I've been looking forward to reading Sleep Tight for a while; I just never got the time for it. The Nightmare Man and Mister Lullaby by the same author, J. H. Markert, are two horror books that I devoured when I read them, so I might have had quite high expectations.

I found Sleep Tight to be a good book, just not as captivating as the books I've read by Markert before. The best part of the book came towards the end when everything started to fall into place, and you got the background on Father Silence, etc. It's a perfectly fine book—well-written and interesting. I'm eagerly waiting to read Spider to the Fly by Markert. I got a review copy the other day.

Excuse me Mr. Markert, but who gave you the right? Who gave you the right to put this book in front of me and blow me away? I wasn’t even 20% in and the amount of stuff Markert threw at me that was crazy, intense, and had me in a choke hold is insurmountable. This was a wild ride and I was here for it. It was jam packed full of action and suspense and had me on the edge of my seat. The few and minor negatives were I was left with some questions that I wish were answered. I also wasn’t a big fan of another aspect that I’ll keep secret to avoid spoilers, but this a great book to read during spooky season! I will definitely be checking out this author’s other work.

Solid tension and plot in the early stages, but some of the prose felt undercooked, and it left me pretty cold by the end.

Excellent Book! I couldn’t put it down! It was so twisty and gruesome. I’ve never read anything by J.H. Market, but I definitely have them flagged for any books to add to my TBR

Not usually a horror girly but this was such a good book. I loved all the different characters. I am so glad I got to read this and would for sure recommend

Sleep Tight by J.H. Markert is a wild mix of crime thriller, supernatural horror, and family drama, but it doesn’t always stick the landing. The story follows Tess, the daughter of a retired cop who helped take down the infamous serial killer Father Silence. But when her parents are brutally murdered and her daughter is kidnapped, she finds herself caught in a messy tangle of murder, secrets, and eerie mysteries. The book bounces between gritty crime drama and creepy horror, though not always seamlessly.

The setup is fantastic—the opening hooked me right away with its dark, suspenseful vibe. But the pacing? Kind of all over the place. The middle drags with too many long-winded conversations and scenes that slow things down just when they should be picking up. The final third, thankfully, brings more action and some solid twists, but getting there can feel like a bit of a slog.

Another hiccup is the sheer number of characters. By the end, I was struggling to keep track of who was who, especially with new names still popping up late in the game. The twists, though plentiful, didn’t always land with the impact they should have, and some of the big reveals felt more like filler than jaw-droppers. The supernatural elements were cool in theory but didn’t feel fully fleshed out, almost like an afterthought.

Despite its flaws, Sleep Tight has its strengths. It offers a unique blend of crime, mystery, and horror, but ultimately, the execution left me wanting more. If you enjoy gritty thrillers with a touch of the supernatural, it’s worth checking out. Just be prepared for a slower middle and some twists that don’t always land as well as you’d hope.

I love a good police procedural mystery/thriller (especially with a serial killer) but this one was very hard to follow. It had far too many POVs and I constantly got pulled out of the story due to being confused/slightly lost. I did find the characters like able, even with how flawed they all were, but I just didn’t find this one compelling or bingeable, which is what I was hoping for. It was still a solid thriller, but it’s probably a case of right book but at the wrong time for me!

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion!

Very fast paced but also very all over the place. While I love a gripping book, I also like to not be confused.

There were times I wanted to keep reading, but also times where I was wondering where all the included information was going.

There was a lot of creative concepts and a very dark atmosphere that almost started moving into horror. This, I definitely enjoyed. Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books of the ARC. I hope to read more by this author.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This one grabbed me because of the cover, and the synopsis. The setting of this was really cool, especially the parts mentioned in Montana where I am from. That added a lot of imagery and freaky vibes for me. I found this plot to be pretty twisted. I was not going into this assuming it was a psychological thriller, but more of a horror. I liked the plot points about the murder case and the asylum, it all made the story super eerie. I found this pretty bingeable but was left unsatisfied by the end.

Read 9/2/24 AND 11/6/24

4.5 stars.

I'm kind of glad I saved this for last in my little read-a-thon. This was so good. Although, nothing has surpassed my love for the authors first book, this one is definitely my 2nd favorite now. I'm always hoping for more horror elements, maybe some day.

Side note: I listening to the audiobook during a readathon but read the earc before release so I read the book twice but forgot to write my review the first go around.

For me this book was great! I loved it and although it’s not something I would usually read I enjoyed the change and the change of genre! There were so many heart thumping moments I loved the intensity of this book! I am definitely becoming a horror/thriller book fan and it’s a big thanks to this book for that!

Terrifyingly good. The quick-paced chapters leave little room to fully digest what is truly happening. As a result, you grow more and more unsettled as the book progresses. Twisty, dark, and guaranteed to keep you guessing until the very end.

I thought this book was very boring and not at all how it was marketed. It was a struggle to finish.

J.H. Markert is one of the best horror writers in the game and I loved Sleep Tight-- the Outcast and Father Silence are chilling horror villains.

From the beginning this book had me turning the pages. It was very grabbing and had my heart racing. The story went off in a different direction and kind of slowed down for me a bit by focusing more on characters than the story line. As brutal as the cabin & warehouse scenes were, I wanted more of that thrill.

This was a quick and easy read, and the cover was fantastic. Sad to say those are the two most positive things I can say about it.

Based on the cover and the blurb I had high hopes that I’d be getting a spooky horror story, but this one turned out to be more of a police procedural than a horror story. It started off strong but quickly went downhill. There were just too many characters, too many plot holes, and way too many tropes thrown in - serial killers, multiple POVs, cults, psychic connections, multiple personalities, repressed memories, child abuse, child abduction, addiction, cheating, murdered parents, psychics, house of horrors, religion. It made the story confusing and created too many plot holes for the story to make sense or for all of the storylines to have any clear resolution.

The story jumps right into the action early on, which doesn’t give the reader much time to get to the know the characters or to feel any connection to them that would make us care about what happens to them. The protagonist, Tess, is a detective and recovering addict who recently separated from her cheating husband, Justin. Tess’s father was one of the detectives who arrested the serial killer Father Silence, whose execution sets the story in motion. Neither Tess nor Justin were particularly likable characters and it was very hard to connect with either one of them or to understand many of their choices throughout the story.

There was some build up toward the end of the book along with some hope that things would be redeemed in the end, but that too turned out to be anticlimactic. The end came quickly and without a lot of fanfare. It’s probably also a problem when you find yourself rooting more for one of the bad guys in the end than for the main character and supposed “hero” of the story.

This could have been interesting if it had stuck to a couple of tropes and really fleshed out the storyline around those topics instead of trying to fit everything and the kitchen sink into one story.

Thanks NetGally and Crooked Lane Books for the advanced copy.

Kidnapping, murder, cults, telepathy, and repressed memories...this book had it all and then some. It was a police procedural dusted with suspense thriller and horror aspects. The final third had my head spinning with so much action and a bomb cyclone of reveals.

Tess is a cop suffering from PTSD and a failing marriage. Her husband Justin is trying to fix their marriage after finding solace in another woman's bed. Her dad, now retired from the police force, was one of two cops who brought down a serial killer twenty years ago, infamously known as Father Silence. On the eve of his execution, her father and mother are murdered. As Tess and her partner Danny investigate this heinous crime, Tess and Justin's young daughter Julia is kidnapped by someone known as The Outcast. The plot revolves around the investigation of the murders and kidnapping.

There were sprinkles of paranormal mystery, which never really went anywhere. I was hoping for more development on that front as I think it would have brightened the plot and added a layer of horror-based complexity.

I also found the hodgepodge of elements overwhelming with none fully developed. The first two-thirds of the plot was fairly slow and uneventful with everything happening in the final quarter. As a result, it was difficult to keep up and felt rushed.

As with this author's last book, the characters needed more depth and development. They were somewhat caricature-ish. It was difficult to bond emotionally with them, hence difficult to care what happened to them.

For all of those reasons, it lost stars. However, I believe this author has the capacity for another "knock-your-socks-off" read like The Nightmare Man. And although this particular book didn't work the best for me, there are others who loved it, so I suggest reading their reviews. I look forward to reading more by this author.

A gracious thank you to #NetGalley and #CrookedLaneBooks for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book, but not as much as the first two in the same universe. This one felt like much more of a police procedural than the others did.

The atmosphere of the book was creepy, and I thought all the characters were very well developed. I enjoyed Tess as the main character.

At times, I found it a little harder to follow than some of the other books, but overall I enjoyed it.

If the “ I’m so scared right now you shut up” sound was a book. This gave me all the creepy feels and genuinely scared me at times I was looking over my shoulder

I had such high hopes for this novel. The setting was intriguing as I live in Kentucky and recognize many of the places mentioned. The creep factor was there and there was plenty happening. But that was also the downfall...too much going on and too many characters making it hard to follow. Plus it was beyond farfetched but some of the best horror is. This one was a miss for me but I will still read more from the author as I think the potential for a great book is there. My thanks to Crooked Lane Books for providing a review copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.