Anna O by Matthew Blake

 

My thoughts

WOW... Just WOW. I listened to the audio and read along with an ebook. I was blown away with this story. A first for me by this author.

Audio readers: Dan Stevens, Hannah Curtis, Sarah Cullum, and Christine Rendel.  Told by four people and alternates in places between 1999 to 2023. To understand what happened now you have to know what happened then...

To me this was one of the best books I've read/listened to this year of it's genre. It's listed as a thriller and it is. It's also much more. It's a medical thriller, family drama, mystery. It's a page turner from the beginning. I'm sure there are some who will not enjoy this book, but I did. I think it was so good. I learned a few things about sleep disorders also. That is what this book is about. What can happen if you suffer from intense sleep walking. 

Dr Benedict Prince takes a case of a young woman who has been asleep four years, Anna Ogilvy. She is known as Anna O and Sleeping Beauty by some. Anna is accused of stabbing her two best friends and business partners to death while sleep walking. She supposedly has no idea she did this. She has been asleep four years and the cops want Dr Prince to awaken her. It's a process that will take a bit of time. Ben believes he can do this. What comes next is a bit perplexing in places but so well written. 

You get to know Ben and his family. His daughter and ex wife that is. You will know Anna and her family and her two best friends and business partners. What they did, the partners/best friends. This book delves into the psyche of someone that could very well be mentally deranged. Or maybe just has some sleep walking problems. 

I liked Ben. I think he was so sincere and wanted to help others. I liked his friend Dr Virginia Bloom. I loved his little girl KitKat. His wife Clara was a big of a bugger though. I think she gave him to much grief over KitKat. Even the fact that he called her KitKat. I liked Anna without knowing if she was a murderer or not. I didn't care much for Anna's dad or even her mom at times. I liked her nurse Harriet. Some of these people may not be what they appeared to be but still likable. 

I really enjoyed this book. I got the audio from our public library online and had the ecopy. I enjoy listening so some books while also reading along. This one was very well done. Four narrators. One for each person of interest...

I gave this a FIVE star rating. I think it deserved it. I believe this to be a debut novel but am not positive about that. I highly recommend it. Parts may be a tiny bit hard. Not scary or gory but a bit sad. 

About

Joining the ranks of Gillian Flynn, A. J. Finn, and Alex Michaelides, Matthew Blake delivers the thriller of the a dark, twisty, and shocking mystery about a young woman who commits a double murder while sleepwalking, and then never opens her eyes again.

THE WORLD WILL KNOW HER NAME

What if your nightmares weren’t really nightmares at all?

We spend an average of 33 years of our lives asleep. But what really happens, and what are we capable of, when we sleep?

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 hasn’t woken up since. Dubbed “Sleeping Beauty” by the tabloids, Anna’s condition is 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 are the last hope of solving the infamous “Anna O’”case and waking Anna up so she can stand trial. But he 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 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 find out.