I borrowed this book from my Auntie for my holiday, as there is nothing better than sunbathing with a good book.
I am a huge Torey Hayden fan and I have read most of her true story books, whereas this one is a little different, this is a Novel. I tend to be put off books when I find out they aren't true, but being a fan of Torey Hayden I thought I'd give this one a go.

This is one book that definitely took me a while to get into. Once I get into a book it is hard for me to put it down so I usually read it within a few days of the holiday, whereas I found myself reading for the sake of it, hoping it got better. Well, let's just say it did get better. After a few days of picking up and putting down the book I finally got into it. I would say it took me about 100 pages into the book before I came to understand and enjoy it.
The Story
This is about a family who have several struggles going on in their lives. They have a 9 year old son Connor who has been diagnosed with Autism and is being haunted by the 'ghostman'. His Mum Laura is a famous author who is struggling to come to terms with this, and finding it hard to cope. Her husband Alan, is trying to keep his son from being institutionalized aswell as trying to keep his family together. They also have another daughter Morgana who starts playing with the 'truth'.
The other main character in this story is James. He is a psychiatrist who is brought in to try and help Connor and the family. He becomes very involved with the family and starts to unearth some secrets about them. We also learn more about his own family life. He has two children with his ex-wife who come to stay with him regularly.

The Plot
The reason I found this story hard to get into was because their are several things going on at once. We know that Laura has a very vivid imagination which she wrote down on paper. These stories are included and printed in Italics so we know when we are reading one of these. The stories are imaginary stories which involve a girl named Torgon, the Dwr, The Power, Mogri and are all based around their lives, which have their own rules, religions and cultures. As I am not much of a fan of this type of story on it's own, when I saw the italics coming up, I'd frown and try to get through it as fast as I could. However the more into the story I got the more I realized how vital these stories are to the main plot of the story.
James is a psychiatrist who likes to involve all of the family and listen to what they have to say. When he finally persuades Laura to attend one of his sessions, we begin to hear an account of her life which had its ups and downs and was influenced by Torgon. We hear about her life as a small child being fostered and growing up with four brothers, the story then unfolds to her adult life and the trials and tribulations she then faces, which again also become influenced by Torgon.
At the same time the story still concentrates on James sessions with Connor who we start to see making improvements both in the playroom and at home to his Dad's delight. The story also included Alan's sessions with James and Morgana's.

Without giving to much away, the story definitely gets better the more you read it, and I was definitely impressed by the ending, it was unexpected and exciting to read. The way Torey Hayden makes you have links with the characters you become involved with them and have emotive feelings towards them. She is definitely able to tap into our own imaginations and I think it is a truly fascinating story with a superb ending.
Even though it took me a while to get into the story, the first thing I did when I got back from my holiday (well the first thing I did was sleep after I got in at 5am, but after that) picked up the story so I could finish the last few pages I hadn't been able to read. I would recommend that if you are a Torey Hayden fan then you read it because you do forget that it is a Novel you are reading.

This was Torey Haydens first Novel and I think she did a great job and I'm sure there are lots more to come from her.
Book Info:
Title- Overheard in a Dream
Author- Torey Hayden
Publisher- HarperCollins, 2008
ISBN- 978-0-00-726903-5
Pages- 460

Recommended Price- £6.99
Amazon Price- £4.68 (Free Delivery)

For more information on Torey Hayden- www.myspace.com/torey_hayden