The Sleep Room by F.R. Tallis - Book Review

Genres are meant to be broken down and mixed. Some authors really shine in one particular genre but become stale if they don’t try to break out of it every now and again. Some, such as Richard Matheson and Ray Bradbury, can write in multiple genres with skill. Others, like Nora Roberts, may only choose a couple and write successfully in them. And then there are the authors that are better off just sticking with what they know. Dr. James Richardson is a young ambitious psychiatrist who gets the opportunity to work with one of his heroes, Dr. Hugh Maitland. Not only does Richardson get to head Dr. Maitland’s hospital at Wyldehope, he gets to be in charge of Maitland’s most ambitious experiment, the sleep room. The sleep room is an experiment where patients are kept asleep for months at a time in order to treat their mental disorders. Using a process called narcosis (also known as deep sleep therapy), Maitland believes he can cure what plagues the patients in the sleep room. While the explanations here are interesting-Tallis is a clinical psychologist-it doesn’t do much for entertainment or intrigue. Tallis spends quite a bit of time setting up a spooky atmosphere and explaining something he has extensive knowledge about, but at the expense of moving the narrative forward.

After Richardson is at Wyldehope for a bit he begins to notice some strange occurrences. Objects disappear from one room only to be found in the strangest of places. The nurse who spends a great deal of time in the sleep room slowly begins to break down mentally. Apparitions are seen in the night but when the light hits them nothing is there. Richardson begins to realize that all of the women in the sleep room have had similar traumas before arriving. Maitland may be up to something other than seeing to the welfare of his patients and Richardson may be part of the experiment.

The spookiness of the novel is meant to either emulate or be homage to Shirley Jackson. Unfortunately things don’t start going bump in the night until about a third of the way in. The supernatural aspects seem like they are wedged uncomfortably into a historic mystery (which is more of Tallis’ strong suit, he is the author of the Max Liebermann Mystery series). There are a few events that are quite interesting that don’t get explored fully. And the biggest insult to readers everywhere is the M. Night Shyamalan ending that is awkwardly screwed on for no good reason. Tallis is a very talented writer who is passionate about psychology and psychiatric treatment. This is a case where he should have stuck to what he knew and wrote a straight up period mystery. There was plenty there to work with without resorting to spooky noises and things happening just off stage.

Punch-in-the-gut twist endings very rarely ever work and should be used next to never. I’d give him another chance, but only one more.

Reviewed by Adam Armstrong

The Sleep Room: A Novel