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Title details for The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian - Available

The Sleepwalker

A Novel

by Chris Bohjalian
Cady McClain
Audiobook
1 of 2 copies available
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1 of 2 copies available
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Guest Room comes a spine-tingling novel of lies, loss, and buried desire—the mesmerizing story of a wife and mother who vanishes from her bed late one night.
When Annalee Ahlberg goes missing, her children fear the worst. Annalee is a sleepwalker whose affliction manifests in ways both bizarre and devastating. Once, she merely destroyed the hydrangeas in front of her Vermont home. More terrifying was the night her older daughter, Lianna, pulled her back from the precipice of the Gale River bridge. The morning of Annalee's disappearance, a search party combs the nearby woods. Annalee's husband, Warren, flies home from a business trip. Lianna is questioned by a young, hazel-eyed detective. And her little sister, Paige, takes to swimming the Gale to look for clues. When the police discover a small swatch of fabric, a nightshirt, ripped and hanging from a tree branch, it seems certain Annalee is dead, but Gavin Rikert, the hazel-eyed detective, continues to call, continues to stop by the Ahlbergs' Victorian home. As Lianna peels back the layers of mystery surrounding Annalee's disappearance, she finds herself drawn to Gavin, but she must ask herself: Why does the detective know so much about her mother? Why did Annalee leave her bed only when her father was away? And if she really died while sleepwalking, where was the body?
     Conjuring the strange and mysterious world of parasomnia, a place somewhere between dreaming and wakefulness, The Sleepwalker is a masterful novel from one of our most treasured storytellers.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    January 10, 2017

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780553399653
      • File size: 276371 KB
      • Duration: 09:35:46

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      November 14, 2016
      Set in Vermont in 2000, this stylish fusion of mystery and domestic thriller from Bohjalian (The Guest Room) explores the aftermath of the inexplicable disappearance of a woman prone to sleepwalking. Annalee Ahlberg’s two daughters, 21-year-old Lianna and 12-year-old Paige, attempt to find some kind of closure after their beloved mother—who has experienced bizarre sleepwalking episodes in the past—vanishes from her home in the middle of the night. The mystery deepens when Lianna and a detective, who may have had an intimate relationship with Annalee, become emotionally connected. Powered by brilliantly rendered characters, an intriguing topic (parasomnia), and a darkly lyrical narrative that captures the melancholic tone of autumn in New England perfectly (red maples in their “death throes”), this novel has only one weak point—its highly improbable conclusion, which may leave readers unsatisfied. 10-city author tour. Agent: Jane Gelfman, Gelfman Schneider/ICM Partners.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Cady McClain narrates the lion's share of Chris Bohjalian's mystery about a missing woman with a history of somnambulation. McClain may have intended a dramatic effect with her approach, but the stiltedness of her frequent and questionably placed pauses gives her reading a mechanical sound. This awkwardness pulls listeners out of the story, which at times is a relief as the book itself seems overly researched. Grace Experience voices the unknown narrator in the short sections that separate the chapters. Experience's reading, while short, works to build some suspense in the audio. The plot's premise is engaging, but the excessive detail and meandering pace combined with the mechanical narration make this audiobook a struggle to finish. J.F. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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