When this story starts, a man named Jake has been in Afghanistan, serving with the British Army. After receiving a Victoria Cross over actions he can’t forgive himself for, he has resigned and is ready for civilian life. He comes home, excited to see his wife, Lucy, and their five-year-old daughter, Sienna - but his wife is acting strangely. She doesn’t want to be intimate with him, and she spends most of her time in her office, claiming she’s working harder to make up for Jake quitting his job. Tension is in the air, but he is enjoying spending his time with Sienna. He is walking her to school one morning when suddenly, everything changes. (Literally.)
The next thing he knows, he’s on a ferry heading for Lundy Island with his brother, Max, and a detective. They’re telling him that his wife was murdered, his prints were found on the knife that was used, and he was found covered in her blood. Max is a lawyer, and claims that Jake has somnambulism…if Jake did this, he must have been sleepwalking. To prove it and keep his brother out of prison, Max is taking him to the Lundy Clinic for the Study of Sleep Disorders for a week of observation. If they can find that he does, indeed, sleepwalk, then he may be able to get some leniency with his murder charge.
Once there, a Dr. Carpenter meets him and explains how they’ll be evaluating him. Jake still can’t process that his wife is dead, and he remembers absolutely nothing. The sleep clinic is not up for debate, though. His brother won’t help him without finding out if he was awake or not. While at the clinic, Jake starts realizing he’s losing pieces of time, but he did sustain a head injury the night his wife was murdered, so he doesn’t worry too much about it. He knows he would have never killed Lucy, not even in his sleep…but he also wants to know the truth.
This book is very “Shutter Island” - it’s not the same plot, but the clinic’s tiny island and the strange things Jake is feeling and thinking give the same vibe. Then the ending shocked me almost as much as Shutter Island’s did! I never would have guessed the ending, and I had at least a half dozen ideas in mind. You’ll need to slightly suspend reality in places, but if you can do that and you love psychological thrillers, you’re going to want to read this book! 4.5 stars.
(Thank you to Boldwood Books, M.A. Hunter and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on July 12, 2024.)