"Sleep and His Brother"

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"Sleep and His Brother" is the first book I've read by author, Peter Dickinson, and I picked it up on the best bets bookshelf at my local library. It is a Felony and Mayhem mystery (www.FelonyAndMayhem.com) and recommends other authors in the front of the book including Cynthia Harrod-Eagles who is one of my all time favorite British mystery authors. That said I had great expectations for this book but it left me disappointed. The style of writing is a little vague and was hard for me to follow. There was a mystery that I caught glimpses of throughout the book but I'm not sure I even yet understand what I read. I'll probably try one of his other books to see if this is his typical style or just a technique he used for this particular book before I decide whether I want to read more of his work.

The basic story line centers around "cathypnic" children which appear to be a figment of the writer's imagination also. Recently retired from Scotland Yard, Detective Jimmy Pibble is persuaded by his wife to go to McNair House (where these children are housed and cared for) to look into some things happening there that she's heard about in her charity work and she thinks he might be able to offer some assistance. This sets off a bizarre chain of events leaving me unsure what really happened most of the time.

Would I read this book again? No Would I recommend it? No Why did I finish it? There were fleeting times during my reading that I thought it might actually be leading to some kind of understandable conclusion so I kept reading to see if I could find it.

pazt