Number of Pages: 382
Overall Rating: 2 out of 5
Emma Lewis and Travis Bell are recruited by the FBI to interview juvenile serial killers because of their unique experiences with serial killers. Emma had survived one and Travis lost his dad to another. Their summer interview schedule is quickly taken over by an active case they aren’t allowed to work on but quickly become invaluable to. Can Emma and Travis use their past to catch an active killer without it getting in their way? Can they work with a convicted juvenile serial killer to get inside their target’s mind before more teenagers are bled dry for a mysterious reason?
The Good
The concept of None Shall Sleep is very interesting. Teenagers are often put in the boxes of victim or predator with no agency to do anything to change the true crime world. Should minors go crazy and try to catch killers on their own? Absolutely not. But having a chance to at least help get information in a safe way is a very fascinating idea. Also giving these characters a reason to put themselves through discomfort is such a good way to give them depth.
The Bad
This book was great in theory but not great in reality, in my opinion. It almost felt like three different people wrote the book together without really making sure that the pieces feel connected. The first section was slow and not much really happened. The middle was fast paced and really suspenseful. The end just felt rushed and like they threw everything at the wall and didn’t really care what stuck. If every part was like that second part this book could have been a 10 out of 5. But that part was really only 50 pages out of the 328 and I was really disappointed. I really only kept reading to see if I was correct in my theories and I was way off until that really good middle part. The end just had no follow up and it was a huge let down after so much hope was given.
I also really dislike having to kill off a character in order to give people motivation to finish whatever they are working on. Does stuff like this happen in real investigations? Probably. But if you are writing a book and need to do something to get everyone in gear, there are so many better ways to do it. We also randomly got one chapter long POV’s of random characters that had no follow up later which also took away from the great concept in my mind.
The Favorite (Quotes)
“3 days of hoor in a serial killer's basement - that’s all it takes to make an expert.”
“New-made ghosts live inside those walls, and now she’s not sure she wants to know them.”
“I don’t expect the incarcerated sociopathic narcissist to actually admit that he lied.”