Sleeper by J D Fennell @jd_fennell @DomePress #sleeper #sleeperbook#jdfennell #bookreview

Dome Press 2017

Book Description

Sixteen-year-old Will Starling is pulled from the sea with no memory of his past.  In his blazer is a strange notebook with a bullet lodged inside: a bullet meant for him.  As London prepares for the Blitz, Will soon finds himself pursued by vicious agents and a ruthless killer known as the Pastor.  All of them want Will’s notebook and will do anything to get it.

As Will’s memory starts to return, he realises he is no ordinary sixteen-year old.  He has skills that make him a match for any assassin.  But there is something else.  At his core is a deep-rooted rage that he cannot explain.  Where is his family and why has no one reported him missing?

Fighting for survival with the help of MI5 agent-in-training, Anna Wilder, Will follows leads across London in a race against time to find the Stones of Fire before the next air raid makes a direct hit and destroys London forever.

My Thoughts

First special thanks to Emily at Dome Press for sending me this book and the sequel Sleeper: The Red Storm which I will be reviewing later this week.  I read these books back to back.

Gosh! What to say about Sleeper, fast paced and action packed – a book I could see on the big screen for sure!  Following Will Starling, fighting to stay alive and hotly pursued in his quest to secure the Stones of Fire.  Set during World War 2 and therefore lacking the modern technology we take for granted, Will relies on instinct and old fashioned means of communication including morse code and phone boxes (remember them!?)

Reminiscent at times to James Bond or even The Da Vinci Code, this book also bought to mind Harry Potter set in the world of espionage!  At 228 pages this is a fast read in every sense of the word, literally the pace never slows as we fly with Will from one death defying situation to the next.  Will is a likeable and engaging central character, having maintained his ‘spy skills’ despite his memory loss he is a resourceful and intelligent individual with a strong moral compass.  Coupled with a detailed back story, one senses there is much more to come from this character.

The chapters are short and the story is told in the third person, I was conscious while reading that this book was aimed at a younger audience than I am.  However the story was entertaining, a little too much action for me perhaps, but I mentioned it to my teenage son, who while not a reluctant reader tends to only read Harry Potter, again and again and he jumped at the chance to read it.  Demonstrating to me that he may be closer in age to the target audience than I am!

Are you a fan of YA Books?  Have you read Sleeper?  Tell me in the comments below.

Thanks as always for reading and don’t miss my next post when I will be reviewing Sleeper: The Red Storm plus I will be hosting a Q & A with author JD Fennell.