Sleep by C.L. Taylor

​Sleep is the best novel from C.L. Taylor so far. 

It is a taut, tense and atmospheric psychological thriller, with hints of an Agatha Christie type whodunit. A true thriller in its literal sense.

The pace is fast, easy to follow with enough red herrings to keep the reader hooked. Set mostly in a remote, tiny Scottish island in the Inner Hebrides, (the Isle of Rum) the stormy weather, isolation and general bleakness all add to the dark and creepy tone of the tale. Having said that, the incredibly gloomy and dark landscape of the location could have been exploited a little more.

All of the characters carry guilt and deal with it in various ways, some more credible than others, but mostly the characters are good if not terribly likeable. This guilt leads to insomnia for the protagonist - who was the driver of a car involved in an incident where colleagues died - hence the desire for sleep and the connotations with the eternal sleep of death.

I particularly liked the opening to the book, this was very well done and a good hook. Some phrases are repeated too often but this is a minor issue. It is obviously a well planned novel and everything ties up in the end. A wonderful read for a dark and stormy night. Highly recommended.

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Published by Avon Books on 4 April 2019.
​Advance review copy supplied by the publisher.