Rating: 
Summary: A new twist for a new writer
Review: Set in London, this debut novel by Mark Billingham gives an interesting twist to the typical serial-killer theme. After 3 women have already been murdered, middle-aged Detective Inspector Tom Thorne finds a note from the killer on his windshield and realizes, Alison Willetts is not the killer's first mistake. She's the first success.The first 3 women died due to constriction of the basilar artery. They were [given chemicals] and given intentional strokes. The killer left no marks. The work is virtually undetectable. Millions of people are at a high risk for a stroke. It's actually a sick and brilliant plan. At 24, Alison Willets didn't fit the serial killer's profile. She's still alive, but just barely. She suffers from locked-in syndrome: she can see, hear and think, but that's it. Can't move, can't speak. Can't tell Thorne who did this to her. Thorne is convinced the killer is a doctor. To block off this artery and cause a stroke takes medical expertise. To cause the kind of stroke that would induce locked-in syndrome is much more difficult to achieve, by fractions of an inch. It takes precision and patience. "This is about aiming for something like perfection. It's about taking something flawed and weak and rotten and removing the need for it. Eliminating the reliance on it. Letting the brain, which is the only part that's worth anything at all, flourish without the handicap of the body. It's about freedom." Consultant Neurologist Dr. Anne Coburn is working with Alison, trying to help her communicate, hoping that, in time, Alison may be able to help find whoever did this to her and the others. Anne and Thorne start to develop a relationship that is tested when Thorne convinces himself that a close friend of Anne's is the killer. I think the beginning and ending were exciting. The middle had some slow parts. Following the killer was chilling. The killer is very arrogant, but actually resents the killings, the failures. I enjoyed Alison Willets' inner-monologue, written in the first-person narrative. It's good to get to know her. She's very positive with a great sense of humor, considering. Overall a pretty good book with a great twisted plot. I just wasn't as captured as I hoped through parts of the middle. I also got confused a couple times when someone new was mentioned just briefly and I had to go back, thinking I missed something. Of course I read the book in 3 days, so I couldn't have forgotten. It all gets cleared up for me in the end though.
Rating: 
Summary: LOOK OUT SANDMAN!
Review: SLEEPYHEAD is a great read, I think...it's original, fascinating and embued with a dark but enjoyable comic undertone. Tom is a great new detective, a little Bob Hoskinsish and not flawless like many of our heroes. His romance with Anne Coburn is a nice one, although ultimately doomed as most of these are, right? At any rate, it reads quickly and there are some stunning plot twists. I thought the addition of Allison's thoughts were a great addition, and helped us feel the real sympathy for her, and her courageous decision at the novel's climax. The identity of the killer is flagged early, but it's not who you think it is. It's well done and I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: LOOK OUT SANDMAN!
Review: SLEEPYHEAD is a great read, I think...it's original, fascinating and embued with a dark but enjoyable comic undertone. Tom is a great new detective, a little Bob Hoskinsish and not flawless like many of our heroes. His romance with Anne Coburn is a nice one, although ultimately doomed as most of these are, right? At any rate, it reads quickly and there are some stunning plot twists. I thought the addition of Allison's thoughts were a great addition, and helped us feel the real sympathy for her, and her courageous decision at the novel's climax. The identity of the killer is flagged early, but it's not who you think it is. It's well done and I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Likeable characters, great dialogue
Review: Sleepyhead, a serial killer/rogue cop novel gives a new twist on the old plot. The killings are accidental! This particular brand of nut doesn't want his victims dead, he just wants to induce a stroke so that his victim ends up completely aware mentally and unable to move a single muscle. Locked-in syndrome. 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 cigarrettes, and that is at least original. Our villian 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 may 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 thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who enjoys the crime novel sort of thing. Between the suspense of the hero and villian catting around with each other, there is a lot of dark humor in this novel to keep things fun. Best of all, I was actually surprised at the ending, something that rarely happens these days for me. That alone was worth the purchase price alone.
Rating:
Summary: Very impressive first novel
Review: This is, quite simply, possibly one of the best debut novels in recent years. It is slightly more assured and tightly plotted than Mo Hayder's Birdman (although its nowhere near as good as her second book, "the Treatment"). Its more well written than Denise Mina's Garnethill. Its far less complicated than John Connolly's Every Dead Thing. and more sparesely written than Boston teran's God is A Bullet. In short, it signposts amazing talent. The plot is great...its really original, and very compelling. shadows of a motive are given all the way throughout the book, WHAT the killer wants, and a hint or two about why he wants, but Billingham doesnt fully discolse the killers motivations until the end. And the killer himself is chilling...what he seeks to do to his victims is horrifying. The plot is well paced, and the characters are drawn very well. Tom Thorne is a likeable, very human man, dirven by failures from his past. (Arent they all.) An able hero, his intelligence is high, but when no one listens to him when he tells them who he thinks the killer is, he is at a loss for what to do, and pursues his enquiries doggedly, despite the marked disbelief of others. His relationship with Anne Coburn is great, freshens up the material and adds a really interesting subplot. The reader roots for the two characters to suceed in their relationship, such do we care about and like them. The plotting is tight, and the book subtly turns its way towards a great conclusion. I can't wait to read "Scaredy Cat."
Rating:
Summary: Very British
Review: This was a great story, a great read, kept you in suspense and therefor it was very hard to put down, especailly the 2nd half. It was a new detctive type story with a different element. BUT.. it was very British. Meaning, written by a brit, it contains alot of british slang and geography so for those who arent very familiar it may be a bit confusing or even become boring, but if you can get past the slang the main objective is compelling and enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing special, either good or bad.
Review: To be fair, I'll agree that this doesn't read like a first mystery novel. It's well-written, well-paced, reasonably well-plotted. That's the main reason that I'm giving it three stars instead of two or even one. Ultimately, I just didn't find the book interesting. Many of the character elements were predictable, and I didn't appreciate Billingham's attempt to make it interesting by making his killer even weirder and more cruel. It's unfortunately lately how many mystery writers seem to be relying on ever more shocking plotting instead of good characters to drive their novels. I may be being too hard on Billingham simply because I'm annoyed by how much indifferent writing I've been reading lately. I think I would have forgiven Sleepy Head more readily had it been less obvious that Billingham is underneath it all a good writer.
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