About: Sleepless (novel)

Sleepless is a science fiction and noir detective novel by Charlie Huston, published in 2010. Set in California in a dystopic alternate present, the novel portrays a world wracked by a sleeplessness pandemic caused by a prion. About ten percent of the population are infected, and, unable to find sleep, die painfully within a year. Society is on the verge of breakdown, and armed bands have turned much of the U.S. into a war zone. The novel follows Parker Haas, an idealist LAPD officer investigating the trafficking of "dreamer", the only drug capable of giving the sleepless temporary relief, and Jasper, an aging professional killer who crosses Haas' path.