This Week's Reflection: Anna O. – A Psychological Thriller by Matthew Blake.

A book about a woman who never wakes up kept me awake until I finished the book.

The description of this book was very intriguing to me. I found this book while saving another one to my library on Goodreads. Note: The name of the book also caught my attention, my mother's name was "Anna"!!

This was the first time I read any books by this author, Matthew Blake, and I was not disappointed.

By the way, the quote from Sylvia Plath at the beginning of the book seems appropriate—even chilling—after having only read the book description.

The two main characters in this story are Dr. Benedict Prince, the forensic psychologist, and Anna Ogilvy.

The bare facts of the Anna O. case are straightforward.

At 3:00 AM on the morning of August 30, 2019, Anna Ogilvy—the 25-year-old daughter of a senior Shadow Government Minister and founding editor of the magazine Elementary—was found asleep in her cabin at a farmhouse retreat in Oxfordshire with a 20-centimeter knife.

In the neighboring cabins were the bodies of her best friends, Douglas (26) and Indra (25).

Ten stab wounds in both bodies.

Anna’s fingerprints were the only ones on the knife.

Their blood was on her clothing—a positive match.

Despite numerous attempts to arouse the suspect, Miss Ogilvy remained asleep and unresponsive and was later transferred by ambulance to the hospital.

All tests proved normal.

She was alive in a functional body; she was just asleep.

No one knew why she was sleeping.

She never opened her eyes again… until now.

As Anna shows the first signs of stirring, Benedict must determine what really happened and whether Anna should be held responsible for her crimes.

Only Anna knows the truth about that night, but only Benedict knows how to discover it.

And they’re both in danger from what they find out.

What could have possibly occurred in the forest during those eight hours to persuade a 25-year-old woman with no history of violence to stab her two teammates a total of twenty times?

Book Quote:“It is the mystery no one has ever solved.”

Quote from Emily (Anna’s mother):

Emily sighs as if building up to something.

“One thing you must know is that Anna was a girl of extremes. If you understand that, you have a hope of understanding the rest. Not many do. But it’s ironic, I suppose, given what’s happened.”

Ironic, how, you ask?

“As an adult, her eyes are never opened,” says Emily. “As a child, they were never shut. That’s how the nightmare begins.”

The writer takes us through many twists and turns and introduces us to many different characters.

There are cliffhangers inside the cliffhanger!!

I am constantly asking: Who is “Patient X”?

Each time I thought I knew, I ended up being wrong—and I was drawn even more into the story.

By the end of the book, I was astounded by the revelation (no spoilers here).

I took a deep sigh, not realizing I had been holding my breath.

I had become so invested in the characters (my type of book) that I didn’t want to let go.

Yes, this was one of those books that surprised me. I am a voracious reader, and a game I play while reading is seeing if I can figure out the ending of the book.

I could not in this book.

I had a thousand other endings in mind, but NOT the ending the author had.

THIS is more than a good book.

It’s a great book.

It’s an AMAZING book!

The next time you’re at your local library—or browsing on Audible, Hoopla, Libby, Kindle, Apple Books, Google Play Books, YouTube audiobooks, or even your favorite bookstore—go check it out! I’d love to hear what you think!