Reviews

None Shall Sleep by Ellie Marney

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dariadanley's review against another edition

3.0

This book is just... okay.

The writing was good for the style the author chose. The characters were interesting, but I failed to form a deeper connection with them. That sums up my experience with this book: I didn't feel a connection.

Something about the whole premise of the story felt unbelievable to me. I couldn't understand why the FBI would allow two teenage victims to be a part of a unit. People have to work their whole lives to touch the FBI, so I couldn't get why these kids were involved. Maybe if it were a local law enforcement effort, I could find it more believable.

The writing style the author chose was simplistic, and didn't expand on much of the characters. Paragraphs were short, there was not much detail on dialogue or non-verbal cues. I think if I were a younger reader, it wouldn't have mattered so much to me and I would have enjoyed it all the same.

lily_maureen9's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

tderocher's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

albon's review against another edition

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2.0

2020 review:

This started out so strong and then it just... went all over the place really.

The description of the book compares it to Sadie and The Silence of the Lambs. This is nothing like Sadie, and from what I read in other reviews it's a rip-off of The Silence of the Lambs. There are so many 5-star reviews on the first page, but I would say don't bother with this one. Just read or re-read either of those two books it's compared to and I'm sure you'll have a much better time.

This is one of those YA books where I just can't do it. I can't suspend my disbelief. Why would the FBI hire two teenagers to interview literal serial killers? It wasn't explained enough. Maybe if they had thought of this idea, talked to the teenagers, and then given them some sort of actual TRAINING it would have made sense. But they just sent them right in there with the serial killers. I'm pretty sure they just gave them a short questionnaire for the serial killer to fill in and then they had to come up with everything else themselves, like what kind of questions to ask, and how to get through to them. FBI literally gave them no guidance.

And why did they pick Emma? She survived being held captive by a serial killer, but other than that she wasn't special in any way. It could have made sense if she had become some sort of advocate after what happened to her, but she just went on with her life. Why would they think she was the right person for this job?

Everyone in the FBI was also so freaking stupid. Emma and Travis Bell are supposed to be working on solved cases, interviewing killers to learn about their patterns and behavior, but of course a new case starts unraveling and they get involved. And by involved I mean - they pretty much solve it on their own. Because they were teens? And that was supposed to be a helping factor here even though none of them have any actual training? [It's so stupid because the killer ended up not even being a teen? So why would Emma and Bell have any extra insight into his mind? Make it make sense! (hide spoiler)]

Our main characters, Emma and Bell, are sent to talk to a serial killer named Simon, who also killed Travis' dad. Simon is, for some reaosn, kept in cage inside a chapel. Is that really were they keep prisoners in asylums? In an actual cage in a chapel? Because that doesn't sound right to me.

The description of the books talks about how Simon "manipulates" Emma, but I don't think that actually happens. He says terrible things to her, and she cries. Somehow she ends up feeling sorry for him in all of this (despite the fact that he is a SERIAL KILLER who KILLED OLD LADIES and performed SEXUAL ACTIVITIES WITH THEIR DEAD BODIES [and also KNOWS WHO THE KILLER IN THIS BOOK IS THE ENTIRE TIME and doesn't say anything (hide spoiler)]. He doesn't even have a sob story. There is nothing he says or does that makes it reasonable that Emma would feel sorry for him. I guess he did manipulate her, but that just makes her the easiest girl in the world to manipulate. You could walk up to this girl and tell her you kill kittens for fun and she would be like "Thank you for telling me. I love you and would take a bullet for you".

It's also revealed very early on who the killer is. There is this random chapter in the middle of everything from his perspective. I don't know what the author was going for with that, but it definitely ruined the flow of the book and took away pretty much all the excitement. For the rest of the book you just know when the FBI are getting close and when they are wrong. Not exactly riveting stuff.