Book Review: Anna O by Matthew Blake

Forensic psychologist Dr. Ben Price is not entirely surprised when he’s called in to consult on the infamous affair of Anna O. A renowned sleep researcher, his primary place of employment is the Abbey Sleep Clinic, an ultra-private facility where the wealthy go when they’re not getting enough rest and do not want to advertise that problem. He has also long been considered a reliable resource by various crime-fighting agencies, so when he gets an urgent but secretive phone call one night from his boss at the Abbey, he’s more than ready to take on the case.

Four years ago, a promising young journalist named Anna Ogilvy was found asleep in her cabin in a luxurious forested resort. She had messaged her influential parents, who were also at the resort, an odd note of apology. Worried, they had come to check on her and found her covered in blood. Shortly after, the bodies of her two co-workers were discovered in their own cabin, apparently stabbed to death by the sleeping Anna.

Anna had long had a history of sleepwalking and, more worryingly, a history of violence while doing so:

I look at Anna’s thin, peaceful face. I think of the stories [her mother] told me: the kitchen knife plunged into the dog’s flesh, the pretend hunt the following day; the calculation with which Anna stole the items from the housemistress’s flat at boarding school; the terrifying attack in the Athens hotel room, bludgeoning her own mother with demonic fury.

 

I imagine living a second life without knowing how or why. Human beings can endure so much pain but no more. At some point the body and the mind hibernate, protecting themselves. It’s called resignation syndrome for a reason.

Resignation syndrome is the technical term for Anna’s condition, a rare neurological disorder where the brain enters a state of deep sleep for a prolonged period of time. She had seemingly fallen asleep after the stabbings, and has proven entirely resistant to being woken up since. This illness of hers has put the justice system in a confounding position: they can hardly take her to trial in this state, but Amnesty International is making noises about prosecuting the government’s treatment of her as inhumane. As such, the Ministry of Justice wants Ben to attempt to rouse her, transferring her from prison to the care of the Abbey for this very purpose. If Ben succeeds in waking her, she’ll finally be able to stand trial.

For Ben has recently submitted a paper claiming to be able to reverse resignation syndrome. More provocatively, he’s stated that he can cure Anna specifically. After his paper comes to the attention of the government, Deputy Legal Director Stephen Donelly from the MoJ presses him on his claims, wanting to hear more about his methods. Ben explains:

[‘]The common feature across all continents and timelines is that patients suffer from resignation syndrome when confronted with the total absence and removal of hope.’

 

‘Like the children in Sweden?’

 

I nod. The best known case of resignation syndrome is still from the refugee communities in Sweden. Children emerging from hell in Syria and the Middle East slept for months and sometimes years, waiting as their asylum claims went through multiple appeals.

 

I continue, ‘For the children who got better, it was usually because they regained hope of some kind. They were no longer at risk of being deported and forced back into the abyss of their old lives.[‘]

While Donnelly is understandably dubious at the idea of hope being Ben’s entire plan, he has little other choice, only reminding Ben that Anna’s stay at the Abbey is highly classified. Ben is at first thrilled to be able to take a crack at this infamous case, but the longer he tends to Anna, the more doubts he has concerning what he might be waking her up for. Could she truly be guilty of such hideous crimes? Or is there a sinister conspiracy lurking in the shadows, doing everything in its power to keep her asleep so that someone else can get away with murder?

This was a twisty psychological thriller that explores that liminal space between waking and sleeping, while introducing startling new elements of how the unconfronted past always comes back to haunt you. Chapters told from Ben’s point-of-view are interspersed with entries from Anna’s diaries, as well as the perspectives of various other interested parties. Watching how his mission unfolds from attempting to wake Anna to getting to the entire truth of what happened that fatal night is a compelling ride that any seasoned crime reader knows can only end in bittersweetness at best.