2.5 ⭐️ Rounded up for GR. I wish I had known more about this book going into it.. it’s been touted as a horror novel but it is more a psychological thriller/detective mystery, which was a shock to me. This was NOT scary at all and I think I wanted to be scared. I like going into these types of books blind and in this case the build up fell very flat for me since it was nothing like the cover or the hype suggested. This book throws everything and the kitchen sink at the story line. I was getting whiplash with having to keep up with the time, place and people involved. This was an audiobook and I felt my mind wandering which rarely happens when I listen to books, so I’m sure I missed things because I was NOT engaged in this book at all. I was definitely curious to know what was going to happen but then it got overly complex and I just kind of gave up caring. I don’t know if I could articulate how this book ended or not if someone asked. I wanted to love this and anticipated this release for months, I am majorly disappointed.

I very much appreciate Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I’m feeling a bit conflicted about this book. The story had several intriguing settings—all of which seemed like they could add to the eerie atmosphere, but they didn’t feel fully explored or utilized for building tension. Another thing that held the book back for me was how many characters and subplots were in play. There were just too many threads to follow, and some were left unresolved by the end, which felt unsatisfying. All in all, the pacing was quick, and I did enjoy it, but it didn’t grab me the way I expected. It was so close to being great, but just missed the mark for me.

I literally binged on Sleep Tight in a day. It was such an addicting listen! The narrator, Andi Arndt does an amazing performance portraying Tess, detectives, witnesses, and many of the other sinister characters very well. The variety of tones and inflections used were very realistic and it honestly kept me hooked listening to this dark and macabre story. When a sleepy town thought they finally got justice from a serial killer, a new one emerges. Detective Tess finds herself smack dab in the middle of the investigation when she discovers her parents were murdered and her daughter is kidnapped by Outcast. How far will the parents go to rescue their daughter from Outcast. Very addicting and fast pace listen.

This book had ZERO chill... and I loved it.
There were layers and layers to this, with barely any breathing room (in the best way possible).
Hidden secrets, kidnappings, murders, cults, OH MY!
If you want a fast-paced, full-of-action, spooky read, Sleep Tight is the book for you!


I listened to the audiobook of this, and loved the narration! I look forward to more spooky reads similar to this in the future!

4 ⭐️ (solid read)

Thank you, NetGalley for the advanced readers copy of Sleep Tight by J.H. Markert!

Thank you, NetGalley, for an audio copy of “Sleep Tight” in exchange for a review.

It’s been a bit since I’ve found a “horror” book I enjoy, so I’m glad I got the opportunity to experience this one! It was horror with a twist of fantasy/magic realism. With spooky season upon us, I’d recommend you add this to your Fall TBR.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape_Media for the ARC of Sleep Tight audiobook! This police procedural had some action and a little horror to it. I love this author and thought the multiple personalities was done very well. The book started off slow and the narrator was very hard to get in to. It eventually picked up some and the narrator put more emotion into it. The book had some creepy parts to it but I just would have liked more. I feel like the book would start to get you on the edge of your seat and then it would leave you hanging and slow back down. There was a lot of extra details that could have been left out that would have made it faster paced and would have kept your attention better. Overall I thought it was a good book and a good way to kick off spooky season! Overall 3.5 stars

Sleep Tight definitely held my interest! The storyline itself was intriguing and kept me listening to this audio however there were a few bits that became slow and took me away from the story. If you are a thriller lover I definitely recommend checking this book out!

I am clearly an outlier on my rating of the book, so I’m going to chalk it up to a me thing 🤷🏻‍♀️ I just found myself not being interested and feeling like it was a retelling of the movie Split. The writing was good though, and the ability to create so many unique (and truly creepy) characters definitely takes talent! Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this book thinking it would be a horror novel.. it was more like a crime/police/detective novel.
I still very much enjoyed it! I could feel the pain and the sorrow within the characters.

I listened to the audio version of this.. and with the different POVs I was sometimes having to stop and think about who was talking and when it was happening. I usually don’t listen to audiobooks of this nature but it was very easy to follow along to. (I just have 4 kids and my house can be chaotic)

This was my first read by this author and defintely won’t be my last!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC read! This is my honest review! ◡̈

This is my second read by J.H. Markert, and though it is a fast-paced and twisty thriller, I feel the same about Sleep Tight as I did about Nightmare Man: TOO MUCH.

Tess is a detective with holes in her memory. These holes cause panic attacks and fainting spells, and also a short period of oxy addiction. I feel like maybe some of this would have come up in her background check and/or any pre-employment psych-testing.

There is a serial killer, more than one character with multiple personalities (that can travel into OTHER PEOPLE!), child abduction, people with secret histories, generational trauma, and a cult based on….what? I am not sure.

It was just too much. Half as much ch could have happened and this would have been a tight thriller.

Sleep Tight is a fast paced thriller that starts going at the 10% mark and doesn’t let up until the conclusion. This feels like an episode of Criminal Minds: an ubsub with a very distinct M.O. and a detective whose traumatic past may be intertwined with the case.

This is my second book by the author and I enjoyed this one a great deal better than their debut. The fast pace makes this a quick and engaging read, for the most part.

The audiobook narrator does a great job differentiating between characters. This book has a large cast of main characters, with the narrative switching from the past to the present often. The narrator has distinctive voices and none are annoying or sound “off” : from a retired male detective to several children (child characters are SO hit or miss for me in audiobook form) I had no problems following who was talking in any given scene.

I do have one rather large gripe with this one. It gets into vague spoiler territory, but I think it’s also a pretty big trigger warning to have so here goes. /spoiler ahead/
Have we not moved past using DID as a plot point? Especially when the representation is not actually how DID presents itself? This is by no means the worst mental health rep I’ve read in a thriller, but the bar is admittedly low in that regard. People with DID and other stigmatized mental illnesses are much more likely to be the victims of violent crime, not perpetrators.

There’s just no succinct way to explain the synopsis but here’s my attempt... Two serial killers, two detectives, two timelines, a creepy cult, a forgotten traumatic incident, a criminally insane survivor, a police investigation and a kidnapped girl. Whew! It’s a jam packed thrill ride and I was HERE for it!

This is a dark and twisty one folks, just the way I like ‘em! There’s an aspect to this story that I absolutely love when it’s included, because it’s rare. It adds an element of unpredictability that I live for. While I did see some twists coming there’s no way I could’ve predicted everything. There’s a large cast of people and all of them were compelling! I ended up empathizing and rooting for one of the least likely characters, but that tends to happen with me, go figure. I actually had conflicting feelings about a few people.

Andi Ardnt’s performance was stellar and she did a fantastic job of using different voices for SO many people. I had no trouble at all distinguishing between characters. Tons of emotion was infused in her voice as well, and boy oh boy, did the audio ratchet up the creepy factor ESPECIALLY during certain scenes!

J.H. Markert is a master of vivid imagery and at one point near the end, I had visualized such a fantastic picture...involving hammers, that I had a movie playing in my head. Such a breathtaking visceral moment! In fact, this needs to be adapted to film ASAP. I was utterly riveted and devoured this creeptastic horror gem quickly. SLEEP TIGHT is sublimely sinister and so intense it’s sure to keep you up late!
____

Thank you Crooked Lane Books for the ARC and Dreamscape Media for the finished copy, audio and swag! All opinions are mine.
____

Potential spoiler content warning below.







There’s just no succinct way to explain the synopsis but here’s my attempt... Two serial killers, two detectives, two timelines, a creepy cult, a forgotten traumatic incident, a criminally insane survivor, a police investigation and a kidnapped girl. Whew! It’s a jam packed thrill ride and I was HERE for it!

This is a dark and twisty one folks, just the way I like ‘em! There’s an aspect to this story that I absolutely love when it’s included, because it’s rare. It adds an element of unpredictability that I live for. While I did see some twists coming there’s no way I could’ve predicted everything. There’s a large cast of people and all of them were compelling! I ended up empathizing and rooting for one of the least likely characters, but that tends to happen with me, go figure. I actually had conflicting feelings about a few people.

Andi Ardnt’s performance was stellar and she did a fantastic job of using different voices for SO many people. I had no trouble at all distinguishing between characters. Tons of emotion was infused in her voice as well, and boy oh boy, did the audio ratchet up the creepy factor ESPECIALLY during certain scenes!

J.H. Markert is a master of vivid imagery and at one point near the end, I had visualized such a fantastic picture...involving hammers, that I had a movie playing in my head. Such a breathtaking visceral moment! In fact, this needs to be adapted to film ASAP. I was utterly riveted and devoured this creeptastic horror gem quickly. SLEEP TIGHT is sublimely sinister and so intense it’s sure to keep you up late!
____

Thank you Crooked Lane Books for the ARC and Dreamscape Media for the finished copy, audio and swag! All opinions are mine.
____

Potential spoiler content warning below.










































⚠️Content warnings: language, alcoholism, prescription drug addiction, mental illness, mild gore, knife violence, gun violence, death, Mention of: murder/suicide, infidelity, animal harm/death, child abuse and CSA (brief)


































⚠️Content warnings: language, alcoholism, prescription drug addiction, mental illness, mild gore, knife violence, gun violence, death, Mention of: murder/suicide, infidelity, animal harm/death, child abuse and CSA (brief)

A hauntingly chilling and terrifying tale of two generations of serial killers and the two detectives (a father daughter) who are connected to both men in the worst way. Throw in a present day kidnapping, copycat killer and high stakes suspense, this book kept me up way too late and definitely isn't for the light of heart. If you like reading stories that put your heart in your throat from stop to finish don't miss this one by a new to me thriller author being dubbed the heir of Stephen King! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

Happy Pub Day to Sleep Tight!

The BIGGEST THANK YOU to Dreamscape Media for selecting me to be a part of their AMAZINGLY AWESOME Street Team & gifting both an ALC & ARC!! Dreams really do come true!!

Sleep Tight was one of my most anticipated Fall Reads for Spooky Season this year. To be gifted early was such a treat!! Forever grateful to be one of the selected Street Team Crew! Never have I ever started a book so quickly!! I gave this one 5 Creeptastic Sinister Stars! I was able to devour this audiobook while reading along! My favorite way to read books! Crime thriller meets cultish horror, say less!!!! I’ve enjoyed many books by this author and dare I say this is their BEST work to date?!!! Anxiety driven, pulse pounding, completely riveting book I’ve read this spooky season!

Andi Ardnt, phenomenal performance! Chefs Kiss!! The ability to place you right there on every page! Your narration was incredible! WOW!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sleep Tight pulled me in from the beginning and never let go. There were a good bit of characters in this one, but it never got confusing and they all were written well. I really felt for our main character, her life was completely unraveling but she held it all together and did what she had to for her daughter. If you enjoy serial killers, creepy cults and psychological thrillers, make sure to add this to your TBR. Thanks to Crooked Lane Books for my eARC and Dreamscape Media for my advanced audio book. Sleep Tight is available today!

✨Thank you so much to Dreamscape Media and Crooked Lane Books for my gifted audio, digital, and physical copies of this book!✨

This was a highly HIGHLY anticipated release for me. And I really enjoyed it for the most part.

I don’t know why, but going into this book I had anticipated something supernatural/paranormal. I don’t know why I expected that, but it was a bit of a letdown that it was not what I had expected going in. This was a classic game of cat and mouse, and there were many twists and turns around every corner that all came full circle in the end.

I had a lot of theories, and pretty much none of them were correct. 😅 But that’s something I can appreciate in a thriller, the fact that I can be kept guessing. The author did a great job leading the reader/listener to theories without adding senseless red herrings to the plot which I also really appreciated.

This plot is very complex. There are a lot of characters, and a lot of moving parts. I don’t want to use the word convoluted because I didn’t find that to be the case, but it was a lot of action and a lot to keep straight to understand the story. This book read like a thriller movie to me.

This book had a great story, but I was expecting to be SCARED. But I didn’t really find this one to be all that scary. Thrilling, definitely. And I guess it still can be classified as horror but it definitely rides the line between “thrilling” and “scary”.

Andi Arndt is a good narrator and I thought she did well here.

Overall, I liked this one. If you love a detective/serial killer cat and mouse story, you’ll like it.

Sleep Tight
by J.H. Markert
narrated by Andi Arndt

Thank you so much partner @dreamscape_media @crookedlanebooks for the gifted audiobook and copy.

About the book 👇🏽

Beware the one who got away . . .

Father Silence once terrorized the rural town of Twisted Tree, disguising himself as a priest to prey on the most vulnerable members of society. When the police finally found his "House of Horrors," they uncovered nineteen bodies and one survivor–a boy now locked away in a hospital for the criminally insane.

Nearly two decades later, Father Silence is finally put to death, but by the next morning, the detective who made the original arrest is found dead. A new serial killer is taking credit for the murder and calling himself the Outcast.

🍂 My thoughts:
Once I started the audiobook, I did not stop until it was over! I have been impatiently waiting for Sleep Tight to come out since it was announced on Bookstagram. I am pretty sure I entered every giveaway possible trying to get my hands on an early copy. So when I received word that I was selected to be part of the Street Team for Dreamscape Media I think I died. J.H. Markert is already one of my favorite authors and I’ll buy every book and audiobook he comes out with. But wow!! Andi Arndt really did this story justice and did a phenomenal job bringing this story to life. It’s creepy…dreadful… and absolutely impossible to put down. It’s a highly addictive read and/or listen that’s dark and sinister and really gets me in the right mind set for spooky season. Culty serial killer stories are exactly what you should be reading this fall. Sleep Tight is out TODAY!!

Happy reading 📖 🍂🎧💤

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Though this type of horror/thriller is definitely out of my preferred reading genre, I did have a fun time listening to Sleep Tight. The overall plot ended up being much more involved than I had initially expected which made the experience really enjoyable for someone like myself who needs more than shock value and cheap thrills to stay interested. I think anyone who is genuinely looking to pick up something creepy to read this spooky season will be very, very satisfied with this one!

"Are we born evil or made that way?"

"MOTHER LOVES YOU SLEEP TIGHT"

I still haven't caught my breath from reading and listening to the frenetic non stop anxiety driven Sleep Tight, by compulsory author for every horror thriller fan, J.H. Market.

From the first page to the last it is a race against evil. The scariest part is the evil isn't supernatural. It's the worst of humanity. We start with the electric chair death of the serial killer known as Father Silence. He posed as a priest to lure his young victims and since he's been on death row he hasn't spoken a word. But the night of his execution leaves a trail of death.

Detective Tess Claiborne wakes up thinking the worst is over. The serial killer her father, also a detective, captured is dead. Her family can be at peace. Then she gets the phone call. He calls himself "Outcast." He's sorry. Her parents can see the darkness now. Oh, and one more thing, he has taken her daughter Julia from her elementary school.

Is he a copy cat killer? Or is something even more sinister emerging from the darkness. As Tess, her estranged husband Justin and her faithful detective partner Danny, use every lead to find Julia, Tess is having memories, of when her father was hunting this killer. Does she hold the key to finding Julia.

Just BRAVO to voice actress Andi Arndt. Her ability to express panic, fear, anger, regret, rage and overwhelming anxiety is a testimony to her award-worthy acting skills.

This writer never disappoints and Sleep Tight is his best thoroughly frightening frantic horror thriller to date. Sleep, I don't think so. Once you start this one sleep will be elusive, tight or otherwise.

I received a free copy of this book/audiobook from the publishers via #NetGalley for a fair & honest review. All opinions are my own.

I've enjoyed J.H. Markert's previous works, but Sleep Tight is by far my favorite. This freakishly spine-tingling thriller with a touch of things unexplainable should for sure be added to the spooky season TBR of all thriller lovers. I've seen Sleep Tight classified as horror, and, while there are some dark and gritty scenes, it's not overly gory. I loved the characters, particularly Tess, but Father Silence and the Outkast are also intriguing, and, with this one, J.H. Markert cements his must-read status. The narration, provided by the super talented Andi Arndt, is perfect, and she is quickly becoming one of my favorite narrators.