Sleepyhead

Based on the recommendation of a friend, I picked up Sleepyhead by Mark Billingham from the library. It's a real dark crime "who dun it" with twists that keep you reading to the end. Detective Inspector Tom Thorne gets involved with a number of murders that are seemingly random until they find a "failed" attempt. The victim who survived is completely paralyzed due to a stroke, and Thorne figures out that she was actually the "success" of the killer. It turns out that the killer is really trying to "liberate" women from their bodies, leaving the only thing he values... their minds. He deliberately induces a stroke by physical manipulation of certain blood vessels, nerves and muscles. Thorne thinks he knows who is doing the killing, but his evidence against him keeps coming up short. The mental games between Thorne and his suspect grow more intense until Thorne is ready to admit defeat. But the story comes to a dramatic end with a final confrontation with a number of lives on the line. As I mentioned above, the story is very dark. Not only is the subject matter intense (a killer wanting to turn his victims into vegetables, not corpses), but Thorne is a damaged individual with a lot of personal and emotional baggage. The author is English, so there are a number of slang phrases that American readers will have to think about in order to follow the conversation. And even though you think you know who the killer is, you just know there's going to be a twist somewhere. Well written, and very different.... I look forward to his future work.

As a devoted reader of the murder mystery/serial killer/ spooky and gruesome crime fiction genre, I only recently learned of this author, and dove right into Sleepyhead. Without reservation, I view this as one of the best books of this genre ever written - it could hold its own among the titans, and stacks up favorably even to the incomparable Ruth Rendell. The device of having the patient-in-coma speak directly to the reader is horrifying and, in my mind, completely unique. Who among us DOESN'T have a fear of exactly that: being trapped, with a completely sane mind, inside a body that doesn't work at all? What would that feel like? When I learned that Billingham was a standup comic, I could hardly believe it. What must his comedy be like? I wish I knew. I can truly say that I sat down with this book and did not get up until I had finished it. And it is not a piece of froth that one can easily breeze through - it was just that riveting. I'm now on to Scaredy Cat, Billingham's second book.

SLEEPYHEAD is a great read, I think...it's original, fascinating and embued with a dark but enjoyable comic undertone. Tom is a great new detective, a little Bob Hoskinsish and not flawless like many of our heroes. His romance with Anne Coburn is a nice one, although ultimately doomed as most of these are, right? At any rate, it reads quickly and there are some stunning plot twists. I thought the addition of Allison's thoughts were a great addition, and helped us feel the real sympathy for her, and her courageous decision at the novel's climax. The identity of the killer is flagged early, but it's not who you think it is. It's well done and I highly recommend it.

Sleepyhead, a serial killer/rogue cop novel gives a new twist on the old plot. The killings are accidental! This particular brand of nut doesn't want his victims dead, he just wants to induce a stroke so that his victim ends up completely aware mentally and unable to move a single muscle. Locked-in syndrome. As is typical, our cop hero is haunted by mistakes of cases past gone. He likes to drink, sometimes too much, though he has given up cigarrettes, and that is at least original. Our villian is brilliant and knows it, also typical. Still, there is a lot that isn't typical in this story. Our copper ends up falling for a woman who is fortyish and less than perfect, and all may not end up happily ever after. Allison, a victim of the locked-in sydrome, contributes her 'thoughts' on the subject at the beginning of every chapter, thoughts which are often hysterical and very welcome to the reader in need of a laugh.I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who enjoys the crime novel sort of thing. Between the suspense of the hero and villian catting around with each other, there is a lot of dark humor in this novel to keep things fun. Best of all, I was actually surprised at the ending, something that rarely happens these days for me. That alone was worth the purchase price alone.

This is, quite simply, possibly one of the best debut novels in recent years. It is slightly more assured and tightly plotted than Mo Hayder's Birdman (although its nowhere near as good as her second book, "the Treatment"). Its more well written than Denise Mina's Garnethill. Its far less complicated than John Connolly's Every Dead Thing. and more sparesely written than Boston teran's God is A Bullet. In short, it signposts amazing talent. The plot is great...its really original, and very compelling. shadows of a motive are given all the way throughout the book, WHAT the killer wants, and a hint or two about why he wants, but Billingham doesnt fully discolse the killers motivations until the end. And the killer himself is chilling...what he seeks to do to his victims is horrifying. The plot is well paced, and the characters are drawn very well. Tom Thorne is a likeable, very human man, dirven by failures from his past. (Arent they all.) An able hero, his intelligence is high, but when no one listens to him when he tells them who he thinks the killer is, he is at a loss for what to do, and pursues his enquiries doggedly, despite the marked disbelief of others. His relationship with Anne Coburn is great, freshens up the material and adds a really interesting subplot. The reader roots for the two characters to suceed in their relationship, such do we care about and like them. The plotting is tight, and the book subtly turns its way towards a great conclusion. I can't wait to read "Scaredy Cat."