Cover Image: If He Wakes

If He Wakes

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Member Reviews

Gripping and suspenseful! A very well-written book with wonderfully-interesting characters. The tension builds at just the right pace as the story unfolds. Will keep you swiping the pages furiously. Worthy of your TBR list.

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book from in order to read and provide a voluntary and honest review, should I choose to do so.

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This was a brilliant read. As soon as I started reading this book I just knew I was going to love it. Highly recommended

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With thanks to netgalley and the author.

You should be able to trust your husband and you're best friend....right?

If he wakes by Zoe Lea is a book about how well do we really know the people in our lives. It is a great read that really makes you think.

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I think that this book should be read by all teenage girls! For that, I give it full points. However, I do like plots with good twists and this one was shouting out at me all the way through, so for that I cannot give it five stars. I did, however, find it plausible and well written.

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IF HE WAKES opens with Rachel, a happily married mother of two, finding a Twitter message from her husband Phil arranging a romantic liaison with another person. Assuming he’s having an affair, Rachel follows him only to witness something so much worse: a hit and run using his car.

Then we meet Suzie, Rachel’s friend and business partner and she is increasingly worried about her fiancé Adam, she hasn’t heard from him in days and subsequently learns that huge debts racked up in her name, but not by here. Suzie fears Adam has run out on her and left her in a right mess but then she starts to get threatening calls and she thinks something terrible has happened.

We learn that Rachel and Suzie both discover shocking things about the men they love and theh become embroiled in a chain of events which looks set to destroy both of their lives – and their friendship – forever.

From the title of the book, it wasn’t the story I was expecting to read. Delightfully suspenseful and amazingly written, it does come with many twists and turns along the way.

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Enjoyable thriller with lots of plot twists. Rachel and Suzies storied run parallel in this book. Couldn't put it down. Highly recommend to fans of the thriller

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Omg talk about a roller coaster read wow this book kept me on the edge of my seat threw out I just couldn't put it down this writer keeps you hooked and once your hooked your not letting go I found this book thrilling the characters were fantastic and well thought out and the little clues all the way threw keep you guessing until the end this book stays with you long after you close the book this book is well worth the read I promise you wont be disappointed

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I finished If He Wakes last night, and it most definitely gets all the stars from me.
Rachel and Suzie are friends and have started a business together. When we meet Rachel, she is concerned her husband is having an affair and follows him. What she sees is far worse!
When we meet Suzie, she is besotted with her photographer fiancé, Adam (who Rachel is yet to meet as he always seems to be too busy), but she is becoming increasingly anxious having not heard from him for a while and even more so after finding out her bank account is empty. That would have set my alarm bells ringing for sure, but Suzie is convinced there will be an innocent explanation. She trusts Adams implicitly. When she discovers where he is she is beside herself with worry, but nothing could prepare her for what she is about to discover.
There’s not much else I can say without spoiling it for those who haven’t read it yet, but I could happily chat about this book for hours!
The very moment I realised what was going on, and the way this story was leading, my stomach did a somersault. I can only imagine how Rachel and Suzie must feel. And Rachel’s husband. The devastation they face is heart-wrenching and I felt physically sick for them all.
This book is very cleverly written. I found myself completely invested in the characters. I was as desperate as they were to find out the truth, however painful. I could feel the emotion, the desperation, the anger, the sadness. It’s an extremely powerful and tense read. My heart rate increased on more than one occasion and I’m sure I was holding my breath at times.
An amazing debut novel! I highly recommend!
**Many thanks to the author and publisher for my review copy via NetGalley**
(I’m working my way through my shelf, slowly but surely!)

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Great read! Looking forward to reading more by this author! I highly recommend this book and author to all!

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Yep, I really liked this.
It had a few flaws, but as a debut it was amazing.

It starts off a little slow but kept me interested enough to find out as much as the character wanted!

Her husband, Twitter, secrets, missing, it has all the troops I love.

I’m naturally nosy (and I don’t apologise lol) so when the wife was suspect of her husband then finds out he’s now disappeared, just what in the hell was going on.

Then more happens, and just like her my suspicions were as heightened as her!

Another book read from my backlist......how did I miss this!

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I’m afraid I could only get to 60% of the book. It became extremely obvious who it was that has been hit but I just couldn’t connect with Rachel or suzie.

I don’t really know what I was thinking or hoping for with this one, really not for me I’m afraid!

I’d like to thank zoe lea vis netgalley for my copy of the arc.

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Rachel and Suzie are best friends. One day Rachel, when going on her laptop, notices that a Twitter account has been left open and she reads the provocative private messages the account contains. Horrified because she knows it's not her daughters, Jessica and Katie, as they aren't allowed on Twitter which leaves only her husband Phil. How could he betray her like this?

Meanwhile, newly engaged Suzie attempts to use her debit card only to have it declined. Going to the bank in frustration she finds out that the account is in overdraft and it has been frozen. Adam, her fiance, handles all the finances. She calls Adam, who is on location for a photo shoot, only to receive no response to her many messages and texts. Where the heck has Adam gone?

The beginning of this book started a little slow for me. Yes, I was curious as to what was going on but some of the chapters in the first half were a bit repetitive. Once I hit the half way mark things definitely started to pick up and I was determined to see how this all played out. When the first part of the twist was revealed I automatically knew the 2nd part of the twist. I also found the ending to be satisfying. A solid 3.5 stars!

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This book had me on the edge of my seat, and didn't let go until the end. A great sold read, entertaining throughout. Recommended.

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Rachel and Suzie have been friends for a long but have recently started a business together. Rachel finds a Twitter message on her laptop that she was never meant to see, convinced that her husband is having an affair she makes the decision to follow him, what she see that day will change the lives of her friend Suzi and her family forever. Suzie in the meantime discovers that her fiancee Adam is missing along with a lot of money and she is being pestered by a loan shark for payments that Adam has failed to make. The stories of the two women run side by side leading to a major twist.

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If he wakes is a story is told from the viewpoint of both Rachael and Suzie, best friends and business partners who are about to discover that their personal lives are full of secrets and lies.


Rachael is worried her husband is having an affair whilst Suzie is having financial problems which are spiralling out of control.


When Rachael decides to follow her husband, instead of finding him with another woman she witnesses a hit and run and the story just takes off from there. 



It look a while for me to get used to both characters and their differing viewpoints, and for that reason the novel was a bit of a slow burner for me. But once it picked up pace I was genuinely hooked and looking forward to seeing how this story ended.



Thank you Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book to review.

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In the vein of books like Girl on a Train and Gone Girl, If He Wakes is a fast-paced suspense story that involves murder, interwoven relationships, deception, while asking the question, how far will you go to protect a loved one?
The story starts out with best friends, Rachel and Suzie, discussing a twitter message implicating Rachel’s husband. Is he cheating? To find out, Rachel follows her husband. What she finds sets off a series of events that aren’t always what they appear to be. Especially as Rachel witnesses an accident.
As the story unfolds, we learn about the twitter messages, the accident, and why Suzie can no longer reach her fiancé. We experience in real time, the thoughts and messages these two women experience as they try to unravel the mysteries in their lives. Rachel with her husband, and Suzie with her fiancé.
The book is a page-turner and one that can easily be digested in a sitting or two. And as things unfold, it becomes obvious what exactly is going on. Some readers may wish this wasn’t revealed as quickly as it is, while others may appreciate the follow-up of how Rachel and Suzie handle the truth of the matter, and how their lives become even more connected.
Overall, If He Wakes reads like a trip to your favourite diner. The food is satisfying and the service is quick. You’re not going to dress up in your finest nor do you expect to receive five-star food. But your experience is always one that leaves you content and fulfilled.

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Excellent book, really well written and an absolute page-turner! Characterisation was fabulous and believable . Highly recommended. A must read

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If He Wakes is a rather twisty tale of two friends, Rachel and Suzie. They’re working together in events management and they’ve just got a huge party to organise. And then their worlds are blown apart. Rachel witnesses something shocking regarding her husband and Suzie’s fiancé seems to have disappeared taking her money with him.

Well, in fact, that is just the tip of the iceberg and, as the book progresses, we learn more and more about each woman, their past and the worrying turn their lives seem to be currently taking.

The book is told in alternate chapters from both Rachel and Suzie’s point of view, Rachel’s in the first person and Suzie’s in the third person. I liked the way each woman’s story unfolded gradually and how I, as the reader, was able to view the whole sorry tale and see how it fitted together.

As suspense thrillers go, this is certainly full of suspense and thrills. When it started I wasn’t sure where it was going and how everything was linked and it did take a while for it all to start to come together, but once it did it kind of came from nowhere and I was really surprised about the turn it took. The author definitely has the ability to shock.

If He Wakes is a fast-paced and exciting story. It’s full of nail-biting moments and builds up the tension perfectly until the shocking conclusion is revealed.

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Absolutely fantastic, if you judge a book by how long it keeps you guessing it's plot then this is definately for you! Twists turns and 'oh my god' moments this book has it all! Thoroughly enjoyed A*

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doesn't always go the way you want it to. This is a story about 2 friends who find that out the hard way. The chapters alternate between the 2 women's perspective. I enjoyed one of the the storylines much more than the other. At first I could not see how the stories were going to interconnect and then they did. Once that happened the plot really took off and it became a book about making choices. This is the first I have heard of this author and would read more from her.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing this book to me in exchange for a fair review.

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