I enjoy a good mystery, and I like it when the author does not spoonfeed everything to her readers. However, there is a difference between being kept on one's toes and being left hanging. In Sleep No More, Susan Crandall does plenty of the former, but she did leave me with more unanswered questions than I wanted to have at the end of this book. In addition, a heroine who needed a psychiatrist's assistance rather than a relationship with one rather dampened the entertainment value of this book for me.
As a child, Abby Whitman had a problem with sleepwalking and as a result, accidentally started a fire that destroyed the family home and maimed her younger sister. Though almost twenty years have passed, Abby still struggles with guilt over this incident. However, she remains in her small hometown, lives in a cottage on the grounds of the old family home (wallowing in guilt, much?), and runs her own flower shop. When it appears that she may have started sleepwalking again, she finds herself thrown into a tailspin.
Abby wakes up one night to find herself in her van, which is partially submerged in water. Abby manages to get out as help arrives, but her relief soon turns to horror upon learning that there is another accident victim on the road - one who did not survive. Abby has no recollection of how she got to the road or of what happened, and she fears that she must have sleepwalked again.
Through a series of plot twists (we'll just say that the accident isn't Abby's only issue; this woman undergoes the trials of Job in this book), Abby makes the acquaintance of local psychiatrist Jason Coble. If ever a heroine needed a psychiatrist, it's Abby. Unfortunately, that's not the kind of relationship that soon starts building between them. This is truly a shame because Abby is stressed out, inclined towards martyrdom, and has occasional forays into "deer in the headlights" territory as the many, many attacks on her grow in intensity. While the suspense plot makes for some thrilling reading, the love story suffers because it's really hard to see someone as troubled as Abby building a healthy relationship with Jason.
On the positive side, the author does tell a good mystery story. The suspense plot features all manner of twists and turns that will definitely keep readers turning pages. In addition, this part of the plot really dominates the novel and in large part accounts for its grade because while the relationship was well below average for me, the main suspense plot worked for the most part. The mystery is so good that I found myself wondering if I would have enjoyed the book more had it been suspense rather than romantic suspense.
The romantic part of the equation just wasn't there for me. It's not that the leads were unappealing. Jason is a very steady, compassionate person in spite of the troubles besetting his own personal life and I rather liked him. I could even believe in his attraction to Abby. However, Abby just didn't seem psychologically ready for a serious relationship and I had trouble accepting an HEA for these two built upon the foundation established in this story. Happy for now, maybe, but Abby has a lot of healing to do.
Though the suspense part of the equation in Sleep No More primarily worked for me, the book as a whole still suffers from a rather abrupt, somewhat messy ending. Some loose ends are tied up, but other questions will not get answered in a way that leaves readers satisfied. The book has enough strengths to be somewhat above average, but still has enough problems that I just cannot recommend it.
Sensuality: Subtle
Publication Date: 2010
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