Stay Awake by Megan Goldin
Published: August 9, 2022
St. Martin’s Press
Pages: 345
Genre: Psychological Thriller
KKECReads Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.
Megan Goldin is the author of The Escape Room, a 2019 thriller that Lee Child called “one of my favorite books of the year” and Harlan Coben called “thrilling and unforgettable.” Megan’s new novel The Night Swim. Before becoming a novelist, Megan worked as a reporter covering the Middle East and Asia for the Reuters news agency, the Associate Press, the ABC, and other news outlets.
Two years ago, Liv was thriving as a successful writer for a trendy magazine. Now, she’s lost and disoriented in a New York City that looks nothing like what she remembers. Catching a glimpse of the local news, she’s horrified to see reports of a crime scene where the victim’s blood has been used to scrawl a message across a window, similar to the message that’s inked on her hands. What did she do last night? And why does she remember nothing from the past two years? Liv finds herself on the run for a crime she doesn’t remember committing. But there’s someone who does know exactly what she did, and they’ll do anything to make her forget―permanently.
“It feels as if I’ve been catapulted into the future.”
Liv is working at her dream job, getting better and better topics to cover, and enjoying living with her roommate and best friend, Amy. Both women are happily dating, Marco for Liv and Brett for Amy. Life is almost perfect. Until Liv wakes up and doesn’t remember anything, she knows she needs to find Amy and Marco and get help. Until she notices the writing all over her hands and arms…
I loved how this novel was written! So cleverly played, and the story unfolded so beautifully. I love that as the pages turn, the story gets deeper and more complicated, and just when I thought things were falling into place- we hit a twist.
The character development was beautifully done, and Liv was so well curated. I loved her journey and how she was portrayed. Darcy was the best additional female lead. I loved her honesty, integrity, and bravery.
I would love to see a series develop from this novel with the detectives. There was so much chemistry and a genuine partnership. Lavelle was a great character, and I enjoyed the dynamic between him and Darcy.
This was a fast-paced thriller that I could not put down. The story was wild, the writing was fantastic, and I was bummed to finish.