Sleepless – Romy Hausmann

Synopsis:

It’s over, my angel. Today I’m going to die. Just like her. He’s won.

It’s been years since Nadja Kulka was convicted of a cruel crime. After being released from prison, she’s wanted nothing more than to live a normal life: nice flat, steady job, even a few friends. But when one of those friends, Laura von Hoven – free-spirited beauty and wife of Nadja’s boss – kills her lover and begs Nadja for her help, Nadja can’t seem to be able to refuse.
The two women make for a remote house in the woods, the perfect place to bury a body. But their plan quickly falls apart and Nadja finds herself outplayed, a pawn in a bizarre game in which she is both the perfect victim and the perfect murderer . . .

Review:

This read requires a little grit and determination to stay in the loop. It’s twisty, complicated and jumps back and forth through time frequently.

The story line is split into three parts, which gets a little confusing if you loose concentration. I did have to re-read sections a couple of times so it made sense.

It did however all come together (although not in the way I had imagined), so it’s worth sticking around for.

I have to say the book didn’t blow me away but this might be more due to my head space at the time of reading and not being able to follow it as easily as I’d like. I did enjoy the writing and I think if I gave it more attention I might have appreciated it a little more.

I felt connected/invested in the characters and would love to have learnt more about Laura in particular. I did feel that one story line could have been enough for me in this instance OR a longer book to explore some of the characters a little more.

I would recommend this book if your after something a little different but not if your expecting a classic fast/paced thriller.

About the Author:

Romy Hausmann was born in East Germany in 1981. At the age of twenty- four she became chief editor at a film production company in Munich. Since the birth of her son, Romy has been working as a freelancer in television. Her thriller debut, Dear Child, became a number one bestseller in Germany and is being published in twenty countries. Sleepless is her second thriller. Romy lives with her family in a remote house in the woods near Stuttgart.