Customer Reviews

Praying for Sleep

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Lis Atcheson thinks she has her life together after living through a horrifying experience. Then just as a storm is about to hit, she is told that Michael Hrubeck has escaped the mental hospital and is possibly on his way to find her. An all-out manhunt ensues, and Lis tries her best to storm-proof her farmhouse while looking over her shoulder for the man she testified against in a gruesome murder trial.
I liked the majority of this book. Hrubek takes on almost supernatural powers at times so that some of the book's situations are a bit unbelievable. But Deaver's strong abilities to create suspense and to keep the reader guessing are present throughout the book. The book could have benefitted from stronger editing; probably at least 150 pages could be omitted without compromising the story. Overall, this is a decent read. It's quick, it's Deaver, and there are some strong elements here. I give it 3 stars because I don't feel this is one of Deaver's better efforts and because if I'm recommending Deaver to a friend, I'd have to go with one of his more recent books (BONE COLLECTOR will forever be on the top of my recommendation list.)

Another fabulous thriller by Jeffery Deaver. All of his novels are based on a single premise - keep the reader entertained and involved and Praying for Sleep does just that.

Mental patient and convicted murderer Michael Hrubek escapes from the looney bin. The people that helped put him there, Lis and her husband have everything to fear when they hear he has escaped.

The head of the hospital covers up the disappearance and to make matters worse his therapist believes he is innocent. This leaves Lis afraid for her life...

Deaver's novels stand out from the pack for many reasons - the well drawn plot lines and characters and the plot twists and turns. This one has an ending that you will never forget. Praying for Sleep will do for dark and stormy nights what Jaws did for the ocean and psycho did for showers. Don't read this one alone....

This one is very different in some ways, from the other Deaver books I have read and I believe I have now read all of this last six or seven. I even had a little trouble getting started with this story and had to try it three times before I got to the point where I was easily turning the pages. The author continues to make you think one thing is happening for a certain reason when it is not. I have referred to this in other reviews as "illusional writing". He is a master at that. He deftly reveals pieces of the puzzle as to why Michael Hrubek has managed to escape from the hospital for the criminally insane where he had been sent to for murder. As Hrubek makes his way, confounding his pursuers, ever so surely and ever so cleverly towards the home of the woman who testified against him at his trial, Lis Atcheson, you will think you understand what is happening and why at numerous times. However, when you get to the end - well - that's the whole point of a Deaver book. The ending is always a delicious surprise...and this one - happily - is no exception.

Another fabulous thriller by Jeffery Deaver. All of his novels are based on a single premise - keep the reader entertained and involved and Praying for Sleep does just that.

Deaver's novels stand out from the pack for many reasons - the well drawn plot lines and characters and the plot twists and turns. This one has an ending that you will never forget.

Praying for Sleep will do for dark and stormy nights what Jaws did for the ocean and psycho did for showers. Don't read this one alone....

Jeffery Deaver seems to have showed up out of nowhere to become one of the best thriller authors in the biz...and I believe that 'Praying For Sleep' was the first time I had ever heard of him... I came close to buying this book on several occasions, but somehow always managed to pass it by in favor of something else. It wasn't until I got to know Lincoln Rhyme that I took a chance and picked up some of his earlier books. While good, you can definitely see the growth as a sheer genius at plotting that Mr. Deaver has pulled off in his more recent novels. My best recommendation for this book is to read it and NOT to judge it based upon some of his more recent novels and you are certain to have a fun time.

This is where Jeffery Deaver started turning out his great novels. I've read everything by him from this book on and I must say this is the weakest. It's a bit long, all the hunting down of Michael Hrubek. it also ends up to quickly and nicely for me. I can see some of the plot twists Deaver used after this book and recommend it only to see how far Jeffery Deaver has come from here. I'm reading all of his earlier books that are being rereleased.

This book is excellent, Jeffrey Deaver is the master of twists and surprises. I couldn't put this book down, it was different from the Bone Collecter and Maiden's Grave, but just as good, he creates characters with such ease, and he sets the scene and the mood without ever being boring.

I haven't read the Coffin Dancer yet, but I can't wait

This book was one of Deavers first "real" thrillers. At least, one of the first for which he is best known.

This book has everything...there is a great title, just for a start. then there are some great characters, who are very interesting. They are all on the hunt for Michael Hrubek, who has escaped from his psychiatric hospital and is now on his way to gain vengeance on Liz Atchesion, the teacher who testified at his murder trial...

this book is typical Deaver. A book set over a short period of time, with twists and turns all the way. Deaver reveals the plot slowly skein by skein, and it unfolds before us like a tapestry. This is one of his most complex plots yet, and almost certainly his most character driven ever. it focuses much more on the relationships between all the characters, and how they act, than many of his others.

there is a great plot, it's devious, inventive, exciting, and intriguing. typical Deaver, basically. you never, never, know where the book is going. there are some great revelations along the way, too. the dark and stormy night is a perfect setting for the book, and gives a great feel of calustrohpobia and isolatedness.

However, the one thing i didn't like quite so much about this book was that, although it is an excellent thriller, it is a bit too long. Not a lot, but perhaps if it had been 50 pages shorter, and the pace a bit quicker, it would have been perfect, and definitely Deaver's best ever book.

Why this book is such a muct-read is the absolutely fantastic twist at the end. It is the best twist Deaver has ever devised. it shies away from the usual twists to do with identity which Deaver usually uses (i.e. people not really being who you tihnk they are) but is much more than that. it is a superb twist, and it really blew my socks off. (even if it is delivered a bit weakly.) A stunning twist. I feel proud to say that i have read it, and hope that a little bit of his magic rubs off on me.

Not as fast-paced as other Deaver books I've read, but certainly a good read. Deaver isn't searching for a psychopathic Hannibal Lector, here, an evil person who has no morals nor cares for others. Deaver instead does a great job of getting inside the mind of none other than a paranoid schizophrenic. The meaning behind the non-meaning in the world of such a mental patient who escapes life in a hospital for the criminally insane. What is interesting and seemingly Deaver's goal in this book is not to scare us all about schizophrenics but instead to get inside the minds of his characters. To get at the fear that we all have of the mentally ill. Will society ever be able to understand? Are the mentally ill all violent, simply because they are mentally ill?

The reader is left to figure this out while following the people chasing after Michael Hrubek, as well as the woman with a past who readers believe Michael is trying to track down.

A great book for those interested in psychiatry. Deaver has done his homework, as is usual for him.

If sleep is your aim, this book will do the trick. I usually love Deaver's work and was pleased to find an older title I hadn't read. Good thing I only paid half price at a used book store. I still feel like I spent too much though, since this was one of the dullest and most tedious novels I've ever read. All of the characters are unappealing and the tension is non existent. I hate it when publishers try to make bigger profits by re-releasing early (and often inferior) works by popular authors. Save your money for Deaver's next book.