Sleep When You're Dead by Jude O'Reilly BLOG TOUR @judithoreilly @HoZ_Books @AriesFiction #SleepWhenYoureDead @soph_ransompr #BookReview

 

In thirty-six hours, thousands of innocent people will die. There's not a second to waste. And no time for sleep...

Michael North has a bullet lodged in his brain which could kill him any second. That makes him the perfect MI5 asset: he's ruthless, loyal, brave. And, best of all, disposable.

Teenage computer expert Fangfang Yu does not feel the same way. She's determined to keep her friend out of danger – however many cyber laws she has to break to keep him alive.

Now North has been sent undercover into a doomsday cult on a remote Scottish island. He has thirty-six hours to stop their charismatic leader from inciting the murder of thousands. He can only do it with Fangfang's help – but when they uncover a shocking link between the cult and the dark heart of the US defence establishment, it doesn't just put North's life at risk... it threatens Fangfang too.

Perfect for fans of David Baldacci, Lee Child and Mark Dawson, Sleep When You're Dead is a rollercoaster action thriller packed with twists that will keep you up all night.

Sleep When You're Dead by Jude O'Reilly was published in hardback on 13 October 2022 by Head of Zeus / Aries. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this blog tour. 

Wow! That was the word that I uttered when I turned the final page of this one. It's heart-stopping, exhilarating, tension filled story that had me frantically turning the pages to see just what was going to happen next. 

This is the third in the Michael North series but it can certainly be read as a stand-alone story as the author cleverly fills in the back story within her plot. 

North is a former MI5 agent with a bullet lodged in his brain. The fact that he could die at any time makes his behaviour just that little unpredictable, it also means that the top brass can send him on any job, no matter how dangerous and just take their chances on his survival.

His mission in this story is to infiltrate a cult that been established on the island of Murdo in the Outer Hebrides, off the Scottish coast. A cult member recently carried out a terrorist attack in London, in which North played a large part and it's down to him to find out what's going on within the community. 

With his brilliant, teenage, computer genius sidekick Fangfang Yu and his old mate Pug Donne, a plan is hatched and North makes his way to the island. His journey is not uneventful and in fact, is a good lead into what is in store for him. 

Full of action, with excellent references to dodgy Americans and undercover news reporting, this is an action-packed thriller that certainly delivers everything that I wanted from it. O'Reilly's character development is exceptional, and I particularly loved Fangfang. She's quirky, dry witted and totally loyal, often appearing to be naive about people, but always having North's back. North himself is a multi layered, very complex individual. He tries his hardest to appear tough and untouchable, yet the author reveals some more vulnerable sides to his character throughout. 

Extremely enjoyable, with a plot that thrills and characters that really deliver.

Jude O'Reilly is the author of Wife in the North, a top-three Sunday Times bestseller and BBC Radio
4 Book of the Week, and The Year of Doing Good. 

Jude is a former senior journalist with the Sunday Times and a former political producer with BBC 2's Newsnight and ITN's Channel 4 News. 

Her Michael North series has been praised by bestselling thriller writers around the globe.

Twitter @judithoreilly