Julie's Review: Dead Asleep

Summary: The devil is awake in paradise . . . Biochemist Emma Caldridge comes to a remote tropical island in the Caribbean in search of minerals believed to reverse the aging process. What she finds instead are the bloody remnants of a bizarre religious ritual. And here, where the local people speak in whispers about sea monsters, ancient voodoo curses, and rampaging evil, she discovers something far more real . . . and more terrifying. One by one, the island’s innocent inhabitants are descending into a paralyzing sleep of the dead—victims of a long-dormant, terrifying, and incurable pandemic that could once again wreak unimaginable havoc if it escapes from the island to spread like wildfire across the globe. Trapped by a global quarantine, Emma must break through the fear and superstition to get to the truth and stop the real evil, before she herself succumbs to the death sleep . . . along with millions of others. Because the evil here has an all-too-human face . . . and the deadly ingredients of the apocalypse are suddenly for sale to the highest bidder.  ~amazon.com

Review: You know how you hear about an author and you make note of it but haven't quite gotten around to reading their books? That was me with Jamie Freveletti. So, when her newest novel Dead Asleep landed on my doorstep I was thrilled!

Let me tell you it didn't fail to thrill me either. Reading the description I thought I was in for a horror/zombie book and those are not my cup of tea. Needless to say because I was already captivated by the setting and the undertones of voodoo, I kept reading on. This is not a zombie novel! It is a thrilling ride that involves a mysterious disease, mysterious minerals, international criminals and a famous rocker. These all collide for quite an entertaining novel.

I immediately liked Emma Caldridge. She was smart and tough. In some ways she reminded me of Meg Gardiner's Evan Delaney with her book smarts and her seeming street smarts. Well, they both know their way around a gun. Emma is a biologist that is on Terra Cay to find a new plant or mineral for a cosmetic company that hired her to do the research and testing. It is immediately evident that someone is trying to scare her off the island with the attack by the voodoo mistress and her machete carrying sidekick. Emma doesn't scare easily or back down. She continues on with her research in hopes that going to the blue holes will provide her with enough minerals to help keep her company afloat.

All of the characters in the book are well fleshed out and intriguing. I'm anxious to read more about Banner and Stromeyer; their relationship, their business and their enemies. Sumner is an interesting character and I'm sure there is more to his story that I'd love to learn about.

There is definitely a lot going on in this novel but Ms. Freveletti does a wonderful job of pulling it all together. I only have one question lingering and this is what was the creature or black ink in the cave/ocean by the blue holes. Maybe I'm just supposed to let it go with Emma's explanation as it did seem plausible.

I definitely recommend Dead Asleep and even though I hadn't read the previous 3 novels, I didn't feel it inhibited my understanding of the characters. I have already purchased the three previous Emma Caldridge novels (Running from the Devil, Running Dark, The Ninth Day because I enjoyed Ms. Freveletti's writing style and characters immensely. Hopefully the rest of my reading won't get in the way so I can go back to the beginning of this series sooner rather than later.

Final Take: 4/5

Thank You to Kaye Publicity and Harper for my review copy.