Review: Stay Awake by Megan Goldin

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was provided a print and audio arc of this book via Netgalley.  I alternated between both formats as I was reading this book.  As always all opinions are my own.  

This follows two perspectives, main character Liv Reese and the other of Detective Darcy Halliday.  Liv wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea how she got there.  She has lost her purse and phone, and there are strangers living in her apartment.  She is completely disoriented and there is writing all over her hands indicating that she should "stay awake".  Detective Halliday is first on the scene of a murder that unbeknownst to her is somehow tied to Liv.  In the audiobook each perspective is portrayed by a different narrator, which I enjoyed.  You can tell when the chapters switch from Liv to Halliday.  Both narrators did a great job with their characters/chapters.  

It has been a long time since I've read a thriller that had me so engaged.  This started out slow for me, but once it got going I had a hard time putting it down.  I also did not see the twist coming.  That is so rare.  Who I thought was the bad guy, and who it really was were not even close.  The author does a really good job leaving several red herrings to mislead the reader.  

I will say at first I found it hard to empathize with Liv, when she finds out she has lost 2 years of her memory and she keeps insisting that people should be in a certain place or that things should be a certain way.  It was a bit repetitive, then I realized as the book went on that if I were in her shoes and couldn't remember anything and nothing in my life was the same, I'd probably be in a bit of a panicked state myself.  As we get to know Liv and what happened in the two years prior leading up to the present day, I slowly started to connect with her as she and the detectives slowly start to put the pieces together of what really happened.  I really liked Halliday.  She is no nonsense, willing to speak up when she has something to say, and willing to challenge the seasoned detectives to make sure they get the case correct.  I also felt like the author did a good job with her research into the life of a female veteran and detective.  

This does have a funky timeline that alternates between the present and the past.  I'm not usually a fan of disjointed timelines, but this is an example of a book that does it right.  This was done so well to put all the pieces together of Liv's missing memory and the events leading up to the murder.  The author gives you just enough without giving away too much until the final reveal. 

If you are looking for a good thriller, I highly recommend this one!  

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