A boy who committed murder in his sleep draws an investigator into the nightmares of childhood in a gripping novel of suspense by the New York Times bestselling author of The Girl in the Lake.

Defense investigator Anne Finchley takes on a challenging new case: build a solid argument for Jake Robinson, a twelve-year-old accused of brutally slaying a teenage stranger in an abandoned house.

Jake claims he has no memory of the event—that the killing must have occurred while he was sleepwalking. But as Anne investigates, she finds a disturbing connection to a monster known as the Sandman that Jake claims trolls his dreams, making him afraid to sleep.

Jake insists that the Sandman is real. Even with the help of Dr. Paul Martinez, a specialist in sleep disorders, Anne’s best defense seems frustratingly unprovable. Then Jake’s victim is finally identified. Not a squatter, not a runaway, not a stranger. But a link to something far more sinister than Anne could have imagined. And Anne’s only hope of rescuing a young boy from darkness is to walk straight into a nightmare.

<p>Lauren Oliver is a screenwriter, media entrepreneur, and author of <i>The Girl in the Lake</i> in the Dept of Unexplained Phenomenon and multiple <i>New York Times</i> bestsellers, including <i>Delirium</i>, <i>Pandemonium</i>, and <i>Requiem</i> in the Delirium trilogy; <i>Before I Fall</i>, which was adapted into a feature film; <i>Panic</i>, which was adapted into an Amazon Prime series for which Lauren wrote every episode and served as executive producer; and the Replica duology. Lauren founded the IP company StoryGiants, helping to package and edit nearly one hundred other novels. Raised in Westchester, New York, Lauren attended the University of Chicago and got her MFA from NYU. She now divides her time between Maryland and Los Angeles. For more information, visit www.laurenoliverbooks.com.</p>