The Sleepwalkers cover art

The Sleepwalkers

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Sleepwalkers

By: Scarlett Thomas
Narrated by: Raphael Corkhill, Kit Griffiths
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

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

Patricia Highsmith meets White Lotus in this compulsive and brilliant gothic thriller

‘Like a darker, funnier The White Lotus, The Sleepwalkers is horrifying in the best possible way. I loved every moment of it.’ James Smythe

‘The Sleepwalkers is brilliant, savage and hilarious. The voice is so strong and so distinctive from the get-go, so bold and pitilessly funny. There is no whingeing here, just a fearless takedown which I read through in a single streak of pure delight. This is Scarlett's best yet, and I don't say that lightly.’ Bidisha Mamata

'The Sleepwalkers is never-endingly surprising and full of keen observations on relationships, politics, and art. Thomas makes real life so fraught with meaning, it feels hauntingly supernatural. A twisty Gothic tale of vertiginous depths and haunting power.' Sandra Newman, author of Julia

‘Muriel Spark’s disreputable niece’ Spectator

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 on 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.

‘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©2024 Scarlett Thomas (P)2024 Simon & Schuster, UK Gothic Horror Mystery Exciting
All stars
Most relevant  
I really enjoyed the story, but I don't think this novel works as an audiobook! The transcripts are basically impossible to follow when they are spoken aloud. I also found the cadence of Evelyn's narrator difficult to follow, her speech pauses in odd places and there are a couple of obvious mispronounciations. It's a shame as I think I would have really enjoyed this novel had I read it, but I don't think too much thought was put into how to make this an enjoyable audiobook.

Good story, bad audiobook

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Not knowing what happened to Richard and exactly the crime that was committed and by whom. I found the whole story somehow unsatisfying, confusing and disturbing.

The Villa Rosa and Isabella.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A very slim story drawn out for hours. The monotonous narrator delivers the story in a combination of staccato babble. Dreadful.

Overwritten and overwrought

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I found that the narration was clear but some words were mispronounced.
the story was rambling and did not tie together well. the characters did not act coherently and many of the supporting cast were not developed or explored. the supporting cast were more used to fit the haphazard plot.
I did finish it but do regret the purchase.

lightweight

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Difficult to get into this story. Overrated in the reviews generally. Lots of unanswered questions but by the time it end I’m not sure I cared enough!

Dreadful narrator. Is it AI?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I enjoyed it a lot, but I know some of my friends would be so annoyed with or irritated by the main character, they would not read or listen to this novel.

Marmite

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It had so much potential – contemporary creepy and clever but the female narration was so oddly delivered that it got in the way of any enjoyment of the text

Creepy story but ruined by strange narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The other reviews are right that the AI reading is odd. However, if you're looking to get through the book quickly then the narration is good for listening at a higher speed.

Difficult AI read but good for a speeded up listen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
One of my top 10 books is The Magus and this felt like a more modern version of it. More dark sex, more intricate plotlines but all the small island paranoia and loneliness. Excellent stuff by all involved though!

Very dark thriller had me gripped

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
the book is a stream of unrelated, unbelievable events, read with too much excitement for what's happening. it has story with start middle and end. couldn't wait yo be rid of it.

boring and wordy

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews