The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian has a great premise about sleepwalking. There are explanations for sleep walking sex too. Unfortunately, the novel turns into a routine mystery with characters undeveloped and routine writing. I have been a fan of this author even though the quality is inconsistent. ( )

Mystery surrounding a mother’s disappearance and death. She was a sleepwalker. ( )

I have heard about sleepwalking before, but not in this way. This is novel can seem slow, but it's steady and engaging. The story is rich with feeling, the poignant sense of despair, and the mind numbing reality of tragedy. Having experienced seeming back to back deaths in recent years, I could identify with the characters' forced movement, a zombified existence while trying to cope with an unbearable loss. Chris Bohjalian shocks you just when you've become comfortable in the scenic, autumnal Vermont setting. So masterful was the story woven that never did I think I had solved this mystery, it was still something I had to reread when it came to light. ( )

This would be a good beach book. You don't really need a lot of concentration. It takes a while to find out whether the mom is still alive and I think that's revealed at just the right time. ( )

How fantastic is this book? I never thought a book about sleepwalking would interest me so much. I'll admit that it started out a bit slow on the interest level for me. But as I kept reading, I realized I simply had to know what happened. It was difficult to grasp Lianna's obsession, or rather her lack of distrust with almost every single person she spoke to. I'm still not sure I understand that temperament in someone her age. It seemed more likely she and her younger sister's attitude's should have been reversed. Unless she'd been burned before. Generally that's where the intense feeling of distrust comes from. So I couldn't grasp that. But the novel filled with practically an entire village of sleepwalkers was remarkable. I finished it in a day! ( )