None Shall Sleep

August 3, 2020
Ever since she escaped from and helped to apprehend serial killer Daniel Huxton, Ohio State freshman Emma Lewis has kept her hair buzzed and her running shoes laced. When FBI agent Ed Cooper arrives to recruit her for a behavioral science unit, he offers her myriad
benefits in exchange for interviewing juvenile serial offenders with
a partner, 18-year-old Travis Bell, son of a U.S. Marshal killed by a serial offender. As Cooper hits a wall with an ongoing investigation—a string of teen murders in Pennsylvania by “the Butcher”—he pushes Emma to speak with Simon Gutmunsson, the artistic serial murderer responsible for Travis’s father’s death. Simon, intrigued by Emma’s prickly demeanor and traumatic history, tries to pull her out of her shell; Emma, learning Simon’s sensibilities and interest in the Burkean sublime, realizes that he may be the key to identifying the Butcher. Marney (Circus of Arts) has created a thrilling cat-and-mouse story in this taut, Silence of the Lambs–like thriller, which employs a teen behavioral psychologist’s trauma and resilience against a gripping, dangerous puzzle. While the propulsive investigation takes center stage, Marney also skillfully creates engaging and complex characters as well as a budding romance that tenderly juxtaposes the overarching plot. Ages 14–up. Agent: Josh Adams, Adams Literary.