Every now and then I get drawn to a book without knowing anything about it. This is what happened here with Emily Barr's tense psychological thriller. I didnt realise that the 'sleeper' referred to the sleeper train that two of the main characters frequent.
Lara is bored. Bored of her life in Cornwall,bored of her husband continuously talking about babies and bored of her situation. When she is offered a temporary contract in London with a pleasing salary she jumps at the chance, despite her husband's displeasure. Commuting to London means leaving on the sleeper train on Sunday night, spending the week in London living with a sister who despises her, and returning by the train on Saturday morning. This is exactly what Lara has been hankering after, and when she meets some new friends who also travel on the train she is even happier. One of these friends is a man named Guy, and Lara is soon infatuated with him and ready to leave her husband. One night however, Lara passes out from drinking too much with Guy and the next morning Guy is dead and Lara is missing. Only the courage of her one friend Iris can discover the truth about what happened.
Although it's a long book, it's worth it at the end. Its complex and exciting and the ending will shock you; it's completely unexpected.
Emily Barr is brilliant, and can really delve into the mind set of her characters. I'm looking forward to reading more.
