Two years ago, Liv was living with her best friend, dating a new man, and 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, the same 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 as she tries to piece together the fragments of her life. But there’s someone who does know exactly what she did, and they’ll do anything to make her forget―permanently.
In the vein of SJ Watson’s Before I Go to Sleep and Christopher Nolan’s cult classic Memento, Megan Goldin’s Stay Awake is an electrifying novel that plays with memory and murder.
My Review
My rating: 5 of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Wow, I could not put this down! The story really sucked me in as we try to figure out what happened to Liv in the present and what happened in the past. Every reveal was great and I never once guessed who was after her.
Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea where she is or how she got there. When she tries to enter her building she realizes she doesn't have her keys. She rings the buzzer hoping her roommate is home when strangers answer. She's confused when they let her know that they live there. She also doesn't have her phone on her so she decides to head to her boyfriend's apartment. But she does notice all the writing on her hands. STAY AWAKE the most prominent on her skin.
Two years ago, Liv was living her best life. Her best friend was her roommate, she was in love with her boyfriend and her career as a writer was really taking off. Nothing is what she remembers. She catches a news report about a recent crime when she sees a message she also has on her hands. Then a blurry camera still of her leaving the apartment building where the crime took place. She can't remember what happened last night and she can't remember the last two years of her life either.
She heads to a bar because the name is written on her skin. There she's able to locate where she's been staying and nothing there is familiar. There are notes everywhere reminding her to stay awake, and to trust no one, especially the police when she receives a phone call. The man on the line is asking her where the knife is and that the police are looking for her. She hears heavy footsteps approaching her apartment instinct tells her it's him and she flees.
As detectives put together what's been going on, they learn what caused Liv to leave New York, they learn she's suffering from a severe type of amnesia, which gets worse the less she sleeps. They also learn the crime scene victim knew Liv and feared for her safety. Will they be able to find her before anything else happens?
Thank you so much to the author, St. Martin's, and NetGalley for this ARC to review!
View all my reviews
Wow, I could not put this down! The story really sucked me in as we try to figure out what happened to Liv in the present and what happened in the past. Every reveal was great and I never once guessed who was after her.
Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea where she is or how she got there. When she tries to enter her building she realizes she doesn't have her keys. She rings the buzzer hoping her roommate is home when strangers answer. She's confused when they let her know that they live there. She also doesn't have her phone on her so she decides to head to her boyfriend's apartment. But she does notice all the writing on her hands. STAY AWAKE the most prominent on her skin.
Two years ago, Liv was living her best life. Her best friend was her roommate, she was in love with her boyfriend and her career as a writer was really taking off. Nothing is what she remembers. She catches a news report about a recent crime when she sees a message she also has on her hands. Then a blurry camera still of her leaving the apartment building where the crime took place. She can't remember what happened last night and she can't remember the last two years of her life either.
She heads to a bar because the name is written on her skin. There she's able to locate where she's been staying and nothing there is familiar. There are notes everywhere reminding her to stay awake, and to trust no one, especially the police when she receives a phone call. The man on the line is asking her where the knife is and that the police are looking for her. She hears heavy footsteps approaching her apartment instinct tells her it's him and she flees.
As detectives put together what's been going on, they learn what caused Liv to leave New York, they learn she's suffering from a severe type of amnesia, which gets worse the less she sleeps. They also learn the crime scene victim knew Liv and feared for her safety. Will they be able to find her before anything else happens?
Thank you so much to the author, St. Martin's, and NetGalley for this ARC to review!
View all my reviews
I don't often reach for mystery thrillers, but the premise of this one has me all kinds of intrigued. The amnesia, the strangers in her home, the writing on her hands... I'm already dying to know what's going on. I'm glad this was such a hit for you!
ReplyDelete