Product Description

John Waters is a successful petroleum geologist with the perfect family. Then one day his world is turned inside out by a single word spoken from the lips of the stunning Eve Sumner. One solitary word that takes him back a decade to another woman and the most passionate of affairs. Mallory Candler was the quintessential Southern Belle. But her captivating beauty and intelligence hid a dark side that John Waters couldn’t handle. Mallory loved John with a deep seething passion that threatened to destroy them both, and despite his infatuation he ended their affair. Sometime later her body was found raped and murdered on a New Orleans pier. When John and Eve meet two days later at a cocktail party her parting gesture is a slight squeeze of his hand and the words “You weren’t wrong about what I said; it’s me John.” His blood runs cold. How does Eve Sumner know so many secrets about his past with Mallory Candler? Was their first meeting cleverly orchestrated or simply fate? (20020803)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #67833 in Books
• Published on: 2003-06-09
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

The Mirror
'Terrifying'

Review
'Greg Iles is a phenomenal writer' (Independent on Sunday on DEAD SLEEP )

'A thriller that really thrills, a shocker that really shocks' (Stephen King )

'This one bounds along keeping you turning the pages long after sleep beckons' (Independent on Sunday on DEAD SLEEP )

'Terrifying' (The Mirror )

'Iles is a master storyteller' (Bolton Evening News )

'Fast-paced and action-packed' (Irish Independent )

Stephen King
'A thriller that really thrills, a shocker that really shocks'

Customer Reviews

Suspenseful, enoyable...prepare yourself!
John Waters is a happily married man, with a daughter he loves very much. But one day, something happens to shatter all that. A beautiful stranger speaks to him across a football field, and sends him spiralling back into the past, to a time in his life that he would rather forget.

Mallory Candler and John used to be an item, until one day her overwhelming passion threatened to destroy them both, and he had to break it off, choosing stability and security over passion and ecstasy with the beautiful Mallory. She, like John, went on to marry and have children, until one day all that ended when she was found raped and murdered on a New Orleans pier. Now, Mallory seems to have returned in the form of Eve Sumner...Eve bears not just Mallory’s smile and intense sexuality, but she also knows things about their relationship that only Mallory could. Then, when they cross paths once more at a party and she whispers to him “You’re not imagining anything, John. It’s me. Call me.” Waters’ soul chills.

Soon, he becomes involved with Eve, and she tells him things that seem scarcely within the realms of belief…But to John Waters, strike unavoidably true.

Beware: To read this novel, you need an open mind. If you have one, you will be fine. Because, whilst this is a suspense novel, and to some extents (although not many) also a mystery, there are several strong elements of the supernatural. These elements work well, and help in the formation of this original, engaging tale. It’s got a good, reasoned pace, which follows some nice, likeable characters. Ordinary people made fascinating by the events that happen to them, and how they act. It’s written in concise, flowing prose, with nice descriptions of the South, and is a good study on the nature of obsession and all-consuming passion.

While this is certainly an enjoyable, diverting read, I do have some mixed feelings about it. “Sleep No More” should most certainly be classified as a “supernatural thriller”, to give the reader at least some idea of what they are in for. At times, the book seems a little thin. It needs a few good subplots injecting into it to build on the, sometimes, simple plot. However, my main foible is with the ending…The resolution is a little unsatisfying, when you consider that this is what the entire novel has been building up to. Also, the final “twist” which has its origins in the supernatural elements of the book, just seems far too convenient.

In the end, it’s certainly worth a read because it’s enjoyable and very suspenseful, but don’t expect it to be brilliant.

Keep An Open Mind
You know you’re in for something a little bit different when you get a note from the author at the start of the book asking you to open your memory and imagination. In the same note, Greg Iles claims that if nothing else, you won’t be bored, and I think he got it exactly right.

John Waters is living a comfortable life in Natchez, Mississippi with his wife and 8-year-old daughter when he meets Eve Sumner. The chance meeting takes on greater significance when she mentions facts and little code words from his past that only he and his former girlfriend, Mallory Candler, knew. The disturbing aspect of this is that Mallory has been dead for over 10 years. The explanation provided by Eve steps us into the realms of the supernatural as she explains that she is actually the spirit of Mallory Candler living in the body of Eve Sumner.

Such is the skill of Greg Iles that he takes this implausible scenario and makes it sound believable. He does this simply through the rational reasoning of John Waters and his friend Penn Cage. It’s actually thanks to their disbelief that the concept of soul transference becomes more real.

I enjoyed Sleep No More for a couple of reasons. The pace is frantic as Waters is kept off balance throughout. Facts and events keep coming at him quicker than he is prepared for. The second reason is the fact that it’s quite reminiscent of some of Stephen King’s books. Life starts off very normally, but soon the protagonist’s world is thrown into total disarray by the seemingly impossible. You soon find yourself wistfully remembering when things weren’t quite so exciting. But then, the way forward is always more interesting, and Iles wraps things up nicely, still leaving a few of the more curly questions open for possible further exploration.

Steady Read
This book some how manages to make you want to keep on reading it, the story line is interesting but in my opinion its a bit long winded. You get to know the characters in the book really well, but in some points the twists and turns in the storyline makes you question what you first thought.