Review: Serendipity has found Abbot a new fan
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 11, 2014
In the spirit of full disclosure, I admit I randomly selected this novel, scrolling through the Kindle Lending Library, looking for something, anything potentially entertaining. Happy serendipity found Rachel Abbot's Sleep Tight!An American BBC viewer, I am quite fond of detective mystery shows such as Midsomer Murders and A Touch of Frost, and Rachel Abbot deftly dishes the same enjoyment and mystery I experience watching my on-screen detective heroes. Abbott's fluid, evocative yet sufficiently succinct style avoids the slippery slope of overt minutiae.Quite frankly, I personally dislike first person narratives, and when I came to the first section of Olivia's personal narrative, I felt deep disappointment... nevertheless I pushed on, and for the first time in decades of reading, I discovered how the first person narrative can be a rare, exquisite tool- in the right hands. Weaving disparate perspectives is normally a disruptive and jolting reading experience, but Abbot banishes such technique bogeymen.Being the third book of an unfamiliar detective series, I knew nothing of the protagonist's past or established characteristics. This lack of knowledge in no way detracts from DCI Douglas' fully fleshed presence. Certainly there are hints of his past and a minor plot thread leading to her next book, yet Sleep Tight is written with internal completeness that allows it to stand quite comfortably on its own.I count myself very lucky indeed to have stumbled onto this finely crafted novel, and Abbot may be assured that serendipity has found her a new fan.