Divulgação #2: SLEEPYHEAD, de Mark Billingham
Ao navegar pelo site do escritor George Pelecanos (sobre o qual escrevi o seguinte post), vi uma referência ao escritor britânico Mark Billingham. Curioso, resolvi adquirir o livro SLEEPYHEAD, que, além de ser o primeiro romance publicado pelo autor, inaugura a série protagonizada pelo DI Tom Thorne. A série conta com onze volumes até à data e todos têm sido bem recebidos pelo público e pela crítica.
Na sinopse de SLEEPYHEAD podemos ler: «Alison Willetts is unlucky to be alive. She has survived a stroke, deliberately induced by a skilful manipulation of pressure points on the head and neck. She can see, hear and feel; she is aware of everything going on around her, but she is completely unable to move or communicate. It’s called Locked-In Syndrome. In leaving Alison Willetts alive, the police believe the killer’s made his first mistake.
Then D.I. Tom Thorne discovers the horrifying truth; it isn’t Alison who is the mistake, it’s the three women already dead. ‘An appropriate margin of error’ is how their killer dismisses them, and Thorne knows they are unlikely to be the last. For the killer is smart, and he’s getting his kicks out of toying with Thorne as much as he is pursuing his sick fantasy . . .
Thorne knows immediately he’s not going to catch the killer with procedure. But with little more than gut instinct and circumstantial evidence to damn his chief suspect, anaesthetist Jeremy Bishop, his pursuit of him is soon bordering on the unprofessional. Especially considering his involvement with Anne Coburn, Alison’s doctor and Jeremy’s close friend.
Thorne must find a man whose agenda is terrifyingly unique, and Alison, the one person who holds the key to the killer’s identity, is unable to tell anybody. . .»
Podem ler o primeiro capítulo aqui.
SLEEPYHEAD e o seu sucessor SCAREDY CAT foram adaptados para televisão pela Sky1. A série, intitulada THORNE, contou com seis episódios (três para cada romance) e contou com no papel de Tom Thorne. Morrissey foi também um dos criadores da série, juntamente com Billingham.
Mark Billingham escreve também contos, artigos de não-ficção (sobretudo relacionados com escrita, criminologia), mas onde ele começou mesmo foi no stand-up comedy.
