Book Review - Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough

 

Emma Averell is proud of her life. She is on track to become a partner at her law firm, she has two children and a doting husband. Life wasn't always so perfect for Emma. When she was five years old, Emma and her older sister went into foster care after an incident involving their mother. Her sister remembers a time when their mother was "normal", but Emma can only remember her mother as the monster. Her mother started changing around her fortieth birthday, and Emma's fortieth birthday is right around the corner.

Emma is desperate to forget her past and move on. However, she finds herself obsessing over her mother and her past. Emma is unable to sleep and keeps checking the doors and her children at night. Emma starts to doubt herself and she is unsure if she can be trusted because of her lack of sleep.

I thought the book was an interesting read. The story did get a bit repetitive and I am not sure how believable the "mystery" behind Emma's mother was. I felt like it came out of nowhere or maybe I missed something along the way. I did enjoy the way the author depicted Emma's gradual mental decline and made us guess if she's an unreliable narrator or if someone is out to get her.