Book of The Month discussion

The sole survivor of a serial killer might hold the key to stopping a new spree of murders in this propulsive thriller in the vein of The Black Phone and The Whisper Man.

Dark and twisting at every turn, fans of Catriona Ward will love this chilling new tale from the deviously inventive horror author that Peter Farris calls the “clear heir to Stephen King.”

Beware the one who got away . . .

Father Silence once terrorized the rural town of Twisted Tree, disguising himself as a priest to prey on the most vulnerable members of society. When the police finally found his “House of Horrors,” they uncovered nineteen bodies and one survivor–a boy now locked away in a hospital for the criminally insane.

Nearly two decades later, Father Silence is finally put to death, but by the next morning, the detective who made the original arrest is found dead. A new serial killer is taking credit for the murder and calling himself the Outcast.

The detective’s daughter, Tess Claibourne, is a detective herself, haunted by childhood trauma and horrified by the death of her father and the resurgence of Father Silence’s legacy.

When Tess’s daughter is kidnapped by the Outcast, Tess is forced to face her worst fears and long-buried memories. With no leads to follow, she travels back to Twisted Tree to visit the boy who survived and see what secrets might be buried in the tangled web of his broken mind.

With captivating prose and an old-school horror flair, Sleep Tight is a must-read, haunting tale from a true master of the genre.

Please be aware of trigger warnings, especially centered around childhood trauma. Neglect, abuse, SA, substance abuse, brutal unaliving, mental illness, etc.

With all that said, I really enjoyed this book. It really got my heart racing during certain parts and I found myself wanting .... no, needing to read more! There were many twists and turns and honestly, it took me a little while to get most of it straight. I found myself rereading passages just to make sure I was following everything correctly. The ending was a bit of a rush and open ended for me though? I almost need more....just like with every other book I read.

Not sure if this is a huge spoiler but...
(view spoiler)[ If you like the movie 'Split' this book is for you! (hide spoiler)]

Also some questions. I get interrupted a lot while reading so I may have missed some of these answers:
(view spoiler)[
1.) How did Julia (the daughter) know where "Mother" was taking her when she was taken from the play house so that she could write out her secret message to Tess?
2.) Where did the animal masks fit in? I remember it was mentioned in Tess's flashbacks on that night those two boys were murdered and may have missed how it ended up related to the cult.
3.) I almost feel bad for "The Outcast".. anyone else? This poor kid was born out of hate and kept in the dark. No wonder he had issues and did bad things. He did abduct children and murdered abusers... but also he had good intentions behind them? I'm very conflicted.
(hide spoiler)]

oooh! I'm so excited to start this one later this month! Thank you for the trigger warnings!

I'm through 16 chapters / 25%

(view spoiler)[ The interview with poor nurse was so disturbing. Why is he re-enacting this? and why kill her parents? that was just awful, I can't even imagine walking into the house

and having her daughter taken! UGH!

the playhouse makes me worried because it doesn't sound good. Not like Mcdonald's playhouse but it makes it sound like he's taking them TO a house .

I wonder who this is (hide spoiler)]

through Chapter 30 / pg 162

(view spoiler)[Yep, the DID diagnosis - I'm on the fence about it. Sometimes it feels like an easy road to take - just blame it on multiple personalities! but I'm curious how he has the same sunglasses personality that one of the killers has

and the way they have So. Many. people in masks and all over the place is just unnerving. I can't even imagine how scary that would be - and for it to feel like you can't even be sure who all is in on this!!

I do think there are 2 killers - but still not sure who. Who had the connection from the case from some long ago if not Noah or the detectives?? Hmmm (hide spoiler)]

through 45 chapters / pg 238

sooo (view spoiler)[ it's not multiple personalities but ghosts, inhabiting them? but it's also feeding the same information from Noah to Benjamin because the ghost is connected to both and is sharing thoughts? I'm a bit confused because I'm not sure I'm right. or what this all means.

I'm glad Lisa called them again. I wonder what she'll see next.

and it was silly for them to bring Noah to the house and then let him get away. it was painful to read it was just so silly. no way they could be this involved in this case - their own kid is missing (hide spoiler)]

and I'm done

this book had me until about half way. . .and then I feel like it jumped the rails a bit
(view spoiler)[ I was all on until they could somehow mind meld and that Noah didn't have multiple personalities but instead was. . .haunted? I don't understand but somehow, in the same body, Oskar and Ruth are a couple?

I also found Tess and Justin's ability to hinder and completely derail the investigation as completely unrealistic. but I could have ignored most of that except the above stuff

I was surprised that Lisa in the house was actually the mastermind. I guess I kept mixing Noah and Benjamin and didn't even think about them having a separate mom and that she could be the Mother. I knew Noah's mom was dead but it was weird - that Noah and Benjamin had their minds connected somehow. I think it's how I forgot they had separate lives because the author kept mixing them together (hide spoiler)]

Through Ch. 16 (25%)

So far I really am liking it, so I hope I don't get halfway and lose interest but we'll see.

(view spoiler)[Jeez, that double murder was AWFUL!!! I thought Tess would fall apart, but it didn't seem like she really dd. But to have both her parents murdered AND her little girl taken, PLUS the kidnapped children appear HAPPY? What the heck!

It seems strange that Pritchard seemingly liked helping animals to keep them from suffering so he helped put them down, but then he viciously murdered a LOT of people. I can see his son becoming like his father but they said he can't be be the suspect for the current murders because he's institutionalized. I'm thinking "the one who got away" is from the multiple murders YEARS ago and that it affected whoever survived and it screwed with their head. BUT why are the kids so OK to be with him, or at least seemingly okay. hmmm (hide spoiler)]

oooh I hope you like it!!

Through Ch. 30

(view spoiler)[OK, I see what you mean by the masks, cults, etc. I think it has to be 2 killers too, and based on what Danny said it seems like he had a lightbulb moment. So I do think it's someone they know because he was saying that "he was at all her birthdays," etc. I'm still liking it! (hide spoiler)]

Through Ch. 45

(view spoiler)[I don't know what to think about this. lol Cults, multiple personalities, masks galore, ghosts? lol Oh well, I still want the little girl found and the boy too.

You do bring up a good point about the parents being too involved. I assume in real life it wouldn't happen that way. (hide spoiler)]

Vicki wrote: "Through Ch. 45 [spoiler removed]..."

YES! this is where it jumped off the rails for me (view spoiler)[ I couldn't tell - ghosts? mind links? Sharing thoughts? Multiple personalities?
So so confused (hide spoiler)]

Finished

(view spoiler)[I had to go with a 3 star rating. lol I think I had the same issues that you did and found parts of it to be a bit absurd, but I still found that I "liked" it so 3 stars for me. But, yeah, I thought it was just me not totally understanding the deal with Oskar, Ruth, Noah, Benjamin, all just a bit (or a lot) too confusing. (hide spoiler)]

Trisha wrote: "Vicki wrote: "Through Ch. 45 [spoiler removed]..."

YES! this is where it jumped off the rails for me I couldn't tell - ghosts? mind links? Sharing thoughts? Multiple personalities?
So so confused "

Well, at least great minds think alike...both get confused. lol

YAY! I'm glad you enjoyed it at least a bit more than I did 😊😊

Thru Chapter 23. (view spoiler)[ How awful to have your parents murdered and then to have your daughter taken by someone who definitely is unhinged. I wonder why it seems like maybe kids that didn't get killed by "Father Silence" maybe retaliating or recreating something from the previous murders. (hide spoiler)]