion I had reading this book was either confusion or disgust. It tries to take on a light-hearted, humorous tone at times, and then other times it feels like it’s so dark that Thomas is purely going for shock value. I felt mild revulsion pretty much the whole book. I was hoping for an ending that at least would make sense of the previous plot points, but the resolution felt rushed (even though I was glad when the book was over).

I’ve seen this book compared to White Lotus, which is kind of insane to me. That show is smartly written, with effective character development (even when the characters have unlikable traits). And I never feel like I want to fast forward just to be finished with it.

I definitely don’t agree with the rave reviews of this one at all.