Rating: 
Summary: Thriller Meets Police Procedural
Review: Greg Iles has taken on the interesting, and surely daunting for a male author, task of writing a book in the first person from the female perspective. Not only is he dealing with the feelings of the opposite sex towards quite emotional issues, his main character is also a troubled soul, having lost her father when she was young, her mother to alcoholism and her sister to an unknown kidnapper. On top of that he deals with some pretty major issues such as rape and child abuse. Although, it's a big task, he has presented his character in a believable and interesting fashion and, to my mind, pulls it off.Jordan Glass is a photojournalist who does a lot of travelling around the world. While she is Hong Kong, she visits an art gallery and finds herself face-to-face with what appears to be a painting of her. It is actually her twin sister, who has been missing for around eighteen months, presumed dead. The chilling aspect of the painting for Jordan is that the subject is supposed to be sleeping, but looks very much dead. Jordan immediately notifies the FBI and has them reopen her sister's case. She travels back to the United States and manages to convince the FBI agents that she should be allowed to take an active part in the investigation. The hunt begins for the artist and the women that are his subjects, for Jordan's sister is only one of many missing women who have turned up on canvas. All in all Dead Sleep is an exciting, smart-paced book mixing a thriller scenario with aspects of the typical police procedural. I did find myself having to deal with a couple of small quibbles, such as the photojournalist outsmarting the entire FBI when it comes to investigation and psychoanalysis. However, they were minor compared to the entertainment provided by another imaginative story courtesy of Mr Iles.
Rating: 
Summary: Skip This One
Review: Greg Iles is a talented writer, and an especially gifted narrator. This book, however, doesn't even begin to showcase his talent. The premise of the book is interesting; someone is painting a series of pictures of women who are either dead or sleeping. The main character's twin sister has disappeared and shows up as one of the subjects in the paintings. With the help of the FBI, she tries to track down the painter---who may also be a killer. The book begins with a bang, and the first few chapters will have the reader frantically turning pages. After that, though, Iles kills the book by bogging it down with about 250 pages of nothing but dialogue. Very little happens during this time period other than dialogue, dialogue, dialogue---which is fine in small amounts, but the plot withers and dies during this time and the reader is left bored and disappointed. Iles could benefit from a more talented editor who could explain to him that he could easily accomplish in 2 or 3 pages what he routinely spends 20 pages writing about. Creating good characters and believable dialogue is fine, but Iles doesn't know when to stop. As he has done in several other books, he spends literally dozens of pages giving detailed descriptions of people who have little or nothing to do with the plot. Once again, I don't blame Iles, I blame his editor. I was about to give up on this one midway through but it became exciting again when I reached the last 100 pages. The ending left me somewhat disappointed and I found myself wishing that the book had been as good as the first Iles book I ever read, Sleep No More. If you're looking for a tightly-crafted suspense thriller, try that instead and leave Dead Sleep on the shelf.
Rating:
Summary: Original Premise
Review: I picked this book to read because the premise sounded so original and it kept its promise. There are a series of paintings of nude women who appear to be asleep or dead on display in a gallery in Hong Kong. Jordan Glass, a world class photo journalist, discovers the paintings and is shocked to discover that one of them looks exactly her. The first page in this book is a little tricky. I wonder how many readers go back and read the first two paragraphs a second time before continuing with the story. Iles, in the tradition of the best mystery writers, doesn't come right out and tell the reader who the suspect could be, but he paints a picture and leaves it to the reader to pick up on his clues. So much more fun that way. There are ups and downs in this story. It bogs down in a few places, but the pace soon picks up again. At times, the suspense is so great, the reader is tempted to take a peek at the end. But it's a complicated story and the reader would miss out on a lot by doing that. A very good read.
Rating: 
Summary: One of Iles Best
Review: I really loved this book. This was my 6th Iles book and I though one of his best. Many readers disliked the length of some of his other books, so at about 370+ pages, this was one of his shorter ones. It's tightly written (no tangents or extraneous characters -- another Iles complaint). And, unlike some of the other reviewers, I thought the ending held together very well. Another aspect of this book that was outstanding is that Iles writes this book in the 1st person as a woman. He does an excellent job at this as we see the world and the drama unfold thru the heroin's eyes. If you like mystery/action type books with great villians and interesting characters, you'll like this book. I couldn't put it down!
Rating:
Summary: A well written, if outlandish, mystery
Review: Iles is, first and foremost, and excellent writer. He brings his characters to life in a way that few in this genre do (are you listening John Grisham?). THe story works so very until the last 50 pages or so. Each revelation is more outlandish than the next. There is an overly long scene where the killer explains his motivates and pieces together the whole plot. The revel scene with the killer strains belief. The final twists are welcome, but also kind of "out there." Still, it was nice to read such a well written book and be geniunely surprised (even if the surprises are crazy)!
Rating:
Summary: enticing
Review: Jordan Glass gets a suprise when she visits a museum at Hong Kong: A painting of herself in the nude. Or maybe of her missing twin? Working with the FBI, they set in motion a series of events with unimaginable consequences.
In the Dead Sleep we are pulled with the narration of J. Glass. She's undoubtably one of the better female protagonists I've read for a while; who wouldn't fall in love a sexy forty-something photojournalist? Writing in the first person, Greg Iles immerses us in her life, taking us through a potpourri of themes like art, death, war, and psychology. Also the enemy is brilliant, cunning, and violent: the makings of a worthy adversary.
Dead Sleep is a masterpiece worthy of the Nabis, we are provoked to examine our thoughts on issues like death and art.
Enjoy this book before you repose.
Rating:
Summary: This is powerful painting with words!
Review: One of the Sleeping Women paintings changes Jordan Glass' life. She is the image of the nude woman either sleeping or dead, but she did not pose for the painting. Thus begins Jordan's journey to find out if the painting is her sister Jane Lacour, her twin who is missing and presumed dead. There is a luscious cast of characters, both suspects and investigators. The plot is well developed, and all too plausible since many women do disappear from their lives. Most do not run away from the two children and a good husband they adore. Jane certainly didn't leave them intentionally. I enjoyed Iles contemplation of the connections between identical twins. Even with Jordan's memory about the moment she felt her sister's death, she never gave up hope that Jane would be found alive. Perhaps the sensations she thought were Jane's death weren't. After learning what happened to Jane, I wondered if Jane had felt similar sensations about Jordan - that is how "real" these characters were. This book is outstanding; it is a page-turner in the truest sense of the words. I came to some of the same conclusions as Jordan did, but in the end only her creativity and depth of knowledge could save her life. Five stars! Victoria Tarrani
Rating:
Summary: Stunning, informative book
Review: This is a thriller about the extent to which some people go to enjoy the unusual in art. More that that, it is the story of Jordan Glass, a photo-journalist whose twin sister disappeared some time ago. It is her story of struggle, hopes, fears and redemption. It is as "picture perfect" (pardon the pun) a book as possible with interesting, riveting characters - both good and bad. The internal workings of the FBI, the love story with the agent, the four suspects and their stories - it is beyond me how anyone can find fault with this book. True, it is not an action packed thriller (quote unquote) but for those who are more inclined to the thriller (as opposed to the shoot-em-up type), it is a welcome addition.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning, informative book
Review: This is a thriller about the extent to which some people go to enjoy the unusual in art. More that that, it is the story of Jordan Glass, a photo-journalist whose twin sister disappeared some time ago. It is her story of struggle, hopes, fears and redemption. It is as "picture perfect" (pardon the pun) a book as possible with interesting, riveting characters - both good and bad. The internal workings of the FBI, the love story with the agent, the four suspects and their stories - it is beyond me how anyone can find fault with this book. True, it is not an action packed thriller (quote unquote) but for those who are more inclined to the thriller (as opposed to the shoot-em-up type), it is a welcome addition.
Rating: 
Summary: Holy Cow did this book fall apart
Review: This is the first time I have read a Greg Iles novel and it will be the last one I read of his. Don't get me wrong it was an interesting idea but I felt it fell apart towards the end. To me it ended up being just silly.
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