One Line Summary

A woman accused of murder remains asleep for years, and the psychologist sent to wake her begins to question whether truth and guilt can ever be separated.

Opening Impression

Anna O announces itself with a hook so strong it feels impossible to ignore. From the first pages, Matthew Blake blends clinical unease with courtroom intrigue and media spectacle.

Synopsis

Anna Ogilvy was discovered beside the bodies of two murdered friends, covered in blood and apparently responsible. The problem is she has been asleep ever since, trapped in a mysterious state and unable to stand trial.

Years later, forensic psychologist Dr Benedict Prince is tasked with waking her. What begins as a medical mission quickly becomes a psychological chess match as Prince is drawn deeper into Anna’s past and the secrets surrounding that night.

Analysis

Concept: The novel builds its suspense around a brilliantly unsettling idea: can someone be guilty of a crime committed while unconscious?

Structure: Blake uses shifting perspectives and documentary-style fragments to keep the narrative slippery and unpredictable.

Tension: The book tightens gradually, exchanging explosive action for a slow burn of doubt and suspicion.

Characters: Anna is both absent and ever-present, while Dr Prince is a flawed and compelling guide through the moral maze.

Verdict

Anna O is a fiercely intelligent psychological thriller that treats its audience with respect and refuses easy answers. Original, gripping and quietly disturbing, it earns every ounce of its buzz.