Anna O

Anna O by Matthew Blake says you can kill someone while you sleep. The mystery is how do you get away with it? The story's narrator is Dr. Benedict Prince, who is in the first person POV in this story. 
Anna wakes up of course, but not without sacrifices. A simple story of proving someone's innocence turns out to be anything but that. As the story unwinds, so does the realization that this is story within a story.

Verdict

The ending is mind-blowing, and I don't use the word often. If you think Gone Girl was good, Matthew Blake ups the ante and delivers something else entirely. While curiousity about resignation syndrome is attractive, I waded through the more boring parts to get to the juicy end.

It is does not disappoint, this is a rollercoaster ride and please hang on. Do not close your eyes in case you don't wake up when it ends.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for allowing me to read this book ahead of the release date.

Anna O is an outstanding and compelling book, Matthew Blake feels like he has put his soul intothis piece of fiction.  The research, the storyline, is just fantastic.  

Anna O, if you google her, is a story of Bertha Pappenheim, who whilst this story is not about her the hysteria and the work of Freud is discussed throughout the book. 

Matthew Blake's Anna O fell into a deep sleep after committing a hideous crime 4 years previously.  Dr Benjamin Prince, a sleep specialist, is brought in by the Department of Justice to wake her up. By waking her, if it is at all possible to wake the ironically name 'Sleeping Beauty' he is subjecting her to stand trial, but whilst studying her and learning more about Anna, he's also not sure if she is guilty.  

This book covers in detail sleep studies, particularly around crime and those who wake after many years in a coma. 

And just when you think you have the answers, the story continues to further delve into the characters' lives and the after-effects of Dr. Princes studies into Anna O. 

Studying the minds of killers has consequences.

The final pages floored me, I pride myself through process of elimination on being able to work out who the culprit is in murder mysteries, usually,  but Matthew Blake gives us no clues as to the astonishing (not even sure thats  the right word to describe it) outcome, or maybe there where clues and I just missed them

A psychological thriller that chills you to the bone. Brilliantly written story that is impossible to put down. Anna O has been asleep for four years, suffering from Resignation Syndrome, after murdering two of her close friends. Explosive twists and turns that lead to a sensational finale. Highly recommended and well worthy of five stars.