This review is Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber. One of my favorite ways to rest is by curling up with a good book. Like movies and music, all genres appeal to me, and I give all books a chance to be ‘heard’!
Are You Sleeping is a psychological thriller that will have you guessing who really killed Chuck Burhman and the motive behind the murder. #bookreviews #beingfibromom #brandisbookcorner Share on X
Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber
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I picked up Are You Sleeping at a local book sale and bought it solely based on the cover. There was no idea as to what the story was about and I had never heard of Kathleen Barber, so I was pleasantly surprised to find it was a good psychological thriller.
Poppy Parnell is an investigative journalist who recently launched a popular podcast about the decade-old murder of Chuck Buhrman. His killer had supposedly been caught after one of Chuck’s twin daughters, Lanie, confessed to witnessing the neighbor’s son shooting her father in the back of the head. Many believe the story doesn’t add up including Poppy.
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Once the Buhrman family discovers the podcast about their family’s tragedy, it hits them hard. Chuck’s other twin daughter, Josie, is effected the most and nearly comes unhinged when she learns about the unexpected death of her mother. Even though her mother has been living in a cult in California – isolated and removed from the family since the murder of her husband – her death raises many questions as to why.
Lanie and Josie haven’t spoken since their mother abandoned them all those years ago to live amongst strangers. In fact, Josie’s serious boyfriend who she lives with doesn’t know she has a sister – a twin at that – and believes her parents were killed in a tragic auto accident years ago. She’s also unaware that Lanie married Josie’s first love and has a daughter with him.
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Josie has a lot to deal with when it comes to her sister. Not only must she face her sister again but she also has to come to terms with Lanie’s marriage, daughter, and worst of all, her husband. It’s all overwhelming, but doesn’t even scratch the surface of the bigger picture: Josie believes her sister may be lying about witnessing their father’s murder. But why is Lanie lying? What is she really protecting with a lie?
As the podcast reveals unknown facts and secrets in the Buhrman house with each weekly episode, the family seems to relive the murder over again. Josie fights to get to the truth despite what it might reveal and how it tears apart what remains of their family. Once she discovers the truth, she has to figure out what to do with it.
I thoroughly enjoyed Barber’s writing and development of her story’s characters, plot, and reveals. It’s a story of whodunnit and had me trying to figure out if the killer was initially caught or not. While it was a quick read, it was a good one. I give it four out of five stars.
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Kathleen Barber interview
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Book Ratings and Reviews
Each book I review is based on my opinion. This does not mean you will agree with the review or love/like/dislike the book, too. There’s a quote that says, “No two persons ever read the same book” by Edmund Wilson, and it’s quite true!
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