The Little Sleep

A novel in the Mark Genevich crime series, featuring a narcoleptic private detective and set in and around Boston.

Publishers Weekly

South Boston PI Mark Genevich struggles to lead a seminormal life despite his narcolepsy, whose symptoms include falling asleep mid-conversation and hallucinations, in this uninspired noir from Stoker-finalist Tremblay (City Pier). When Jennifer Times, the daughter of prominent DA William "Billy" Times, comes to Mark's office with racy photographs of herself she received anonymously, Mark agrees to take her case. But after trying to contact both Jennifer-who's a contestant on an American Idol-like TV show-and her father, Mark realizes that Jennifer's visit was a hallucination. The photographs are his only tether to reality, one that becomes even more tenuous when he discovers not only that the subject isn't Jennifer, but that her father and his goons will do anything to get the mysterious photos back. Despite a promisingly quirky hero, Tremblay's plot is so full of holes that readers may wonder if they've suffered from one of Mark's frequent blackouts. (Mar.)

Paul Tremblay has won acclaim for his short fiction, and received two nominations for the 2007 Bram Stoker Award. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, two children, a hairy dog, and a soggy basement, where he is at work on a follow-up to The Little Sleep. His Web site is www.paultremblay.net.