To Die To Sleep by Stephanie Black + Win This Book!

After surviving a difficult year, Natalie Marsh is heading for Ellsberg Keep, an exclusive mountain resort that promises to provide the tranquility she desperately needs. She’s eager to relax and to reconnect with her estranged cousin Lily, who works as the Keep’s nurse—a reunion that begins abruptly when an accident on the winding mountain roads lands Natalie in the infirmary in the care of her cousin. They have little time to bond over childhood memories, however. Everything is thrown into chaos when the owner of the Keep is rushed to the medical wing, wildly delusional and raving about a murder plot.

Despite Lily’s care, the owner dies. Is his death simply an accident, or are his frenzied suspicions true? Determined to help Lily cope with the loss of her patient—and the accusations that she’s to blame for his death—Natalie searches for answers and is swept into a mystery that grows more puzzling as frightening hallucinations torment the dead man’s son. When a staff member who asks too many questions disappears, it is clear that this idyllic resort harbors someone with deadly intent—and Natalie may not survive to uncover the truth.

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Stephanie Black is an author whose books I have been reading for a long time.  I know exactly what I'm going to get when I pick up one of her books and I love that.  

This book is labeled suspense and there was some of that but to me it felt more like a mystery.  The characters are trying to piece together what is happening around the Keep because things are definitely not as they should be.  I kept trying to guess who the "bad guy" was but it was always changing.  The author was great at casting suspicion on all the people at some point or another.  There were a lot of characters in this book but I never felt confused or overwhelmed by who was who, which is another tribute to the author.

I enjoyed the building nature of the story and the climactic ending where everything starts coming together.  I tend to start reading faster when things get climactic and I really had to purposely slow myself down several time toward the end.  So good!!

This book is definitely more plot driven than emotionally driven.  There isn't much romance to speak.  It was interesting and engaging though, from beginning to end.  I really enjoyed it!

Content:  death, mild violence, peril

- I received a complimentary copy of this book.  All opinions expressed are my own.

About the author:  

I’ve enjoyed making up stories since I was a child, when my sisters and I would play long Barbie games full of intrigue and danger, or write and direct plays for ourselves and our younger siblings. I took a creative writing class in high school, but my stories stunk, since I hadn’t yet figured out that a story needs a plot. An encouraging comment from the teacher got me rolling in the right direction (thank you, Mrs. Owen!) and my final story for that class eventually developed--after many years, much studying of fictional technique, and countless hours of writing and rewriting--into my first published novel: The Believer, a dystopian thriller, was published in 2005 by Covenant Communications.

Four of my contemporary mysteries are Whitney Award winners for Best Mystery/Suspense, and my second dystopian novel was a Whitney Award Finalist for Best Speculative Novel. My novella “An Eye for an Eye” was part of the RONE Award-winning anthology Timeless Romance: Autumn Suspense collection.

My husband Brian and I have five children, two children-in-law (with one more on deck), and a rather majestic cat. I love spending time with my family, enjoy homemade pizza and anything chocolate, and have recently developed a fondness for LEGO projects. I play the violin in a community symphony (but never practice enough), and always have unmatched socks, post-laundry. At the center of everything that matters most is my love for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

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