Before I Wake [Paperback]

Steven Spruill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1993

The head of emergency services at Hudson General Hospital, Dr. Amy St. Clair cannot figure out why all her recovering patients are suddenly dying, or why a cunning madman is taking over her dreams. Reprint. AB. LJ.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This first-rate suspense novel concerns a missing Aztec statue and an emergency room physician haunted by recurrent nightmares and stalked by a mysterious prowler. Literary Guild selection in cloth.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Amy St. Clair, head of Hudson General's emergency room, is experiencing a recurring nightmare. She wanders dark woods, a child again, as a voice demands, "Tell me what you see." She is also being stalked by an unknown man. Meanwhile, officious hospital administrators threaten to close her unlucrative Emergency Room, just as she notices a disturbing trend in cardiac deaths among men who all fit the physical profile of her own father. The similarities point to a serial murderer, though Amy can't imagine how the deaths are being caused. Struggling with these seemingly unrelated crises, Amy is faced with a romantic one, too, when an old sweetheart joins Hudson General's staff. Though he is as loving as he was in high school, his years in Vietnam have given him a dark side which Amy cannot fathom. His appearance now may be one coincidence too many. An excellent suspense novel with a strong, intelligent heroine, Before I Wake (by the author of Painkiller , LJ 4/1/90) is sure to be popular with readers of medi cal and psychological thrillers.
- A.M.B. Amantia, Population Crisis Committee Lib., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 326 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Mass Market Paper (November 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312928963
• ISBN-13: 978-0312928964
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,691,612 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

1968: Andrews University. Graduated with B.A. in biology.
1969: Married Nancy Lyon

1969-1974: Hazleton Laboratories. Laboratory technician, technical writer.

1974-1981: The Catholic University.
While studying for a doctorate in clinical psychology, Spruill sold his first novel, Keepers of the Gate, to Doubleday in 1976. Five more of his novels were published while he completed graduate school. During this period, Spruill also served as an adjunct professor at Catholic University, teaching creative writing to students in the drama program at Catholic U. In 1980, Spruill completed his doctoral dissertation on Creativity, and was awarded the Ph.D. in clinical psychology in 1981.

1981-present: After completing a year's internship at Mount Vernon Hospital in Virginia, Spruill turned to writing, full time. Fifteen of his novels, two novellas, and one non-fiction book have been published by Doubleday, Playboy Press, St. Martin's Press, TOR, Berkley, and Dell. His pseudonyms include Steve Morgan (UK), Steve Lyon, and Steven Harriman (Berkley). His work has sold in over twenty foreign countries. Several of his novels were selections of The Literary Guild and the Doubleday Book Club. Three of his medical thrillers were condensed in Good Housekeeping Magazine and one in Reader's Digest Books. Both Kirkus and Publishers Weekly have awarded starred reviews to his novels. Spruill's novel Rulers of Darkness was nominated for the British Fantasy Award. It was this novel that, in 1995, coined the term "Hemophage" to describe the "reality" behind the vampire myth. In 1995, the Catholic University of America conferred upon Spruill its award for "Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Literature." Other recipients of this award in the arts include Susan Sarandon and Jon Voight.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intense and intricate!, May 7, 2010

By 

Amanda Grabler (Abingdon, Virginia United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Before I Wake (Paperback)

Fans of Spruill's "Painkiller" will not be disappointed by "Before I Wake"! Amy St. Clair is the head of ER at Hudson General, and has noticed a disturbing trend of heart attack patients who should not have died! After only about 70 pages, I already had a handful of potential suspects. I thought that perhaps the further I read, that I'd find myself narrowing down the list of suspects -- but this only happened once, after an unexpected murder. Although I had my suspicions, I truly wasn't sure who or what was really causing the unexplained deaths until Amy, the heroine, found out for herself. The characters are all well-fleshed out and believable. I can really imagine what each person looks like as I read along; that, to me, is a trait of a really good writer. Not only could I see the scenes Spruill described, but every single person as well. It is a gripping novel of suspense, and very hard to put down!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Marina's Before I Wake Review, December 11, 2000

By 

marina (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Before I Wake (Hardcover)

This is a very interesting book,which gives the reader an internal thrill. The book carefully starts with an introduction to Amy St.Clairs life and then ties in events from her past into her present life. The book transforms into a mysterious thriller which endevours the reader to pursue reading the book because each piece of new information somehow ties in with Amy's life.The past boyfriend that comes into her life and the nightmares. This is an interesting book and it will keep you wondering for more throughout the whole book.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars SOMNOLENT CHILLS, November 10, 2002

By 

Michael Butts (Berkeley Springs, WV USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Before I Wake (Paperback)

Although there are tons of red herrings in this book and it does have some really creepy moments, "Before I Wake" ends up being a cliche of derivative characters and plot mechanisms.
Amy St. Clair, the head of Hudson General's Emergency Room Department, is a dedicated workaholic, involved with staff psychologist Tom Hart. She is also a widow, with two engaging daughters. Who should come back into her life but her teenage sweetheart, Otis "Campy" Camp, who went off to Vietnam and out of Amy's life. But he's back and Amy's confronted with two hot and heavy lovers. Meanwhile, the poor girls is having horrible nightmares about something that happened when she was four years old--in the woods, in the dark.
And, to top off everything, ER patients are dying from heart attacks that they shouldn't have died from. Who is murdering these elderly gentlemen(all bankers at a certain height and age)and will Amy's billionaire father, Winnie, be next? And what about Amy's mentally challenged brother, Phillip? Is he is as "dumb" as he seems?
There are lots of histrionics in this book and it manages to hold your interest even with its many flaws. The true villain is hidden quite nicely until about a third towards the end when the obvious becomes obvious.
However, Sprull has wound a clever, if derivative, tale, and is an entertaining read, just not a classic.
SLIGHTLY RECOMMENDED.