Review of Don't Close Your Eyes by Holly Seddon

I absolutely adored Holly Seddon's previous book,  Try Not to Breathe, so I was very excited to get my hands on this one. I'd kind of hoped for a return for Alex, the first book's protagonist, but that was not to be. However this story of twin sisters Robin and Sarah is equally gripping.

It's par for the course to flit between present day and the past, but it works really well. In the present, the once-successful Robin is a shadow of her former self - beset by fear, she hasn't left her home in literally years, spending her days obsessively exercising and watching her neighbours go about their lives, her only social contacts the delivery drivers who supply her with supermarket orders and takeaways.  

Sarah, always the "good" twin, is in free-fall - forbidden to see her child, the life she had in tatters, desperate to make things right. But is she the victim of a terrible injustice or the architect of her own misfortune? 

As we learn more about the earlier lives of both the twins and their sort-of-brother Callum, secrets are gradually and delicately revealed, There are some dark and distressing moments here, but they are very well and sensitively handled.

I enjoyed this tremendously and was riveted throughout, unwilling to stop reading. I loved the character of Robin in particular, but all the characters - even the unpleasant ones - are very believable. There were perhaps a couple of loose threads at the end and questions I would have liked to have seen answered.  But basically.... I loved it!

Very many thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.