Mark Genevich the narcoleptic private investigator is back! This book picks up a while after the events in The Little Sleep. The notoriety surrounding the last case has died down and the damage from the fire has been repaired. But Mark and his mom, Ellen, are on the outs. She has demanded that he get group counseling if he wants to stay in the building and continue to work as a PI. As you can imagine, Mark isn’t exactly taking the therapy to heart. He’s mucked up a recent job and the client threatens to sue, so when a fellow attendee suggests they go get a drink, they end up on a two-day bender. Naturally things just go downhill from there.
“…I’m telling the truth, but I don’t know if it sounds right and I don’t know if it’s what she wants to hear. No one ever knows the right thing to say. We’re always guessing, and either we have the courage to say something or we don’t.”
By the end of this second novel (in what I hope will be a series), Mark has gone to some very dark places again but the difference is that he seems to finally be coming to terms with his past and creating some hope for his future. This bodes well for the longevity of the series, I think. He is truly becoming more than The Narcoleptic PI (insert bouncy theme music here). At least I feel like I am being rewarded for investing my time and interest in this character. I can’t say the same about some series that I’ve read over the years.
