Book Review: None Shall Sleep by Ellie Marney

 “In 1982, two teenagers — serial killer survivor Emma Lewis and US Marshal candidate Travis Bell — are recruited by the FBI to interview convicted juvenile killers and provide insight and advice on cold cases. From the start, Emma and Travis develop a quick friendship, gaining information from juvenile murderers that even the FBI can’t crack. But when the team is called in to give advice on an active case — a serial killer who exclusively hunts teenagers — things begin to unravel. Working against the clock, they must turn to one of the country’s most notorious incarcerated murderers for help: teenage sociopath Simon Gutmunsson.

Despite Travis’s objections, Emma becomes the conduit between Simon and the FBI team. But while Simon seems to be giving them the information they need to save lives, he’s an expert manipulator playing a very long game . . . and he has his sights set on Emma.”

-Little Brown & Company, Books for Young Readers blurb

As a self-appointed true crime aficionado, None Shall Sleep’s premise immediately tugged me in and I had to read it. I mean, the cover alone was enough to reel me in! It gave me major 80’s slasher-thriller vibes and that was all I needed to check it out.

And it did not disappoint, but it also didn’t quite satisfy. While the cover made me think of 80’s slasher, the book itself felt like a water-downed Hannibal mixed with some CSI dramatics and a dash of budding will-they-won’t-they romance. 

LIKES 

I was excited for the idea of a teen Mindhunter team (such a great show, still need to read the book - please don’t judge me!), especially the twist with one of the young interviewers being the sole survivor of an infamous serial killer. 

Emma and Travis’ relationship was very well done. It bloomed from coworkers to a deeper connection that felt realistic, not an instant romantic attraction that ended with a mushy kiss (sorry y’all, no kisses here). Sometimes I wasn’t sure if their connection was on a romantic level or more from both surviving traumatic events, but I enjoyed this dynamic because it felt more true to the characters. 

While I wasn’t impressed with Simon Gutmunsson’s character, I liked that he had a twin sister who was the complete opposite of him. Where Simon was cool and calculating, Kristen was a ray of sunshine and a little flighty (I mean, she’s seen some things so I’ll give her some slack). Early in Simon’s case, the authorities thought Kristen was an accomplice to his killings but this was never proved. While her actions didn’t reveal she helped her brother, Kristen’s deep affection for Simon (that stereotypical weird twin relationship…) made me wonder how she didn’t know her brother was this sociopathic killer who was picking off their friends one by one…. So I guess that’s a like and a dislike? But overall I enjoyed her bright, bubbly personality against the darkness of the plot and the other characters.

DISLIKES

Oh Simon Gutmunsson, the teenage serial killer. This character was obviously ripped from Hannibal Lecter’s book, with him being a rich, intelligent and calculating killer that played mind games with anyone who crossed his path. Emma is the one assigned to interview Simon, to get him to reveal his secrets, but Emma is the one he wants to know all about (“Hello, Clarice.”)

I mean, the first time we meet Emma, she’s jogging around the track, trying to mentally run from something. Again, straight from the pages (or scenes) of Silence of the Lambs. I’ll try to avoid spoilers, but even the surprise twist involving Simon and the Butcher (the active serial killer in the book) made me groan because it is almost directly from Red Dragon. 

I also felt like there was some overkill with the technical jargon. I appreciate authors putting in fine details to make the story more believable, but some portions dragged on. In one chapter, Emma and Travis go with their team leader to talk with one of the coroner’s about an idea Emma has. While the details were important to discovering something about the killer, it gets bogged down real fast and the discovery isn’t as impactful as it could’ve been. I know Marney is trying to make the reader believe that these agents are real, that this is real CIA work but we don’t need the overkill to make that happen. 

The book doesn't leave off with any cliffhangers (ish?), and while it could be set up to have a sequel (I could definitely read more of Bell and Lewis’ partnership), I don’t think that will happen. Overall it wraps things up in this story, but doesn’t give more info on what happened with Simon and his sister.

FINAL VERDICT:

Its obvious inspirations from the world of Hannibal and Mindhunter were enjoyable at first, but the more I think about the book, the more plot similarities I see between it and the Hannibal series. It weakened the book’s experience for me, because I felt like I’d read it before and could guess what was going to happen. None Shall Sleep was a fun read but left me wanting more. I’d recommend it for big fans of true crime, but don’t expect anything ground-breaking.