Mary and Tim soon realise this this is a very complex case and the culprit could be more close to home than they thought. Tim is a journalist suffering from guilt and horrific memories of an accident - leaving him unable to sleep, suffering from insomnia. Two sleep deprived neighbors bear witness to a crime, but cannot convince the police of what they saw. This was very formulaic like many thrillers from well-known authors this year, which was disappointing.

What starts out as an exciting idea though, soon turns into a fight for their freedom and their lives. Like sleuths, they follow the clues, try to involve the police, but with no results, and eventually are in danger for their lives. Her narrative at the start was a bit much and seemed more like a chaotic day in the life of rather than the mystery of Samantha Ellis. When these two sleepless people witness something concerning in the dead of night, perhaps linked to a recent crime, the unlikely pair - both experiencing their own form of desperation - come together to investigate. From there, the reader is quickly introduced to Mary, sleep-deprived mother of two small children, and Tim, a former foreign correspondent with PTSD and insomnia.

The characters were very blah and extremely stereotypical, dare I say lazy in how they were written I didn’t really care what happened to any of them ,however they did not distract from what ,while was very OTT plot, a fairy interesting mystery . I loved this side of the story, it elevates it from a standard whodunnit to much more of a psychological thriller. There are plenty of twists and turns along the way and ultimately it's all a bit far-fetched, but enjoyable enough. A girl missing, two sleep deprived insomniac strangers, a heatwave and an incident which may, or may not, have devastating consequences. While they are there they both see what looks like a violent attack happening in the window of a nearby home.

Granted, the first few chapters featured our sleep-deprived main characters but then it went off in a new direction - especially when the character Eric Johnson popped in with his big reveal. Mary is on maternity leave from her job as an attorney and caring for her two young children with little help from her husband. The two meet when they venture outside of their respective houses in the middle of a sleepless night after “witnessing” what appears to be “violence” in the attic room of a boarded up house across the park. The police come in to the picture and tell Mary and Tim to mind there business as they investigate and find nothing in the house. If you are ok with slow, sleepy stories, stick with it, but if you get bored quickly, I don't recommend picking this one up.

Reading about breast feeding, crying children, food being thrown, and dirty nappys always bores me to tears as a woman who is childless by choice. Mary's two young children won't let her sleep; Tim, a journalist, just can't, following recent trauma. I guess i thought it would be more based around the friendship between the neighbors and their insomnia.

It started out slow for me and it kinda made me want to stop reading after the first 30% in but I kept going and I’m glad I have.I love reading about amateur sleuths, and it was fun to picture Mary and Tim bopping around town, trying to get information…only to find themselves in more trouble. I did skim a few bits but I also couldn't stop reading because I needed to know just what on earth was actually going on. The story is told in alternating chapters from multiple POV, which I enjoyed, but none of the characters was particularly likeable.

The characters were well written, even if some of their choices and behaviours were a bit unrealistic.Unable to sleep at night, Tim, wonders from room to room of his apartment wondering if he will ever be able to live again. Unfolding through the alternating narratives of Mary and Tim, there is also the odd narrative from the missing Samantha, leaving you wondering what exactly has happened to her. Full disclose if this book had not been a read now on NetGalley I wouldn’t have requested it or indeed bought it on publication, I would have waited until it was a free read in include in Prime Reading for my kindle if even then. The characters of Mary (lawyer on maternity leave) and Tim (journalist with tragic past) are united by their insomnia. Both Mary and Tim were in the park the night before, and each of them, as they soon realize, saw a young woman being attacked in a house backing on the park.