Review: Sleeping Beauty

Writer Miles van Meter is on tour promoting his best selling true crime story Sleeping Beauty. The successful book fascinates the public as it provides an account of convicted killer Joshua Maxfield’s murders and collateral damage that includes the author’s sister.

Miles states that in Portland, Oregon, Joshua killed Norman Spencer in the latter’s home and raped and murdered high school student Tanya Jones, a friend of Spencer's daughter Ashley, who managed to escape safely. Ashley's mother, reporter Terri fortunately was away at the time of the crime. The killer also got away.

Terri encourages her daughter to move on by coaxing her into going to the Oregon Academy where she takes a creative writing workshop taught by Joshua Maxfield. When the instructor reads a murder tale to the class, Ashley recognizes what she hears as too close to home and informs the Dean, who happens to be Mile’s sister Casey van Meter. Not long afterward, Ashley finds Miles holding a bloody knife over Terri’s still body with an unconscious Casey nearby. Joshua is arrested, but escapes, putting the fear for her life in Ashley. As other revelations are revealed that connect Casey, Terri, and Ashley, Miles writes SLEEPING BEAUTY, but that makes Ashley wonder why the case against Joshua rings false.

SLEEPING BEAUTY is an exciting suspense thriller with several major twists that add tension yet seem unnecessarily contrived. The story line is at its best when it keeps a straight forward path mindful of Helter Skelter as the link between author Miles and killer Joshua makes the former’s true crime tale very personal and intriguing to readers as it unfolds. The cast is quite interesting as the audience gets to see up close more than just the killer and the teen heroine, but two extra turns make the novel seem off kilter even as fans of Phillip Margolin will want to continue to see what spin he provides next. This is a solid serial killer book that readers will enjoy.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner

Book Review: Sleeping Beauty