I was totally hooked from the start a fantastic book that I couldn't put down. Written entirely from the mind of Alex who was in a coma after a climbing accident ( or was it ) a truly brilliant read with a very emotional ending, thought provoking from start to finish.

Many thanks to NetGally for this book. I wouldn’t have missed it!

I am at a loss for words how to describe this book. The story is clear (if you read the blurb and the many reviews before mine, you know what it is alla bout) and I am too one of those readers that sat gasping and deep in thought at the same time after finishing this book.
From the onset, I sat there reading and hoping for a miracle. Yes, there is a miracle… but not the one you would expect. Emily Koch took on a daring job for her debut but she nailed it all the way. She is an author to keep following!

Warning this review contains spoilers. A fascinating concept which any reader must realise could be a true situation for someone. I found myself drawn into Alex's world and yet increasingly frustrated by it too.. In the end I had to find out whether Alex ever woke up or not. The finality which finishes the book is no doubt realistic but also somewhat depressing and left me feeling let down on Alex's behalf. Perhaps I am just too much in love with a fairy tale ending.

This is an amazing read! Alex is in a coma and the entire book is him attempting to work out; how he got there? Who was involved and why? Gosh, but, it's good!

[Extracted and translated from my review]

If I die before I wake is perfect for me. This thriller is very well-written, I was hooked and immerged in the hero's mind and body. I was completely caught in the game and I loved to be surprised.

This was a wonderful read that I could not put down - very emotional and pulls the heart string s throughout. Very well written and enjoyable.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Vintage Publishing for kindly providing an ARC of the first novel from Emily Koch.
I’d award 3.5 stars of 5. For a first book it is impressively bold in the perspective taken. The whole story is told through Alex; a patient in a coma whom everyone believes to be unconscious and to all intents and purposes, gone. However, he is alert and can feel pain and hear everything going on around him. Though he is simultaneously unable to respond to any stimuli or the developments and conversations going on around him.
It’s deeply disturbing and actually quite distressing to imagine, and to read, what Alex goes through, even more so for a person who was previously so very active. It kind of freaks you out to imagine that this might have happened to other people or to how horrific it must be for the loved ones. I was frequently quite sceptical that the doctors wouldn’t notice a person so cognisant….. if it’s really the case that this can happen how would anyone ever live with themselves withdrawing care from a loved one?!
The pace of the start of the novel I struggled with a little bit. It just felt like it really dragged until the investigation got going. Having said that I feel like it does effectively mirror the frustration Alex must experience trapped in his own body. Though counter to that at times I didn’t feel like Alex wasn’t always as frustrated as you’d expect. He came across as very weak and so it was quite frustrating and hard to get behind him.
Once the investigation is underway you begin to question everything and everyone; every visitor. Was it an accident? If it wasn’t, who was responsible?

Alex is in a 2 year long coma following a climbing 'accident'. The medical team and his family believe he is in a vegative state but Alex can hear every word and sound that is made and can sense his surroundings and his visitors by their unique smells. The family face the toughest decision whether or not to prolong his life or to let him go. Meanwhile the police are investigating the concept that this was no accident but attempted murder.
Exciting and innovative new author whose words had me from first page. A refreshingly different take on a thriller and I can't wait for her next offering.

I enjoyed this read told from the point of view of someone in a coma, unable to communicate with anyone but fully conscious.

While very well written and an interesting concept, I just couldn't get interested in Alex, his family or his story. I am certain others will find the book interesting.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

What an absolute wonderful concept of a novel! The main character Alex is in hospital on life support, yet he is able to tell us all about his life, loves and his own condition. More than that I will not say as it may spoil it for other readers. I still cannot believe I enjoyed it so much - racing through to the end. Sad, yes but what an insight into people in a coma. Loved it!

Great book. Brilliant plot and main characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Very enjoyable.

I loved this. Thrilling and exciting. The frustration from Alex comes through to the reader and you feel it as well. A thought provoking read,full of everything a good novel requires.

This book took me on a wild ride with such a beatiful and emotional ending. It was unpredictle while managing to be exactly what I expected. No one character had you looking forward to their visits more than Pauline, the obviously heavensent nurse who treats Alex like he's more than an unresponsive coma patient. Except maybe Tom. What a sweetheart.

Having to rely solely on Alex's memory's and overheard conversations in the hospital room has to be the most frustrating thing in the world. But it makes sense, and I appreciate the limitations. It leaves you intrigued and anticipating the next little snippet of information that you get.

I finished this book in one day, it was that good. 10/10 would recommend to lovers of thrillers, mysteries and unreliable narrators.

Still a fair few to go in my “Ones to Watch in 2018” feature and next up we have a tense and brilliantly edge of the seat psychological thriller – If I Die Before I Wake by Emily Koch.

Now this is one of those books that grips you from the outset to the point that you ignore everything else until you are done. Told entirely from the point of view of Alex, in a coma with everyone believing he is to all intents and purposes gone, he is still in there and can hear what’s going on around him and feel what is happening to him. He has had an accident – or was it? As we get drip fed snippets of information from those around him we come to realise that all is not as it seems. Possibly not even Alex himself..

What I loved about this one was the very strong emotional core Emily Koch brings to the storytelling, really digging into the trauma Alex suffers and how it affects his psyche. Torn between wanting to die and wanting to live, all the while trying to work out what the heck happened to him and why, you really feel for him, lying in that bed, unable to communicate – and even worse realising that the danger has not passed.

You also get a real feel for the characters around him – his Sister, Father, close friends and most of all his girlfriend Bea who is fighting a battle of her own – should she remain loyal or move on – as things progress you get to know them all well, even though you are only getting random snapshots.

The mystery element is brilliantly imagined and the plotting is excellent – there are twists along the way, emotional resonance to the haunting sense of loss and an ending that absolutely kills – one of those that will keep nagging at the edges of your mind for a long time afterwards.

Overall a really excellent, often nail biting, always engaging read and a page turning addition to the genre.

Recommended.

This is not your usual thriller! Emily Koch set quite the challenge for herself by writing from the perspective of Alex, a man immobilized and apparently in a coma. He's been this way for two years, but he's gradually getting better and so can hear and feel and smell. Koch does an amazing job, building unique characters just by the sound of their shoes or their verbal tics. And she convinces us with the premise of Alex.

As he lies in his hospital bed, he realizes that his mountain climbing fall was not an accident, but attempted murder, and he learns that the murderer may now be after his girlfriend.

Intense, suspenseful, believable, unique. An unforgettable read.

Thank you, Netgalley for the e-review copy of this fab book.

So pleased to have had the opportunity to read this edge of your seat novel! So refreshing to read a crime thriller that is totally different to any other.

This was a very thought provoking novel. A novel whereby Alex is in hospital after a climbing accident and is in a coma (PVS), on life support. The story is told through the mind of Alex, who can hear and feel others who are around him. A clever story whereby Alex pieces together a puzzle as to what happened whilst out climbing, who he could trust, his past and where did Bea who he loved, fit into this puzzle.

As i got nearer to finishing the book, I did start to wonder how it would all end. All i will say it had a wonderful ending.

It is hard to believe that this was a debut novel and cannot wait to read more. I highly recommend this book to all, especially if you enjoy this genre.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the Publishers for sending me a copy of 'If I Die Before I Wake' and this is my honest review.

Alex has had a climbing accident. He is in a coma. He can hear everything around him. He has been like that for nearly two years. Despite having tests they show up no brain activity. While his family and girlfriend decide whether to end his life new evidence about his accident comes to light and that's when the book becomes really interesting. He tries to solve his attempted murder through his memories and from the conversations of the people visiting him. You are given lots of clues but I still didn't guess what really happened. It's a book that really makes you think. Don't put things off in life make the most and live life to the full and hopefully unlike Alex you don't have someone wanting to kill you....

If I die before I wake is one of a number of books that I have read which introduces the reader to a condition referred to as permanent vegetative state: Westlake Soul by Rio Youers and Blood Sisters by Jane Corry are both excellent in their interpretation and use of PVS as the basis for a novel. Emily Koch expertly creates a crime thriller around the tragic accident that happens to Alex Jackson one Saturday morning when he falls 20 metres from a cliff face along the Portway in Bristol. This story is all the more remarkable when you realize this is the first published thriller by Miss Koch and if this is an example of her ability then she most certainly has a bright writing future.

What this book has in common with the two novels previously mentioned is that the story unfolds through the mind of the patient. Alex is aware of his surroundings, he can understand and grasp what is being said about him and he can appreciate the interaction between various friends and relatives on a daily basis; in particular his wife Bea, father Graham and sister Phillipa. What emerges is simply no one is sure whether Alex has been hospitalized due to an accident or something more sinister. It is only you the reader who occupies the mind of the patient and when Alex desperately tries to move and communicate you feel that struggle and will him to be successful. The story of was he pushed or did he fall is revealed in a very slow and clever way, the key to the puzzle hidden in Alex's past.

The central dilemma in If I die before I wake is the moral issue of what is an appropriate time to remove life support from a patient when, after various tests, it becomes clear that recovery is impossible. This leads to the assumption that anyone with PVS has no future, you will need to read the novel to find out if this is true all I will reveal is that the closing paragraphs create a magical and appropriate conclusion. Many thanks to the good people of netgalley for a gratis copy in exchange for an honest review and that is what I have written.

Thank you Netgalley, Publisher and Author. This was an absolutely brilliant brilliant box and I really really enjoyed it. Actually make me sit back and think.