Flight into Fantasy

Title: Sleep No More
Author: Susan Crandall
Genre: Romantic suspense
Source: Bookshare
Challenges: None
Reason for Reading: A couple of years ago, I read and loved Pitch Black by the same author. So when this book came up on Bookshare’s New Books list, I knew I had to read it.

Synopsis:

DANGER NEVER RESTS

The night was always Abby Whitman’s enemy. As a young girl she walked in her sleep, and one night, started a fire that scarred her sister for life and left Abby with unbearable guilt, and a loneliness that echoes within her

AND EVIL NEVER CLOSES ITS EYES

Now Abby has begun blacking out again—with apparently fatal results. A car accident has killed the son of a prominent family. Even though the evidence seems to exonerate her, Abby is plagued by doubts—and soon by mysterious threats. A young psychiatrist, Dr. Jason Coble, is intrigued by Abby and offers to help her explore the dark recesses in her mind. Through this terrifying journey, Jason’s interest turns to passion, and he yearns to give her the love she craves. But first, Abby must trust him—and shed light on secrets that will rock this Southern town and reveal a danger that threatens them both.

My Thoughts: When Abby Whitman starts walking in her sleep again, she is terrified. Always cognisant of the fact that she set the fire that destroyed her family home and left her sister scarred, she perceives herself as a danger to herself and others, and so she’s refused to let anyone else sleep under the same roof with her. This has worked well for her so far, at least until she begins sleep-walking. When she wakes up in a pond, having been sleep-driving, and comes upon the body of a murdered man, self-doubt begins to creep in.

Jason Coble has problems of his own. He worries about his ex-wife, Lucy, whose drinking hasn’t stopped like it’s supposed to. And when he meets Abby, he knows he wants more from her than simply being her doctor.

There was a lot going on in this book. We have Abby and her sleep-driving. We have Jason and his family problems. There is a priest who’s been acting strangely, and Jason’s stepson, Brice, has issues of his own to work out. For the most part, all of these stories are successfully woven together, and they all added to the plot in a satisfying way. I rooted for the characters, and found this a satisfying read, but compared to Pitch Black it was a bit disappointing.

My main problem was Abby. Girlfriend had a huge martyr complex that I found annoying. I could understand her worries about being a danger to herself and others, but she took it to extremes. She also spent much of the book in a state of emotional frazzledness that made her hard for me to relate to. I wanted to see her be strong, and for the most part she wasn’t. Also, a revelation comes at the end that completely banishes Abby’s fears, allowing her to get together with Jason. That felt tacked on, as if the author wasn’t quite sure what to do to get her leads together, so she resorted to deus ex machina.

Jason I liked quite a bit more. He’s a man with some genuine problems, but he was basically a good guy. I liked that he had an ex-wife that was always going to be in the picture, and even though the ex was an awful mother Jason still respected her and didn’t angst too much over his feelings about Abby as a result of this prior relationship. That relationship is presented realistically, and I bought the chemistry between Abby and Jason.

As for the secondary characters, they were disappointingly flat. The good guys were clearly good. The bad guys were clearly not, and none of them felt fleshed out.

I do think Ms. Crandall can deliver a fast-paced and engrossing plot. When I was reading the book, I was engrossed. It was only when I put it down that I realized I could easily get distracted by other things. Like all good mysteries, I didn’t have the villain pegged right away, and I was left quite satisfied with the story, with the exception of the silly deus ex machina at the end.

It should also be noted, because it started to bother me, that Abby has a lot of property damage to deal with. I stopped counting after she had to replace her third cell phone, and things always seem to break, burn, or get vandalized when she’s around. It would be funny with another heroine, but as another reviewer points out, Abby goes through the trials of Job, so after a while it all seemed a bit much.

Final Thoughts: I’ll probably read more Crandall, but I’m glad I didn’t buy this book. If you like romantic suspense set in the South, and you don’t mind characters that are a little bland, check this book out. But it’s not my favorite by the author, and I know she can do better.

Final Grade: C+

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