🏙Thrilling, riveting: memory can be fatal!😲

I found this tense murder mystery riveting and the pages sped by as I could not look away until I came to the last paragraph! The oblivious panic of living with no memory of what went on the day before is not a totally new concept, but here it's put to an ominous test as Liv, the exhausted female lead, must try to survive while totally disoriented by a world that's changed, with strangers surrounding her and left her fearful of sleep.

The story is told alternating between her present day confusion, the lead up over two years before to a life-threatening tragedy that first damages her memory, and a return to the few days before in the present when every sleep has her waking with no recall of recent events. The point of view also switches between Liv and the police pursuing the murder investigation.

Great pace, plenty of twists and an unreliable lead character, backed up by a savvy and strong ex-military female cop who avoids believing that the most obvious answer is necessarily the right one.

Definitely recommended. Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

I will be sharing my review on publication day on Amazon, kobo and Nook sales sites, and pre-publication on Goodreads and Bookbub.

<i> Thank you to St. Martin Press and Netgalley for an ARC </i>

Yes! Though the Night Swim was good, I did not find it as twisty or page turning as The Escape Room. But Goldin delivers here. There have been many references to the movie Memento, and I have no clue if those are founded. But I guess if you like that movie, you have the idea! ;)

I personally found Goldin's writing to be fantastic and the pace of this book was really well done. It definitely has a police procedural feel, so if those aren't your favorite know that going in. I however enjoyed both Liv's story, as well as, watching the police solve the crime.

Definitely happy I picked this one up sooner rather than later as I read it in two sittings!

What would you do if you woke up in a cab and didn’t know where you were, how you could’ve gotten there, where you’re going or why you have writing written all over your hands saying things like STAY AWAKE 🫣

Liv Reece decides to go to what she remembers is her address and when she gets there, there are people living in her house but nothing looks the same and they’re insistent she doesn’t live there and she’s back out to the street. She reaches to her pocket to call someone and there’s a bloody knife where her phone should be.

She knows she is (or was?) a successful writer for a trendy magazine in NYC and now she’s disoriented and nothing is quite like what she remembers it to be.

She sees the local news and realizes in horror it’s two years later than she thought it was and there was a murder last night. Was she involved? What did she do? Someone knows and wants to make sure she doesn’t remember any of it.

This was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me. Thank you to @netgalley, Macmillan audio, stmartins press and the author for the advanced copies in exchange for an honest review.

This new thriller hits shelves August 9th!

I was hooked from the first to last page with this one! Such an interesting story idea, with her having amnesia every time she falls asleep. Like the movie 50 First Dates, but make it scary. This was like a puzzle, with half the story being told by someone who had no idea what happened. It's also told in part from the perspective of the detectives trying to solve a crime. Seriously, I enjoyed the heck out of all of this book, to the point I kept talking to my husband about it. The end surprised me, but it seemed like every chapter was a new surprise, so it was a new layer being peeled back throughout. Very engaging, fast paced, and I'm really loving this author.

Liv Reese wakes up in a taxi, on a park bench and in a subway car, but can’t remember how she got any of these places. The last memory she has is sitting at her desk on a beautiful summer day and receiving an urgent phone call. She realizes it’s almost winter in NYC and doesn’t know how she lost months of her life. Her hands are covered with black writing telling her to stay awake and trust no one. Liv catches the news of a murder on TV with the words Stay Awake in the victim’s blood on the window and it dawns on her that she might be involved.

Stay Awake is a suspenseful ride that kept me wanting and anticipating, but I could not figure out where is was going, I just knew I didn’t want to exit. Imagine how terrifying it would be to have no memories while you try to piece together your last 24 hours to discover if you are or aren’t a murderer. And add to that a complete shocker of an ending. Must read in my opinion!

This book starts off strong: the last thing Liv Reese remembers before waking up in a taxi is answering her office phone more than 2 years earlier. Her hands and arms are covered in paranoid scribbles like "STAY AWAKE", she has a bloody knife and at least $1000 in her pockets, and neither her best friend nor her boyfriend answer her calls. Liv's story jumps between the present, where she forgets the last 2 years of her life every time she falls asleep, and her life 2 years ago leading up to the phone call that is the last thing she remembers before suffering the trauma that has led to her current memory problems (dissociative amnesia). An alternate POV in the current timeline is provided by NYPD Detective Darcy Halliday, who is assigned to the case related to the knife in Liv's pocket. Halliday and her partner try to unravel what happened, disagreeing on whether Liv is victim or suspect. This is a well-written, fast-moving story. I liked the characters (I would read another story starring Darcy Halliday!) and even though Liv's medical condition seems crazy, the author sold it.
I couldn't put this book down and had to stay up late to finish it, so you'd think it would be an obvious 5 star read, right? But since I finished it, I have been bothered by one thing in particular that was central to the plot that I think was incongruous. I avoid spoilers in my reviews, so I won't say what it was, but since I felt like it "threw me off the scent" of identifying the perp, it almost feels like the author cheated and I pondered whether that should bring my rating down to 4 stars. In the end, I decided that I liked this book so much that I am going to stick with 5.

When Liv wakes up in the back of a cab unsure about how she got there, it only gets more confusing from there. She makes her way up to her apartment, only to find out that she can't find her keys and that a couple who now lives there answers the door. She starts searching for her phone in an attempt to find answers, but instead finds a bloody knife in its place and the message "STAY AWAKE" written on her hands in black ink. The rest of the book follows Liv as she flashes back to two years prior and present day as she attempts to piece together how and why her life has completely changed and most importantly, why there was a bloody knife in her pocket.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and rated it 5 stars. I loved the plot and characters and loved trying to piece together what information from two years prior were going to be clues that unveiled how Liv ended up where she did. It was a great thriller and kept me so interested the whole time that I tore through it in a day.

4.5 stars. An excellent psychological thriller that had me completely engaged from page one. Liv wakes up in a taxi, her last memory that of answering her phone at work. When she gets to her apartment, strangers answer the door and insist that they've lived there for two years. Liv's hands are covered in her own writing with messages like, "STAY AWAKE". As the story unfolds, both in the present and through flashbacks to two years earlier, we start to uncover the truth at the same time Liv does. This is a complex thriller that was really well written, confusing in an intriguing way rather than a frustrating one. Goldin does a great job of heightening the tension as Liv uncovers the secrets of her past, while on the run from some crazy circumstances in her present as well. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital review copy.

It started with a bang, lulled in the middle, but picked up in last third. I was intrigued by the premise and felt committed to finding out the resolution, but there was a lot of repetition of details throughout the book. While the main character was reliving the same day over and over again, regurgitating the same information made for a bit of a tedious read. However, the mystery and circumstances of the case kept me interested enough to keep turning the page.

Liv wakes up in a cab with no memory of how she got there, with no purse, and no phone. She also discovers a bloody knife in her coat pocket. When the cab pulls up to her location, she knocks on the door to her apartment to ask her roommate to let her in, but she finds a couple living in her place. The problem is that every time Liv falls asleep she forgets what has happened since the last time she slept. In fact, she only has memories from two years ago. The chapters alternate between Liv in the now, Liv 2 years ago, and the female detective working the case. I was hooked from the first chapter until the end. I needed to find out about the bloody knife and what happened two years ago.

Thanks to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

I guessed the ending! Do I get a prize? Ha Ha!

Here's the deal though. The book was SO good that I didn't feel the ending needed to shock me. The rest of the book did that! I enjoyed the writing style SO much and this storyline ... YES!!! The fact it was split between the present and two years prior was perfection. I found myself tapping my Kindle pages like mad! I HAD to know what the heck was happening!

Overall an awesome and entertaining read! I can not wait to see what Megan Goldin comes up with next. In the meantime I think I better hit up her backlist.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for my e-copy!

2.5 stars

Stay Alive, Megan Goldin's follow up after the breakaway success of The Night Swim, has an absolutely electrifying premise. Liv wakes up in the middle of New York City with no memory of the past two years, a bloody knife at her side, and numerous warnings to "stay awake" scrawled into her skin. Thrown into the crosshairs of a murder investigation, she must outrun the secrets hidden in her past in order to stay awake and more importantly, stay alive.

While the first few chapters definitely give you that pulse-pounding feeling, the premise for me began to wear thin due to what felt like an immense lack of urgence on Liv's part for a majority of the book. Considering how she begins the book, she seems more interested in trying to speak to her boyfriend or going to work than actually actively trying to figure out what is going on. Much of that plot advancement comes through the use of a second perspective, which just didn't really excite me since I ended up not really caring much about either character. On top of that, the final reveal is so poorly fleshed out in terms of connecting all the dots that had been previously introduced and the book literally just...ends.

It's a fast read with a great premise, but the actual execution of its thriller aspects felt particularly toothless.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

Megan Goldin is an auto-buy author for me. The Escape Room is one of my all-time favorite books. Her latest Stay Awake will pull you in from page one.

If this summary doesn't entice you, I'm not sure what will: 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.

I struggled a little with the pacing of this book though. I became a little frustrated that no one seemed to even attempt to fill in the blanks for Liv.

I enjoyed this book and will continue to follow Megan Goldin!

Another fantastic novel by Megan Goldin! She remains one of my favorite authors.

Liv Reese cannot fall asleep because if she does, she will awaken with no memory of the past couple of years. She realizes that she is in danger but is unable to identify from who or what. As she slowly learns of her past, she writes things on her hands but cannot remember what they mean. She is being sought by the police and someone else in relation to a murder she has no memory of.

This book grabs the reader from the first words and flings them around along with the protagonist. Only bits and pieces of the mystery are revealed as Liv learns them. It is impossible to figure out what and who is involved in the danger she is in until the very end. As usual, Megan Goldin holds the reader in a state of intensity throughout the entire adventure. Superb writing. Great characters. Unfailing mystery and drama. A definite must read!


I received an ARC from St. Martin Press through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review and am under no obligation to do so.

This is a unique thriller. It has a dual timeline, one that switches from two years before to the current time, for reasons that I don't want to spoil for the reader.

Liv Reese is lost. She wakes up in the back of a taxi in New York City, a taxi that she doesn't remember getting into. She goes to her old apartment and discovers people that she doesn't know are living there - and have been for years. She finds a lot of cash in her handbag, and when she reaches for her cell phone, she finds a bloody knife. She goes to her work place only to discover that it has a new name and that she had left for a new job several years before. She has words written on her hands - Stay Awake - and she doesn't know what they mean, although it is her writing.

Then she hears on the news that a man has been murdered, and that the police are looking for her - but someone else is also looking for her...Pray he doesn't find her first.

My thanks to publisher St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.. These are my honest opinions.

Stay Awake
Megan Goldin, author

I enjoyed this fast paced psychological thriller very much. I thought it to be one of those stories that was hard to put down. This was up there with "Night Swim" for me. Goldin seems to be developing a style of writing that reminds me of Ruth Ware's books and I adore the books written by Ware.

The story revolves around Liv Reese. She continually wakes up with amnesia and has forgotten a two year period of her life. Her doctors have determined her amnesia is more than likely due to a traumatic episode that happened to her years earlier.

The story is told from two perspectives. Liv's and the detectives.

Liv is running from a strange man and perhaps the police. She just might also be trying to figure out WHY she has lost her memory for that period of time. It doesn't help that her most recent awake finds her in a cab with a bloody knife in her pocket and the words STAY AWAKE on her hands. As she attempts to return to her apartment, she discovers that others are living there, and her cat has been taken to a shelter. Then she discovers she no longer has a job when she goes there. She tries to reach her best friend and her boyfriend, but they're not answering their phones. What the heck is happening to her life?

Meanwhile, the detectives are hard at work on solving the recent murder of a man. It seems like the clues are leading them directly to Liv Reese.

The characters in this story were intense, especially Liv's characterization. I quite enjoyed the banter between the detectives as to whether Liv was the murderer or not.

I was gifted an advanced reader copy of the book from Netgalley, the publisher, and the author in exchange for my honest review. I highly recommend this intense and very thrilling novel. I am already looking forward to Goldin's next book.

Holy cow! Phe-freaking-nomenal
I was on the edge of my seat the WHOLE time! I yelled, "don't call" and "Ohmigosh!" MULTIPLE times. There were a few loose ends I would like to know the conclusions of, but since they were never *really* involved with the murder, its fine.
Such a good thriller! Highly recommend

Stay Awake will literally have you staying awake until you finish this book full of red herrings and twists and turns that will have your head spinning.

Liv is an insomniac that also has a rare type of amnesia . Every time she falls asleep she cant remember the last two years.

She has written on her hand Stay Awake. You can feel Liv's turmoil when she discovers her apartment is not hers any longer . She cant find her best friend Amy.

Nothing makes sense

Liv knows for some reason she is on the run from the police. Did she commit murder?

Who would she kill.

I don't want to give anything away but I will say be prepared to stay awake to the final page of this roller coaster of a read that will have you biting your nails and gasping out loud.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for a hold your breath read.

Imagine waking up one morning and not remembering anything for the past two years and every time you sleep it's a repeat of the previous day. With each passing day you notice words that you've written on your hands as a reminder.
STAY AWAKE
DON'T TRUST ANYONE
MEMORIES LIE
HE'S COMING FOR ME!
Liv is a successful writer for a trendy magazine. Last thing she remembers in answering the phone in her office. Two years have passed. Not remembering the night before she discovers not only is she on the run but now there is a bloody knife wrapped in a t-shirt and she has black ink on her hands. STAY AWAKE!
The deeper Homicide Detectives Halliday and Lavalle dig into the current murder their opinions are divided about Liv.
Murder, mystery and suspense will keep you intrigued until the end.
Thank you Netgalley and the author for a digital copy. Read and reviewed voluntarily and the opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Fast-paced thriller involving the main character, Liv, who loses her memory every time she falls asleep. So she has no recollection of a man she may have murdered in cold blood. Did she do it? Who can she trust to tell her the truth?

The story kept my attention and was very easy to read. There were twists and turns and the ending was good though not unexpected to me. The author did a good job of creating the fear and isolation that Liv felt in her fugue state. The plot went back and forth between the present and two years in the past and was easy to follow except near the end when the story went back into two different times in the past over a 24 hour period. Overall, a solid thriller read which I really enjoyed and which entertained me.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this ARC. Opinions are my own.