While You Sleep

A Novel

By: Stephanie Merritt

Narrated by: Caitlin Thorburn

Length: 13 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

It begins, they say, with a woman screaming....

On a remote Scottish island, the McBride house stands guard over its secrets. A century ago, a young widow and her son died mysteriously there. Just last year a local boy, visiting for a dare, disappeared without a trace.

For Zoe Adams, newly arrived from America, the house offers a refuge from her failing marriage. But her peaceful retreat is disrupted by strange and disturbing events: night-time intrusions, unknown voices, and a constant sense of being watched.

The locals want her to believe that these incidents are echoes of the McBrides' dark past. Zoe is convinced the danger is closer at hand and all too real - but can she uncover the truth before she is silenced?

©2019 Stephanie Merritt (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

An erotic ghost story

I love a ghost story, but I often find them too scary for my tender sensibilities. This one wasn’t scary, and it was a little overlong, but it drew me in: the big empty mansion out on the eerie Scottish moors, the mystery of a disappeared child, local legends of hauntings and murders, a ghost (or is he a sucubus?) who seduces sleeping women, ominous figures looming in dark corners. My only real quibble is the central character of the novel, Zoe, who is yet another of those damaged narrators that have become so popular since Gone Girl came out — she just can’t seem to stop making bad decisions.

I enjoyed this story, way to much weird sex.

I really enjoy ghost stories in old houses. this story has many twists and turns, keeps you on your toes. The sex part could have been different and still kept the story on track. The main character is a woman with many issues and takes off to get away from life. She finds herself in an old house with a history of ghosts. The narration was very good. I enjoyed the book.

great book

I loved this book! I hope she writes many, many more... the narrator was perfect

nope.

I listened through the first 6 chapters - the narrator was amazing, which is why I stuck it out. Quit midway through chapter 7- too erotic. I thought this was more of a mystery. wasn't my style in the end.

Almost great

Talk about anticlimactic. Was very good until the ending ruined it for me. Could have tied up loose ends but didn’t.

Better than some reviews had me expecting.

I'm really surprised about the all backslash on the sexual scenes of this book. While it is a theme in the novel, its not the only thing going on. There is love and loss, a woman out of time and place, and so much more. For a 14 hour free listen, it's pretty enjoyable.

Great book, don’t buy into naysayers

I’m very picky. This book was a good twist on the cozy haunted house in Scotland tale. I found it to be unique until the very end where it seemed like the writer ended things too quickly. I wanted more story, more explanation. There were some cliches towards the end as the author seemed to be trying to wrap things up. The narrator was great but she does get a little whiney at the end...she also mispronounced a few words that made me chuckle and revealed her young age. Otherwise, her accents and separation of characters were great. Again, the author built up believable characters and then seemed to rush at the end which left much wanting in terms of closure although most things were explained. I wish she could go back and fatten it up. All in all, I enjoyed this book very much and found much of it to be very original and unpredictable.

Eceptional story.

Very interesting turns and unexpected twists. The writer sets the groundwork with the perfect house for anything to happen.

Very entertaining

The story was engaging with twists and turns around every corner. It keeps the reader guessing through out the entire book.

Psychological/horror mixed-up

We are all adults here- so all the reviews about it being graphic is a bit of overkill. Yes, there is sexual situations/fantasy play. It is intertwined into the story well and is not the main focus of this book. Mild horror with psychological twist. I really enjoyed it. But I'm also not an uptight prude who gets her panties in a bunch over a book. If you want something that grabs your attention and keeps it until the end then read. I wish there were more books by this author. My one issue was why did the American tourist (main character) have a Scottish accent? Kind of weird but she did an amazing job at setting the Tone for the book.!