None Shall Sleep (None Shall Sleep, #1) - Ellie Marney

 

 

 In 1982, two teenagers—serial killer survivor Emma Lewis and US Marshal candidate Travis Bell—are recruited by the FBI to interview convicted juvenile killers and provide insight and advice on cold cases. From the start, Emma and Travis develop a quick friendship, gaining information from juvenile murderers that even the FBI can't crack. But when the team is called in to give advice on an active case—a serial killer who exclusively hunts teenagers—things begin to unravel.

Working against the clock, they must turn to one of the country's most notorious incarcerated murderers for help: teenage sociopath Simon Gutmunsson. Despite Travis's objections, Emma becomes the conduit between Simon and the FBI team. But while Simon seems to be giving them the information they need to save lives, he's an expert manipulator playing a very long game...and he has his sights set on Emma.

 

This book is criminally underrated (pun intended)

First of all, I know the premise sounds a bit like Silence of the Lambs, and it does have that common element - the girl interviewing a serial killer to get info about current cases - but everything else is different. The girl in question - Emma - is such great character. She is feisty, smart, independent and generally holds her ground. She's also vulnerable and sometimes makes mistakes because she can't hold her temper. Basically, she's an human onion and



This same thing applies to Travis. He's generally the "happy optimistic nerdy little FBI guy" but he's also far more complex that this basic description. They both have baggage and they're actually dealing with it quite well. What I love most about this representation of teenagers is that, while they are still young and sometimes a bit reckless, they are also quite mature and think things through. They take this job very seriously and they know their limits - that is what I admire about them most.

Another thing that made this book so enjoyable is the fact that there is no romance, just this amazing friendship - partnership between these 2 precious traumatized babies ♥

Their daily routine is basically like:
7.00 wake up
9.00 interview a psycho
12.00 grab McDonalds
13.00 discuss deep personal traumas
16.00 annoy older FBI agents
18.00 go through case files
21.00 discuss plans on how to annoy even more FBI agents tomorrow
23.00 sleep



Both of them worked hard on these cases and made smart deductions. They're not portrayed as these "Sherlock Holmes know-it-alls" but instead people who, unfortunately, had previous experience with these types of criminals/ cases and had certain knowledge that could help the FBI. The cases themselves can get a bit gruesome. You get some details about the victims and the violent act itself, but not too much.

In any case (yes, again, punny 😏) I'd def recommend this book if you're like me, in need of another crime book after reading A Good Girl's Guide to Murder :)