Author: Allison Winn Scotch
Series: None
Publication Date: April 14, 2026
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 400
Obtained: publisher via Netgalley
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Mystery
Rating: 4.5/5
Bottom Line: A mystery with a lot of heart and about how strangers can become friends/family
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab
Summary: In the city that never sleeps, it’s not always easy to share what’s on your mind with the people who know you best. Huddled in an all-night diner over coffee and pancakes, a lonely middle-aged mom, an injured baseball pro, an elusive retiree, and a young waitress examine the thoughts that plague them in the middle of the night. Empty-nester Sybil does what she does best: rolls up her sleeves and spearheads the efforts to turn this group of strangers into friends. Aimless after an injury threatens to ruin his career, Zeke finds genuine connection among the unlikely group. Tight-lipped Julian, who’s seemingly adrift in retirement and attempting to rebuild a relationship with his daughter, expands their circle when he takes their cagey diner waitress, Betty, under his wing. Betty, cautious about strangers and uncertain about strokes of good luck, entertains the trio in an attempt to resolve her own problems, which she keeps close to the vest. Within a few restless months, the group of strangers have become a fragile family. And when one of them goes missing in the dead of night, they’re thrust into a propulsive mystery pulled straight from the true-crime podcasts Sybil obsesses over. Though ill-prepared and unequipped for the job, they begin to piece together the clues left behind. In chasing down answers, they uncover a reason for their friend’s disappearance, and are forced to wrestle with the question of how well you can really know anyone—and once you do, how much are you willing to risk to save them? And in doing so, save yourself? ~amazon.com
Review: If you've been around this blog for a long time, you know that I am a big fan of Ms. Scotch's novels and her latest, The Insomniacs, is fantastic. I loved that it is a mystery but still has her wit, charm and characters. Each of the group members are bound by their inability to sleep in a city that never sleeps. Zeke can't sleep because he's in pain from multiple surgeries and thinking about how pitching is the only thing he knows how to do; Sybil doesn't know what to do with herself now that she's an empty nester and questioning all her life choices; Betty is running from something and can't sleep because of that; Julian can't turn his brain off no matter how he tries. This group that met online, takes it into the real world at an all night diner; little do they know their lives will be forever linked.
I love how the story unraveled at the right pace allowing this reader to keep up and puzzle some things together. I liked how Sybil wouldn't give up on Betty even though she probably should have read the room a few times and backed off. That was definitely the mother/nuturer side of her. She also was the one who was a tad bit obsessed with true crime and might have wanted to solve this all by herself. Betty wanted to depend on the group and develop relationships but that's hard when you are constantly looking over your should.
I think though my favorite was Zeke. He was so open, honest and self-depreciating while trying to figure out his life. When you've been singularly focused your life because you think you are only good at one thing, you rethink it all when it's been taken away from you. I also really loved his pining for Sybil.
I liked that the ending was open ended enough another novel or short story, but resolved enough that I wasn't left needing more if that's where Ms. Scotch decides to end their stories.
Life is messy and complicated, Ms. Scotch shows that in The Insomniacs.
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