Sleepless by Romy Hausmann

 

Nadja grew up as the neglected child of a prostitute.  When her mother is found murdered, Nadja doesn't really understand what is going on as the police question her and before she knows it she is picked out as the scapegoat for her mother's death.  That protects all the influential men in the town who were customers.  Nadja is sent to prison for several years as a child offender.

But those days are behind her.  Now she is out and living her life as normal people do.  She has a job and likes her boss who is kind to her.  She has a few friends and a life where she can go where she wants and do anything that appeals to her.  Nadja is fairly content until the day Laura comes to her.

Laura was Nadja's first friend when she came to her job.  That continued until Laura caught the eye of the boss and soon married him and left the workforce.  Now Laura is distraught and begs Nadja to help her.  Nadja agrees of course.  But when Laura takes her to her house, Nadja finds the dead body of Laura's lover on the floor.  Laura begs Nadja to help her hide the body.

Nadja agrees and the two women take the body to a lodge deep in the forest.  But Nadja discovers that her past has come back to haunt her and that she is being set up as the victim to take the blame again for a crime she did not commit.  Will this be the same as all those years ago?

Romy Hausmann is a German author whose debut novel, Dear Child, became a runaway bestseller.  This is her second novel.  The reader will sympathize with Nadja.  The plot contains many twists and turns and it goes back and forth in time, some of which can confuse the reader.  There is a separate thread about another woman who is found dead in the forest also and it takes quite a while to reconcile the two plotlines.  This book is recommended for thriller readers.