I saw Joseph Knox’s The Sleepwalker in my Goodreads feed, and saw that it was available to read and review on NetGalley. So naturally, I had to get myself a copy (because of my obvious and possibly unhealthy love for the mystery/thriller genre). Three days later, I’m done with the book and can’t help but feel how similar the experience of reading it was to reading A Dark So Deadly by Stuart McBride (review here), which introduced readers to the Misfit Mob.
Here’s why The Sleepwalker was even better than A Dark So Deadly.
Genre:
Thriller, Mystery
Length:
328 pages
Blurb:
Martin Wick was sentenced to death for the slaughter of an entire family. But Wick had no memory of the crime, earning him the nickname ‘The Sleepwalker’. Ten years later, Wick is dying in a hospital, under police watch. Detective Aidan Waits is part of the police protection detail that has only one job – watch Wick and try to find out the location of Wick’s last victim. But then, an attack leaves Wick and another policeman dead, and another gravely injured. And with his dying breath, Wick tells Waits something that sends him down a dangerous path where demons from his past, the search for the truth, and the threats of his present come crashing together. Will this be the end for Waits’ career and life? Will Waits fight the dangers that will pull him deeper into the storm from which there’s no return? Or will he embrace that darkness and the release it will bring?
Overall Rating:
8 out of 10
Plot:
7 out of 10
Characterization:
8 out of 10
Primary Element:
7 out of 10 for its mystery
Writing Style:
8 out of 10
Part of a Series:
Yes, this is Book 3 of the Aidan Waits series. Book 1 – Sirens – has actually been on my list for a while. While I didn’t want to give up on the chance to read The Sleepwalker, I definitely felt like I should’ve started from Book 1. If you’re picking Joseph Knox as a new author to follow, start at the beginning – at Sirens.
Highlighted Takeaway:
Aidan Waits’ sour persona. It may have rubbed the other characters wrong, but I absolutely loved the way he was.
What I Liked:
Joseph Knox builds an intricately woven plot on the foundation of great characterization. The Sleepwalker reads really well, moves fast, and is also wonderfully human in its characters’ strengths and weaknesses.
What I Didn’t Like:
If I had to pick something, it would be the fact that the book wouldn’t have been complete without reference to its prequels. But, that very reference is what has now left me knowing more than what I would’ve liked to know about those very prequels. So if you pick this book up as a standalone read, you will enjoy it. But if you want to read the whole series, start with Sirens instead for a more complete experience.
Who Should Read It:
Anyone who loves books set in the United Kingdom, especially if you like the works of Stuart MacBride.
Who Should Avoid:
Anyone who does not like books where the main protagonists are a little too dark; where they’re not anti-heroes, they’re just confused individuals trying to make the best of a situation and survive until they can be bothered to.
Read It For:
Aidan Waits’ struggle against himself and the hand he’s been dealt, as he tries to determine whether the effort is worth it at all.
A big thank you to NetGalley, Joseph Knox, and Transworld Publishers for an ARC of this book. The Sleepwalker comes out on 11 July 2019. Make sure to grab a copy if you love thrillers.
– Rishika
The Book Review Station 