Rating: 
Summary: No need to pray
Review: If sleep is your aim, this book will do the trick. I usually love Deaver's work and was pleased to find an older title I hadn't read. Good thing I only paid half price at a used book store. I still feel like I spent too much though, since this was one of the dullest and most tedious novels I've ever read. All of the characters are unappealing and the tension is non existent. I hate it when publishers try to make bigger profits by re-releasing early (and often inferior) works by popular authors. Save your money for Deaver's next book.
Rating: 
Summary: AM I MISSING SOMETHING?
Review: In reading some of the customer reviews, I found myself wondering if we were reading the same book? "Praying for Sleep" was my introduction to the talented Mr. Deaver, and I found that it was just as exciting and intense (albeit in a different way) as his later releases. I don't know whether people who read his newer works were expecting too much, or what. But the fact is, just like any Deaver novel, "Praying for Sleep" is definitely worth reading. It's gripping, full of surprises and in my opinion, extremely well-paced. While maybe not his best work, it is still an extremely well-written book, and beats the pants off most of the other so-called "thriller writers" out there! I suggest some of these people go back and read it again---maybe it was the mood they were in?
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Summary: Nicely Layered Suspense
Review: Jeffery Deaver always makes sure to create multiple layers of suspense and does it very well. The weather alone in 'Praying for Sleep' is a very effective layer. A clear, bright unseasonably warm November evening is threatening to turn into the storm of the century and you see, feel, and smell it coming. The humid silence before the storm becomes increasingly dark and creates a vivid backdrop for the impending. As the water levels creep higher and begin sloshing over the lake dam on a property adjacent to Lis Atcheson's, a series of events in other various New England locations occur. It's freaking ominous! Man, all the lady wants to do is save her roses from the flood! Deaver has a good method for filling in details evenly over four or five subplots as the story progresses. Yeah, filling in details for four or five subplots takes time which can feel like slow going at parts of the story. But I prefer an author to err on the side of too much significant detail than one to cut out information assuming I'm not interested, so it's mostly ok by me. You know how some subplots are less interesting and you can't wait to get back to the characters you really care about? That just seems to happen, but I'll say that Deaver fleshed out all the subs well enough to keep them meaningful, suspenseful, and necessary. Most notably, I enjoyed every scene at the Atcheson house and felt the paranoid schizophrenic Hrubek was a very well developed character. Writing a review lets you relive the story. I'm finding that I am effortlessly getting right back into the feel/mood of the story that I finished reading three weeks ago. That's a good sign. A very good sign.
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Summary: Another excellent book from Deaver
Review: Jeffery Deaver has done it again. Praying for sleep is an easy-reading crime-thriller with his usual superb character description and development and a plot which keeps you guessing right to the end!
Rating:
Summary: Praying for more details...
Review: Jeffery Deaver seems to have showed up out of nowhere to become one of the best thriller authors in the biz...and I believe that 'Praying For Sleep' was the first time I had ever heard of him... I came close to buying this book on several occasions, but somehow always managed to pass it by in favor of something else. It wasn't until I got to know Lincoln Rhyme that I took a chance and picked up some of his earlier books. While good, you can definitely see the growth as a sheer genius at plotting that Mr. Deaver has pulled off in his more recent novels. My best recommendation for this book is to read it and NOT to judge it based upon some of his more recent novels and you are certain to have a fun time.
Rating: 
Summary: Below par for Deaver
Review: Lis Atcheson thinks she has her life together after living through a horrifying experience. Then just as a storm is about to hit, she is told that Michael Hrubeck has escaped the mental hospital and is possibly on his way to find her. An all-out manhunt ensues, and Lis tries her best to storm-proof her farmhouse while looking over her shoulder for the man she testified against in a gruesome murder trial.
I liked the majority of this book. Hrubek takes on almost supernatural powers at times so that some of the book's situations are a bit unbelievable. But Deaver's strong abilities to create suspense and to keep the reader guessing are present throughout the book. The book could have benefitted from stronger editing; probably at least 150 pages could be omitted without compromising the story. Overall, this is a decent read. It's quick, it's Deaver, and there are some strong elements here. I give it 3 stars because I don't feel this is one of Deaver's better efforts and because if I'm recommending Deaver to a friend, I'd have to go with one of his more recent books (BONE COLLECTOR will forever be on the top of my recommendation list.)
Rating: 
Summary: Not his best
Review: Michael Hurbek is a schizophrenic escapee from a mental hospital, and he's on a mission to find Lis Atcheson, the woman who testified against him in a trial where he was found guilty of a vicious murder. The police, Michael's psychiatrist, a professional dog tracker, and Lis' wiley war vet husband are all trying to stop him, but Michael seems adept at evading them all, leaving behind him a trail of murder and destruction. Somewhat interesting core storyline, although some of the tangents were a little boring. Seemed like Deaver was trying to make this into a more serious novel without success. Characterization didn't do much for me. Acceptable read, but definitely not his best. I recommend his Rhymes and Sachs Bone Collector series as much better!
Rating:
Summary: One Wild Ride
Review: Not as fast-paced as other Deaver books I've read, but certainly a good read. Deaver isn't searching for a psychopathic Hannibal Lector, here, an evil person who has no morals nor cares for others. Deaver instead does a great job of getting inside the mind of none other than a paranoid schizophrenic. The meaning behind the non-meaning in the world of such a mental patient who escapes life in a hospital for the criminally insane. What is interesting and seemingly Deaver's goal in this book is not to scare us all about schizophrenics but instead to get inside the minds of his characters. To get at the fear that we all have of the mentally ill. Will society ever be able to understand? Are the mentally ill all violent, simply because they are mentally ill? The reader is left to figure this out while following the people chasing after Michael Hrubek, as well as the woman with a past who readers believe Michael is trying to track down. A great book for those interested in psychiatry. Deaver has done his homework, as is usual for him.
Rating:
Summary: a journey into madness!
Review: Not up to his usual (ie, the bone collector, etc) but still acceptable. The twists and turns of this novel, had me engrossed in this 'storm' and it's description. The ending, as written, was not expected. A good read.
Rating:
Summary: what a dog!
Review: Now that the author has a little fame, he has re-released this dog of a book. It is very disjointed and one of the worst books I have ever had the displeasure to read.
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