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Jimmy Pibble #4
Sleep and His Brother
A strange malady afflicts the children of McNair House in this British mystery featuring former Scotland Yard superintendent James Pibble, from CWA Gold Dagger winner Peter Dickinson
Recently given the sack by Scotland Yard, James Pibble arrives at McNair House on a private matter, only to find that this charitable institution is not at all what it seems. The children who live here have a rare disease called cathypny, which renders them sleepy and fat. It also imbues them with special telepathic powers, which is how one boy instantly pegs Pibble as a cop.
A dreamy nine-year-old named Marilyn has perceived that someone at McNair House is in mortal danger. With all the research money that’s suddenly pouring in, the pressure is on to prove that these children really are empaths; a Greek tycoon is banking on it. But Pibble is beginning to suspect the worst kind of fraud: an exploitative con game using innocent young lives as bait. And one of the children may be the target of an escaped killer obsessed with the supernatural. Now Pibble must pit his own finely honed instincts against an adversary who can see the future: a world without James Pibble.
Sleep and His Brother is the 4th book in the James Pibble Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Recently given the sack by Scotland Yard, James Pibble arrives at McNair House on a private matter, only to find that this charitable institution is not at all what it seems. The children who live here have a rare disease called cathypny, which renders them sleepy and fat. It also imbues them with special telepathic powers, which is how one boy instantly pegs Pibble as a cop.
A dreamy nine-year-old named Marilyn has perceived that someone at McNair House is in mortal danger. With all the research money that’s suddenly pouring in, the pressure is on to prove that these children really are empaths; a Greek tycoon is banking on it. But Pibble is beginning to suspect the worst kind of fraud: an exploitative con game using innocent young lives as bait. And one of the children may be the target of an escaped killer obsessed with the supernatural. Now Pibble must pit his own finely honed instincts against an adversary who can see the future: a world without James Pibble.
Sleep and His Brother is the 4th book in the James Pibble Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
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About the author
Peter Dickinson
142 books156 followersPeter Malcolm de Brissac Dickinson OBE FRSL was a prolific English author and poet, best known for children's books and detective stories.
Peter Dickinson lived in Hampshire with his second wife, author Robin McKinley. He wrote more than fifty novels for adults and young readers. He won both the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children's Award twice, and his novel The Blue Hawk won The Guardian Award in 1975.
Peter Dickinson lived in Hampshire with his second wife, author Robin McKinley. He wrote more than fifty novels for adults and young readers. He won both the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children's Award twice, and his novel The Blue Hawk won The Guardian Award in 1975.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 20, 2013
Very oddly compelling. I can't think of very many good procedurals which also have supernatural setups -- Kate Wilhelm's Death Qualified is another (I'm sure there are more, that's just one of the few I can think of right now). Very satisfying in that first-five-minutes-of-Prime-Suspect way in which everything's happening and you can't figure it out and it all isn't neatly explained, so it stretches your brain a bit. Originally published in 1971 and some of the gender issues are very dated -- a scientist will "never" marry a young heiress because of her genetic background (can't they not have kids? adopt?), many nurses are pinched, women are automatically and bluntly rated on an attractiveness scale when they first enter the narrative, and so on. But the female characters themselves were quite good -- I liked the spoiled Doll, the comically gruesome Lady Sospice, and "poor Posey" very much.
The book really isn't about genetics or telepathy or corruption or crime at all, although Dickinson weaves all these themes into his central, real one: obsession. The children are like little fleshy rings of Gyges: what they are matters less than what other people do with them. And the book itself is almost hypnotically gripping....like the sleepy children themselves, eerily alluring. Dickinson makes even the tremendously stale copper-confronts-the-sympathetic-bad-guy endpiece (which actually happens twice) interesting -- it's a dangerous skill, like a knife: bright but with an edge.
The book really isn't about genetics or telepathy or corruption or crime at all, although Dickinson weaves all these themes into his central, real one: obsession. The children are like little fleshy rings of Gyges: what they are matters less than what other people do with them. And the book itself is almost hypnotically gripping....like the sleepy children themselves, eerily alluring. Dickinson makes even the tremendously stale copper-confronts-the-sympathetic-bad-guy endpiece (which actually happens twice) interesting -- it's a dangerous skill, like a knife: bright but with an edge.
February 3, 2011
The first of the Jimmy Pibbles I read--and I fell in love. Introduces the Dickinson theme of the possibility of the paranormal. Touches on the stately homes and decaying ancient families theme, as well as the larger-than-life man of science or religion theme. And as always, Pibble's introspection plays counterpoint to the events occurring around him.
July 5, 2017
3 stars
James Pibble has been fired from Scotland Yard. I suppose it should come as no surprise for those in power disliked him for some time.
His latest investigation takes him to McNair House where he discovers a home full of children with a rare disease.
One reviewer stated, “The book really isn't about genetics or telepathy or corruption or crime at all…real one (is) obsession.” I agree with this statement. Since the book was originally written in 1971, it is littered with what we would now call un-p.c. behavior and language. The women are stereotyped, as is the behavior of the men. It is interesting to note just how far we’ve come since then, and we all think there’s much further to go. I shook my head.
This is a very good addition to the James Pibble series. I truly enjoyed it.
Peter Dickinson was a fine writer. Even though these stories were originally written in 1960’s, they seem timeless to me. These books are well written, although the plotting kind of loses track once in a while. Commander James Pibble is a keenly observant witness to human behavior. He picks up on minute clues in body language. I don’t know how I have missed reading him before and will continue to read him.
I want to thank Netgalley and Open Road Integrated Media for forwarding to me a copy of this great book to read.
James Pibble has been fired from Scotland Yard. I suppose it should come as no surprise for those in power disliked him for some time.
His latest investigation takes him to McNair House where he discovers a home full of children with a rare disease.
One reviewer stated, “The book really isn't about genetics or telepathy or corruption or crime at all…real one (is) obsession.” I agree with this statement. Since the book was originally written in 1971, it is littered with what we would now call un-p.c. behavior and language. The women are stereotyped, as is the behavior of the men. It is interesting to note just how far we’ve come since then, and we all think there’s much further to go. I shook my head.
This is a very good addition to the James Pibble series. I truly enjoyed it.
Peter Dickinson was a fine writer. Even though these stories were originally written in 1960’s, they seem timeless to me. These books are well written, although the plotting kind of loses track once in a while. Commander James Pibble is a keenly observant witness to human behavior. He picks up on minute clues in body language. I don’t know how I have missed reading him before and will continue to read him.
I want to thank Netgalley and Open Road Integrated Media for forwarding to me a copy of this great book to read.
April 17, 2025
This is a mystery with a touch of the occult in it. It gets off to a promising start as the players are introduced. However, it subsequently becomes bogged down as the pace slows. Meanwhile so many characters are introduced who drift in and out of the story, but nevertheless have a role in it, that one can’t keep track of them without a scorecard.
The story is very verbose and slow moving. Over half the book is spent developing the backstory as characters enter and exit the tale. Some are part of extraneous subplots that are never fully developed or resolved, while others are simply red herrings unrelated to the actual murder and its resolution. The eventual conclusion is rather convoluted, rushed and totally unsatisfactory.
The book rates 2.75 stars.
The story is very verbose and slow moving. Over half the book is spent developing the backstory as characters enter and exit the tale. Some are part of extraneous subplots that are never fully developed or resolved, while others are simply red herrings unrelated to the actual murder and its resolution. The eventual conclusion is rather convoluted, rushed and totally unsatisfactory.
The book rates 2.75 stars.
January 27, 2021
I read this many many years ago and the children--who gently fall prey to a sickness that causes them to sleep to death, but also possibly involves some mind-reading and also possibly some precipitation of one's own tendencies--and the children always stayed with me. As a murder/crime mystery, I didn't find it that interesting, but the children and their murmuring are still wonderful
January 8, 2023
PD packs multiple plots into one book-- too many, too confusing, too implausible.
January 5, 2015
Great! It's been a long time since I dogeared so many pages in a book, because there's so much great stuff I wanted to look at again. Also interesting because I can't remember another mystery novel that takes place between morning and night of a single day.
Parapsychic phenomena "has already been proved, several times, best by J.B. Rhine at Duke" (34).
"Pibble had never believed that any of us ever acts from a single motive -- the smallest fidget rises from a choice between several drives. Now a welter of reasons decided him to keep quiet -- quiet for today, anyway" (82).
"The trouble was that Pibble so much wanted the second explanation to be true that he suspected its plausibility for that very reason. And similarly, how remarkable was Rue, really? How clever? How good a doctor? Mightn't an elderly failed policeman elevate any young man who happened to be polite to him to the rank of genius? You make allowances for cronies because they are part of you; you have grown to fit in with them as a limpet's shell grows to fit in with one particular area of rock, on which alone it is watertight when the tide does out" (103).
Parapsychic phenomena "has already been proved, several times, best by J.B. Rhine at Duke" (34).
"Pibble had never believed that any of us ever acts from a single motive -- the smallest fidget rises from a choice between several drives. Now a welter of reasons decided him to keep quiet -- quiet for today, anyway" (82).
"The trouble was that Pibble so much wanted the second explanation to be true that he suspected its plausibility for that very reason. And similarly, how remarkable was Rue, really? How clever? How good a doctor? Mightn't an elderly failed policeman elevate any young man who happened to be polite to him to the rank of genius? You make allowances for cronies because they are part of you; you have grown to fit in with them as a limpet's shell grows to fit in with one particular area of rock, on which alone it is watertight when the tide does out" (103).
March 17, 2013
I began to wonder it I was having mental problems because I couldn't follow the story. The book begins with a statement that the sack, no matter how beribboned is bad for a man's self confidence. A few pages later I realized that the main protagonist Pibble had been fired from Scotland Yard and even though this fact was reiterated a dozen times it was hard to see what it had to do with the price of tea in China. There are many people and events from Pibble 's past that are referred to and I was unbalanced by constantly wondering what I had missed and wether I should go back and read the first books in the series. I decided I might not understand them either.
February 7, 2016
Weirdest book I ve ever read
This was my first Pibble book and the story was so strange , verging on science fiction, but I couldn't put if down. Now I'm very curious and will have to read more.
This was my first Pibble book and the story was so strange , verging on science fiction, but I couldn't put if down. Now I'm very curious and will have to read more.
January 11, 2017
"Sleep and his Brother" - written by Peter Dickinson and published in 1971 by HarperCollins. Really lousy.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews