Stay Awake
Thriller
©2022 Megan Goldin (P)2022 Macmillan Audio
August 9, 2022
Audio
A murder she doesn’t remember committing. A killer she doesn’t remember meeting. Megan Goldin’s Stay Awake is an electrifying novel that proves memory can be deadly. Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea where she is or how she got there. When she’s dropped off at the door of her brownstone, a stranger answers—a stranger who claims to live in her apartment. She reaches for her phone to call for help, only to discover it’s missing. In its place is a bloodstained knife. Her hands are covered in scribbled messages, like graffiti on her skin: STAY AWAKE. 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. A complex thriller that unfolds at a breakneck speed, Stay Awake will keep you up all night.
Immediately engaging and full of suspense!
“Stay awake! Don’t sleep. You forget everything when you fall asleep.” Imagine seeing that written all over your hands and arms when you’ve just woken up disoriented and without any memory over the past two years. It’s an intense, and dreadful experience. This happens to Liv Reese every time she wakes up. She forgets all of the progress she makes in understanding her life when she falls asleep. This also makes her vulnerable to someone who wants her dead.
Throughout my listening of Stay Wake, I was gripped by the intensity of the narrator when she would repeat “don’t sleep” and “stay awake”. You feel it in your bones. It helps you feel the terror that Liv must feel as she reads those words aloud. Liv is wandering around trying to find familiar people, her roommate in particular. But it’s been two years since they’ve lived together. So who can she trust?
“Trust no one. Don’t answer the phone.”
Of course, Liv ignores her personal notes to herself half of the time. She has instincts that alert her to trouble, but she’s so confused that she sometimes ignores them. Just when we think she’s about to find out who is after her, and what kind of trouble she is in, she gets detoured by people who “know her” and want to help. They’re all ready to explain everything, but she doesn’t stick around.
It was frustrating each time Liv fell asleep. You’re hoping that she will fight off sleep for days at a time so she can find her way to safety, but that’s impossible. Megan Goldin expertly holds readers in a grip of suspense. Liv can’t trust anyone, and readers can’t decide if anyone around her is truly there to help her. Someone is desperate to find her. Discovering the true face of evil in this story is so unexpected, I can’t believe I didn’t see it coming!
I am a new fan of Megan Goldin, and I cannot wait to read more of her books!
Kristin lives in the PNW with her husband, and three kids. She loves to read YA fiction, fantasy, and romance. She enjoys a few side-hustles, including creating bookreels/booktoks for authors. The only shows she watches are re-runs, and if she’s not reading a book, she’s listening to one.
