REVIEW of THE SLEEPWALKERS by SCARLETT THOMAS

 

 

 Published: April 9, 2024
Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
Psychological Thriller

 

A DISTURBINGLY DELICIOUS FEAST FOR THE MIND

Evelyn is far from leading her best life. An impetuous marriage and a honeymoon in the Greek isles are the recent additions to her growing list of regrets. Ditto the accommodations at something called the Villa Rosa.  The stay at the hotel a wedding gift from her husband Richard’s mother, the property is owned by Isabelle, a woman who only has eyes for the husband that Evelyn may or may not keep. Even though undecided, it’s outrageously impolite for a seducer of men to crash in on a marriage until Simon says she can. And it’s not the only thing annoying. There are Isabelle’s insane notions about how it’s safe to leave doors unlocked and okay to leave purses filled with IDs, credit cards, and money in unprotected hallways. Then there’s Isabelle insisting Evelyn keep the windows in her room open at all times. While she assures it has to do with getting fresh air, Evelyn is willing to bet its true purpose is giving her access in spying on the newlyweds when they make love. But creepy digresses into eerie when Isabelle relates a tale of two guests committing suicide by walking into the ocean—the ocean that is seen through those open windows. The story sounds fake—as fake as the person telling it—and it triggers the first vibes of fear. With a storm closing in, the impending sense of doom nears and whispers in Evelyn’s ear that the two guests were murdered … and that she and her husband are next.

 

This is the unsettling premise of THE SLEEPWALKERS, Scarlett Thomas’ newest novel. It lays the fertile groundwork for unpleasantries to flourish. Sometimes humorous, sometimes embarrassingly real, the flowers mingling with the vines births a landscape of beauty laced with boa constrictive fatality. This is my first-time reading Ms. Thomas, and I found myself getting caught up in both the liquidity of the language and the ferocious delivery of the message contained. The story is unraveled by a series of letters written by the newlyweds to each other. There is a decided stream of consciousness flowing above, under, and between the words. It’s my favorite kind of writing since events are not held hostage by time. Instead, events connect to emotion … emotions that may be decades apart. Thus the snubbing by a friend may bring up an incident in third grade and another when they gave birth. All mentioned in consecutive sentences… the resulting paragraphs are bursting with anger, sorrow, or futile attempts at resolving complexities caused by debasement of self or célébrité.  

 

But there is another aspect to be gotten out of these characters and this story, and it’s how past ordeals affect us. our opinions, how the world sees us, and how we see the world. If there’s ever a clearer case for us collectively having absolutely no idea how people view us and our behavior, it is to be found in the pages of this book. It is one of the things that makes this novel so fascinating. With every hurt, a new layer is created. The layer a defense mechanism, it’s all about developing a new persona to keep from being hurt. It can and does include the normalization of abnormal thoughts and behavior. One example stands out and concerns Evelyn casting out a twisted misperception that everyone daydreams about sleeping with their boyfriend’s father. Projection at its finest No, not everyone does this—not by a long shot. But people who have been ruthlessly assaulted and have lost their bearings do.

 

I highly recommend THE SLEEPWALKERS by Scarlett Thomas. She has a clear true voice with a SWAT team trigger finger. The pacing of the book is tantamount to walking on the ledge of a high rise. You just know somebody’s going to going to get hurt. Or is that they already have? Five stars for this one. 

 

I would like to thank NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for providing an ARC copy and allowing me to review this book.

Pre-order NOW!

 

 

 

SPOTLIGHT TOUR and REVIEW of HOMECOMING CHAOS by D.W. BROOKS

 

A dead body in the parking lot of her family’s business, a killer on the loose, and a handsome detective asking a lot of questions…

Title: Homecoming Chaos

Author: D.W. Brooks

Publication Date: November 21, 2023

Pages: 448

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Jamie Scott’s life fell apart four years ago when she broke off her engagement, turned down a dream job, and went overseas to run away from her life. Now she’s back, but the reunion is not without problems. She arrives home just in time to attend the soiree her mother planned, but she’s not prepared for what she finds—a dead employee in the parking lot.

Detective Nick Marshall is assigned to the murder case at the forensics lab owned by Jamie’s family. He meets the headstrong Jamie, but he has a job to do. And his attraction to her… well, he’s a professional.

Jamie knows the stakes are high. She has to face the past and save her parents’ business while dealing with her family drama and an uncertain future. She also has to deal with Nick, who wants her out of the way of his investigation. But fate keeps throwing them in one another’s paths… and into chaos that they both want to avoid, but neither can seem to escape.

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Book Excerpt:

The sound of the flight attendant on the loudspeaker startled Jamison Jones Scott out of her light sleep. Despite having traveled frequently in her lifetime, she still couldn’t sleep comfortably on a plane. The seat location— first-class or economy—didn’t make a difference. The plane was nearing its destination, so the passengers needed to finish filling out their declaration cards. Jamie was returning to Atlanta to stay at her parents’ home with only the clothes on her back, a computer bag, the few items of clothing in her duffel, and a stethoscope. She had nothing to declare. 

Her seatmate appeared to be sleeping through the announcements. Jamie was jealous. The four-year-old in front of her turned around and started babbling excitedly in French. She must have noticed that Jamie was finally awake. With her head still fuzzy from her nap, Jamie couldn’t completely follow the child’s rapid words, but the gist was that she wanted something from Jamie. Something about a playdate? Jamie smiled at the girl and hoped the girl’s mother would intervene. No such luck; she was asleep as well. The child eyeballed Jamie expectantly. Jamie realized she and the seatmate had started this situation by playing with the dark-haired child while they were over the ocean. Now, when she didn’t agree to the latest request, the little girl scrunched up her face to cry. 

“Nous atterrissons bientôt. Elle ne peut pas aller avec vous,” Jamie’s seatmate answered, eyes still closed. “Mais vous pourriez être en mesure de visiter. Je suis sûr qu’elle tu aimerait garder les enfants.” He grinned.

Jamie gasped while the young girl clapped. This guy had just volunteered her as a babysitter! 

“Je suis désolé, mais il se trompe. Je ne serai pas disponible,” Jamie stated. “Je parie qu’il a une surprise, pour toi.” The child looked at Jamie’s seatmate for her present and clapped again. This reply made him open his eyes. 

“Qu’est-ce que c’est? Qu’est-ce que c’est?” the child asked. Startled, her pregnant mother woke up and turned around in her seat sheepishly. 

I’m sorry, she mouthed. She made her eager daughter turn around in her seat and asked her to leave the other passengers alone. The girl was disappointed, but her mother handed her a shortbread, which made her forget the people behind her. 

Her seatmate smiled, opened his eyes, and said, “I could have given her the stuffed bear I bought. I have a daughter the same age.” He stretched gingerly. “I can’t wait to get home. I’ve been traveling for too long. What about you? Looking forward to getting home?”

Jamie thought about her return to Atlanta. She hadn’t been home in a while, so she wasn’t sure how she felt. 

Revel in the chaos. 

Revel in the chaos. 

Revel in the chaos. 

Jamie tried to live by this motto for most of her life because her life seemed to invite chaos. She learned to expect—and sometimes encourage—complications. As the plane taxied to a halt, she repeated her motto to herself. This phrase, tattooed on her right hip, particularly applied now. 

The international terminal of Hartsfield-Jackson Airport had changed since she was last there. Her brother, Jonathan, would pick her up at the baggage claim—alone, she hoped, and not sporting a clingy girlfriend. Time to re-acclimate and re-establish family bonds. Dealing with an unknown woman in her face when she wanted to spend time quietly with her brother wasn’t at the top of her to-do list.

As she waited in line to get through passport control, she thought about how she got to this point—back in Atlanta after several years abroad. She had spent two of those years working with the non-profit organization Doctors Overseas. Jamie worked in several locations, including the Central African Republic. She had her reasons for joining the charitable organization; not all were altruistic, and she kept those to herself during her entrance interview. The horrors she witnessed overseas helped her put her personal chaos into perspective. She realized her issues were nothing compared to what people endured in other parts of the world. This realization allowed her to embrace her job and enjoy what she was doing, despite the frequent threats of bodily harm. To help maintain her sanity while overseas, she traveled a lot and spent six months in Italy working with a designer friend. 

The agent summoning her snapped her out of her reverie. Handing over her passport, she said, “Nothing to declare. Coming back home for my mother’s birthday and Christmas.” 

At the check-in counter, the inspector carefully examined her and her passport photo. Jamison understood the scrutiny. At the time of that picture, she had been at the height of her glamor phase with a history of modeling and a resulting, above-average concern about how she looked. In medical school, she often showed up at rounds with perfectly coiffed hair and more than a swipe of mascara and lip gloss. 

But in Africa, those concerns fell away. Right now, Jamie was makeup-free, and a baseball cap covered her hair. She was still beautiful, but now it was a girl-next-door beauty. Jamie had high cheekbones, almond-shaped dark brown eyes, a straight nose, a square jawline, and her golden-brown skin was still smooth. She wasn’t stomping down runways anymore, as in her past life, because she had shifted her priorities. 

Her mother would hate it. 

“Welcome to Atlanta,” the inspector said as she stamped her passport. “Have a pleasant stay.”

 

About the Author

The author lives in Texas with her husband and children. She enjoys trying to stay in shape, sporadically cooking, reading (still), writing, and working on her blog. She is eternally grateful to the woman who donated a kidney to her over 5 years ago and continues to advocate for organ donation as much as she can.

Author Links  

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Book Review

A LITTLE ROMANCE, A LITTLE MYSTERY, A LITTLE MURDER

It’s good to be home, or so Dr. Jamie Scott was hoping. Having spent the past few years abroad working on her medical career, all she wanted was to put the past behind her and reunite with her family. But an overprotective and often overbearing mother, a shameful secret, and the discovery of an employee’s body outside her father’s laboratory put serious brakes on progress towards that goal. Add in finding the detective in charge of the murder case a tad too irresistible puts the reconciliation on hold. So what’s a girl to do to get it back on track? Why solve the murder herself, silly! And that’s exactly what Jamie sets out to do.

HOMECOMING CHAOS is the debut novel of D.W. Brooks, and it’s a good one! The story solid, it’s an adventurous mix of murder, mystery, suspense, and a dash of romance peppered in for a little bit of heat. The characters are all interesting, but none more intriguing than the protagonist, Dr. Jamie Scott. Jamie is one of the accomplished women whose journey through life has been met with huge victories and utter failures. It was a great decision by the author to show both sides of the human condition. It makes Jamie  relatable and all too human where emotions come into play. She cares … sometimes too much … and most especially about lead detective Nick Marshall. When the two lock eyes, it's a slow burn that erupts into fireworks and we have front row seats as we root them on.

The writing well-done, the story unfolds as intertwining storylines develop and continue throughout the book. There’s one that keeps track of Jamie’s reunion with her family. Mother, father, sister, and brother make for plenty of fencing to mend, but is it worth it? Jamie’s determined to find out. The second concerns the murder of a microbiologist. Does the victim’s death have anything to do with her father’s lab? And, just as importantly, are there more deaths on the way? The third is told from the point of view of Detective Nick Marshall in trying to arrest the man responsible for the homicide, and keep Jamie safe. He’s learned that the woman he has a thing for has a bad habit of sticking her neck out way too far. The fourth is from the perspective of the murderer, and what happens now that he’s a wanted man. Does he continue with the gameplan?  Or throw a curveball that turns it into a gamechanger?

All of the above makes for an easy-to-follow and compelling mystery. While sometimes breezy, it’s mixed with some very serious moments that may tug at your heartstrings. And as for future plans, I’m not sure if the author has any designs on turning this book into a Dr. Jamie Scott series, but the potential is there for her to do just that. Writing about what Jamie’s next move would be more than fun and you wouldn’t find me objecting.

I recommend HOMECOMING CHAOS to all those mystery buffs out there who crave solving murders. This one will give you a run for your money as it just may persuade you to stay up way past your bedtime, but isn’t that really what we read books for? The answer  is a resounding YES. Four stars from me!

 

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