Praying for Sleep [Paperback]

Jeffrey Deaver (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1994

On a stormy night of terror and suspense, a woman is thrust into a life-threatening confrontation with an escaped psychopathic killer who want to get revenge on her for helping to put him away. Reissue.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This engrossing thriller depicts the hunt for a 300-pound schizophrenic murderer who escaped from a New England asylum.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Deaver has published both general fiction and, under a pseudonym, some Edgar Award-winning mysteries, but the publisher sees this book as his breakout title. The antihero is a 28-year-old man who escapes from a hospital for the criminally insane. The 75,000-copy first printing speaks volumes.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Signet (December 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451181468
• ISBN-13: 978-0451181466
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,046,649 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jeffery Deaver was born outside of Chicago in 1950. His father was an advertising copywriter and his mother was a homemaker. He has one younger sister who writes novels for teenagers ' Julie Reece Deaver.

Deaver wrote his first book ' which consisted of two entire chapters ' when he was eleven, and he's been writing ever since. An award-winning poet and journalist, he has also written and performed his own songs around the country. After receiving a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Missouri, Deaver worked as a magazine writer, then, to gain the background needed to become a legal correspondent for The New York Times or Wall Street Journal, he enrolled at Fordham Law School. After graduation he decided to practice law for a time and worked for several years as an attorney for a large Wall Street firm. It was during his long commute to and from the office that he began writing the type of fiction he enjoyed reading: suspense novels. In 1990 he started to write full time.

The author of twenty-two novels, Deaver has been nominated for six Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America, an Anthony award, a Gumshoe Award, and is a three-time recipient of the Ellery Queen Reader's Award for Best Short Story of the Year. In 2001, he won the W.H. Smith Thumping Good Read Award for his Lincoln Rhyme novel The Empty Chair. In 2004, he was awarded the Crime Writers Association of Great Britain's Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award for Garden Of Beasts and the Short Story Dagger for "The Weekender." Translated into 35 languages, his novels have appeared on a number of bestseller lists around the world, including the New York Times, the London Times and the Los Angeles Times. The Bone Collector was a feature release from Universal Pictures, starring Denzel Washington as Lincoln Rhyme. A Maiden's Grave was made into an HBO film retitled Dead Silence, starring James Garner and Marlee Matlin.

Jeff has also released two collections of his short stories, called Twisted and More Twisted.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Below par for Deaver, November 24, 2000

By 

mellion108 (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Praying for Sleep (Paperback)

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.)

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this on a dark and stormy night (but not alone)., February 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Praying for Sleep (Paperback)

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....

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Add this to you list of Deaver reads, June 23, 2000

By 

John R. Linnell (New Gloucester, ME United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Praying for Sleep (Paperback)

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.