I got Anna O from Netgalley, but you can pre-order now for January 2024. Matthew Blake is behind this riveting and mind-boggling story about a killer. The story’s narrator is Dr. Benedict Prince, who is in the first person POV in this story.
Interchanging with the doctor is the killer’s diary. Anna Ogilvy is sleeping, but she has a diary and it points to her guilt as a killer as she falls into deep sleep.
Who is Anna O?
The infamous killer, a budding journalist, Anna Ogilvy. It has been four years since she stabbed two people in 2019: Douglas Bute and Indira Sharma
Before falling into a deep sleep, Anna had sent a message:
I’m sorry. I think I’ve killed them.
Most of us would have judged her to be guilty straight away, but doctor Prince explains that resignation syndrom is complex: she could have been unconscious. Anna may have typed it when she was sleeping or falling asleep.
Waking Sleeping Beauty
To get to the bottom of things, she has to be woken up. Anna O is sent to The Abbey Sleep Clinic. Dr. Prince is a partner and a psychologist specialising in resignation syndrome.
Challenge accepted.
Pressure from the Ministry of Justice and the prestige that comes with waking a notorious killer up, Dr Prince accepts the assignment and begins to work.
It is not long before another old case pops up: The Stockwell Monster. In summary, there was a lady named Sally Turner who killed her own stepchildren to create a “perfect family”. One of her victims survived and got sent to Broadmoor before dying of suicide.
Benedict soons realizes that his friend and partner: Professor Virginia Bloom is hiding something. He uncovers a project MEDEA and a lot more secrets.
The Dream Becomes a Nightmare
There is a point where you sometimes wonder if you are dreaming or if you are awake. Anna O blurs my preconception about what the book is. Instead, an exercise of waking someone up turns into a nightmare. Benedict Prince learns about this evil project and how Sally Turner, the Stockwell Monster was subjected to it.
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.
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