No Sleep Till Wonderland: A Novel

Written by Paul Tremblay

Narrated by Pete Simonelli

Narcoleptic Southie PI Mark Genevich returns in this sequel to The Little Sleep from the Bram Stoker Award–winning author of Survivor Song and The Cabin at the End of the World.

Like most private eyes, Mark Genevich is something of a lone wolf. So group therapy isn’t a great fit. But his landlord/mother is convinced it will help his narcolepsy—ignoring the fact that his disorder is a physical condition. Truth is, he has the time. It’s been a year and a half since his last big case, or any case.

It’s never a wise choice to go on a two-day bender with someone you meet in group therapy, but there’s something about Gus that intrigues Genevich. And when his new drinking buddy asks him to protect a female friend who’s being stalked, the PI finally has a case. 

Unfortunately, he’s about to sleepwalk right into a very real nightmare. Before long he’s a suspect in an arson investigation and running afoul of everyone from the cops to a litigious lawyer and a bouncer with anger management issues. Genevich must keep his wits about him—always a challenge for a detective prone to unexpected blackouts and hallucinations—to solve the crime and live to show up at his next therapy session.

In Paul Tremblay’s follow-up to The Little Sleep, unreliable narrator Mark Genevich once again leads readers on a surreal and suspenseful wild ride through the mean streets of South Boston and his own dreamlike reality.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Apr 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9780063071117

Paul Tremblay

Paul Tremblay has won the Bram Stoker, British Fantasy, and Massachusetts Book awards and is the nationally bestselling author of The Beast You Are, The Pallbearers Club, Survivor Song, Growing Things and Other Stories, Disappearance at Devil’s Rock, A Head Full of Ghosts, and the crime novels The Little Sleep and No Sleep Till Wonderland. His novel The Cabin at the End of the World was adapted into the Universal Pictures film Knock at the Cabin. He lives outside Boston with his family.

Reviews for No Sleep Till Wonderland

[jnmegan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I eagerly dove into No Sleep Till Wonderland by one of my favorite authors, Paul Tremblay. When I had learned that Tremblay also had a series of mystery fiction in addition to his renowned horror/suspense stories and books, I was prepared for an immersive experience.What I did not know was that this was the second in the Mark Genevich series (the first being The Little Sleep). So I was unexpectedly thrust into the noir world of a sarcastic, self-deprecating narcoleptic Boston-based investigator. Under the thumb of his mother/landlord, Mark is compelled to attend group therapy meetings as a condition for free rent. It is at one of these meetings that Mark encounters Gus, a magnetic stranger who first befriends and later hires him to help out a lady friend “in need.” As is typical in these types of stories, the dame is bad news and leads our sleepy hero on a twisting and dangerous quest. It is obvious that Tremblay is having a bit of fun poking at the tropes of the hard-boiled detective novel and the misanthropic/misogynistic traits of the narrator. In between racing into fires, getting beat up and having awkward sex, Mark battles with his condition and the constant dream-like state it produces. Since the reader is only privy to his point-of-view, the storyline becomes a meandering series of confusing episodes that may or may capture reality. The gritty vibe and caustic humor is enjoyable at first, but becomes wearing after a while. Mark is “too clever by half” and knows it, and his treatment of women makes him difficult to embrace. Perhaps I would have had a better appreciation for his quirks if I had read the first book. As it was, the impression that I got was that while Tremblay playfully toys with provocation and extremes, the unfortunate result is a collection of wisecracks and misogyny with a plot that fails to be compelling. The novelty of a narcoleptic narrator is unique, but also contrived and unnecessarily distracting. No Sleep Till Wonderland requires a lot of patience from the reader-who may struggle to empathize with Genevich and question his puzzling choice of a profession for which he seems so ill-suited. I could go back and read The Little Sleep to give Tremblay the benefit of the doubt, but I am much more likely to anxiously await his next thriller release instead. Thanks to the author, St.Martin’s (Griffin), and Edelweiss Plus for an ARC of this book in return for a partial review.

[christineellei · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

In this follow up book to THE LITTLE SLEEP we revisit Mark Genevich the narcoleptic P.I. After coupling his landlord mother forcing him to go into therapy, his P.I. business not meeting his expectations and his ongoing battle with his narcolepsy Mark decides to go on a two day bender. Coming out of the bender Mark finds himself a suspect in a arson/murder investigation. The first book was unique because it threw a twist into the typical P.I. genre read. Although this follow up still has the sarcastic wit and dark humour of the original some of the newness has worn off the concept and I found myself not enjoying it as much. I will continue to read Mr. Tremblay’s books because he has injected enough interesting personality into his Genevich character that I want to find out 1. more about the original cause for his narcolepsy and 2. how he continues to deal with it. If I need to red through another adventure to find these things out … so be it.

[grheault_2 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

DNF, 3 pp. I was bored to death. Nothing there. Language was pedestrian, almost lazy, little action, vague descriptions, little in the way of rich detail or images. It failed to engage me. Sorry....

[westcott_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I should preface my review by saying that I haven't read "The Little Sleep." I don't think that this book suffered because of it, but I can't really say. It gave enough backstory and setup of the main character and his situation that I was fine. When I heard the synopsis of the book (PI with narcolepsy), I was immediately reminded of "Motherless Brooklyn" by Jonathan Lethem (Pi with Tourette's). Motherless Brooklyn is a great book; this is a good, clever, noir mystery. It spends a lot of energy being clever and noir, laying on the cynicism and the similes, but it works pretty well. The story is engaging enough. It's got a few twists, but much of the problem comes from the narrator's own character flaws and his medical problems. Not a classic, but I was in the mood for a quick-read mystery and this satisfied just fine and at times went beyond in some of the moments when it effectively delved into the protagonist's inner life and the way he deals with and fights with his disorder.

[mooose_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

2nd in series featuring a man with narcolepsy who turns to being a PI in order to give some meaning to his life. The fact that he isn't very good at it doesn't matter as he is incredibly stubborn and keeps on keeping on until the case is solved.I thought this one was better than the first although both stories were more complicated than they needed to be. I think the author needs to trust that his characters are strong enough without a convoluted story around them.

[thesecretllama_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Paul Tremblay has the quirk right! His narcoleptic detective, Mark Genevich, has bigger problems than his meddling but absent mother. Mark's too busy getting tossed from cars into busy roads, narrowly escaping burning apartments, and nodding off during the antagonists monologue.Tremblay's writing style is smooth and seductive at times. The concept of the narcoleptic detective is creatively zany, but falls short in practice. While I loved the characters in general, there were times when the main character, Mark Gevevich, was overly cynical despite his unfortunate circumstances. His dialogical sarcasm resulted in the lack of whimsy such a character should present for the reader to care. All of the other characters were certainly believable, even Mark's mother whom the reader never meets. However, this is the only criticism this critic has for the novel. Everything else is superb, including the reason for the cynicism in the protagonist. Tremblay shows real talent in the angst written for Mark. And perhaps, the protagonist should not be quite as sympathetic as one might think. Despite it all, I would still recommend *No Sleep till Wonderland*. It is worth the short time it takes to read this novel, by a very talented author, Paul Tremblay.

[cameling_2 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This had all the makings of a good book ...and alas, it fell far short of the mark.A private investigator with narcolepsy is forced into group therapy by his landlord mother. He took on a case which went rapidly pear-shaped when he realizes that he'd been following the wrong woman for 2 days. He goes on a 2-day bender with Gus, a member of the therapy group, and agrees to follow Gus's friend, Ekat home from work, to offer protection against a stalker.He sees a house on fire, he runs in, manages to half rescue a boy, and the next thing he knows, he's being interrogated by the police who wants to know what part he had to play in the fire, who the man who died was, what he's doing with amphetamines in his pocket, who his dealer is, and why the heck is he continuously falling asleep in the middle of sentences. While our confused investigator tries to find Gus, he's viciously attacked, gets entangled with Ekat and his attacker's girlfriend, keeps up with his therapy sessions, and keeps one step ahead of the police. Oh and he has to do all of this while trying not to fall asleep at odd moments.The writing is rather jagged, although I suspect that is the author's attempt at giving us an insight into the disjointed mental process of a narcoleptic individual. Sadly though, the unfolding of the complex web was rather boring, and I almost fell asleep myself at various points of the book.

[craigstepp · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another great read. What's not to like about a P.I.who is physically and emotionally disabled and a narcoleptic. Paul Tremblay has created a memorable character in P.I. Mark Genevich. Mark's South Boston P.I. business is not doing well. He's been grounded by his Mother and forced to go to group therapy. Mark' life really begins to go downhill when Gus, a member of his therapy group, hires him for a small job. It's downhill fast.Mark is harassed by a shady lawyer, beaten up by a drug dealer, and the police suspect him of murder. His only hope is Gus and Gus has disappeared. Arson, murder, drugs, friendship, sex, betrayal, family and dreams. Is Mark awake or asleep? A trip to Wonderland may hold the key. Hound

[princemuchao · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Although I had not read the first book the the series, this sequel to The Little Sleep was a fast, fun read. The private eye's narcolepsy is more than a gimmick - it is an essential part of the character and the story, enabling Tremblay to depict an unlikely protagonist while using traditional genre language and pacing. Since it is written in first person and our narrator has trouble telling the difference between dream and reality at times, we have an unreliable narrator of sorts that keeps the reader attentive... perhaps too attentive, as the plot is definitely weak. Luckily, the character has a mental and emotional arc that is more interesting than the actual mystery, and I will be interested in seeing how the character grows in later books.

[chatfielda · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Before I write anything, let me say that I'm an avid fan of all things hard boiled. I've been reading the down and dirty American mystery genre since I was 8 years old and even today, when I see a new author with an interesting idea, I drop whatever I'm reading to devour the new offering. That's exactly what happened when The Little Sleep caught my eye a little over a year ago, and despite the fact that the back cover read like a gimmicky play on everything Hard Boiled (with a little Motherless Brooklyn thrown in for good measure), I was quite surprised by just how good the final product was. Mark Genevich, as broken as he was, played the anti-hero spot on and, even though his actions will make you cringe more than once, he's a perfect model to build a series on.So, that brings us to No Sleep Till Wonderland - one of a handful of Beastie Boy references in the book (along with dozens of other cultural references that add a nice flavor to the prose). The language is just as punchy, Mark Genevich is just as engrossing, and the pace is just as brutal. The one thing that falters here the most is the plot. I don't expect too much from the plot of a hard boiled detective novel, but when you're dealing with something as story altering as Narcolepsy, you can do a lot more with it than Tremblay does here (see The Little Sleep).But, again, the plot is not what makes a hard boiled detective story snap and in this case, you really don't need to be engrossed so much in the mystery playing out around Mark, than in the way in which he handles it. Paul Tremblay has crafted a world in which you never know what is real and what is not - and all the while the mystery is playing out around Mark and his unreliable memory. In the case of The Little Sleep, this was actually a little frustrating, because even though the plot was engrossing, the narcolepsy had a great deal to do with the mystery - it felt a bit contrived. This time around, you know that going in, and Tremblay once again throws his anti-hero into the fire (quite literally), but without the constant pressure that comes from the ongoing feeling, as a reader, that you have no idea what actually happened.The idea of a narcoleptic Private Investigator would never have struck me as being anything better than a gimmick. But, taking away the organization, smooth talking, and toughness of the archetypal hard boiled detective creates a fragile, yet tenacious visage in the form of Mark Genevich - a compelling and stressful protagonist who fights himself and his condition just as much, if not more than the local thugs and shady lawyers.As I mentioned before, I am a bit biased, but I have to say - Paul Tremblay has created a character and a world that I'm always going to be willing to return to. The biggest problem I foresee going forward is that his protagonist is much more a part of the story than the mystery - something that can derail a mystery series if the author doesn't eventually develop his character. I'm hoping to see something along those lines in the books to come. One thing is for sure though - I can't wait to read more of Mark Genevich's exploits.

[bccjillster · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Really enjoyed the freshness of his first book, so I rushed to get his new one right away. The gimmick is wearing a bit, but the writing is so punchy and filled with cultural references I get (for a change), I really enjoyed it. I don't usually go for what might be termed 'hip' writers so I'm not clear why Tremblay tickles me with his snappy patter.The plots leave something to be desired for a mystery, but I guess that's par for the course for the hard-boiled genre. I'll read his next one and hope for some new angles on the narcolepsy thing.

[juliebean_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Readers assume that private eyes have certain qualities. They're organized. They know what they're doing. They're tough, and they're stoic. Obviously, they have the stamina to stay awake on a stakeout.Then there's Mark Genevich, the main character of No sleep till wonderland. He has narcolepsy, and when he gets really stressed, he can experience catoplexy, too, where he can't move at all. He's not your typical private eye hero, but he's likable, not least because of the internal monologues and stories we hear from Mark in this first-person novel.Overall, the plot was interesting. It was hardly ground-breaking, but with such an interesting protagonist, it didn't matter. As I read, I found I cared less and less about the action, and more about how Mark would handle it. I found the references to his loneliness to be outstanding. I am always impressed when an author has the guts to reveal the internal conversations we have with long-gone friends, and Mark has those.I wliked the gritty details in this book, with a plot and characters that were believable, and with a flawed central character that you want to like, but you still manage to feel uneasy about him when you finish the story. I will definitely read the previous Genevich novel, The little sleep, and I look forward to reading more about Mark.