I am not generally a reader of Suspense novels, however,
upon seeing the cover of Stephanie’s new book To Die To Sleep I knew I had to
read it. I can honestly say I was not disappointed by this book.
I have read
suspense novels in the past which were predictable and quite honest boring in
their own way. I like suspense novels to hold my interest and keep me guessing.
To Die To Sleep kept me guessing. I had to take a break from reading so that I could
brainstorm with my husband over who could be the killer. We went over, in
detail, every possible suspect. We discussed it for a good hour and then I
still didn’t guess correctly. I had a moment while reading where I thought it
could be a certain character but then denied that theory because it was not
probable. Every guilty or tense conversation with a different character made me
second guess who it could be. I would think I had it all figured out then
something else would come up and I would get set back into guessing again. It
wasn’t until the killer was revealed that I accepted who it was. There were
plenty of clues as to who the killer was, but I ignored them by telling myself
it wasn’t possible.
Stephanie kept me guessing all while getting me involved in
her character’s lives. I came to know each character and it wasn’t like some
books with multiple characters in lead roles where you feel overwhelmed. I felt
like the characters and their roles balanced well. I do wish that some of the
lesser characters had been more involved, but the book did not hinge on these
characters being more prominent. I enjoyed reading this novel and will be
reading more of Stephanie’s books in the future.
I will say honestly that this book is by far my favorite
suspense novel because it is the first where I wasn’t bored by guessing the
plot ahead of time. It held my interest, kept giving me twist when I thought I
was on the right track, and kept the characters well balanced and involved in
the story line.
I loved that Gideon did come out to ‘rescue’ Natalie knowing
that she would refuse to be rescued which placed him into the position of her
protector while she figured things out. Gideon was my favorite male character
in the novel, and I worried for him when the cards seemed stacked against him. I
was ready to jump into the book and smack a character for insinuating that
Gideon was a suspect. If there were one thing, I would have hope for it would
be for more character development of Gideon, Natalie, Lily, and Soren. I feel
like Anthony was a pretty well-developed character and thought he figured more
prominently than some of the main character’s.
I will recommend this book to anyone who will listen because
I so thoroughly enjoyed it myself.
**Note: The views and opinions in this review are my own and
not a reflection of the author or the publisher in any way.**
~*~ Adventure Like There Is No Tomorrow! Family Is The Key To Happiness So Tell Them You Love Them, Hug and Kiss Them, and Hold Your Kids A Little Closer!~*~ As Always, The Bartlett Family
