This seriously had me back peddling and what the helling throughout the final chapters…brilliant novel I hope he writes more, a story full secrets that simmer under the surface of this gripping thriller, ensuring that every twist and turn is more shocking than the last, the ending is beyond belief. A must read!!!

I can be quite a tough reviewer when it comes to thrillers, and while I have seen some hot and cold reviews for this book, I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it. I haven't enjoyed a thriller this much since I read the Silent Patient! Which is interesting as I think it;s fair to say the two books have some parallels, what with the main characters in both books being incapacitated in some way. In this book Anna O is a mysterious sleeping beauty. Yes of course from the beginning of the book I knew it was too obvious that Anna O wasn't the true culprit, however the author succeeded to plant enough red herrings throughout the book that I was led astray and did not guess the ending. For me that is the biggest compliment I can give a thriller!

This book had a very interesting premise but I'm afraid I couldn't connect with the characters or indeed the writing. I imagine the hook could sustain other readers but I did not finish it

A great storyteller who draws you in and great characters who are multi-layered and not necessarily likeable people which, for me, is more believable.

A mystery from start to finish, Anna O had me jumping from one potential suspect to another and back again. A great weaving tale of murder, mystery and suspense.
My reservation of this novel is possibly more to do with my preference in genre. I thought from the blurb that this would be a psychological thriller but i feel it is better explained as murder, mystery and suspense. However, i cannot judge it based on my own misconception.

I found the analytical information regarding resignation syndrome and post traumatic amnesia very interesting indeed. I love it when novels teach me something scientifically researched; it gives the novel a whole new layer to focus my mind upon and read up on after i put the book down.

A great debut novel from Matthew Blake. Thanks to the Publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this novel, in exchange for an honest review.

Where do I start with this amazing book. It would be easier to write what I didn’t like about it rather than what I did. Basically there is nothing I did not like. The story ambles along and you think you know where it’s going however you actually have no idea! In my opinion it is a very cleverly written book and I would implore everyone to read it!

A really great and intriguing read. I loved the characters and the story. Will look out for more from this author.

SPEECHLESS! BLEW ME AWAY! PHENOMENAL! LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS DEBUT!
Matthew Blake, will take the book world by storm when this PHENOMENAL debut is released. There are not enough words to express how much I loved this book. Anna O and Dr Benedict Prince are amazing central characters. There stories intertwine in such a twist filled way, that you think you know where the book is heading. Trust me you don't. When all the secrets and twists are revealed, it will blow your mind. It's well researched, written well and just gripping from beginning to end, the plot is out of this world brilliant. Huge Congrats to Matthew Blake, Anna O will shoot to the top of the charts in 2024.

Anna O took my breath away. I whipped through it in a day, not wanting to stop for a moment. Cleverly written with an addictive atmosphere and plenty of tense moments. I shall be seeking a finished copy when it’s out next year.

Anna O is the center of a media frenzy. Everyone knows her by name and everyone has an opinion on her. Because Anna O commited murder. There are those who believe she is innocent and those who believe she is guilty but no one can know for sure since her eyes have been permanently closed since the crime happened.

Dr Benedict Prince has been doing research on resignation syndrome. The belief that if there is no hope someone will fall into a deep sleep. He thinks his research could be the one to awaken Anna and give everyone the answers they have been wanting!

Anna O is a captivating thriller. With themes of psychology, the unconscious mind and scientific advancement it is quite dark and twisty.

This book had a dual timeline which helped piece the story together. You hear from multiple characters within the book and from excerpts from Anna's diary. The narrator's all have their own beliefs and issues which adds depth.

I would say up until the half way point the book was a bit slow but I appreciate that the story needed to be set up so the second half could fly.

The premise was intriguing to me, so much so, I actually googled to say about resignation syndrome and sleep comas. I am a prolific sleepwalker myself and so the element of people committing crimes when sleepwalking was terrifying to me. Might have to start locking my bedroom door 😂😂.

The book did make me want to read on but I did feel like there was some repetition that could have been cut out.

I have read alot of views who said they totally saw everything coming but I have to admit I did not. 😂😂. I loved all the twists in this book.

Overall the repetition of Dr Benedict Princes internal thoughts were a bug bear. And I felt like the book did not need to be so long! But I am glad I read the book. I enjoyed the concept of sleep psychology and I really enjoyed the twists.

Would be 3 and a half stars. But unable to give halves on here.

I had heard a lot of hype about this book so was appreciative of the fact I could read an advanced copy. It was a compelling read, a definite page turner, if a little overblown and contrived in places. I’m sure it’ll be a big hit.

Compelling read. I really enjoyed the writing style and it was an interesting plot. I got sucked in straight away and couldn’t put it down.
The layers and the twists make it fun to try and work out the who and the why. The different perspectives, including the diary entries, gave a nice depth to the storytelling. It’s a fascinating concept, especially for me as I suffer night terrors occasionally, and sleep walk even as an adult. Although not to any extreme, so don’t worry I’m not building my defence.
I think this is going to be a big hit, especially with the hype that’s already building

NetGalley Only - My only concern was the lack of viable suspects. It was too easy to work out, but still enjoyable.

Thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I was really intrigued by the vague description of this book, as well as its claim to be a 'global sensation'.

However, this book was a difficult read. I found myself willing myself to read this to the end, I nearly gave up several times. I feel the book was written as more of a script for a series or film, rather than a novel.

I assume that the author has studied or has experience in psychology, because a vast amount of this book was about Greek myths and psychology cases from history which I have no interest in reading for reference.

Other than the main character of Anna, the characters weren't very well-rounded. There was very little history given about Dr Prince and his wife, which would have added to the story as it went along.

**Spoilers**

The ending of this book came out of the blue and made absolutely no sense. As mentioned above, if Dr Prince's history had been described in more detail, it may have made a little more sense. I feel that the twist was there but there was no build-up or clues for the reader to follow. I understand maybe the author wanted a shock at the end but it just didn't gel with the rest of the book.

Also, the ongoing saga of Elementary magazine's purchase/takeover also didn't really make much sense either. It was as if the friends' betrayal was described in a lot of detail, but then the RO involvement was just stuck on at the end without any history of this behaviour previously explained. Then the affair made even less sense because that wasn't built-up-to either.


I hate to leave bad reviews as I understand so much work must have gone into writing this. I just couldn't recommend it as I didn't feel it was a good read.

Anna O by Matthew Blake is my favourite book this year so far, and it is an absolute belter! Part medical mystery, part psychological cat & mouse thriller, it ends as an incredibly stylish who done it, why did they do it, was it really them, wow, who'd have thought it, page-turner.

Anna O, dubbed by the press as the sleeping beauty, killed her two friends and business partners whilst sleep-walking and hasn't woken since. Four years on and the Ministry of Justice is keen to get the conviction of the murderer and Dr Benedict Prince, forensic pathologist and expert in the field of sleep-related homicides is tasked with waking Anna from her rare psychosomatic disorder known to neurologists as “resignation syndrome". His plan is a simple one; sensory awakening by giving her the one thing she's missing in her present state; hope! Which is disingenuous at best, seeing that her future is likely to be life in prison.

Prince is a fan of old Hitchcock films and before long he's embroiled on his own machiavellian nightmare reminiscent of Vertigo, or North by Northwest! Brilliantly plotted, superbly twisty, a little bit dark and fabulously engaging so you just have to keep reading. You can lie in tomorrow, right!? 😉

I'm telling everyone I know that they should read this book, before it's undoubtedly made in to Hollywood Blockbuster, which will do it's best to match the quality of the original, but will inevitably fail.

So just read it.

Soon.

You'll be hearing an awful lot about this one in the very near future. Guarenteed.

An 'Oh! so easy' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ from me!

Theres a lot of noise about this book already. Due to be released in February 2024, its set to be one of Harper Collins most anticipated reads for next year. I was expecting to be gripped straight away but this was a slow burn for me. It held my interest from the start but I felt the story took a while to build which isn't necessarily a bad thing, just put me off a little. I liked the multiple pov and the short chapters made it easy to fly through. There was ALOT of Harry Potter references, too much if I'm honest. I started to find them quite cringey. I also thought it was repetitive in parts and a little longwinded. The plot was an interesting premise and new to me but without spoiling, there was a couple parts I thought were abit too far stretched. However, there was some great twists that did keep me turning the pages, I had to see how it ended! That all said, I enjoyed it and I would recommend. I'm looking forward to seeing where this book goes after release. I don't doubt it will be a success. I think it could be a good one for a book club as it would provide lots of discussion!

Huge thanks to netgalley and Harper Collins for the arc in exchange for an honest review ✨️

3.5 🌟

I was a little surprised to discover that this book is expected to be a big hit when it's released, with a lot of hype being built up. It's decent enough as far as it goes, but it didn't strike me as anything much beyond the norm for this kind of book and I don't mean that as an insult - I enjoy a good thriller and this one was fine, but nothing particularly special. It seems that there is already a film of it being discussed and I can imagine it translating well to that format.

I found the characters quite hard to like or really get to grips with. I realise unlikeable characters are somewhat in fashion just now and I think perhaps the author was trying so hard to make everyone suspicious that they just came across as very distant but it made it quite hard to get truly involved in the story. The plot was also fine but nothing groundbreaking - I will avoid too much detail to avoid spoilers but it felt a little gimmicky to me.

I didn't dislike this book but I also didn't race through it, I kept putting it down and coming back to it and that doesn't really say a lot for a thriller to me. It's enjoyable enough though and would make a decent holiday read, and I did have fun coming up with who I'd cast! I believe it's the author's debut so fair play to him for the reaction he's getting and I would certainly read him again.

Thanks to NetGalley for the copy in return for an honest review,
#AnnaO #NetGalley

I found this book slow/hard going and it dragged a lot for me. I did enjoy some of the twists even though I did manage to guess the ending however I didn’t really like the any of characters very much. It was generally an ok/mediocre read.

A fascinating thriller/whodunnit, based around the power of the mind, and how it can be manipulated, which then makes you question a lot of the narrative. It keeps you guessing right till the end. Lots of twists and turns. Quite a long read for me, and I had to concentrate at times. But a good debut novel.

Sadly, I found this book hard going. I struggled to get into it and didn't find the characters to be at all interesting. Not my cup of tea.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

Thanks netgalley for my early review Copy.

Wow just wow. What a book? The twist just keep coming.

DON'T READ THE REVIEWS it will spoil it for you.
Let the title on its own grab you like it did me and be allowed to be drawn in to a thriller of murder/psychology and a question of, did she or didn't she?
Brilliant debut novel!
As previously said, this would be great for Netflix!
Thanks to Netgalley, Matthew Blake and HarperCollinsUk for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.