What an interesting book. Ben works at a posh London sleep clinic as one of their head psychologists. He is fascinated by sleep and one case in particular, that of Anna O. She had been sleep for years, since she murdered two friends . The powers that be want to put Anna on trial and therefore transfer Anna to the clinic for been to try his theory of how to awaken someone. What follows is fascinating. Both scientifically and in terms of this fast paced story. Had you gripped until the last twist/page!

Anna has been asleep for years, since murdering her two best friends Anna has slept since, the ministry of justice need to take Anna to trial and send her to the Abbey to see if Dr Ben Prince can wake her using a new technique he has been researching.
A good book that kept me guessing until nearly the end.

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Thank you Tandem and Harper Collins for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review and for having me along on this 6 month campaign.

Anna O commits the murder of her friends while sleepwalking. It has been 4 years since the murders and she still hasn’t woken up.

The unique story line was a breath of fresh air! Despite it being a slow burn book, it was a tricky one to put down, particularly during the first half of the book!

On day 2 of the read along, about 20% of the way into the story I called the major twist 🤣 I need to stop doing this!

This is going to be everywhere come February, keep your eyes peeled!

4 Stars from me

This is a dark and enticing thriller, about Anna Ogilvy, a young writer, who commits a brutal double murder while sleepwalking - this is bewitching enough but to add to the mystery, she hasn't opened her eyes since.

Some believe her to be guilty, some believe her to be innocent, either way, Anna O, Sleeping Beauty, has captured the attention of the world and everyone wants to hear her story.

Despite all efforts to rouse her, Anna O has seemingly remained asleep for years and in the book we see her brought under the care of esteemed forensic psychologist Dr Benedict Prince who firmly believes that he is the prince charming who can awaken the sleeping beauty.

I wasn't at all sure what to expect from this story, I had some early ideas but there are many mysteries to unfold - least of all the big question of whether Anna O will wake up...

I was really looking forward to this book after reading the description however it didn’t meet my expectations which is a shame. I found it too slow for and a little heavy in parts.

Not all books are for everyone, kudos to the author as this was clearly very well researched.

We spend a third of our lives sleeping but what if a person couldn’t wake up? The premise of this novel is just that- with Anna who allegedly murdered two of her friends in her sleep (she was found asleep with a knife in her hand). She is in an unconscious state and has been for 4 years, and Ben is brought in, as an expert in sleep psychology to see if he can awaken her. However, the twist is that if he succeeds in waking her, she will be charged with murder and the detective in charge of the case is Ben’s ex-wife, Lola. The story is interspersed with Anna’s diary notes that gives us clues about Anna’s state of mind before the deaths of her two friends. Although a very clever idea with clearly a lot of background research undertaken, the building momentum is slow and the final plot twist a bit contrived. An intriguing story that doesn’t quite maintain the suspense.

I loved the original premise for this novel and was excited to start the Tandem Readalong for this highly anticipated read.
Anna O has been asleep for 4 years, since the night she was found holiding a knife next to her two murdered best friends. Did she do it and was she sleep walking at the time or was she in fact, innocent?
Can you be guilty if you commit a crime in your sleep?

Dr Benedict Prince, sleep psychologist is in charge of trying to wake Anna O up with the result that she will them stand trial.
I found this an engrossing read. I really liked all the links to psychology throughout it and found the theory of Regression Syndrome as well as the links to other crime stories fascinating.
I enjoyed reading from Anna's perspective through her diary leading up to the night in question. There were lots of twists that I didn't see coming although I did find one a bit confusing and the very last part a bit rushed after such a long build up.
Overall though this was a clever and original story that was obviously meticulously researched. It kept me turning the pages and I would definitely recommend it. I could also see this making a great movie!

I was excited by the idea of this book - a young woman in a state of perpetual sleep after committing two murders and a doctor who has secrets of his own who has to unravel the case and wake her. The first part of the novel did have me engaged but then I am afraid that I started to find it hard going so much so that I became less interested and I’m afraid that I did have to skim read to then end to finish the book.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this. It wasn’t for me but I am interested to see what the author writes next as there was a lot to like in the first half.

Hmm a difficult one, this. I loved the premise of the book and found it enjoyable to begin with, but I felt it was a bit slow and overlong. By the end, I was a bit confused and whilst it was a big twist at the end, I felt slightly underwhelmed. Three and a half stars.

I was intrigued when I’ve read the blurb as I received a promise of something really unique - and the author definitely delivered!

Anna O. is a psychological mystery, a murder that cannot be proven, and a potential murdered who cannot be convicted of their crimes as they’re asleep.

I’ve never heard about the resignation syndrome and it’s incredible what our brains can do to protect ourselves in heartbreaking circumstances.

Trying to save Anna and wake her up will cost Ben, the sleep psychologist, dearly. The amount of plot twists is huge! I had my suspicion early on about who is the perpetrator, but it kept changing when new twists were thrown at me!

A really well written and well plotted story.!

I did enjoy this but I had higher expectations. At times it was a little slow and felt slightly heavy, it wasn't quite enough to keep me really hooked as I thought it might but nonetheless a great thriller with a unique hook. A great twist at the end too!

Oh dear I really had high hopes for this book I was intrigued by the premise, it certainly sounded like a book I would enjoy but i found parts of this book very slow paced. I appreciate the author uses this time to build on the suspense. I like characters to have very distinct voices but unfortunately they all had very similar voices which I found off putting. I can understand why there are so many five star reviews so perhaps it’s me not the book. My impression from reading others reviews is that this is a marmite book

The premise of this book sounded great. A proper psychological mystery, was Anna awake or asleep when she killed her friends. I was fully on team awake for a long time into this book but I did have doubts and things went back and forth constantly.
I did really enjoy this and the ending was a surprise. However there was quite a lot of sleep psychology related terms which felt a bit heavy in places and I just wanted to know the answer!

Gripping and unputdownable psychological thriller…
I was so intrigued with this book and definitely was not disappointed.
I was hooked after the first couple of chapters and did not want to stop reading.
There is so much great information and so many moments where the facts are so accurate and reference true crime that I would have to remember myself I was reading fiction.
Matthew Blake did a wonderful job and I could simply not put the book down until I finished this amazing thriller!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harper Collins for this ARC

In the course of an average of thirty-three years spent asleep, what unfolds in the realm of slumber, and what latent abilities lie dormant within us during that time?

Anna Ogilvy, a promising twenty-five-year-old writer with a luminous future, took a dark turn one fateful night, inexplicably murdering two individuals. Since that haunting incident, she has remained in an unbroken sleep, earning her the sensational moniker "Sleeping Beauty" in the tabloids. Afflicted by a rare psychosomatic condition identified by neurologists as "resignation syndrome," Anna exists in a perpetual state of unconsciousness.

Enter Dr. Benedict Prince, a forensic psychologist specializing in sleep-related homicides. Tasked with unravelling the perplexing "Anna O" case, he aims to awaken Anna, enabling her to face trial. Yet, navigating the treatment of such a high-profile suspect proves delicate for the doctor, who harbours his career secrets and contends with a complex personal life.

As signs of Anna's awakening surface, Benedict recognizes the urgency of discerning the truth surrounding that ominous night and determining whether Anna should be held accountable for her actions.

While only Anna holds the key to the events of that night, only Benedict possesses the skills to unlock it. However, both are imperilled by the revelations that await them.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Anna Ogilvy sent a message to her mother ‘confessing’ to the brutal murder of two people. When the bodies are found, Anna is with them, knife in hand and covered in blood. Case closed.
Four years later, Anna hasn’t stood trial, and has not even answered one question about the case. Since the night of the murder, Anna has been asleep. Dr Benedict Prince, a specialist is sleeping disorders, is given the task waking her up.
The story is told from several points of view and hops between times lines. The chapters are generally quite short, which helps to move the story along. The ending came as a surprise which is good but I couldn’t help feeling that it stretched believability.
Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love anything to do with psychology and the study of how our minds work. Anna O hits all the plus points for me.

There is lots of references to the world of psychology and how sleep can affect us.

Matthew Blake throws in a lot of true crime story references in this story, and i found myself doing a lot of googling. It fascinated me finding out what people get up to in their sleep 😮

Now i found myself being led up the garden path, and thinking id figured out the plotline, yep i did feel smug. But, i was also quickly made to look a fool when I fell for the traps.

I found that the line between truth and fiction were starting to blur, and at times the writing was so well done I thought I was reading about a true crime story.

Really enjoyed Anna O and I would recommend to all.

Thank you so much to the publishers and to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book ahead of its release!

I found Anna O to be a really original and clever thriller. It hooked me quite instantly and I had no idea where it was going for the most part. Towards the end I had started to figure out and predict the twists correctly which is always a bit disappointing, but otherwise I really enjoyed this book!

I loved the sound of this when I first heard about it, so was excited when Netgalley accepted my request. It's one of those books that pulls you in right from the start.
Mostly told from Bens POV with extracts from Anna's diary and a few others POV interspersed, it's a slow unravelling of events from the night in question.
The chapter length and pace was really good, but there was a point at almost half way where I felt things were slowing down and could potentially start to drag, however, it wasnt long before I was gripped again and didnt want to put it down.
I would describe this book as gripping, and that final 25% was a teasing slow burn, but in such a good way that I couldn't stop reading, even while I was meant to be working.  Honestly, I can't say I was surprised by the ending, and I did manage to piece it together before the final reveal, but overall I found this a very different and enjoyable read, which at times almost felt real.
I appreciate this isnt the finished copy, so this maybe just an arc problem but I found it a bit difficult to keep up with the dialogue, and at times I wasn't sure who was speaking and had to re read bits to work it out.  Also, there were a few continuity errors that I'm hoping are ironed out too.
Absolutely a recommend read that I think will be a big hit.
4.5⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this pre-publication.
The premise of the novel sounded interesting, unravelling the truth of a murder allegedly committed by a young woman who then falls asleep for four years.
I found the mechanism of interspersing excerpts from Anna O’s diary quite interesting for most of the novel. However, there is a lot of repetition in the book and the last few chapters felt both confused and contrived, leaving me somewhat disappointed when the truth is finally revealed.