The Sleepwalkers

Tense, atmospheric and darkly funny, The Sleepwalkers is a a sublimely creepy contemporary gothic work about a relationship unravelling that asks urgent questions about a contemporary society where our basest selves are hidden in plain sight.

From ''one of the UK’s most interesting authors'' ( Kirkus Reviews ), Patricia Highsmith meets White Lotus in this surprising and suspenseful modern gothic story following a couple running from both secretive pasts and very present dangers while honeymooning on a Greek island. Still reeling from the chaos of their wedding, Evelyn and Richard arrive on a tiny Greek island for their honeymoon. It’s the end of the season and a storm is imminent. Determined to make the best of it, they check into the sun-soaked doors of the Villa Rosa. Already feeling insecure after seeing the ''beautiful people,'' the seemingly endless number of young models and musicians lounging along the Mediterranean, Evelyn is wary of the hotel’s owner, Isabella, who seems to only have eyes for Richard. Isabella ostensibly disapproves of every request Evelyn makes, seemingly annoyed at the fact that they are there at all. Isabella is also preoccupied with her chance to enthral the only other guests -- an American producer named Marcus and his partner Debbie -- with the story of ''the sleepwalkers,'' a couple who had stayed at the hotel recently and drowned. Everyone seems to want to talk about the sleepwalkers, but what at first seemed eccentric, decorative, or simply ridiculous, becomes a living nightmare. Evelyn and Richard are separated the night of the storm and forced to face dark truths, but it’s their confessions around the origins of their relationship and the years leading up to their marriage that might save them. Exhilarating, suspenseful, and subversively funny, The Sleepwalkers asks urgent questions about relationships, sexuality, and the darkest elements of contemporary society -- where our most terrible secrets are hidden in plain sight.

Autorentext

Scarlett Thomas was born in London. She is the author of highly acclaimed contemporary cult novels including THE END OF MR. Y, which was longlisted for the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction, THE SLEEPWALKERS, OLIGARCHY, THE SEED COLLECTORS, POPCO, and the WORLDQUAKE series of middle-grade books. Her novels have sold over half a million copies worldwide, and been translated into 26 languages. Scarlett is Professor of Creative Writing and Contemporary Fiction at the University of Kent. Find out more at www.scarthomas.com.

Klappentext

A WATERSTONES THRILLER OF THE MONTH

WHAT DARK SECRETS WAIT TO BE UNCOVERED WHEN YOU CHECK IN TO THE VILLA ROSA...?

The scintillating new novel from the author of ***The End of Mr Y***

'Clever, emotionally resonant, packed with startling twists and dark turns and very funny indeed, this is fiction roaring on all cylinders.' Guardian

'Gloriously dark and tangled . . . clever . . . I highly recommend it.' *Observer***

'A dark, twisty, savagely humorous plunge into a cauldron of toxic relationships . . . as well as a mystery loaded with menace, this is a smart, layered, stinging look at power and its abuse.' *The Times***

One of the ***Daily Telegraph's *'20 Best New Crime Thrillers to Read this Summer', 2024**

Still reeling from the chaos of their wedding, Evelyn and Richard arrive on an idyllic Greek island for their honeymoon. It's the end of the season and out at sea a storm is brewing.

They check in to an exclusive hotel, the Villa Rosa, where the proprietor Isabella - a strangely intense woman of indeterminate accent - flirts outrageously with Richard while treating Evelyn with a rudeness bordering on contempt. Isabella tells them the story of 'the sleepwalkers': a couple who stayed at the hotel the year before and drowned in a tragic and unexplained accident. It starts to feel like the entire island is obsessed with 'the sleepwalkers', but what at first seems like a fun tale to tell before bed quickly evolves into a living nightmare. 

Caught in a web of deception and intrigue, where nothing and nobody are quite what they seem, Evelyn and Richard discover that their island paradise may in fact be hell on earth and that their only means of escape is to confront dark truths about themselves and those they love. 

Exhilarating, suspenseful, and subversively funny, in The Sleepwalkers Thomas takes elements of Daphne Du Maurier and Patricia Highsmith and blends them with her own unique sensibility to create an unforgettable thriller of rare intelligence that cements her reputation as the most exciting and original author of her generation.

'Muriel Spark's disreputable niece.' Spectator 

'She's a genius.' Douglas Coupland
 
'Thomas has the mesmerising power of a great story teller.' Financial Times
 
'One of the most startling, unpredictable writers of her generation.' ***Scotsman***

Zusammenfassung
Tense, atmospheric and darkly funny, The Sleepwalkers is a a sublimely creepy contemporary gothic work about a relationship unravelling that asks urgent questions about a contemporary society where our basest selves are hidden in plain sight.