Rating: 
Summary: Paranormal conundrum? Who cares! Simply smashing!
Review: After reading many of the professional critic's reviews, it seems apparent that many of these 'professionals' look for logic, veracity and reality in fiction. True, most thrillers and mysteries must possess some quality of believability but beyond that, the author has unabated license to create. For many, the thought of transmigration, or soul transfer, is beyond the boundaries of possibility. Quite frankly, I don't find it plausible or tangibly logical but then, I'm not reading the latest Greg Iles thriller with an eye toward logic. I'm reading Iles because he is quickly mastering the art of 'transmigrating' this reader into the storyline with each and every offering, paranormal conundrum or not.SLEEP NO MORE is Greg Iles latest thriller and it was just that, a thrill. John Waters is a successful geologist living in Natchez, Mississippi with his wife Lily and daughter Annelise. Waters' business partner is long-time friend, Cole Smith, an obsessive personality and extremely self-destructive. The intimacy in Waters' marriage has waned over the years specifically centered around two miscarriages endured by Lily. Waters is a faithful and loving husband and something of a model father. However, as fate would have it, Iles puts these qualities to task. During his collegiate years, Waters had a stormy love affair with a beautiful albeit bewitching woman, Mallory Candler. This affair tested the boundaries of human frailty, physically and emotionally. In the end, Waters ended the relationship and Mallory disappeared only later to be killed in New Orleans. Waters felt Mallory's untimely death brought an end to a particularly dark chapter in his life. One day, after coaching his daughter's soccer team to victory, Waters is leaving the field when he casually passes a beautiful woman, a woman that immediately reminds him of Mallory Candler. As he turns to look over his shoulder, she is looking directly at him and mouths the word, "Soon." This sends earthshaking chills through Waters, as this was the exact word he and Mallory would use to express their physical desires in public during those college years. He later finds out that this woman is Eve Sumner, a local real estate broker. As the storyline develops, Eve tempts Waters' honor and the plot immediately becomes whirlwind and tantalizing. As an aside, if one is an Iles fan from way back, familiar characters reappear from Iles bestseller, THE QUIET GAME, another incredible read. Penn Cage, the lovable attorney-cum-author returns for an encore in SLEEP NO MORE. From a practical point-of-view, this could be a marketing stroke of genius. If a reader is enjoying Iles for the first time in SLEEP NO MORE, the reader might just take a flyer on THE QUIET GAME given its 'presence' in SLEEP. It will be interesting to see if there is resurging demand for THE QUIET GAME. The theory of transmigration, while not new, is one of fiction or, at the very least, an unexplained, unproven phenomenon. Could one person's soul find its way into another and actually 'take over' the physical body? Readers will have to solve that puzzle on their own. However, remember that what you are reading is a work of fiction, not a biography or professional text. SLEEP NO MORE is designed to entertain and titillate albeit intellectually; Iles has always written in a somewhat cerebral fashion. Bottom line....if you're looking for a breathtaking, 'edge of your seat' read, SLEEP NO MORE is it. An incredible work that will leave the reader on the edge of "Huh?" and "Is it possible?" throughout. If a great thriller, by definition, is chilling and heart pounding, then SLEEP NO MORE is a great thriller.
Rating: 
Summary: Erotic and morbid tale of psychosis and sexual obsession.
Review: In Greg Iles's new supernatural thriller, "Sleep No More," John Waters is a geologist and devoted family man who lives in Natchez, Mississippi. John searches for oil wells and he has been fairly successful in the past. He is also a devoted husband and he adores his seven-year-old little girl, Annelise. John's predictable life is about to change dramatically. A sultry real-estate agent named Eve Sumner moves into town, and she starts paying John a great deal of attention. Much to John's shock, Eve knows all about his sordid secrets, including every intimate detail about the tempestuous and destructive affair that John had with the gorgeous Mallory Candler many years ago. Mallory and John were sexually obsessed with one another. Although Mallory was a beauty queen, crowned "Miss Mississippi," she was never happy. She suffered from serious psychological problems, including pathological and uncontrollable jealousy, and a tendency to become violent when thwarted. John's affair with Mallory ended badly, and both John and Mallory married other people. John is confident that this tragic chapter in his life is over forever. Suddenly a series of strange events catapults John and his family into a surreal and supernatural world, one in which nothing is at it seems on the surface. His past comes back to haunt him and he fears that he may lose everything that he cares about. "Sleep No More" has its powerful moments. It is a highly erotic novel, filled with sexual and dramatic tension. Unfortunately, the novel's plot line depends on a huge suspension of disbelief and as the book reaches its melodramatic conclusion, the events in the book become more and more far-fetched. The characters are not particularly well-developed, and "Sleep No More" is more plot-driven than character-driven. It is also reminiscent of other novels with a similar supernatural twist. However, Iles is a competent storyteller and I found myself getting caught up in the characters' myriad problems. I think that most readers will be curious to see how John Waters and his family survive the troubles that suddenly engulf them. "Sleep No More" is a modestly successful thriller. However, it would have been better had the author fleshed out the characters and made the plot a bit more believable.
Rating: 
Summary: Oh no, not Iles.
Review: Yes, I'm afraid it's true. Iles has resorted to the cheap writer's trick of the "supernatural" to spice things up. Whose idea was this-some agent's? Like the cheesy soap operas of the eighties, Iles inserts the "soul transference" stunt somewhat akin to the old "evil twin sister" or "it was all a dream." About halfway through the book. I kept thinking, "No, he wouldn't resort to this, he's got to have some clever explanation as to why living persons know so much about dead people's lives." Nope, nothing clever, just pulp fiction in a kind of middle school creative writing class kind of way. Nothing makes me slam a book shut faster than magic, werewolves, witches, ghosts, voodoo, reincarnation, mysticism, and other such claptrap. Surely, "soul transference" must be added to the list. This is how I tell the good Koontz books from the bad ones. Pure science fiction is fine. Totally "whack" stories can be good too. What is almost never acceptable is some kind of supernatural gimmick "stuck" in the middle of what could be a good tale. The hard steel of reality is what gives good stories their cutting edge.
I am a big Greg Iles fan and have read all of his books. I hope this was a one time anomaly. In recent years, some big time authors have gotten away from their strength and they haven't been able to get it back. The supernatural is a crutch that Iles doesn't need.
Rating:
Summary: Did I buy the wrong book?
Review: First, I want to say how much I LOVE Greg Iles. I have read many of his books (The Quiet Game, 24 Hours, Mortal Fear & Dead Sleep). He is an AMAZING writer, very good at suspense. This book confused me. I found that I couldn't concentrate. I was trying to figure out if it was all a hoax (the main plot--the "dead" ex-girlfriend) or if I should just roll with the punches. I was very surprised as to how much sexual content this book contained - no, I am not a prude. I just finished this book today, and if I had to sum up my comments in a word - that word would be disappointed. While reading the book I came up with numerous endings (in my head) none of which happened. I think this book could have definately ended better. And I think I prefer a good old fashioned Murder Mystery. I just didn't get what he was trying to accomplish with this book. I will continue to buy his books, hoping to get a clue:)
Rating:
Summary: A Thought - Provoking Thriller
Review: Greg Iles shows his growth and versatility as a fiction writer by creating an absorbing psychological thriller that quickly hooks the reader and doesn't let go until the controversial yet sanguine conclusion. John Waters, a financially successful self-employed geologist in the oil business is a tormented man. Even though he is happily married with a lovable, precocious daughter, Waters is haunted by a relationship that he ended many years previous. When he becomes attracted to a mysterious woman who claims to be his nefarious lover from the past, he begins a journey that ultimately challenges his sanity. Eve Summer is a young and beautiful vixen who displays many of the mannerisms, and voices many of the intimate phrases that only Waters and Mallory Candler, his lover from the past, shared. Once Waters submits to temptation and has sex with Eve, his past comes rushes back to haunt him. It appears to him as though Mallory has returned but he cannot explain to himself how she can possibly be real. Therin lies the heart of the story. Who is this person who appears to have returned from the dead? how did she do it? and what does she want? Since there is so much we are learning about the mind and so much we don't know and can only theorize and speculate upon, the story is possible. Even though it strains the limits of comprehension, SLEEP NO MORE is so well written it opens up the imagination and entertains the reader to the end. To say any more about the specifics of the story would ruin the experience of reading this thought-provoking thriller. It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for those readers of suspense looking for something different.
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth the time to read
Review: Disappointing. That sums it up. Story seems to be a psycho-sexual knock off of "Fallen" and doesn't even come close to engaging the reader. First few chapters are sluggish, and the storyline just doesn't come off being anything other than the author's fantasies being peddled as fiction. Don't waste your time on this.
Rating: 
Summary: Good story with a slow beginning
Review: I read "Dead Sleep" by Greg Iles, and I do have to say that it was better than this one. The characters and plot are very strong, but I had to wait a little while before the story really became thrilling. John Waters lives in Louisiana with his with and daughter, and he was in love with a girl who died ten years ago, Mallory Candler. When he sees an attractive woman mouth something to him one day, he is suddenly plunged back in time, 20 years. He sees and feels Mallory in this woman, and when things become too strange, the secrets become more threatening...
Rating:
Summary: An experiment gone wrong
Review: I have really enjoyed several of Greg Iles' books in the past, especially Spandau Phoenix. Iles has stated that he enjoys trying out different genres. I can understand his desire to explore his creative boundaries, etc. However, now that he's tried this genre, he needs to leave it alone forever. The premise of this story is not without promise, but Iles mismanaged everything from the timing to the insultingly weak ending. I agree with another reviewer that this genre is handled much better by other writers such as Koontz and King. John Waters is characterized as a happily married man, devoted to his wife and daughter, healthy, and in his prime. His wife has been psychologically traumatized by miscarriages. YEARS ago, she chose to forsake marital relations with her husband in response to this trauma. Yet, John Waters remains "happily married" and faithful. That premise alone was one of the most irritating things about this book for me. Why John loves his wife is a complete mystery to me. She is a thoroughly despicable person. I kept waiting for her to redeem herself in some way which never happened. When the time comes to sacrifice an completely innocent person to preserve her lifestyle, she doesn't seem to have any qualms. So when Miss I-Wanna-Have-Sex-With-You enters John's life, it's difficult to become morally indignant that a "happily married" man would full immerse himself fully in carnal indulgence and infidelity. And it's also hard to care what happens to any of the characters. Anyway, I'm sorry I can't recommend this book on any basis, but that won't keep me from looking forward to Mr. Iles' future books.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining but silly
Review: Greg Iles is one of my favorite writers of crime fiction. His books are full of complex characters and plots that range from strong crime fiction to the thriller sub genre. Sometimes the stories are a bit farfetched such as a woman finding her identical twin on an art gallery wall while visiting the Orient. The twin was apparently murdered quite some time before. However, the stories always stayed within the realm of possibilties--until now.
In SLEEP NO MORE, we enter the realm of the supernatural. John Waters is a geologist who searches for oil in the Natchez, Mississippi area. He is married to a woman he loves and remains loyal to in spite of the fact that physically she has withdrawn from him after a couple of miscarriages. They do, however, have a young daughter. A beautiful local Realtor attempts to seduce John and claims she is really his old girlfriend who was raped and killed years before in New Orleans. How this could be defies all logic--yet events occur which might very well lend credence to this claim. As this "spirit" travels from person to person, John soon finds, not only all his friends and family at risk, but his very freedom and quite possibly his life.
One must buy into the premise that a life force can move from one body to another before even attempting to read this otherwise exciting and well written suspense tale. In fact, in terms of pure entertainment, I would rate this book an "A-". Greg Iles has written his usual compelling tale full of sympathetic and well rounded realistic characters. There is a long ago murder that percolates through the story line, hence, the attachment to the crime fiction genre. However, the basic premise actually reclassifies this book to the supernatural or even horror genre. Authors, to maintain their core base of fan readers, should attempt to remain within their genre. This, at least, would allow the readers to know what to expect from the author. When an author leaves the genre, he or she risks losing fans who have previously been loyal. Andrew Klaven and Walter Mosely are two examples that come immediately to mind. In this work, Iles steps way beyond the, at times, hazy distinction between the possible and the impossible. The supernatural element almost is cheating. Therefore judging this as a crime novel, the rating is C+ .
Rating:
Summary: A disappointment for this Greg Iles fan
Review: Because I didn't recall that any of Iles' other novels were about the supernatural, I kept expecting this mystery to have a real-life explanation. I wasn't sure what genre the book belonged to -- straight thriller or fantasy -- so I kept hanging on throughout this sluggish, repetitive novel to its disappointing end to find out. I felt no sympathy or empathy for any of the cardboard characters, and really didn't care what happened to them. There wasn't even much of the wonderful Natchez atmosphere I've always enjoyed in his other books. I hope Iles soon gets back to the kind of writing I've come to expect from him.
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