None Shall Sleep (Book #1 None Shall Sleep Sequence) by Ellie Marney

Title: None Shall Sleep (Book #1 None Shall Sleep Sequence)

Author: Ellie Marney

Genre: Historical Crime Fiction

Publisher: Allen and Unwin

Published: 1^st September 2020

Format: Paperback

Pages: 400

Price: $34.99

Synopsis: A riveting New York Times bestselling YA thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seats from start to finish.

It’s 1982, and the innovative FBI Behavioral Science section is breaking new ground. Emma Lewis and Travis Bell, two teenagers with valuable skills, are recruited to interview convicted juvenile killers for information on cold cases.

When they’re drawn into an active case targeting teenagers, everything starts to unravel. Over Travis’s objections, Emma becomes the conduit between the FBI and an incarcerated serial killer, nineteen-year-old Simon Gutmunsson, who is a super-intelligent sociopath. And although Simon seems to be giving them the information they need to save lives, he’s also an expert manipulator playing a very long game …

Can Emma and Travis stop a serial killer on the loose – or will they fall victim themselves?

• Longlisted, Best Young Adult Novel, Indie Book Awards, 2021, AU
• Winner, Best Horror Novel, Aurealis Awards, 2020, AU
• Shortlisted, Best Young Adult Crime Fiction, Davitt Awards, 2021, AU

~*~

Emma Lewis is just starting university, putting her experience with a serial killer at fifteen behind her when she is approached by Special Agent Cooper, part of the new Behavioural Science Unit at the FBI – profilers who hunt down serial killers. Cooper wants her to help interview juvenile serial killers who have been convicted – cases that have been solved, so the BSU can gain an understanding of these killers. Their theory is that juvenile killers will talk to people closer to their age than the agents in the unit. Emma agrees – reluctantly – and leaves her home in Apple Creek. When she arrives at Quantico, she meets her fellow trainee, Travis Bell, training to join law enforcement and with secrets and ghosts of his own that colour how he responds to the killers they speak to. Soon, they’re called upon to interview a serial killer called Simon Gutmunsson – and Emma becomes the one he communicates with when Travis refuses to talk to him, and soon, Emma and Travis are drawn into an open case – a case where teenagers are being killed only Simon can give them the insights they need to save lives before it is too late – but he pulls them into a manipulative cat and mouse game that could endanger everyone around them.

Ellie Marney has a knack for writing engaging and effective crime fiction for teenagers, getting into how they think and work things out. In this novel, we’re taken back to 1982, to the days before DNA and digital communication, before a prevalence of mobile phones, digital cameras, and everything we see being used to record and investigate crimes today. There was a lot of manual work in this book, which I enjoyed because it allowed the characters to work for what they needed – they couldn’t open a database or search engine and find what they needed immediately. And the profiling was basic, as the BSU, now the BAU, was in its infancy, as it was first established in 1972, with the BAU coming into being in 1985. Emma and Travis are part of the beginnings of this unit, and their work with Special Agent Cooper forms the basis of the novel.

The novel is told in third person present, which is effective in this story in particular as we get to see various scenes through the eyes of Travis, Emma, Special Agent Cooper, and at times, a few other characters who chilled me – they were the sort of characters that would definitely be on a Most Wanted List. Simon and the other killer in this book – the active investigation that Emma and Travis are drawn into when Simon starts playing games with them, because teenagers are being killed and disposed of – and the victims keep getting younger. Emma and Travis have to be the voice for these victims because the higher ups won’t listen to them, even when Cooper vouches for them. Each killer – the one killing and the one incarcerated are manipulative and very interested in Emma and Travis – this aspect kept the novel moving, because you were never quite sure what their motivations were. It was a seductive and creepy read because it felt like Simon got into my head and under my skin just like he did to Emma. He was that sort of character and person, and I am slightly terrified that Ellie was able to create him so effectively, but at the same time, in complete awe because she has managed to bring together a wide array of character and personality types in this novel, which has a sequel coming out in June, so I need to get onto reading that as well!

I loved that each aspect of this book felt like it was carefully planned out so that everything we needed to know was revealed at the right time, and as the tension built, the chapters were shorter and choppier, leading to heart-pounding moments, and moments of screaming at the page NO DON’T GO THERE! And allowing the reader to see through the eyes of the villain and the hero was unsettling but genius – it gave insight into what sort of person Simon is and what he is after – like any good villain, he has motivations that are quite creepy and sordid, especially with his interest in Emma. These moments ensured that there was always something at stake, which is always important in a crime novel. There were many moments where I had my heart in my mouth, and even though Ellie’s style seems sparse, because we see things through the eyes of several characters, we get a well-rounded story. It is one that I enjoyed for many reasons, and I can’t wait to see how the next book develops, because there are hints in this book of what might come next. But Ellie has managed to keep us in the dark as well, so we do read on and find out what comes next.