The Sleep of the Dead Book + PRICE WATCH * Amazon pricing is not included in price watch

The Sleep of the Dead Book

We seem to be enjoying a golden age of brilliantly written first novels: Tom Bradby's Shadow Dancer received a nosegay of rave reviews, all praising the assurance and skill of his writing. With The Sleep of the Dead, Bradby has overcome the inevitable second novel problem: this one is every bit as assured as its predecessor, and combines characterisation as astute as anything in literary fiction with the forcefully realised mechanics of the thriller novel.Julia Havilland has had a troubled childhood. And when her father, Colonel Mitchell Havilland, dies in the Falklands in a mystifying act of heroism, Julia finds that her return from 15 years in China means that she must come to terms with the ghosts of the past. Living under the threat of an inquiry that will almost certainly end her career in military intelligence, Julia finds herself confronting the past again, with the image of her beloved father ever more present in her thoughts. Only by a painful and dangerous investigation, can she lay the ghosts of the past--and perhaps come to terms with the problems of the present. What makes this forcefully written piece such a commanding read is the multifaceted characterisation of Julia. But Bradby does not try to make us like her, and we are quickly involved with her plight as she tries to rend the veil of secrets that is destroying her life. This is a novel about the destructive effects of suspicion and betrayal on human existence (a superscription from Shakespeare makes this clear, although it is evident from the first chapter onwards), and the novel functions both as an exemplary psychological thriller and a novel of character. --Barry ForshawRead More

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  • Foyles

    The brutal murder of Sarah Ford and the disappearance of her six-year-old daughter, Alice, shattered the rural serenity of Julia Havilland's childhood. But these are not the only scars that have resolutely refused to heal. Shortly afterwards, Colonel Mitchell Havilland sacrificed himself on a Falklands hillside in an act of characteristic - but baffling - heroism. When Julia comes home from China fifteen years later, it is to a place of ghosts.Whilst she awaits the outcome of the enquiry that seems destined to end her short but spectacular career in military intelligence, Julia is drawn back across the landscape of the past, to find that it is not just the tortured image of her much-loved father that returns to haunt her. Everything she has ever believed in and lived for has suddenly been called into question, and unless she confronts her demons, she will not survive. For there have been other deaths, and the dead will not sleep...At once a race-against-the-clock thriller and a complex psychological drama where the memories of the past conflict with knowledge of the present, The Sleep of the Dead is a stunning read on any level and more than confirms Tom Bradby as one of this country's foremost thriller writers.Praise for Shadow Dancer:'Quite exceptional...Tom Bradby succeeds in creating real characters. Far too many novels take refuge in cliché and caricature - Bradby refuses to. The language, the tension, the fear - all are portrayed vividly and correctly...A taut, compelling story of love and torn loyalties'Daily Telegraph'A remarkable first novel...Bradby handles the tension with skill to produce a gripping tale'The Times'The best book on the northern conflict since Harry's Game...An excellent read on any level. It scores heavily as a thriller and as an accurate unblinking look at what is happening right now'Irish Independent

  • Blackwell

    This is a rollercoaster thriller where confrontation of past ghosts is the only way to survive the present demons. The brilliant new thriller from the acclaimed author of Shadow; The brutal murder of Sarah Ford and the disappearance of her six...

  • 0552145874
  • 9780552145879
  • Tom Bradby
  • 1 January 2002
  • Corgi Books
  • Paperback (Book)
  • 488
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