Friday 12 August 2022

Book Review: Megan Goldin - Stay Awake (published in 2022)

 


For some reason Megan Goldin's books read as realistic crime fiction or contemporary novels. I haven't read Escape Room yet but Night Swim definitely had the same characteristics as her latest novel and I'm there for it. 

This time we're following Liv Reese. A woman who wakes up in a taxi with a bloody knife and no memory what has happened. It turns out two years have passed since her latest memory. As she roams around the streets of New York looking for old friends and acquaintances she's able to piece together what has happened to her. That is... until she falls asleep again when all memories of the time before she fell asleep are lost. 

Megan Goldin has done a great job in making this story realistic. It's not necessarily thrilling, but it kept me on the edge of my seat to figure out what happened in the time Liv's memories were gone. Who can she trust? What's clever about the writing is that the reader does retain the memory of Liv, but the storystelling never become repetitive. Liv's path is straight forward to a conclusion and it's a logical path. 

We don't just follow Liv in the current time and two years before when she had her last memories. We also follow Halliday who is an NYPD officer who investigates the murder of a man together with her partner Lavelle. The way they were written is really realistic as well. 

The only reason why I would give it 4.5 stars instead of the full 5 is because I didn't like the reveal. It was very well written and it made sense. It just wasn't as complex as I was hoping for, which is just my personal taste. 

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