Sleepyhead

Warning: this review contains spoilers

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There's something unusual about several women in a row dying of what appears to be a stroke, especially when most of them do not seem to be your usual high-risk stroke patient. A sharp-eyed pathologist suspects foul play. Then a fourth victim arrives, but she's not dead; she has Locked-in Syndrome. A mistake on the killer's part? Actually, that's what he intended all along...

As far as serial killers go, this one is pretty creepy. I had to skip the more unpleasant scenes to avoid spending more time in his head than was absolutely necessary. (This did lead to confusion when a character appeared later and I couldn't remember where she'd come in. Then I realized, "Oh, that was probably a bit I show more skipped." But that was on me, not on Billingham.) I also wanted to smack him, because his supposed rationale for locking in his victims was that he wanted to give them the freedom of having to move or deal with bodily concerns -- all they'd have to do is think. Well if HE wanted that so damn much maybe he should have had someone do that to HIM instead of inflicting it on women who didn't have a say in the matter! Dumbass.

The reveal was well done. I did predict a key element of the final showdown, but I did not predict the identity of the killer. I feel like I should have -- it made so much sense -- but did not.

As to Detective Tom Thorne himself, well, I kept imagining him as David Morrissey, since that's who's on the cover of the TV tie-in edition. And I was OK with this (let's be honest, it was the main reason I screwed up my courage and read the book in the first place). The only time it really posed a problem was when the book mentioned that Thorne was 5'6"...David is a good nine inches taller. Unless they filmed him in Lord of the Rings style to make him look shorter?? I would pay lots of money to see that, because it would be funny.

The fact that David plays him also probably cut him a lot more slack than I might otherwise have given him. He is almost ridiculously obsessive about pinning the crime on Jeremy Bishop, which reminded me of single-minded Sean Duffy in Adrian McKinty's first novel featuring him, The Cold Cold Ground -- but Duffy was annoying in his hounding of the suspect, whereas Thorne inspired more concern than anything else. (With Thorne I thought "Don't do anything stupid now dear, you'll just go and get yourself into trouble", while with Duffy I thought "Good Lord you idiot! Do you WANT him to get away with it?? LEAVE HIM ALONE.") It may also have helped that Thorne voluntarily leaves the case for part of the book, to try to get some distance. That little bit of self-awareness is a good thing.

I will probably end up reading more in the series, which is saying a lot for someone who is really not a fan of serial killer fiction. Thorne will help me see it through. show less

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It's a very gruesome crime novel, of a serial killer who is obsessed with our police detective hero and who attacks women to prove a point. It's well constructed - the love lives of the main characters become intertwined with the plot, and there is an elegantly constructed red herring. The murderer's modus operandi is very memorably horrible. Not wowed enough to seek out other Billingham novels but I won't ignore them if they fall in my path.

The power of a good book is in the effect it has on our own perceptions. Sometimes we are uplifted. Sometimes we are emotionally moved. And on occasions we are left like a limp rag, exhausted by the journey that an author has taken us on, desperate for someone to take us to a place that is light and resuscitating...

Such was my own position after reading ‘Sleepyhead’ by Mark Billingham. This is the first in a series about a detective (Tom Thorne) that, for me, held parallels with the Rebus character of Ian Rankin. But there is something deeper and darker about Billingham’s characters, and Thorne is not your typical bruised-ego-rebelling-against-superior-officers detective.

There are so many well-written detective stories out there, show more each authentically researched for their era, and their location. Crime and the pursuit of justice is a perennial subject for writers and readers alike, so to a certain extent I was simply expecting a general presentation of another story where the cop deals with a brutal murder while sorting out some of his own personal difficulties. That’s what we all like, right? A delicious marriage between human interest and inhuman treatment. But this one was different: This one deals with a non-murder. This one bites us on the bum when we least expect it, and leads us into psychological territories that many real-life policemen and women must have to face on a daily basis. There’s nothing glamorous in that – and I suppose it is the author’s ability here to keep his story unfolding , while allowing us to realise (with some distaste) that this is not necessarily going to finish with everything neatly bundled up and filed away. Yes, the villain is caught – but that doesn’t necessarily means that everyone gives three cheers and dashes off to the pub to celebrate over three pints and a packet of pork scratchings. Crimes have been committed, and there are far-reaching consequences. We have to deal with that, and sometimes the taste of success can be a little sour.

I applaud Mr Billingham for his clear-cut characters and gritty storyline. The medical background to the case in question comes across as well-researched and presented, and at times I felt as helpless at the audacious nature of the crimes as the particular victim that is the principal subject of the title. This then was why I finished the book with mixed feelings: Yes, it had been an engrossing story, and very well-told, but I also came to the end with a feeling of relief. I had been in a dark place, and it was good to get out in the sunshine again!

‘Sleepyhead’ is a sort of Ian Rankin meets Robin Cook (author of ‘Coma’) crime thriller – highly recommended, and not for the faint of heart... show less

Fantastic start to British crime series. Detective Inspector Tom Thorne appeals because he is so authentic. He is shortish and heavy-set, intelligent but not infallible, and does not consistently react heroically when the opportunity presents. He is likeable and earnest. As with most detective or crime novels, that I enjoy, the book largely concerns Thorne's personal journey dealing with past issues, a doomed relationship and solving the present crime. You see the beginning of what is presumed to be the evolution of Thorne's more permanent relationships in later novels. I like Billingham's voice and cultural references -- name checks some good music. The mystery set-up is good. The killer's victims are "mistakes", as what he intends to show more do is leave his victims in a "locked-in" state where they are intellectually aware but unable to physically function. I found the book's conclusion satisfying. Often times, the book's conclusion is my least favorite part, I assume there is no way the author is going to be able to land the story once up in the air. Here, the action was plausible, the result logical, and I felt the human responses were honest. I compare Thorne to a younger, childless, more hip Wallander. Overall, a highly recommended read. show less

A strikingly original and disturbing plot marks an impressive debut from this author. Billingham has crafted a compelling and chilling read which sets his protagonist, DI Tom Thorne, in pursuit of a cold and calculating killer with a haunting penchant for how they leave their signature on their victims. With the discovery of the last victim still alive in a vegetative state, the awful realisation soon dawns that this induced stroke victim, in what is termed a 'locked-in syndrome', is not as was assumed the first mistake, but rather the killer's first true success. Billinghman not only masters the craft of plot device and characterisation, but reveals literary skill in switching narrator, with great effect, to include the stream of show more consciousness of the paralysed victim. A British author to challenge the best in this genre. show less

Sleepyhead is one of the best debut crime novels I have read in recent years. The plot is original and very compelling. Shadows of a motive are given all the way throughout the book; along with insights into what the killer wants, and a hint or two about why he wants this. But Billingham doesn’t fully disclose the killer’s motivations until the end.

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 – in medical parlance, ‘locked-in syndrome’. 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 show more 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.

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 cigarettes, and that is at least original. Our villain 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 does 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 thought the addition of Allison's viewpoints was excellent, and helped us feel the real sympathy for her and her courageous decision at the novel's climax.

Best of all, I was actually surprised at the ending, something that rarely happens these days for me. show less

What an excellent read. Mark Billingham is a master of suspense with a little humour thrown in. Three murdered girls, the fourth left in a state of being paralysed but aware.

D.I. Thorne (with the wit of Frost (David Jason)) follows his hunch in which he is alone. The killer is playing a game with Thorne willing him to catch him.

The intricate story unravels slowly and unexpectively.