This book was written in a way that was kind of hard to follow and get into. There are some humorous bouts along the way but overall I don't think I cared for this one..

First and foremost, this is much more literary fiction than thriller. I feel that is extremely important to know going into this. What works for me in lit fic doesn’t work for me in thrillers. The epistolary format is interesting, as the entire book is written in letters. I found some things frustrating because sometimes the letter would just drop off, and I don’t know if that was intentional or an ebook formatting issue.

There are no chapters. Maybe this is why it felt like it took twice as long for me to read. There are breaks in dates and povs in the letters, and they could be very confusing to me. It’s never overtly stated who is writing, and I found it hard to follow some of the time.

With all this said, I do believe this is a great book. The way in which this is written leaves the reader completely unnerved. Everyone seems unreliable, there are so many weird interactions, and the characters aren’t likeable, at least in my opinion. This is a unique book that I haven’t quite come across before.

So if you’re in the mood for a unique format with unlikeable and unreliable characters, that will leave you in a state of shock when you’re finished, this is the book for you. I’m just going to go ahead and give this 5 stars for the complete mind f- this did to me.

A captivating story told in an interesting way. The plot unfolds through a series of letters and notes that trace one couple on their ill-fated honeymoon during a storm in a charming hotel in Greece where one year early, a couple sleptwalked to their death.

It’s a wild ride that I won’t spoil by saying too much. Just know, the vibes are excellent and you won’t see where this is going. The device of the letters did get a little confusing in parts, but I was utterly swept up in this story and loved every second.

What in the world did I just read? The concept was so promising and I was super intrigued, but the execution was sloppy and confusing. Both characters were awful humans who hated each other and I found myself caring less and less about them and the story.

Thanks to S&S and NetGalley for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This kind of book is right up my alley; I love when there are "found objects" which make up the meat of the narrative and make me sort of piece together the plot. This one could have been a leeeetle more cohesive for my taste, but ultimately I was satisfied with how it ended up.

Through a series of letters and journal entries, we experience the honeymoon (If it can be called that?) of Richard and Evelyn. The first week is a pre-honeymoon, at a different hotel, with their friends, Richard's best friend and his girlfriend-of-the-moment. Those two peel off, then Richard and Evie move to another hotel, this one ostensibly classier, arranged and paid by Richard's well-heeled mother (it's eventually made clear that Evie and Richard met while she was the housekeeper for his posh family, and eventually more details come to light surrounding that). But immediately, the vibes are off: they drag their suitcases around the corner in the hot sun. The beach sand is dirty and gritty. The owner of the new hotel is rude to Evelyn, but defers to Richard, and Evelyn is made to feel as if she is imagining this. It's the end of the season, and storms are coming, and everyone in the little Greek town where they are staying is obsessed with the story of the married couple who drowned last year when the husband supposedly sleepwalked down to the ocean and the wife followed him in.

All this is conveyed in a long letter from Evie to Richard, which ends rather abruptly, and then we switch to another form of information sharing, another POV, then another. The story, as it builds, becomes more and more sensational. How believable it is depends on your worldview, really: it encompasses public performance, date rape, coercion, human trafficking, dark academia (briefly!), blackmail - not your everyday occurrences, sure, but they most likely happen more than we are aware, right?

If you are a reader who needs a story to be very concrete and final, with the solution very clear, this may not be for you (I am usually this sort of reader, but Thomas' writing is so good that I didn't mind the nebulousness of the plot, the ending). I, for one, am going to go investigate other Scarlett Thomas books, because she is one hell of a writer. Highly recommend.

For some reason I thought this was going to be a thriller (it's pitched as Patricia Highsmith/White Lotus.)

I think the comparison to White Lotus is fair. The book is very atmospheric and vibe-y but I don't think the languid pace is going to work well for fans of fast-paced thrillers. I don't think "life is a mystery" or "people are an enigma" are going to hold the interest of that kind of reader. I used to be that reader, but my attention span got WAY shorter over the years.

If you enjoy books that are unique and vibe-y without a super-strong plot, read a few pages and see if The Sleepwalkers is for you!

For me this was a 3.5-3.75 read and I wish Netgalley/Goodreads would let us have half stars!

The Sleepwalkers is a book of unlikable but darkly humorous characters some of them are so awful they did make me laugh (Isabella I am looking at you), and I think this was the author’s intention.
The story of the Sleepwalkers entwined with the story of Evie and Richard is a twisty and interesting one, it is tragic and pessimistic but entertaining to read.
I didn’t mind the way the story was written as it did all come together in the end. The letters and almost unreadable transcript (which made some sense once I grasped the way the software had translated it) all added to the chaos of the story.

I really enjoyed this! Fair warning: this story feels a bit experimental. The story is told through documents, mostly letters, with some pieces missing. Mostly told from the wife Evelyn's perspective, but some POV From the husband and others as well.

I really liked how this story played with form, making you question what really happened, how perception changes the truth, how the storyteller of a story changes perception, etc. It was cool and I liked it, especially the wife's letter and distinct character voice. Reminds me of White Lotus with a ridiculous vacation gone wrong situation.

Thank you to the publishing for granting me access to an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions remain my own.

Featured in this reading vlog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GLfWvoxbXM

Thank you NetGallery!

This book was hard to follow, I know sometimes ARCs formations are a little messed up. But I was just confused with all the letters.

I'm trying really hard to find nice things to say about this book, but I absolutely hated it.

This story follows newlyweds Richard and Evie who are honeymooning on a Greek island. They learn the story of the sleepwalkers, a couple who tragically died when the husband was sleep walking and ended up in the middle of the ocean, and the wife who followed him to save him only to succumb to the waves as well. But as Richard and Evie learn more about the sleepwalkers, the story just isn't adding up, and it appears something much more sinister is occuring on this island.

The layout of this book was incredibly hard to follow, as you're reading recovered documents to figure out the story. There are several times where the story is cut off mid-sentence, and it's hard to determine if it was intentional or not. The characters are all AWFUL. They're all written in a light that is meant to bring out their worst qualities, but none of them have ANY good qualities. I couldn't stand any of them. The plot of this story is not strong enough and does not come together enough in the end to make this book worth the read in my opinion.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

What an odd little duck this book was. I almost decided to take the DNF way out a few times (even once when I was at 70%...who does that??!??), but I stuck it out and am kind of glad I did. I spent a good deal of my reading energy muddling my way through as this author's writing style and my reading style didn't quite mesh. Also, I did get this as an ARC and it was fully of typos, missing words, missing paragraphs, formatting nightmares. Because of the writing style it was hard for me to tell if this was intentional in some cases or an actual error. I am sure all that will be fixed before it goes out in publication. The storyline itself was interesting and I think it will keep other readers engaged in trying to figure out what happened with the Sleepwalkers and what is, in fact, real. A lot of the wrap up of this book leaves much to the reader's imagination, so if you don't mind not knowing for sure and interpreting your own ending, I think you'll enjoy this.

I am not sure what I just read. Billed as a mystery with a touch of comedy, I wondered if I was reading the same book. The book was told in letters, notes and transcripts which was a unique way of telling the story. But it was also a tedious, confusing way. I understand that the author has written many exceptional books, but for me this was not one of them. Thank you Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for an early copy. I am always excited to read a new author to me, I just wish I wasn’t so disappointed in this book and my personal opinion of it.

This book written in letter format gave beautiful descriptions of seaside towns. There was multiple mysteries going on that I wasn't fully able to sniff out. The first half of the book was slower paced, but the second half flew by.

3.5★, but rounded down to a 3 because I'm still not exactly sure how I feel about this book. I'm not sure if it's because this was an ARC or what, but the changing of letters/information was too jarring and I couldn't tell what was an intentional change versus something wrong with the ARC. I think in a physical book with some visual changes, it could be easier but as it was, I'm not sure I'd recommend this book as it was just too...up it's own ass in it's weirdness, for lack of a better way to describe it.

An atmospheric and unique read. The author has an unerring story sense and ability to keep the reader mesmerized.
Many thanks to Simon & Schuster and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a weird book! The tone is inconsistent at times - graphic sexual scenes come out of nowhere - and overall I wasn’t super invested in the story. Good writing but not my kind of book.

3.5 stars, rounded up.

I e want to start by saying that while I throughly enjoyed this book, I understand that it is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. It is presented in “found documents” style, with each document presented and advancing the story more and more until everything is revealed.

The story itself revolves around newlyweds Evelyn and Richard, who take their vacation on a small Greek island in a gorgeous Villa Rosa, operated by the mysterious Isabella. Evelyn clashes with Isabella immediately and senses an air of foreboding around the villa. But she finds that Richard seems oblivious. With rumors still swirling about the mysterious “Sleepwalkers” who drowned after staying at Villa Rosa the year before. As tension escalates, along with a coming storm, secrets are revealed and Evelyn and Richard are caught up in the story that hasn’t quite ended.

This book definitely reads like a Greek tragedy or drama as it continues on, with characters who get caught up in something bigger than themselves, and it may all be the result of their own actions in the end, in some sort of either cosmic karma way, or a literal inevitable way. It’s incredibly suspenseful, like watching a car crash you realize is going to happen, but can’t stop.

And, yes, none of the characters are very likable, but I still found myself invested in their fates. They were well-drawn and the author really paints a great picture for the plot. I was totally into it.

My only quibble was the very end. I don’t like cut off endings, and while the vast majority of everything was answered, I would have liked some more completeness in general.

I would definitely read more from this author. I liked the different formats and the intense story. It may not be for everyone, but it was definitely for me!

3.5 Rounded down to a 3 star-

This was an interesting read in the organization and presentation of the story, which might have hindered my own reading experience with this book. The story is told through a mix of letters from different individuals to tell the story behind a newly married couple and their honeymoon. There were a few times that the organization of the story made it hard to follow and sometimes caused a disjointed reading experience that caused a break from the story being created. It makes me curious about when then finish product is released if the issues will be the same when it comes to the printed source. As it is, the ebook needs to be fixed a bit more to help.

Now the actually story was something new to read about and shows a new outlook on a relationship based on secrets and when life gets complicated how the characters handled it. Scarlett Thomas created characters that are not the most likable, especially the husband in my opinion, and even more dislike when secrets start to be revealed. There's a lot of elements that I was not expecting as the story started to show itself and that felt refreshing in a thriller book.

Evelyn and Richard arrive to a small greek island where they are going to be honeymoon and Isabella the hotel owner begins to show her preference for Richard. It is evident from the beginning that Isabella and Richard are sharing a connection with one another and when Isabella starts to go questionable things Richard takes her side over his new wife. Evelyn can tell something is amiss and eventually when a storm hits events start to prove to her things were strange.

I will have to check back in when the print edition is out and I can see if the organization are fixed and in turn if that solves the gapping between the stories making it more confusing to follow. Overall, this book felt fresh and interesting to follow and the ending left open room for questions and the readers own decision on what happened.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Evelyn and Richard end up at a small boutique hotel for their honeymoon in Greece called the Villa Rosa. Tension between the two is high due to their “cursed” wedding, but only gets worse when Isabella, the hotel owner enters their lives. A weird and dark mystery that gives The White Lotus vibes.

Similarities to The White Lotus include: a mysterious death, sex and betrayal,

I don’t know how I feel about this book. At times I was enthralled but mostly I was confused. I didn’t mind that the story was told in letters and transcripts (even though the transcript chapter was VERY confusing to follow), but was I supposed to be solving a mystery here?

Every character in this story was unlikeable, Evelyn was insecure and Richard pretentious. The more you read about their dark pasts, the more you hated them. Is it wrong to have hoped they both drowned in the storm?

My arc had some formatting issues, that caused some confusion. Sentences would cut off randomly, missing punctuation, etc. Maybe once a hard copy is available, I’ll pick it up again and give it a reread. Even though it was a bit confusing, I did enjoy the descriptive writing and overall tone of the story.

Even when I felt lost in the plot, the mystery aspect kept me engaged til the end, and I did read this ARC in one day.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced reader copy. These opinions are my own and given freely.

This book had such an intriguing premise, and I was very interested in it. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me.

The plot was very interesting, and the mystery and relationships kept me reading. However, I must say that the formatting really made it difficult for me. The book is broken out into the different pieces of evidence, which in theory is a super cool concept. The problem was the execution just turned out to be really really long stretches of words and no chapter breaks. I think if there were natural breaks in the story, where I felt like I could pause (or honestly, chapters), I would have liked it more. But, with the current structure, I found that the first letter we read lasted 40% of the book and didn’t have any good spots to stop. The other thing that confused me was that some parts stopped or skipped around, and due to how the book was structured, I wasn’t sure if it was just because I was reading an early copy, or if it was intentional.

As mentioned, I did like the plot, but due to not really being able to get around the structure and formatting, this wound up being a 3 star read for me.