The Little Sleep: 1 (Mark Genevich) Paperback – 26 Jan. 2021

A fun and easy to read detective story. I really enjoyed this and will be reading more by this author.

Paul Tremblay gave an accurate impression of Narcolepsy combined with snide and well placed humour.I stayed up the whole night to read this well told tale :-)

Oh, this was fun: a narcoleptic detective, whose work is complication by hallucinations and blackouts. Though my fantasy-loving heart remains sad that this isn't a novel about a women whose fingers have been stolen, I went into it expecting a slightly odd detective novel and got just that. I particularly liked Mark's morality -- his unwillingness to drive because he will endanger other people, his inability to forgive his father's complicity -- because it's so easy for authors to write a bland tough-guy detective who lacks this trait. And, in this case, it makes Mark a more complex and real person. The question of what's real, what's not influenced several aspects of the novel, my favourite being the true nature of Jennifer Times, shallow bimbo or sometimes intelligent woman.I recommend this book not only to regular readers of detective novels, but people who might be inclined to stray into this genre for something distinct.

I'm a sucker for crime novels with a gimmick, so when I saw this one about a narcoleptic detective, I couldn't resist. Mark Genevich is a grouchy low-end private investigator, the kind who doesn't do much more than poke around online doing background checks and the like. A few years ago he was a regular, fun-lovin' dude, but a car accident left him facially disfigured and with narcolepsy, and his best friend dead. So now he spends most of his time holed up in the South Boston building his mom owns, where he splits his time between his "office" and his apartment, managing his condition. You see, it's not that he simply conks out at the drop of a hat, he also suffers from cataplexy (whereby one is awake and totally conscious, but completely paralyzed) and has hypnogogic hallucinations (a form of super-lucid dreams that are nearly impossible to distinguish from reality). The combination of these three conditions means that even the most routine case can be exceedingly complicated for him.The plot of this first adventure of his (the book has all the hallmarks of being a series debut) revolves two snapshots of a young woman in a compromising position. She may or may not be a local contestant on an American Idol style show, who just also happens to be the daughter of Boston's district attorney (who also happens to be a childhood buddy of Genevich's father). Genevich snaps awake one day to find these photos on his desk, but can't remember who gave them to him or why. So, he has to try and reconstruct how they got there, which means a lot of stumbling about in the dark until he stirs up a hornet's nest of trouble. He's never quite sure which of his meetings are real and which were hallucinations and soon enough, he has a pair of goons from central casting following him around and shooting at him -- or maybe not. Depending on your temperament, all this uncertainty as what's real and what isn't will either be charming or rapidly annoying. Either way, it makes it a little hard to connect with Genevich and get too invested in his story, since he's constantly screwing up.Other than its damaged hero, the book's other distinctive element is its style, which aims for a modern ultra hard-boiled patter (in case you couldn't tell from the Chandler-inspired title). This mostly works, although you really have to be in the mood for it, and if you're not, it would probably be really annoying. What's more of a problem is that the entire plot hinges on a rather improbable coincidental resemblance (without the resemblance, there is no story). Furthermore, without giving anything away, the main villain could have easily averted the entire mess the first time he meets Genevich by simply playing along with what Genevich believes is happening. In the end, I found myself intermittently enjoying some of the patter, but not particularly engrossed by the plot. And I'm definitely not eager to spend a second book watching Genevich's condition complicate an otherwise basic case.

It is a funny book about a dramatic illness.Laugh at things may help.