Anna Ogilvy was a budding twenty-five-year-old writer with a bright future. Then, one night, she stabbed two people to death with no apparent motive—and she hasn’t woken up since. Dubbed “Sleeping Beauty” by the tabloids, Anna suffers from a rare psychosomatic disorder known to neurologists as “resignation syndrome.”
Dr. Benedict Prince is a forensic psychologist and an expert in the field of sleep-related homicides. His methods represent the last possible hope of solving the infamous “Anna O” case by waking Anna up so she can stand trial. But the doctor must be careful treating such a high-profile suspect—he’s got career secrets and a complicated personal life of his own.
As Anna shows the first signs of stirring, Benedict knows he must determine what really happened and whether Anna should be held responsible for her crimes.
Only Anna knows the truth about that night, but only Benedict knows how to discover it. And they’re both in danger from what they will discover.
"The dead came back to life. A ghost became flesh again. The stakes feel even higher now. The puzzle harder to solve. The past is now present."
A strangely compelling mystery full of hidden secrets and a morally ambiguous cast of characters. There was a looming intensity from the get-go, as we wonder what secrets Anna is holding onto in her sleep and waiting along with everyone else to see when she wakes up.
There was a quick, exciting pacing with short chapters and paragraphs that made it feel nervous, impatient almost - although at times it just felt a bit too jumpy to really keep the flow. As we wait to see if Anna can ever stand trial for her accusations, we heard from many perspectives all invested in her story and the different roles and positions of these people made it a very interesting journey, with new views and fresh ideas about the case every step of the way with years-old murders, secret programmes, vigilante reporters and revenge plots all thrown into the chaos to create a dark and twisty conspiracy. The ending was curious, with plenty of clues all slotting together in a somewhat satisfying way but it felt like the story had ended several times, with a lot of repetition and parts of the plot being stretched out in ways that just didn’t make sense - which made the last part of the book a little difficult to read, with just a lot of explaining rather than revealing.
It was definitely an experience trying to form your opinions and a connection with a character you don’t know when you’ll meet - but everyone was confusing in a very interesting way. I found myself a little lost with some of their backstories and motivations, at times it felt there was key information missing but overall there was a great, if dark and confusing cast of characters who you just couldn’t figure out if you could trust them or not. The narration style was shared between characters perspectives and split between now and before - with observant, almost formal storytelling that set the scenes well and captured little details that set the tone of the moment (although far too many Harry Potter references, especially for a thriller)
A highly conceptual, unique idea for a thriller with an intriguing discourse on the mysteries of sleep and guilt.
- Anna O is available from February 1st from Harper Collins. I was gifted an advanced reviewers copy of this title.
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