J.H. Markert serves up a tense, scary psychological thriller with Sleep Tight.
Twenty years ago, Father Silence disguised himself as a priest and lured children to his house. Dubbed the “House of Horrors”, the home contained nineteen bodies and one survivor who is now locked away due to mental illness. The town of Twisted Trees is never the same.
After final appeals, Father Silence is put to death and everyone involved thinks that they can finally put the case behind them. Horrifically, it is not meant to be as the detective who made the original arrest if found gruesomely murdered. Someone calling himself the Outcast takes credit for the murder and leaves a painted eye behind. The Outcast then kidnaps the detective’s granddaughter. The girl’s mother Tess is a detective herself and is plagued by PTSD and buried memories from horrific memories from her childhood in Twisted Tree.
The only lead to follow takes Tess and her partner back to Twisted Tree to talk to the one who made it out alive. But how can he be the Outcast if he is being held in the hospital under lock and key?
Sleep Tight has typical Markert hallmarks but is not a typical Markert horror. The opening is the same: a house of a horrible crime. Past and present are cycled through, and the violence ramps up at the end. This is how you know you are reading the same writer. But this horror is very different. There is very little supernatural; this is a psychological thriller. At the beginning of the book, I was tired of the same archetype of character the author uses, a cop and his daughter who takes after him but once I saw how it was used in this book, I dropped my complaint. Markert used the archetype in a new way pulling at heartstrings and stretching taunt psychological strings. But as always, the story is multilayered and Tess’s story isn’t the only wire. Each character, even one of the perps, has a razor-sharp wire that keeps you from being able to take a deep breath at any point throughout the book. This was a great horror book.
When I first saw that Markert brought Dissociative Identity Disorder into the book I was scared. I was afraid he was just going to stereotype that these people were dangerous. While there have been instances and good entertainment has been made from these stories, the media has made these people seem diabolical. Markert focuses on the reasons that these personalities exist and gives the benefit of the doubt to the character’s father’s murder. And there was an interesting addition that was fun for the story. I was really happy with what was done with the character. Then the book ended, and I was pissed off. (You'll have to read to find out how. I’ve not spoiled it here.)
While Sleep Tight is very different from J.H. Markert’s last work, Mister Lullaby, it is a fabulous piece of psychological fiction. I just wish we would quit picking on people with DID.

This was a fantastic murder-mystery thriller that had a touch of horror and mental health representation woven into it. I know it sounds like genre overload but I’m pleased to say that the delicate balance of genres was done perfectly. Nothing felt overwhelming or on the flip side, left out.

I loved how many twists and turns this story took. I truly I had no idea what was coming next, or even what the eventual outcome would be which was super exciting as a reader. However twisty the book was, it was all explained in the end and wrapped up nicely thank goodness. Nothing felt out of place or unrealistic for the story.

The characters felt alive with how multidimensional and realistic in how they were written. I liked having mental health representation within the book, and with more than just one disorder. There was more emotion than I was expecting, and it added so much depth to the overall story. This was such a welcome surprise from the normal stone-faced protagonist and antagonist that thrillers are normally given.

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I found this to be an OK read.

The premise is interesting; a serial killer is executed and soon after, a series of shocking murders take place, that create doubt over the serial killer’s identity. The plot revolves around two couples; one of which is having marital issues following an affair and the wife, detective Tess Claibourne is not only struggling with her husband’s infidelity, but, also childhood trauma and hidden memories.

I really wanted to enjoy it more, but, found it quite confusing and frustrating.

Having said that, it’s not a bad read, but, in my opinion just an ok one.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to preview in exchange for my honest review.

I always enjoy this authors writing and this was a great creepy thriller, kept me on edge with the compelling writing and pacy plot, it reminded me of Criminal Minds, not straight up horror but definitely a slithering insidiousness to it!

The cover of this book made me think I would be losing sleep due to creepiness, but it was less scary than I expected. Father Silence went on a killing spree, picking young boys that seemed to be outcasts. One of his “fans” begins to take credit after Jeff’s death and then begins kidnapping children himself. I live in Boise so it’s always fun to see our “small town” appear in books. I liked the plot and thought it had a lot of potential. It wasn’t a flop, but I felt the second half was a little slow with some unnecessary dialog that slowed it down a bit.

I love a good thriller...and this is exactly what I needed! I immediately had it ordered and stocked in our store. I loved the back and forth and the build up!!! Anticipation grew with each page. Chefs kiss!

Thank you to J.H. Markert, Crooked Lane Books, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This one was really good and the perfect read for Spooky Season.

When serial killer, Father Silence, is put to death after killing 19 people, the following morning someone else is killed and now a new serial killer is taking the credit.

If you are a fan of Criminal Minds, you will love this book.

This one had me hooked initially but got a little convoluted. It felt like maybe trying to put too many plotlines/connections and it got a little lost trying to follow it all.

Sleep Tight really straddled the line between Horror and Thriller, and I would say it leans a bit more toward gritty thriller. This is my third novel by JH Markert and I have enjoyed all three. The story of Tess Claiborne, a very troubled cop, and the story of Father Silence and his acolyte's were equally compelling. Stories dealing with addiction are always extra stressful to read about, and that was definitely the case here. Overall, I enjoyed the separate, but somewhat parallel storylines happening in Sleep Tight. The ending was satisfactory and fit the story. I will be first in line for the author's next book!

This book was excellent! Reading it felt like watching a really great thriller movie!! I was sucked in from the very first page and was so excited to find out what was going to happen. The twist was surprising and I loved it. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

I ended up listening to this on audio, and really loved it! It was super dark and fast paced and kept me guessing every step of the way. I do think because I ended up listening to it on audio that I got a little confused with the different POVs and time jumps, but overall i still really enjoyed it. It felt really unique to other thrillers and I loved the cult element to it as well. I'd definitely like to read more by this author in the future!

This book was pretty good. It was creepy and great for spooky season. The cover had me intrigued and that’s why I requested it. I enjoyed it so much I bought a physical copy when it released. Thank you NetGalley for the arc copy.

1.5 stars because I read the dang thing.

This book is just horrible. You throw in everything known to man and then the ending gets even more crap threw in. Oh and it's not horror. It's a really bad thriller.

Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books for my copy of SLEEP TIGHT.

This one was just okay for me. Honestly, I read it and forgot to review it, and then went to read it before I realized I'd already read it... That was less than a month ago and I had already forgotten about it. It was entertaining and I had fun with it but as you can see, it didn't stick with me at all.

James Markert is a pro at writing horror with a paranormal element. I loved the twists and turns that kept me in the dark enough to be surprised by the identity of the antagonists

I have posted this review on Amazon, Goodreads

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Well, this was my sleeper (no pun intended) hit of 2024! I requested Sleep Tight, expecting the usual horror fare: a creepy house, a stalky serial killer, and possibly some supernatural activity. Instead, it delivered this and plenty more. There's a cult of knife-wielding, animal-mask-wearing drug addicts, an abused boy who kills his father and has multiple personalities, a detective with amnesia and a “House of Horrors”--that’s just scratching the surface.

Explaining the plot will spoil the many surprises, but at it’s core is Detective Tess Claibourne, the daughter of the detective who put serial killer Jeff Pritchard behind bars twenty years ago. Pritchard has just been put to death, but the murders aren’t stopping. It’s up to Tess to figure out who took over Pritchard’s crusade while at the same time facing her own past in the rural town of Twisted Tree.

Even though all the elements feel like a lot to cram into a single novel Markert makes it work and the result is a suspenseful read which is a whole lot of fun.

A thriller set in my home state of Montana, count me in!

Sleep Tight follows detective Tess as a mysterious serial killer known as the Outsider murders her parents then stalks and kidnaps her daughter. Silence of the Lambs meets Taken as she begins to unravel the case before her to hunt the killer/kidnapper down.

It took me a while to finally pry this book open but once I got reading I couldn't stop! It had gore, suspense, intrigue and a relatable setting to boot (Lolo/Missoula, MT - only a few hours away from my town and I've got a good bunch of friends who live there).

It reminded me a lot of Jeffrey Deaver's writing style, in a similar vein to his Lincoln Rhyme (Bone Collector) series. Heavy on the police procedural drama, which I actually really enjoy.

First off, I cannot explain how much I love this author. I couldn’t snatch this one up fast enough. Not only does it make a perfect comp for my thesis project, it’s an AMAZING book. Not to mention the fact that there were parts of it set in Kentucky! My in-laws live in all the areas he talked about, so it was a real treat to be able to actually picture them while reading the story.

As far as the story itself? Chef’s kiss. It was entertaining as hell and a wild ride. It’s a rare occasion, but I didn’t guess who the bad guy was until right before the characters did. At least, not 100%. Once you start reading, you’ll understand what I mean. There were so many twists and turns to this one, I couldn’t keep my head on straight. Absolutely fantastic. J.H. Markert os one of those authors I will buy aything from without reading the synopsis. If you like authors in the vein of Joe Hill, do yourself a favor and buy this book. You will absolutely not be disappointed!

Huge thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for sending me this ARC for review! All of my reviews are given honestly!

Oh my goodness!!!! I love this book and all its stuff!!!! The atmosphere, crime, storytelling, characters, all of it. I was in!

I have to admit that I started and stopped Sleep Tight several times. The characters felt underdeveloped (I was not invested in the main character outcome) , the pacing was off (parts dragged and some information felt unnecessary) and the plot not mind-blowing I did not get the spooky vibes the story, it was just okay.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.