The Innocent Sleep

October 21, 2013
In the prologue—set in 2005 in Tangier—of this smart missing-child thriller from Perry (the joint pseudonym of Paul Perry and Karen Gillece), struggling Irish artist Harry Lonergan slips out of the house on his wife’s birthday to pick up a present for her, leaving their sleeping three-year-old son, Dillon, behind. Before Harry can return home, an earthquake rocks Tangier, and Dillon goes missing and is presumed dead amid the rubble. Flash forward to 2010 Dublin, where Harry catches a glimpse of an older Dillon among a crowd of antigovernment demonstrators. Harry decides to search for Dillon without informing his wife, Robin, who, meanwhile, discovers she’s pregnant. Harry continues hunting for Dillon, while Robin worries Harry may be suffering a nervous collapse as a result of his obsessed quest. In the end, the consequences of the Lonergans’ carefree years spent living as expatriates in Tangier come back to haunt them. Deceit, infidelity, and surprising twists make this a satisfying debut. Agent: Kari Stuart, ICM.

November 1, 2013
Accomplished Irish authors Karen Gillece (The Absent Wife, 2008, etc.) and Paul Perry (Paranormal, 2012, etc.), writing as Karen Perry, collaborate on a dark mystery about unimaginable loss and irrevocable choices. It's difficult at first to sympathize with Harry, an artist who's spent the past five years mourning the disappearance and presumed death of his son in an earthquake in Tangier. Leaving 3-year-old Dillon alone in the apartment in a drug-induced sleep in order to retrieve a gift for his wife, Robin, Harry returns minutes after the entire building vanishes, apparently along with his son. Years of recrimination, mental imbalance and uncontrollable grief have plagued Harry since their return to Ireland, where he develops a reputation as an established artist, cloaks himself in a haze of alcohol and meaningless affairs, and explores otherworldly beliefs in search of answers. Robin, unable to continue her art, becomes an architect and tries to help both of them heal. Now, it seems their lives are moving on: The couple is living in Robin's grandmother's drafty, old home, which Robin plans to renovate, and Harry has agreed to move his studio there as a cost-saving effort. Robin also discovers she's pregnant again and hopes the birth of their child will signify a fresh beginning. But Harry's reaction seems forced. At first reluctant to share his news with Robin, Harry believes he's sighted Dillon, now older, on a crowded street in Dublin. His quest to track down the young boy--lying to Robin about a trip to London, trying to obtain answers from an ill friend from Tangier, watching hours of surveillance videos--consumes him, and he finally confesses his obsession to Robin, who's horrified. As the initial slow-moving explorations of characters, relationships and events gain momentum and move toward a well-constructed conclusion, the co-authors create an atmosphere that's both murky and disturbing. More introspective than action-oriented, Perry delivers an intriguingly emotional and unconventional debut.

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Starred review from February 1, 2014

This debut literary thriller opens with a terrible tragedy: a sudden earthquake in the Moroccan city of Tangiers kills Harry and Robin's only child, a young son, Dillon. Five years later, the couple have long since relocated to Ireland and are slowly becoming hopeful for their future. All seems well until Harry sees their son in the streets of Dublin--and with this glimpse, long-held secrets threaten to destroy Harry and Robin's new life. The novel, with alternating narratives from each spouse, investigates whether Dillon is truly alive, and if so, how. The breakneck pace of the narrative, which is spiced with the ingredients of deceit, infidelity, and secret lives, forms a gripping, well-written read. Perry is a pseudonym for the Dublin-based authors Paul Perry and Karen Gillece; this is the duo's debut project. Outside of their literary partnership, both authors have written several solo novels to much acclaim. VERDICT This novel, with a premise that taps into the fears of every parent, is an entertaining thriller that fans of Tana French and Gillian Flynn will enjoy. [See Prepub Alert, 8/9/13.]--Rebecca M. Marrall, Western Washington Univ. Libs., Bellingham

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Starred review from December 1, 2013
Five years ago in Tangiers, Harry and Robin's son was killed when an earthquake demolished the building in which he lay sleeping. Harry gave three-year-old Dillon sleeping medication so that the couple could have a romantic celebration of Robin's birthday, and the earthquake occurred while he was running down the street to retrieve her gift. Now, they've moved to Dublin, hoping a fresh start will salvage their relationship and relieve Harry's immense burden of guilt. Instead, the wounds are freshly opened when Harry becomes convinced he's spotted Dillon in Dublin, and he begins chasing leads to find him and determine the identity of the woman leading him by the hand. Is it possible that Dillon was kidnapped instead of killed, or is Harry suffering from grief-induced delusions? Karen Perry, pseudonym of Paul Perry and Karen Gillece, pulls the story deliciously taut by alternating perspectives that contrast Harry's increasing obsession with Robin's deteriorating trust. And the haunting, sometimes vague flashbacks to Tangiers create a sense of alluring, exotic danger. Readers drawn to the intense emotion and zero-sum conflict of Andre Dubus III's House of Sand and Fog (1999) will love this one, as will those captivated by the missing-person intrigues in Laura Lippman's What the Dead Know (2007) and Lisa Scottoline's Look Again (2009).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)