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One Among the Sleepless
"SEX, DEATH, AND NOISY NEIGHBOURS"
A killer has come to town. The victims are connected; each pointing to the next, as if in answer to the question: Who is The One?
Is it Peter Reynolds: mild-mannered office clerk pouring petrol through his neighbour’s letterbox in the middle of the night?
Is it Wayne Dolan: a man whose sexual fantasies about his neighbour spiral into dangerous obsession when he learns of her secret life as a dominatrix?
Or is it Gaz: leader of three friends who love nothing more than sex, weed and partying? All women are easy prey for his charms. All except Sally. And the one who doesn’t want him, is the one he has to have – whether she likes it or not.
Mick Nixon has to find the connection, because people are disappearing - and if he and Sally are ever going to share more than just lunch, he’d better hurry up, or they could be next.
A dark, funny, and at times horrific ride, One Among the Sleepless is a thriller set just below the surface of suburban existence. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll throw it through your neighbour’s window tied to a house brick!
“A tale that’s harder to put down than a delicious bad habit.” Walt Kolenda. Examiner.com
"One Among The Sleepless" is a contemporary fiction novel set in Brighton, England about sex, death and noisy neighbors: a thriller with a rich vein of dark humor that flows from both the narrative and the dialogue of the characters. It's a largely character-driven story; the people and their various shifting relationships compel the plot forward through sometimes subtle, sometimes brutal plot twists towards the final, nail-gnawing climax.
A killer has come to town. The victims are connected; each pointing to the next, as if in answer to the question: Who is The One?
Is it Peter Reynolds: mild-mannered office clerk pouring petrol through his neighbour’s letterbox in the middle of the night?
Is it Wayne Dolan: a man whose sexual fantasies about his neighbour spiral into dangerous obsession when he learns of her secret life as a dominatrix?
Or is it Gaz: leader of three friends who love nothing more than sex, weed and partying? All women are easy prey for his charms. All except Sally. And the one who doesn’t want him, is the one he has to have – whether she likes it or not.
Mick Nixon has to find the connection, because people are disappearing - and if he and Sally are ever going to share more than just lunch, he’d better hurry up, or they could be next.
A dark, funny, and at times horrific ride, One Among the Sleepless is a thriller set just below the surface of suburban existence. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll throw it through your neighbour’s window tied to a house brick!
“A tale that’s harder to put down than a delicious bad habit.” Walt Kolenda. Examiner.com
"One Among The Sleepless" is a contemporary fiction novel set in Brighton, England about sex, death and noisy neighbors: a thriller with a rich vein of dark humor that flows from both the narrative and the dialogue of the characters. It's a largely character-driven story; the people and their various shifting relationships compel the plot forward through sometimes subtle, sometimes brutal plot twists towards the final, nail-gnawing climax.
288 pages, Paperback
First published July 15, 2002
18 people are currently reading
169 people want to read
About the author
Mike Bennett
20 books201 followersMike Bennett is the five-time Parsec Award-winning author/podcaster of the Underwood and Flinch saga, Hall of Mirrors, and One Among the Sleepless. He lives in Wexford, Ireland.
Amazon profile (http://www.amazon.com/Mike-Bennett/e/...) and Smashwords profile (https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi...)
Amazon profile (http://www.amazon.com/Mike-Bennett/e/...) and Smashwords profile (https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi...)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
August 2, 2009
Quirky and dark humored...Mike Bennett has his finger on the pulse of what creates multifaceted characters that sometimes do the strangest things.
An amazing voice: both literally and figuratively.
There's no one else quite like him.
An amazing voice: both literally and figuratively.
There's no one else quite like him.
May 10, 2012
This one started out normal. Then it got weird. Then weird and funny. Then highly ridiculously funny. Then so funny I couldn't read it on the train (kept laughing out loud). Oh my, did I enjoy this first foray into the darkest edge of the internet. Now read it, listen to it and then move straight away onto Underwood and Flinch - a different side of a different genre. Mike Bennett has some weird stuff in his fridge. WARNING: Fantastic author.
February 7, 2013
interesting read, more character driven then I expected but would have liked more answers at the end.
December 31, 2019
This starts great, gets greater in the middle and ends with . . . Greatness!
Such an interest read. Different but engrossing all the way through, can highly recommend.
Such an interest read. Different but engrossing all the way through, can highly recommend.
June 7, 2016
This is so damn funny, Mike's characterisations are perfect. I am on my third listening, thank goodness for a terrible memory :-)
July 27, 2019
It's really hard to describe this book. If you like slice of life, thrillers, and those stories that weave threads of character's lives together you would like this book. It's got some somewhat dry british humor, and such an honest depiction of all of the characters.
I listened to the podiobook, read by the author and he does an AMAZING job and I highly recommend listening to it, if you want to read this book.
I listened to the podiobook, read by the author and he does an AMAZING job and I highly recommend listening to it, if you want to read this book.
May 16, 2022
Oh I loved it. It’s typical night Bennett writing, but this time he goes the humor its head. I just wanted more when it was over. This is just about the funniest grossest realist most hilarious the writing I’ve ever consumed.
July 25, 2020
Got some real indie movie vibes
August 23, 2021
It's good to listen again to a great book. The only difference is that this time I didn't need to wait each week for a new epsiode.
July 11, 2019
I found this by complete accident as a podcast. After the first episode/chapter I was hooked.
I loved the audio quality and the character development. I did feel like the ending was rushed, so I didn't like that much but otherwise it was a great, surprising little find. I feel like I've dated a Gaz, been friends with a Kay, and married a Mick.
Definitely NOT for consumption of children and is DEFINITELY NSFW.
Now to get "wake me up before you go go" out of my head.
I loved the audio quality and the character development. I did feel like the ending was rushed, so I didn't like that much but otherwise it was a great, surprising little find. I feel like I've dated a Gaz, been friends with a Kay, and married a Mick.
Definitely NOT for consumption of children and is DEFINITELY NSFW.
Now to get "wake me up before you go go" out of my head.
May 17, 2024
I really enjoyed this story and it’s quirky characters from start to end. My only gripe is the pacing.I can’t put my finger on it but something about it just didn’t work for me.
That and, I wasn’t a fan of the ending. It left me with so many questions and when I got the answers in the sequel i still wasn’t really satisfied. But, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story despite its pacing issues so it’s forgivable. Plus Mike is one of my favorite authors and performers so it’s always nice to listen to his stories
That and, I wasn’t a fan of the ending. It left me with so many questions and when I got the answers in the sequel i still wasn’t really satisfied. But, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story despite its pacing issues so it’s forgivable. Plus Mike is one of my favorite authors and performers so it’s always nice to listen to his stories
March 27, 2014
I first encountered One Among the Sleepless many years ago, when I listened to it as a story released in the form of a podcast. I continued following Mike Bennet's offerings, and while I eventually couldn't remember that much about One Among the Sleepless, I always remembered liking it. I therefore felt a little nervous about reading it. What if I didn't like it this time around?
I still like it.
From the outset, the story seems like a down to earth tale about relatively normal people living their lives in relatively normal ways. Then the book gradually takes a turn for the weird, gets stranger, and then goes onto rather cleverly bouncing back and forth between absurdity and utter normality. In a strange way the book never feels too ridiculous or unlikely, even at the heights of its absurdity.
The book has a collection of interesting characters. They don't develop much, but they don't need to: they serve their purpose very well, and drive the story onward. Some of the characters are thoroughly likable, charming, and witty people. Others are horrible, strange, mad, or all of the above. These elements are balanced rather well.
It has to be mentioned that this book has quite a large amount of debauchery in it. Thankfully it never seems out of place. Occasionally overdone, yes, but very deliberately so, and only to create the sense of excessiveness, and sometimes absurdity, that is called for in many of the book's scenes.
My biggest problem with the book is the ending. While it wasn't bad, it seemed to fizzle out, giving the impression of ending without the story being quite finished. I'm all for open endings, but this seemed incomplete rather than open. It didn't leave me guessing, but rather left me just not knowing. It didn't even leave me with the feeling of anything being unresolved. It just stopped. In a story revolving so heavily around characters, it would be nice to have a little more closure for at least some of them.
Overall One Among the Sleepless was a very enjoyable read. It's not for everyone, but if you aren't easily offended, if you like slightly strange stories, and if you feel like a quick, darkly funny, entertaining, very British piece of good fun, you could do much worse.
I still like it.
From the outset, the story seems like a down to earth tale about relatively normal people living their lives in relatively normal ways. Then the book gradually takes a turn for the weird, gets stranger, and then goes onto rather cleverly bouncing back and forth between absurdity and utter normality. In a strange way the book never feels too ridiculous or unlikely, even at the heights of its absurdity.
The book has a collection of interesting characters. They don't develop much, but they don't need to: they serve their purpose very well, and drive the story onward. Some of the characters are thoroughly likable, charming, and witty people. Others are horrible, strange, mad, or all of the above. These elements are balanced rather well.
It has to be mentioned that this book has quite a large amount of debauchery in it. Thankfully it never seems out of place. Occasionally overdone, yes, but very deliberately so, and only to create the sense of excessiveness, and sometimes absurdity, that is called for in many of the book's scenes.
My biggest problem with the book is the ending. While it wasn't bad, it seemed to fizzle out, giving the impression of ending without the story being quite finished. I'm all for open endings, but this seemed incomplete rather than open. It didn't leave me guessing, but rather left me just not knowing. It didn't even leave me with the feeling of anything being unresolved. It just stopped. In a story revolving so heavily around characters, it would be nice to have a little more closure for at least some of them.
Overall One Among the Sleepless was a very enjoyable read. It's not for everyone, but if you aren't easily offended, if you like slightly strange stories, and if you feel like a quick, darkly funny, entertaining, very British piece of good fun, you could do much worse.
March 27, 2014
What a weird book. I started it and was one third through and was about to stop reading it, but something drove me to read some more. It took the author some time before it hooked me and I am glad I didn't give up. This is the story of people living in a building, and when peeping through their doors we find all types of different people, all of them weird, by the way. The author had vivid imagination to create all these characters, from wild guys who spend their time stoned and having the time of their life. The weirdest character of all, Adam, is frightening and gave me the goosebumps. The only criticism is that I think that Adam should have been developed deeper. I would have liked to know his background to know what tiggered his behavior. This character had much more potential.
January 22, 2012
An original and often amusing tale of urban life. It felt a bit dated to me, as if it were written some time before 2007 when it was made into a podcast. I also felt some of the characters were a little 'stock' and their motivations not always entirely believable. If this were a text novel, I think it would be a 3 star book.
That said, Mike Bennett's podcast production, wit and performance elevate it into something very enjoyable. I think there is also a leson to be learned for those working hard on making a podcast; a little recapping goes a very long way.
That said, Mike Bennett's podcast production, wit and performance elevate it into something very enjoyable. I think there is also a leson to be learned for those working hard on making a podcast; a little recapping goes a very long way.
November 6, 2012
A weird but good tale from Mike Bennett. It starts with people being kept awake by their noisy neighbours and the lengths they go to for some peace. Amongst it all is a tramp who is looking for something or someone. The neighbourhood characters are well written, some likeable and some not so pleasant! There were some blasts from the past in there with Gary Numan, OMD, a vintage Raleigh Chopper bike and Wham T shirts! A dark story but a lot of fun!
July 1, 2016
The Podiobook version, read by the author, is hilarious and dark at the same time. I had fun listening to it, and was amazed at the wide array of characters that the author created and varied, all alive and lively, even the ones with dark secrets, or shady personalities.
I recommend it highly.
But in the end, it serves to entertain, and not to instruct or better the reader. So four stars it is.
I recommend it highly.
But in the end, it serves to entertain, and not to instruct or better the reader. So four stars it is.
March 4, 2010
Mike is an absolutely fantastic author and story teller. I have all his work in podcast form and truthfully can't pick a favourite. His work is very addictive and the way he brings the charactors to life is nothing short of amazing.
April 3, 2013
I haven't read the book, but I listened to it several times via podcast back a few years ago. Not only is the story amusing, suspenseful, and funny, but Bennet's narration is fabulous. I thouroughly enjoyed it, and recommend it to anyone, particularly the audiobook. Well done, Mr. Bennet.
December 15, 2008
A superb thrill ride filled with interesting characters, all performed with extraordinary vocal talent by the author himself.
October 22, 2009
This was a great story, listened to the podcast. Well written and well acted.
November 5, 2012
Great story but I really wish I could post a review on "Salvation". The "Salvation" podcasts are absolutely brilliant, amazing and original.
August 4, 2011
Love this podio book. Keep it up Mike!
February 17, 2012
I love to listen to Mike Bennett podcasts. This one is super creepy. Listening to it when I was sleepless got me through some hard nights.
March 12, 2012
listening to the podcast of the completed book being read by Mike Bennett... got about half way through and it just wasn't doing anything for me.
November 20, 2012
Quite an amusing read
July 26, 2014
2 1/2 STARS It Was Okay/I Liked It
The ending was exciting, but left me disappointed & wanting. As with any good author, you want more, more, & more.
The ending was exciting, but left me disappointed & wanting. As with any good author, you want more, more, & more.
November 1, 2013
Loved this podcast it was so weird but good. Again each character was rich and I enjoyed each very different storyline. I really lived this!
November 30, 2013
Lots of sex but not necessarily sexy - however I enjoyed this cast of characters very much and the narration by the author was great
December 28, 2013
Not for me! Would not recommend. Rubbish ending too!
August 18, 2014
The characters and excellent narration kept me glued to this one. The plot kind of fizzled at the end, but it was still totally worth it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews