THE NIGHT OF THE SLEEPOVER

4.5 stars out of 5

I've lost count of the number of books I've read by this author, and while I've enjoyed some more than others, of course, I've never been disappointed. This one follows in that fine tradition - ending with an unexpected twist and the promise of a sequel (the latter by the author in his acknowledgements).

At a sleepover at one of their homes, three youngish girls - Leah, Jasmine, Victoria and Harriet - crawl into their sleeping bags after a night of chatter, consuming copious slices of pizza and even more copious glasses of vodka-laced drinks. The next morning, one wakes up - only to find three other empty sleeping bags. Now, some 20 years later, what happened to the girls remains a mystery and the only "survivor" - Leah - has moved on to get married (and divorced) and have a 14-year-old son. What happened that night, though, continues to haunt just about everyone in town - especially the missing girls' parents and relatives like Esther, now a lawyer and Victoria's sister.

Enter Owen, younger brother of the missing Jasmine. Now a filmmaker of sorts, he's returned with his team determined to make a documentary on the disappearances that he hopes will turn up evidence that will lead to the truth. Leah, of course, is on his list of people to interview; her first one doesn't go well, but quickly, it gets worse: she gets an email warning her to do whatever it takes to stop Owen's project.

Chapters switch from the present to days before, during and after the sleepover so readers get gradually more insights into the girls' lives and what might have happened on that fateful night. One of the biggest questions, for instance, is how Leah was able to stay asleep while three other people somehow got up and left the same room? And was Leah's father - a not-so-upstanding citizen who's about to be released from prison - involved in any way?

In the end, of course, everything is resolved - though probably not quite in the way most readers will expect. Overall, it's an engaging read - and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to get in on the action by way of a pre-release copy.

The Night of the Sleepover by Kerry Wilkinson (Bookouture, October 2023); 287 pp.