Anna O
A Novel
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3.8 • 328 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
#1 International Bestseller
GMA Buzz Pick • A Today Show Pick • A People Magazine Pick
“A riveting, unsettling crime novel that will keep you turning pages well past your bedtime. Is Anna O a sleeping beauty or a sleeping killer? Matthew Blake's tension-filled thriller is as elusive and mysterious as sleep itself.”—Nita Prose, #1 New York Times author of The Maid and The Mystery Guest
Joining the ranks of Gillian Flynn, A. J. Finn, and Alex Michaelides, Matthew Blake delivers the thriller of the year: a dark, twisty, and shocking mystery about a young woman who commits a double murder while sleepwalking, and then never opens her eyes again.
ANNA O WILL WAKE UP THE WORLD
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.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
A young woman kills her two closest friends in her sleep in this mind-bending thriller. Psychologist Benedict Prince first meets Anna O after his wife, a detective with Scotland Yard, is called to the scene of her crimes. Not only did the woman kill her friends in her sleep, but due to a rare disorder, she still hasn’t woken up. Now, as interest in Anna’s case peaks, it’s up to Dr. Prince to wake her and unravel the mystery of what really happened that night. We loved trying to put the pieces together from snippets of Anna’s diary. Novelist Matthew Blake’s unconventional and character-driven debut feels like the unveiling of a beguiling new talent.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Former political speech writer Blake debuts with a devilishly twisty psychological thriller about a woman accused of killing her best friends and then falling into a deep sleep. Forensic psychologist Benedict Prince specializes in sleep-related crimes, studying instances of reckless driving, murder, and robbery committed while the perpetrators were asleep. His article on a possible cure for "resignation syndrome," or involuntary extended sleep, has brought him to the attention of officials at England's Ministry of Justice, who want Prince to revive 25-year-old editor Anna Ogilvy, so she can be tried for murder: Anna's been asleep for several years, ever since she was found beside a bloody knife in a cabin next door to the corpses of two of her friends. As Prince attempts to stir Anna, he looks into the factors that might have driven her to violence. Interwoven throughout Prince's investigation are chapters focused on a pseudonymous character who's researching the case for their own obscured purposes, as well as entries from Anna's missing diary, which cover the days leading up to the murders. Blake never lets the reader, or his hero, get comfortable, delivering one game-changing twist after another all the way through to the final sucker punch. The exhilarating results are likely to shock even seasoned thriller fans.
Customer Reviews
See AllGood mystery
Just when you think you have it all figured out, bait & switch.
Brilliant
Absolutely mesmerizing. Full of agonizing suspense, and constant surprises. Will be turning this one over in my head for a long time to come.
Hard to follow
Rambling and confusing