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As She Lay Sleeping: A Shadowy Figure, a Brutal Murder, an Anonymous Tip, Will Justice Prevail? A True Story
Excellent Book
320 pages, Hardcover
Published January 15, 2013
About the author
Mark Pryor
36 books669 followersMark Pryor is a former newspaper reporter from England. He moved to the US in 1995 and subsequently spent 16 years working as a prosecutor with the Travis County District Attorney's Office, in Austin, Texas. He is now a partner at the law firm of Cofer & Connelly, in Austin.
His upcoming book DIE AROUND SUNDOWN is the first in a new series of historical mysteries set in Paris during WW2. It will be published August 16, 2022, by St. Martin's/Minotaur.
Mark is also the author of the Hugo Marston mystery series, set in Paris, London, and Barcelona. The first in the series, THE BOOKSELLER, was a Library Journal Debut of the Month, and called "unputdownable" by Oprah.com, and the series has been featured in the New York Times. Mark also wrote the psychological thrillers, HOLLOW MAN, and its sequel, DOMINIC. As a prosecutor, he has appeared on CBS News's 48 Hours and Discovery Channel's Discovery ID: Cold Blood.
Of his books, reviewers said:
"[G]ood character development, increasing levels of action and suspense, a complex and deranged antagonist, and--once again--appealing Paris settings. The Hugo Marston series now belongs on every espionage fan's watch list."
--Booklist
"Haunting imagery in Père La Chaise cemetery sets the stage for Pryor's chilling sophomore entry, and the City of Light becomes a backdrop for Marston's adventures. The clever antagonist leads him on a merry chase that will keep the reader entertained throughout."
--RT Book Reviews
"Two young lovers make the fatal mistake of sneaking into Paris's Père Lachaise Cemetery the same night as a bone-stealing psychopath in Pryor's propulsive second novel starring affable former FBI profiler Hugo Marston.... The engaging characters sweep readers into a suspenseful chase from Pigalle to the Pyrenées."
--Publishers Weekly
The third Hugo Marston novel, THE BLOOD PROMISE, was released in January 2014. It may be his best yet...
"Mark Pryor is one of the smartest new writers on the block. His new novel is a doozy."
--Philip Kerr, author of A Man Without Breath, a Bernie Gunther novel
"Pryor seems to have hit his stride in this series, as he adroitly juxtaposes the light banter between Marston and Green with some scenes of intense emotion.... And, all the while, the suspense ramps up. Top-notch mystery in a skillfully delineated Parisian setting."
--Booklist
Mark is also the author of the true crime book, AS SHE LAY SLEEPING, which is the account of a "cold" murder case he prosecuted. Published in January 2013, Publisher's Weekly gave it a starred review and called it "compelling" and "riveting."
His upcoming book DIE AROUND SUNDOWN is the first in a new series of historical mysteries set in Paris during WW2. It will be published August 16, 2022, by St. Martin's/Minotaur.
Mark is also the author of the Hugo Marston mystery series, set in Paris, London, and Barcelona. The first in the series, THE BOOKSELLER, was a Library Journal Debut of the Month, and called "unputdownable" by Oprah.com, and the series has been featured in the New York Times. Mark also wrote the psychological thrillers, HOLLOW MAN, and its sequel, DOMINIC. As a prosecutor, he has appeared on CBS News's 48 Hours and Discovery Channel's Discovery ID: Cold Blood.
Of his books, reviewers said:
"[G]ood character development, increasing levels of action and suspense, a complex and deranged antagonist, and--once again--appealing Paris settings. The Hugo Marston series now belongs on every espionage fan's watch list."
--Booklist
"Haunting imagery in Père La Chaise cemetery sets the stage for Pryor's chilling sophomore entry, and the City of Light becomes a backdrop for Marston's adventures. The clever antagonist leads him on a merry chase that will keep the reader entertained throughout."
--RT Book Reviews
"Two young lovers make the fatal mistake of sneaking into Paris's Père Lachaise Cemetery the same night as a bone-stealing psychopath in Pryor's propulsive second novel starring affable former FBI profiler Hugo Marston.... The engaging characters sweep readers into a suspenseful chase from Pigalle to the Pyrenées."
--Publishers Weekly
The third Hugo Marston novel, THE BLOOD PROMISE, was released in January 2014. It may be his best yet...
"Mark Pryor is one of the smartest new writers on the block. His new novel is a doozy."
--Philip Kerr, author of A Man Without Breath, a Bernie Gunther novel
"Pryor seems to have hit his stride in this series, as he adroitly juxtaposes the light banter between Marston and Green with some scenes of intense emotion.... And, all the while, the suspense ramps up. Top-notch mystery in a skillfully delineated Parisian setting."
--Booklist
Mark is also the author of the true crime book, AS SHE LAY SLEEPING, which is the account of a "cold" murder case he prosecuted. Published in January 2013, Publisher's Weekly gave it a starred review and called it "compelling" and "riveting."
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
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February 21, 2022The book was good but very long winded.
July 27, 2022
Today's post is on As She Lay Sleeping: A Shadowy Figure, a Brutal Murder, an Anonymous Tip. Will Justice Prevail? by Mark Pryor. It is 341 pages long and is published by New Horizon Press. The cover is brown with a bloody hand print on the lower right corner. The intended reader is someone who is interested in true crime and memoirs. There is some mild foul language, no sex, and some violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.
From the dust jacket- Savagely attacked as she was asleep on her sofa, Natalie Antonetti's skull was shattered. Bizarrely, she was able to move about her apartment, changed clothes and tried to speak to her son but words never came. Two weeks later she died.
The only lead was a neighbor who described seeing a shadowy figure wielding a child's baseball bat an hour prior to the attack. Despite a wide search and questioning suspects, police were unable to find anyone who matched the description and the trail grew cold.
Then, out o f the blue, a tip revived the case. With no eyewitness, no DNA, no fingerprints and witnesses who refused to testify, former journalist and rookie prosecutor Mark Pryor committed to delivering justice for Natalie's family. This, his first homicide case, would require him to be a sleuth, investigator and prosecutor.
Review- An interesting cold case and an in-depth look into the process of prosecuting of a murder case, a must read for true crime fans who want to get a behind the scenes look at a prosecutors office. This book starts that the beginning of the case long before Pryor came to be involved in it. The reader sees what happened from eyewitness, police reports, and newspapers. Pryor walks the reader through the case, then through the prosecution, and to the verdict. At times this can be a bit of a slog to get through when the reader gets to the trail part because Pryor did not skip any part of it but it does give the reader insight into what a real court case with a judge and jury is like, slow and methodical. The case itself is very interesting and twisty to follow, I would like Pryor to write more about his time as a prosecutor and what other forgotten cases he worked on.
I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.
From the dust jacket- Savagely attacked as she was asleep on her sofa, Natalie Antonetti's skull was shattered. Bizarrely, she was able to move about her apartment, changed clothes and tried to speak to her son but words never came. Two weeks later she died.
The only lead was a neighbor who described seeing a shadowy figure wielding a child's baseball bat an hour prior to the attack. Despite a wide search and questioning suspects, police were unable to find anyone who matched the description and the trail grew cold.
Then, out o f the blue, a tip revived the case. With no eyewitness, no DNA, no fingerprints and witnesses who refused to testify, former journalist and rookie prosecutor Mark Pryor committed to delivering justice for Natalie's family. This, his first homicide case, would require him to be a sleuth, investigator and prosecutor.
Review- An interesting cold case and an in-depth look into the process of prosecuting of a murder case, a must read for true crime fans who want to get a behind the scenes look at a prosecutors office. This book starts that the beginning of the case long before Pryor came to be involved in it. The reader sees what happened from eyewitness, police reports, and newspapers. Pryor walks the reader through the case, then through the prosecution, and to the verdict. At times this can be a bit of a slog to get through when the reader gets to the trail part because Pryor did not skip any part of it but it does give the reader insight into what a real court case with a judge and jury is like, slow and methodical. The case itself is very interesting and twisty to follow, I would like Pryor to write more about his time as a prosecutor and what other forgotten cases he worked on.
I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.
March 19, 2018
step by step from the prosecutor's point of view... speaking for a murdered woman who could not identify her attacker, speaking for her son who lost his mother and was befriended by the killer, and trying a 20+ year old cold case where witness have died, disappeared, and forgot details. there is no dna - no eye witness to the crime and yet it is finally going to trial - have they got a chance of conviction?
May 7, 2018
this is my first non-fiction murder and murder gone to trial. It's an unresolved murder that went into cold case unit; then it picks up when a anonymous tip is left on a hotline. This took place in Austin Texas where I live and the author practices being an attorney and a writer! It occurred towards the end of the last century, but it is riveting learning all the ins and outs of a murder trial!
August 14, 2018
I enjoyed this one, but thought it ran a little long on the courtroom part. I didn't realize when I picked it up that it was written by one of the lawyers, which makes the extensive courtroom explanations make sense.
June 30, 2018
This was the author's first non-fiction book and he did a fair job. The story is good and Pryor takes you through the trial with full details. The book bogs down and seems to drag toward the end.
October 23, 2025
A DNF for me. And I never don't finish. I love true crime and reading about the legal process but felt this went way overboard. I didn't realize it was written by the DA who prosecuted the case.
February 17, 2017
This is a really interesting cold case, and it takes place in Austin, TX, which becomes another character in the story. The trouble here is the writing. Pryor isn't a writer as much as he's a lawyer, and while the front row aspect can be great and highly engaging, here it was a little bit meh. EVERY SINGLE DETAIL of EVERY SINGLE THING gets a bit wearing. I really like true crime, and I can usually forgive the lawyer accounts for their blah writing. But this one was a snorefest, which is a shame, since it's an intriguing case.
October 25, 2016
A front row seat watching the process of opening a 25 year old cold case murder file and then taking it to court, looking for justice for Natalie Antonetti. Mark Pryor has done an exceptional job recounting the countless hours of investigation and preparation for trial in this case where he was the prosecutor. A touching epilogue rounds out a gritty and determined story. I can see why his Hugo Marston stories seem so real, thank you for a great read.
January 26, 2016
To be honest, this was one of the most boring true crime stories I have read. Not compelling writing at all. This was confusing because the author also has a blog -I guess I assumed that would make him a better writer. I was familiar with the story already and it is an unusual one. I think one of the main problems with this book is that it is all about the author and less about the case. More of a memoir of his prosecution rather than a true crime story.
September 1, 2013
I love true crime books but had not read one in some time. In my mind, the best ones are written not by an author who thought a case interesting but by someone who had an inside view while working on the case. This is one of the best I have read in this genre.
January 30, 2015
Loved this true crime novel! You could truly see all the hard work of the Austin Police Department Cold Case Unit and of the Travis County District Attorney's Office. They worked very hard in getting the family some closure.
May 13, 2013
Great true-crime thriller, written by the chief prosecutor of a Texas cold case.
March 2, 2015
This story was all about Austin, TX, and it resonated with me because that's where I am--by choice.
Too bad there was no mystery and it was all so straightforward.
Too bad there was no mystery and it was all so straightforward.
June 5, 2014
Interesting to see the workings of a cold case file, and the way the court case was developed.
January 25, 2016
Not quite as gripping as his non-fiction but still a great story, well told.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews