Sleepyhead, Mark Billingham

I picked this one up for its interesting premise: the killer doesn't want his victims to die, but to put them into a permanent vegetative state (a coma) yet still cognizant of everything happening around them. He's not all that successful, however, and manages to kill all but one of his young, female victims. Sadly, though the book begins well, it spins off wildly into trite detective fiction standards, including flashbacks, intuitions and surprise endings. There is little new here besides the initial premise, which is never fully explored. Nonetheless, "Sleepyhead" is competently written and keeps you turning the pages.
Posted by supersusie at January 17, 2004 11:55 PM