Name: Stay Awake
Rating: 3.729166666666667 (24 reviews)
ISBN: 9781760897222

Megan Goldin

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 discover it's missing. Her hands are covered in scribbled messages, like graffiti on her skin - STAY AWAKE.

Stay Awake

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 now lives in her apartment and forces her out in the cold. She reaches for her phone to call for help, only to discover it’s missing, and in its place is a bloodstained knife. That’s when she sees that her hands are covered in black pen, scribbled messages like graffiti on her skin: STAY AWAKE.

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.

A Novel

armoni mayes

the only thing this book did was make me want to sleep

A murder she doesn’t remember committing. Or a killer she doesn’t remember meeting? Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea where she is or how she got there. She is dropped off at her apartment, but is confronted by a stranger who claims to live there. Confused, she reaches for her phone to call for help – only to find that in its place is a bloodstained knife. That’s when she sees that her hands are covered in scribbles repeating the same two words: STAY AWAKE. Last she recalls, Liv was a successful writer for a New York magazine. Now, she’s lost and disoriented in the city. She is horrified to see news reports of a crime scene where the victim’s blood has been used to scrawl a message: the same message that’s inked on her hands. What did she do last night before waking in a moving car? Liv finds herself on the run for a crime she doesn’t remember committing and trying to piece together the fragments of her life. But there’s someone who knows exactly what she did, and they’ll do anything to make her forget – permanently. An electrifying thriller that unfolds at a breakneck speed, Stay Awake is guaranteed to keep you up all night. Perfect for fans of S J Watson, Lisa Unger and Riley Sager. Praise for Stay Awake 'Misdirection has always been a key tool in her toolbox, and she uses it to perfection in this beautifully conceived and executed thriller.' Booklist 'Goldin skillfully interweaves Liv’s tense, propulsive present-day narration... Shocking twists and resourceful, well-drawn female characters keep the pages turning as the clever mystery unfolds. Goldin reliably entertains.' Publisher's Weekly ‘One of the very best new thrillers I've read this year. The character writing, development, pacing and storytelling are just wonderful. One of those books that you want to race through but don't want to miss a single detail. This is a must, must, must read and sure to be in my books of the year.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review ‘A cracking plot that takes the amnesia plot to a new level. A fast paced thriller that kept me hooked.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review ‘WOW. I mean WOW. Megan Goldin is a genius – I have nothing else to say. I think I knew where the plot was going but I was wrong BIG TIME. This was sooooo good!!!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review ‘Really enjoyed this book, totally gripping and I totally recommend.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review ‘Megan Goldin has created another high intensity thriller. Absolutely loved this book and its heart palpitating plot. All book lovers will absolutely be enthralled.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review ‘A thriller you’ll want to stay up late for.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review

A gripping crime thriller that will keep you up at night

Kenzi Linton

I absolutely adore Megan Goldin so I decided to try reading this book one more time and I’m glad I came back to it. It was quite good and kept me intrigued.

Sara Uribe

I received a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What a mind blowing thriller 🙌🏻

This is my first time ever reading Megan Goldin and it definitely won’t be my last! 

I really can’t believe how much I actually enjoyed this book. At first I didn’t really have high hopes for it. It had felt like many other psychological thrillers that I’ve read before. However, about 25% in I couldn’t for the life of me figure out who was responsible for the murder. I thought I had it all figured out by then, but I was completely wrong. This book literally kept me on my toes for the rest of the book. It was heart pounding, twisty and unbelievably great! Liv, our main character, was so interesting. We find out pretty quickly that she has issues with her memory. And I felt incredibly bad for her fairly quickly. They knew that there was is no way that she could be the murder. And once that was revealed? I was completely shocked. I had guesses on every other person besides who is the actual murder. My only gripe with this book was that I hated the way it ended. Because it just ended. It answered most of my questions but I wanted to know what happened after everything was revealed. I wanted to see more of Liv after everything was done with, maybe that’s just the romance reader in me. I had to go back and re-listen to it two times to make sure that this is exactly how it was ending. It just felt too abrupt. Other than those two things I really enjoyed this book. It’s nice to not read a romance every once in a while and this was a really great palate cleanser for me!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Okay this was such a twist for a thriller. It's different to anything I've read before  following a character who has no memories of the last two years of her life made it even more intense.

I thought I'd guessed who the killer was but I couldn't have been more wrong. Brilliant read loved every second

Samantha King

Okay this was such a twist for a thriller. It's different to anything I've read before  following a character who has no memories of the last two years of her life made it even more intense.

I thought I'd guessed who the killer was but I couldn't have been more wrong. Brilliant read loved every second

Nash

Okay, this book was incredibly good. It was not what I was expecting and I enjoyed it a lot. It became a little repetitive which you’ll understand when you read it but it was so worth it. I warn you, it is a little predictable, or maybe a lot, but Megan Goldin delivers such an entertaining story that it won’t matter to you hit you figure out what the heck is happening halfway through. Golding is an instant buy author for me.

Jennifer mitchell

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review. 

HOLYYYYY SHIT. I'm writing this review on January 8 and already know this book will make my end of year favorites list.

Short Synopsis:
Imagine if Fifty First Dates were a thriller novel involving murder. That's the book. (AND IT IS EVERYTHING).

Thoughts:
When I say I was hooked from the very first page, I mean FIRST PAGE. I absolutely loved the way the story was told. The book follows Liv, who wakes up one day and can't remember where she is or how she got there. Some chapters are written from Liv's first person perspective, while other chapters, told in third person perspective, follow two detectives investigating a homicide case. The story is told from dual timelines and dual perspectives and the chapters interweave masterfully. You quickly learn how these two plot points intersect, which raises more questions and makes you more anxious to get to the end for some answers.

I normally form a lot of theories when I read a thriller book and ~most~ of the time am able to figure out the big plot twists. This book is a rare exception. I had absolutely no clue where this story was going and was on the edge of my seat reading the entire time. I kept trying to piece everything together and had no idea how the author was going to tie everything up and make it make sense. Yet, once you get to the big reveal, it all makes sense and I want to bang my head against the wall from not seeing it sooner.

My one small complaint is I wish we got a little more at the end about why the killer did what he did. As the reader, you can infer why he did all these things, but it would have been nice to see it actually explained on the page in a little more detail.

Big picture:
RUN DON'T WALK to read this book when it releases on August 9th. A brilliant 5 star thriller.

Heather Miller

In the middle of the night, Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi, and can’t remember how or when she got there. Her last memory is answering the phone in her office at work. After a confusing confrontation with the people who live in what she thinks is still her house, she discovers a bloody knife in her possession, and disposes of it in a nearby trash can. She spends the entire book falling asleep over and over and waking back up 2 years in the future, forgetting everything.

I loved the first 3/4 of this book. It hooks you immediately from the beginning. It was a wild rollercoaster ride of a thriller and there isn’t a single part of this book that I’d call boring.

The unreliable narrator kept me constantly on my toes. I really had to pay attention to the timeline, and while that can get tedious, the writing style and storyline was so compelling I had no trouble at all. At one point, when Liv was on the phone with 911, the lady was telling her to stay awake, just stay awake. I got chills, and it all clicked for me why she was so insistent on staying awake. 

The storyline and plot was so so good, but then the ending was so abrupt. It felt rushed and unfinished and was a bit disappointing after the wild rollercoaster ride the author led us on the entire story. I was expecting a real exciting twist from this thriller, and was left disappointed with something that just felt too convenient.

I definitely recommend reading this. It was certainly an awesome read and kept me guessing the entire time. I just wish more time would have been spent perfecting that ending! 

Thank you for this ARC that was generously provided by the publisher and author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Samaa alaa eldin

Idk how to feel about this one tbh . Great storyline and plot twist but the dialogue was weak and I still have so many questions .

ingrid

loved this book, the plot was unique, i couldn’t put the book down! i do feel like some things could’ve been explained better towards the end but it didn’t ruin the book for me at all, i still thought this was really good

i received an arc through netgalley

Stay Awake

Reviews

Highlights