Jude O'Reilly is quite good at creating a spy narrative that is compelling and mind bending.
Michael North is an elite assassin and spy.
He is sent to go undercover with a cult on the Isle of Sky - and stop a planned terrorist activity on the mainland. Of note is the fact that North has a bullet lodged in his brain - never a good thing!
North has a young ally who is a computer hacker and it is up to both of them to pull off this crucial mission.

My thoughts about Judith O’Reilly’s Sleep When You’re Dead displays that unique pulp mix of motion and emotion that is both compelling and revealing. The stakes have never been higher. This is a nifty, edge-of-your seat thriller with an intricate plot and jaw dropping twists. The concept of the book has been rolled out extremely well, and comes across as totally feasible and practical; that is its main power. Judith O’Reilly’s writing is thoughtful, focused and never goes off-track. In fact, with Sleep When You’re Dead Judith take’s the Michael North series to a whole new level. The story of Judith O’Reilly’s Sleep When You’re Dead begins with Michael North is the man you call when there’s nothing left to lose. He executes every mission with determination, skill and a certain amount of flair. There’s just one problem: the bullet lodged in his brain. If it moves, he will die – and so will the mission. Now North’s been sent to infiltrate a doomsday cult on a remote island off the coast of Scotland to stop the terrorist attack its leader is planning on the mainland. Together with teen hacker FangFang, North must face down the forces of evil on behalf of his country. On the whole, Judith O’Reilly’s Sleep When You’re Dead is a high-octane thriller that works big time. This one has style and substance, both, besides dazzling action, stunning international locales and stylish execution. This is, without doubt, Judith O’Reilly’s best book till date. Sure shot Blockbuster. I would like to say a big thank you to Author Judith O’Reilly, and Publishers Head Of Zeus, Aries Fiction for kindly giving me a chance to read and review this brilliant book on NetGalley I’ve enjoyed reading. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🔥🔥🔥🔥💥💥💥💥

Michael North #3
4-5 stars
If you like your thrillers fast then this series is a perch yourself on the edge of your seat but make sure your firmly strapped in kind. This time the dream team of former covert assassin and MI5 agent North, Fangfang Yu a teen computer genius and Norths best friend Padraig ‘Pug’ Donne find themselves up to their necks in all kinds of bad and distinctly ugly. After a shocking incident in London, North‘s boss Edmund Hone sends him to the farthest reaches of the Outer Hebrides to the island of Murdo to infiltrate a cult the leader of which has all kinds of deadly intent. However, of course it’s not that simple as there’s also a shadowy American corporation, let’s add in the CIA, and oh what about some organised crime?! What North encounters is jaw dropping in its depth as national and international security is at stake and Murdo proves to be a very lively place with all kinds of evil skulduggery afoot. It’s a dizzying plot array but somehow, very cleverly, Judith O’Reilly pulls it off!

Well, you can’t fault the exhilarating excitement and sheer entertainment value of a Michael North political thriller. There are thrills and spills every minute, with traps, snares, hard men, violence and some absolutely epic scenes, think Hollywood and then some! Some scenes definitely require the infamous disbelief suspenders but they are creative and dramatic without a shadow of a doubt. Michael North must’ve been a cat in a previous life, in a kill me once, kill me twice kind of a way to say nothing of the bullet lodged in his brain from his army days. Oh, did I forget to mention that?! He sure finds trouble or does it find him? However, you can’t help but relish it all and I really like North, he has an honour code and is exceptionally brave. He is ably supported by Fangfang and Pug who are both terrific characters and extremely likeable. Hone not so much, well he’s a spook after all and you can’t trust them as far as you can throw them!!

The plot goes at warp speed so you need to keep up, there are welcome infusions of humour to lighten moods (thank you) and it escalates to what you think is the end which is definitely OTT but it’s also very good. One scene (in the sea) literally makes me hoot with laughter it’s so good!

This series is a really enjoyable one, there are always elements of believability lurking at the heart of the plot and several things here I’m quite prepared to believe WILL happen one day, quite possibly sooner than we may think.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Aria and Aries for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope she writes more! I am totally hooked!