My attention was immediately captured from the opening line of this incredible book: "If you're reading this then I am no longer alive". Anna, the author of the letter lists seven people within, whom she suspects of killing her. We discover that she is acting manager of the Bay View Hotel on the Isle of Rum and that she is also “so sorry about what happened to David”. This instantly had me running through a list of questions in my head which I couldn’t wait to get answers to.
We then get transported back three months and learn of a horrific event which leads Anna to seek escape on the remote Scottish island of Rum. I was really invested in Anna throughout the story and could only begin to imagine how scared she must have been as events unfolded and the seven people residing at the Bay View Hotel had her questioning everything she thought she had learnt about them. I really liked how C L Taylor had me thinking along one line only to take me on a completely different train of thought (the ending of part 2 was particularly effective in this regard). The different chapter perspectives worked really well and I particularly liked the ‘In Memoriam’ ones as they kept me deliberating about different theories as I was reading.
I found myself constantly questioning the traits and personalities of each of the seven residents at the Bay View Hotel and hoping that there wasn’t something more sinister to those I had warmed to the most. The setting was extremely atmospheric which made the tension and anxiety Anna was feeling all the more powerful. The reveal left me speechless and I loved that I didn’t see it coming at all! It was so clever and unexpected – the perfect reveal in my eyes. I also really liked the last sentence and how you are left to decide yourself what happens next. It works so well!
This is the first book I have read by C L Taylor but after enjoying Sleep so much, I cannot wait to read more of her books in the future!
We then get transported back three months and learn of a horrific event which leads Anna to seek escape on the remote Scottish island of Rum. I was really invested in Anna throughout the story and could only begin to imagine how scared she must have been as events unfolded and the seven people residing at the Bay View Hotel had her questioning everything she thought she had learnt about them. I really liked how C L Taylor had me thinking along one line only to take me on a completely different train of thought (the ending of part 2 was particularly effective in this regard). The different chapter perspectives worked really well and I particularly liked the ‘In Memoriam’ ones as they kept me deliberating about different theories as I was reading.
I found myself constantly questioning the traits and personalities of each of the seven residents at the Bay View Hotel and hoping that there wasn’t something more sinister to those I had warmed to the most. The setting was extremely atmospheric which made the tension and anxiety Anna was feeling all the more powerful. The reveal left me speechless and I loved that I didn’t see it coming at all! It was so clever and unexpected – the perfect reveal in my eyes. I also really liked the last sentence and how you are left to decide yourself what happens next. It works so well!
This is the first book I have read by C L Taylor but after enjoying Sleep so much, I cannot wait to read more of her books in the future!