THE RESTLESS SLEEP (PB 2005)

There is no statute of limitations on murder. It is one crime you pay for – but first you must be caught. And in New York City, thousands of murders remain unsolved… It was while working as a volunteer post 9/11 that New York-based writer and broadcaster Stacy Horn first learned of the existence of the NYPD’s ‘Cold Case and Apprehension Squad’. This small but elite unit has but a single purpose: to pursue murder cases that have, for whatever reason – the passage of time, lack of evidence, loss of investigative momentum – gone ‘cold’. These are the deaths that have been forgotten, that languish in dusty filing cabinets in precinct HQ basements, some dating back over fifty years. The Cold Case team’s job is to reach into the past and rescue the victims from oblivion, to answer the questions ‘who were they?’, ‘what happened to them?’ and ‘who did this to them?’, to lay their ghosts to rest. Theirs is the world that inspires and informs television series such as CSI and Waking the Dead. Given unprecedented access to the Squad, Stacy Horn worked alongside the talented, indefatigable, sometimes ill-at-ease and all-too human detectives as they investigate four cases from inception to resolution. An enthralling chronicle of the two years she spent with the team, The Restless Sleep is both a compelling insider’s view of a real-life subculture of crime solving – from its tangled history, the politics and bureaucracy to the science, the emotional and physical toll, and the lucky breaks – and a singular exploration of human nature itself.

"Masterful storytelling."
—San Francisco Chronicle

"While Sleep hardly makes for soothing bedtime reading, Horn’s gripping writing and palpable sense of outrage ensure that its narrative trail never runs cold."
—Entertainment Weekly

"There is rarely a dull page as Horn portrays her colorful band as they challenge the perplexing past."
—The Baltimore Sun