Blog Tour: Sleep Tight – C.S. Green

I haven’t done a blog tour in a while, but this month I’ll be featuring quite a few! Starting out is Sleep Tight by C.S. Green, published by HarperCollins. This is the first in a new mystery series starring DC Rose Gifford, and is being published today! Many thanks to Jen Harlow and HarperCollins for having me, and do check out the posts from my fellow tour hosts!

STAR RATING: 3.5/5 ✶

RELEASE DATE: 04/03/21

SUMMARY: Even in your dreams you’re not safe. The nightmare is only just beginning…

When DC Rose Gifford is called to investigate the death of a young woman suffocated in her bed, she can’t shake the feeling that there’s more to the crime than meets the eye.

It looks like a straightforward crime scene – but the police can’t find the killer. Enter DS Moony – an eccentric older detective who runs UCIT, a secret department of the Met set up to solve supernatural crimes. Moony wants Rose to help her out – but Rose doesn’t believe in any of that.

Does she?

As the killer prepares to strike again, Rose must pick a side – before a second woman dies. (from HarperCollins)

OPINIONS: This is an intriguing thriller, a story in which it is not clear whether the events are due to supernatural causes or not. In some ways, it reminds me a bit of Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London, with its dedicated department for unusual crimes. But that is where the similarities end. Rose Gifford is a young policewoman, raised by her grandmother, who worked as a medium. Much of the story revolves around her childhood trauma and her struggles to let go of her past and people in it.

This is not a super fast-moving book, but rather one that calmly takes it’s mystery and logically approaches it step-by-step. I liked that it did not fall into sensationalist tropes like many crime novels, but rather used it’s case to show issues in the characters lives. This is as much Rose’s story as it is that of the victims of the initial crime. While the basic set up doesn’t make the story stand out, its execution is well done, and I am curious to pick up a follow-up.

Given more airspace, I think the DC Rose Gifford series can develop into a strong brand and tell some great stories. However, my main gripe with the novel is that it doesn’t evaluate the role of the police critically at all. All of the cops are “good guys”, and there is no indication that the police force needs a nuanced take after the events of the past few years.

If you are intrigued, add Sleep Tight to Goodreads here, and order a copy from Bookshop here (affiliate link).