Why we’re excited
A twelve-year-old is accused of killing a teenager in an abandoned house and says he did it in his sleep. Defense investigator Anne Finchley finds his story tied to a figure he calls the Sandman, who he insists is real.
Lauren Oliver made her name with Before I Fall and Delirium before turning to adult suspense. This is the second book featuring Anne Finchley, following The Girl in the Lake, though the case looks self-contained. Readers who like legal investigation with a creepy, possibly supernatural edge should keep it on their list.
On our most-anticipated list since 22 October 2026. See all the most anticipated books →
What to know about The Sleepwalker
The Sleepwalker is Book 2 in the Dept of Unexplained Phenomenon series. The series begins with The Girl in the Lake.
There are no reviews of Lauren Oliver’s books on The Bookish Elf yet.
From the publisher
A boy who committed murder in his sleep draws an investigator into the nightmares of childhood in a gripping novel of suspense by the New York Times bestselling author of The Girl in the Lake.
Defense investigator Anne Finchley takes on a challenging new build a solid argument for Jake Robinson, a twelve-year-old accused of brutally slaying a teenage stranger in an abandoned house.
Jake claims he has no memory of the event—that the killing must have occurred while he was sleepwalking. But as Anne investigates, she finds a disturbing connection to a monster known as the Sandman that Jake claims trolls his dreams, making him afraid to sleep.
Jake insists that the Sandman is real. Even with the help of Dr. Paul Martinez, a specialist in sleep disorders, Anne’s best defense seems frustratingly unprovable. Then Jake’s victim is finally identified. Not a squatter, not a runaway, not a stranger. But a link to something far more sinister than Anne could have imagined. And Anne’s only hope of rescuing a young boy from darkness is to walk straight into a nightmare.
Description supplied by the publisher.
We haven’t read The Sleepwalker yet. When our review goes up, it will replace this page.
