Customer Reviews

Sleepyhead

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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."

"Sleepyhead" is a well-crafted debut novel with few of the glitches that usually bedevil the neophyte mystery writer. The plot is swift and spare and the story is not over-populated with characters.

Detective Inspector Tom Thorne is confronted with a serial killer whose aim is not to "kill" but render his victims powerless to move or speak, yet remain fully conscious. So far, he has had one "success," Allison Willetts, who is under the care of neurologist Anne Coburn. Thorne becomes dead certain he has the killer identified, but has no proof. Things become awkward indeed, when the suspect turns out to be a life-long friend of Dr. Coburn who Thorne is beginning to admire. An unusual literary device has each chapter beginning with the italicized thoughts of Allison, who cannot communicate. You become increasingly fond of this brave and spirited girl with an offbeat sense of humor who is suffering this terrible misfortune.

I don't know if I have ever heard of a crime novelist getting his start as a stand-up comic, but Mr. Billingham makes the most of his background by supplying excellent dialogue:

"Thorne raised his eyebrows. "Do women still get upset if you ask how old they are?" She plonked an elbow on the table and leaned her chin on the palm of her hand, trying her best to look severe. "This one does."

"Sorry" Thorne tried his best to look contrite. "How much do you weigh?"

No matter how serious the rest of the book, I had to stop and laugh at the offbeat lines Mr. Billingham fed Thorne. "Sleepyhead" is a fresh inventive debut with a satisfying twist worthy of a veteran.
-sweetmolly-Amazon.com Reviewer

Mark Billingham, Sleepyhead (Avon, 2001)

What is it about British mystery authors cranking out excellent first novels? Nicci French, Mo Hayder, and Minette Walters have all waltzed down the pike in the last decade and taken the world by storm. Now you can add Mark Billingham to the list.

Billingham's first novel, Sleepyhead, is about a truly twisted individual, even more twisted than Hayder's birdman-this one's dead bodies are failed experiments. What he's really after, he gets in Alison Willetts, a girl who is mysteriously left at a hospital suffering from what is known as locked-in syndrome, a type of stroke that leaves the victim fully conscious, but paralyzed and unable to communicate. The police find an ever-growing string of bodies as the killer attempts to duplicate his handiwork.

Very well-paced for a book of its length, and very readable. Billingham knows where to put all the twists and turns. The characters are a little more wooden than one would expect, and a bit more predictable, but then mystery readers have been spoiled recently. (Odd, because Billingham has one of his characters remark early on that he doesn't fir the policeman-on-television stereotype; perhaps we're just used to that these days?) Still, this is a fast, fun read with some excellent twists. *** ½

I did this kind of backwards. I read "Lazy Bones" first and so I knew who got spared and who didn't make it from the first to the third book in this series. It didn't hurt the suspense or the story, though. This one is good enough to stand on its own. And what a concept! We have here a criminal (lunatic?) who doesn't want to kill people. His or her idea is to deliberately induce a stroke to a victim so that they are still completely cognitive but unable to move more than an eyelash. Absolutely paralyzed and still fully intelligent with complete knowledge of the crime, but unable to communicate. And young girls are killed whilst this fiend practices the fine art of paralyzing without killing. It is a dreadful concept and gives me the absolute willies. We have the usual marginal Detective Inspector (Tom Thorne), his colleagues, and "incident room" badinage, but I do wish that we could sometimes have a detective who is actually functional in his or her personal life. Ian Rankin ruined things for us with Rebus and nobody will ever write the somewhat redeemable detective better so I wish everyone would quit trying. Having said that, this is a good and creepy read and the ending is a little weak, but also a bit of a relief. Or is it? Just the concept of an intentionally induced stroke will follow you around for a while afterward.

I personally thought it was kind of middle of the road. It's true that 'Sleepyhead' is an easy read, the writing wasn't particularly spectacular. I liked the usage of British vernacular and pop culture references. I am a little bias because references were made about places that I have actually visited in London. I guess my main gripe is that the writing was a bit too simple. I liked Thorne's character and the 'internal' dialog of Alison Wiletts. With that said, I would still consider reading other works by Billingham, I wasn't completely discouraged.

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.

Plot/Storyline: 3 3/4 Stars

This is a British mystery with a unique plot where the killer does not actually want to be a killer. I did feel like the difference from other serial killer novels would have stood out a bit more had the killer been more successful in his endeavors.

The book moved along at a fairly fast pace. There were quite a few action and tension-filled scenes to keep the reader enthralled. Almost every scene forwarded the story with good attention to plot detail. Even the scenes with Allison, the girl in the coma, speaking were essential to the storyline and not just tossed in for shock effect.

Reading a true British novel takes a bit of extra concentration on my part. I know a lot of British words that are different, such as `boot' for `car trunk'. However, I still manage to learn more. In this one, I learned that `pissed' means `drunk,' not `angry.' However, this `other language' gave the book a little more flair as it immerses the reader in British Culture.

I was unimpressed by the ending. The reasoning behind the killer's motives just did not add up for me. I do realize that you pretty much have to be a bit nuts to go around killing people. I also realize that many killer's motives would not be logical to a sane person. And, well, I do consider myself to be mostly sane. However, in fiction, authors can certainly imagine and write about logical motives, and it appears this author tried to do so. It just fell short of the mark when it came to explaining, not the killings, but the urge to leave the girls living in comas.

Character Development: 4 1/2 Stars

Tom Thorne, while a bit cliched, was still a well-developed character. He is a crusty old investigator with some old-school techniques and not well liked by his peers for his tendancy to bend the rules. Yes, it's a bit trite, but the very familiarity makes for a good, comfortable read.

Anne Coburn, the love interest and doctor for Allison Willets, was a bit weak, yet still a decent supporting character.

Allison Willets is pretty much the star of the show and makes the book really stand out. Her viewpoint is told with incredible emotion.

Writing Style: 5 Stars

The writing style is excellent. There is plenty of description to admire, without being overburdened with it. The dialogue is excellent with a major swipe of realism. You can actually hear the English accent while reading.

Editing/Formatting: 5 Stars

Both were of professional quality.

Rating: PG-15 for Violence, Language, and Sexual References

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I read a number of book review media on a regular basis, keeping an eye out for newly published books to add to my reading list. I especially watch for enthusiastic reviews of new writers, those no one has ever heard of before. And I've been doing all this for a long time. So how in the world did I miss hearing about this one? As a police procedural murder mystery, it's very, very good. As a first novel, it's bloody amazing. Detective Inspector Tom Thorne is a middle-aged, rather old-fashioned sort of London copper. Except in the area of pop music, where he's way ahead of the curve. Being something of a loose cannon -- following procedure only when he finds it useful and not above harassing suspects with anonymous phone calls -- he's frequently a trial to his colleagues and especially to his superiors. And he's presently involved in a case that brings all his personal and professional demons bubbling to the surface. Three young women have died by induced stroke at the hands of a medically very knowledgeable killer. A fourth, Allison, has survived but now suffers not from a coma but from "locked-in syndrome" -- perfectly alert mentally but unable to move, to speak, or to communicate except by blinking. And then Thorne receives a message informing him that Allison was the psychopath's success, that her paralytic state is what he was aiming for all along. This is a perfectly horrific notion and Billingham develops it fully and remorselessly. He's also a natural at character development, laying out a little more of someone's personality here and there only as the reader needs to know about it. And he's very, very good at stringing the reader along, making one suspect a red herring where there is none, making it appear almost obvious who the killer is, right up to last few pages. He certainly had me going; none of the three or four suspects I was most strongly considering turned out to be the Bad Guy. But the best character of all is Allison, with her interior monologues and irreverent observations of those around her. I'm definitely going to be seeking out Billingham's subsequent 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.