As Parnell's podcasts dig up new evidence, Josie's doubts about Cave's convictions grow. For instance the novel's protagonist is Josie Burhman, one of the twins, and Poppy Parnell, the podcaster, is merely a minor character. īustle magazine published a guide to the novel for fans of the TV series, detailing major adjustments the screenwriters made in their adaptation to a visual media. As Parnell's investigation gathers steam, the twins are forced to meet after their mother commits suicide. Thirteen years later the sisters each learn that an independent investigative journalist, Poppy Parnell, is regularly releasing podcasts in which she investigates whether Warren Cave, the man convicted of killing their father, was wrongfully convicted, as his conviction relied heavily on Lanie's eyewitness testimony. Their father was murdered, and their mother ran away to join a cult. The novel then renamed to reflect the name of the television series.Įstranged twins Josie and Lanie Buhrman lost both their parents when they were fifteen years old. Television rights were acquired, and Nichelle Tramble Spellman produced a television series for the streaming service Apple TV+, entitled Truth Be Told. The hardcover edition was published in 2017 and the paperback in 2018.
Barber acknowledges that she was influenced by the Serial podcast, and a key element of the novel is a podcast that looks into the case of prisoner who may have been wrongfully convicted of murder. Are You Sleeping is the debut novel of Kathleen Barber, a lawyer.