The Waking: A Novel of Suspense

by Mike Nichols

Book Overview

A small midwestern town is thrown into upheaval when beautiful lawyer Sandy is left in a coma after a terrible car crash, and questions about her seemingly devastated husband, Will, come up when it is... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0062734237
• ISBN13: 9780062734235
• Release Date: June 2002
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 306 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

An excellent thriller by a talented new author.

"The Waking," by newcomer Mike Nichols, is an extremely accomplished work. Nichols is adept at handling the many twists and turns of the psychological suspense thriller. "The Waking" is reminiscent of "Presumed Innocent," by Turow, in that Nichols handles courtroom scenes well and also toys expertly with the reader until the very end of the book. I do not mind being manipulated if the book is exciting and entertaining, which "The Waking" assuredly is.Will Dunby is a newspaper reporter who is married to a beautiful, wealthy and intelligent lawyer named Sandy Cross. Sandy's family is very wealthy, while Will has had to struggle financially all of his life. On the surface, Will and Sandy appear to be a golden couple. However, their marriage, when examined more closely, is far from perfect. Sandy is brokenhearted over her inability to carry a baby to term, and her bitterness spills over into her relationship with Will. After a series of ever escalating quarrels, the Dunby marriage appears to be headed for trouble.To make things worse, a series of catastrophic events occur which throw Will's life into turmoil, and the rest of "The Waking" is a thrilling roller coaster ride. Not only has Nichols written a genuinely suspenseful and engrossing mystery, but he also raises fascinating moral questions about the rationalizations that people make in order to justify their questionable behavior. The character development and dialogue are first rate and the mystery is intricate yet satisfying. I recommend "The Waking" highly. Mike Nichols is a talented new author whose future work I await with eager anticipation.

A thoughtful whodunnit

I read this book in one sitting. The pace, tone and plotting are right on the mark. The book keeps reeling you in. The illusion is never broken and the mind is always engaged. The trappings of a conventional whodunnit - courtroom scenes, murders and cops - are all present, but also thoughtful meditations on end-of-life issues and euthanasia enthrall as well. Highly recommended.

A read to be savored!!

I deliberately waited until I went on vacation to read this book so I could truly savor the experience. The plot is deliciously devious, but what really stands out to me is the pace of the plot, unfolding step by step, clue by clue, revelation by revelation. The reader is drawn into the story at the pace of the characters. This is not literary "fast food" but a novel to be leisurely explored, taking time to enjoy the word craft and each new development. Relax and enjoy a great read!

Great read

This is a great mystery. Plot twists come sometimes by nuance and sometimes like a ton of bricks. I love it when a mystery comes up with a fair twist that completely surprises me, which happens more than once here. Add some very nice passages that explore human relationships and responses to tragedy--all without slowing the narrative while adding depth to the characters--a great read that is not your typical mind-candy thriller.

exciting thriller

Sandy Cross is a beautiful wealthy defense attorney who works mainly with the underprivileged in Droughton. Her husband Will is a general reporter at the local paper, a job that totally satisfies him. Although their idyllic marriage hits a rough spot when Sandy guiltily confessed her infidelity to Will, they manage to move past it and are now planning on having a child together.One night when Sandy is late getting home Will has a premonition that something is drastically wrong. He calls the police and later discovers that Sandy deliberately drove her car off a cliff. She was thrown from the car and because of the intensive brain damage lapsed into a deep coma that the doctors think she will survive. Her suicide attempt sets off a chain reaction of events that will lead to the arrest and conviction of an innocent woman, Sandy's client and friend Billi Stradi. As a result of this murder conviction, Will never be able to look at his closest friends the same way again.From the very first page of this story, readers know that the events that transpire in this book are not as straight forward as they appear. What keeps readers eagerly turning the pages is that they don't know who actually perpetrated these events and what part Will played in the days following his learning of his wife's infidelity. THE WAKING is an inspired and thought provoking thriller written by an author who has a unique perspective on the human race.Harriet Klausner