Review: Great concept
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 2, 2012
Though I don't sleep walk, my children have been known to. In fact when my oldest daughter was around 7 we had to install adult head height chain locks because she would often try to sleepwalk out through the front door. Luckily I am both an insomniac and a light sleeper so she never got far.Rozanski's novel, Come Out Tonight, explores the darker side of somnambulism, inspired by the Ambien scandal. Pharmacist assistant, Henry Jackman is horrified when he discovers his lover, Sherry, beaten almost to death in his lounge room. He insists he heard nothing of the attack, having taken Somnolux, a new-generation drug developed by Sherry, to help him sleep. Detective Second Grade, Donna Sirken has trouble believing Henry's story but the evidence is inconclusive, her only real lead lies comatose in a persistent vegetative state, and the investigation stalls...until Sherry wakes up.I liked the premise of Come Out Tonight, essentially the story involves a drug with strange side effects, a company hiding said side effects and an innocent man caught in the middle. The plot is fairly predictable, though Rozanski does a fair job of creating alternate suspects to maintain suspense, and the story is supported by a number of small subplots that add interest overall. I'm not sure the ending needed to be quite as sensational as the author chose to make it but it works in context.Henry isn't a particularly likeable protagonist, and though his confusion and fear seem genuine at times, had he been nicer I would have felt more sympathy for him. I liked Donna, despite her world weary cynicism but felt she could have been a more active character.Come Out Tonight is told from the alternating points of view of Henry and Donna. While I think its quite an effective way to tell the story I did have some issues with it. I didn't feel their voices were distinct enough from each other and at times the overlap in perspective was too close.Come Out Tonight has a great concept unfortunately hampered by fairly ordinary execution. It's a fairly easy read though, being reasonably short, so if the premise appeals its worth taking a chance on.