Anna O – Novel About a Sleepwalking Killer May Put You to Sleep

Advance praise for Matthew Blake’s novel, Anna O, set the bar very high. A bidding war broke out among publishers with Harper Collins finally winning the rights. The novel then went on to sell rights in 25 foreign countries. A film or streaming series cannot be far behind. Is all this enthusiasm justified? Some early reviews online seem to think so, although those five-star raves are tempered by a great many one-star dismissals. 

I find myself falling somewhere in between. I began the book with, yes, great expectations. But by the middle of the 446 pages found my interest flagging. A mystery about a killer who is fast asleep might be blamed for inducing drowsiness, but a clever plot should have kept the pages turning far into the night.

Anna O is Anna Ogilvy, a 25 year-old editor and entrepreneur. With two friends, Indira and Doug, she launches a magazine, Elementary, but discovers that the couple, behind her back,  have been exploring selling out to a major media company. Anna comes from a high profile family. Her mother, Emily, is in the British government, while her father, Richard, is a global fund manager. That well-to-do family life, however, is deficient in affection and attention. Both parents keep grueling work schedules and travel frequently. As a child and into young adulthood, Anna often sleepwalks, then has no memory of what she did while she was asleep. 

Anna’s parents arrange for a weekend at the Farm, a remote camp site in a forest. Indira and Doug are included. Sometime during the night, Indira and Doug are stabbed to death. Anna,  covered in blood and holding the knife, is presumed to be the killer. When the police arrive, Anna is fast asleep. The killings upend Anna’s family. Emily resigns and becomes a minster, while Richard’s business suffers. 

Dr. Benedict Prince, a forensic psychologist, studies people who commit crimes while they sleep. Four years have passed since the murders; Anna remains asleep. Prince, now affiliated with the Abbey Sleep Clinic, has written a paper on “resignation syndrome,” what he believes is responsible for Anna O’s condition. Stephen Donnelly, deputy legal director at the Ministry of Justice, meets with Prince, asking for his help waking up Anna O. 

Prince, however, has one conflict. His ex-wife, Clara, who in 2019 was working for the Thames Valley Serious and Organized Crime Unit, was the first officer on the murder scene. With that disclosure, Prince is given the assignment and Anna O is transferred to Abbey, along with her longtime nurse, Harriet. Also involved is Prince’s supervisor, Victoria Bloom, a well regarded expert in sleep disorders.

Prince’s treatment involves surrounding Anna with sensory triggers that represent happier times in her life, for example, playing Paul McCartney singing “Yesterday.” While everything is done to keep Anna O’s location secret, word leaks out and there are concerns for her safety. But it’s Bloom who is targeted, stabbed to death in her home. Before she dies she calls Prince and he rushes to her side, picking up and examining the knife that was left at the crime scene. 

Between Harriet’s care and Prince’s strategy, Anna O begins to respond, opening her eyes for periods of time. But Anna’s care and Prince’s career are threatened when he’s arrested and charged with Bloom’s murder. That would be bad enough, but he’s also suspected of helping Anna O kill Indira and Doug. Is he innocent or has his fascination with sleep-killers lured him into actually assisting one such murderer?

Blake tells the story from several points of view. Ben’s narrative makes up the bulk of the book, but we also hear from: Clara, Prince’s wife; Emily, Anna’s mother; Lola, who runs a Facebook group about the murders; Anna herself, in the form of entries from her journal; Victoria Bloom; and the mysterious Patient X. From all this information, we are meant to figure out if Anna O actually killed her two friends, if she did so alone, or was she helped by someone else. Yet despite everything we’re told, actual clues are scarce. Rather than show us through the actions of the characters what happened, we are told in long explantations at the end of the mystery. All the ends are tied up but we can’t help but feel disappointed.

Anna O
Matthew Blake

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