While You Sleep

While You Sleep by Stephanie Merritt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book.
This was an atmospheric mystery set on a remote Scottish island. Zoe, an artist, has rented a remote house to escape her troubled marriage back in America and is looking for a fresh start and a place to paint again. What she does not know is that the house has dark history, including the mysterious disappearance of a young boy several months earlier. The longer Zoe is in the house, the more strange and unsettling events occur, until she begins for fear for her sanity and her life.
It was hard to put this book down, and I really enjoyed reading about the wild Scottish setting and the tiny village and its residents. The spooky and ominous atmosphere of the house was very well-conveyed.
I had a hard time with Zoe, however. She did not get one good night of sleep in that house. For me personally, if I had one bad night, I might stay for one more, but after that, I would have been out of there. I can understand, after reading the whole book, that she may not have wanted to return home to America, but she could have found another place to stay in the UK! Zoe's stubborn and oddly irrational insistence that she stay made her become slightly unrelatable. I know that as the reader we are supposed to wonder a bit at her sanity, but her refusal to leave that house wasn't believable.
I also had a bit of an issue with the sexual aspect of the book. It seemed added in just to be titillating but didn't really serve to add to the story. When I was finished with the book as was thinking back on it, I just kept wondering what purpose it really served. The ancient origins of the dark history of the house were not explained well at all.
The ending, while conveniently "happy," left me dissatisfied.  This was a quick easy read and if you are looking for something to read on a dark and stormy night (and don't might gratuitous sex that really doesn't make sense in the long run), then pick up this book.


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