The Little Sleep by Paul TremblayMark Genevich hasn’t been the same since his car accident. His best friend died and he is a changed man. In addition to the damage to his body, Genevich suffered brain damage as well. Now Genevich is a narcoleptic detective. Typically he takes on cases that only require computer research, yet he awakens one day to find that he has apparently taken on a real case. Unfortunately he was asleep when he took it (he’s asleep, but to the people interacting with him he appears to be awake) and has no memory of who his client is, or what they hired his to do. He just knows that two pictures of a woman from the hit show American Star seem to be involved.
This is a really interesting way to write a mystery. One of the many side effects of narcolepsy, besides falling asleep at random, is hypnagogic hallucinations. Genevich, and in turn the reader, isn’t quite sure what’s real and what his brain made up. I learned a lot about narcolepsy, and you find yourself cheering for this guy, hoping he can stay awake and solve the case. I listened to this book (great on audio by the way) and I didn’t even know what the mystery was, nevermind trying to figure out who did it, until about half way through!
If you’re in the mood for something completely different, with a VERY twisty plot, give this one a try.
