Stay Awake by Megan Goldin

“There’s no such thing as being an observer. Doing nothing is doing something. Being passive has consequences.”

Liv Reese wakes one night in a NYC cab with a bloody knife. She does not know how she got into the cab or why. Why is her hair so long and why do the trees look like it’s fall when her last memory is a summer day, at her desk, answering her phone? Why is a couple in her apartment saying it’s theirs and where is her roommate, Amy? There are so many questions and Liv has no answers. She follows instructions she has on her hands and arms telling her where to go and to “Stay awake.” Eventually, she falls asleep to wake again with the exact same questions.

As Liv tries to track down what has happened to her, a body is discovered with words painted in the windows of the short-term rental unit: Stay awake. We learn more about Liv’s past in some chapters and wonder exactly who she is and what she has done and who she might know (or need to run from!) as we live her present. There are also chapters from a Detective Halliday who is working the murder case.

While the dissociative fugue amnesia requires us to suspend belief a bit, it was so well done in this story and made it absolutely riveting. My heart rate increased and I turned pages as quickly as possible to find out exactly what was happening to Liv. This was a terrific thriller. I highly recommend it for those who enjoy a fast-paced suspenseful tale!

Check out Stay Awake by Megan Goldin at the Library (https://catalog.lclibs.org/polaris/search/title.aspx…).