Stay Awake by Megan Goldin

Hello everyone. I hope your week is going well so far.

One gets to be a housewife by being a wife.  My husband is the kindest person you'd ever meet but upon getting married he did have some things I had to get used to...male things.  First there is the air that comes from places that I didn't know exist, frankly I think the male body has more openings than the female.  Next, despite being evolved, smart, and truly nice, at times he will still objectify women.  If he is talking about some woman we don't know by name, the first thing he uses to describe her is her chest size.  Then there is the snoring.  Certainly lots of people snore, but my husband has it down to a fine science...just ask our neighbor three doors down!  He usually goes to sleep before me, as I've stated before I am a bad sleeper.  I will try, try being the optimal word there, to watch TV.  I find it impossible to hear the dialog over his snoring.  I've even recorded it and played to back for him, showing him that he really does possess a world class talent.  Not only am I wide awake if he's snoring, it's been going on for so much of my life, now I think there is something wrong if he sleeps peacefully.  Yep, I'm awake either way.

I recently read Stay Awake by Megan Goldin.  This is the story of Liv Reese, who wakes up in the back of a taxi in New York City.  She doesn't know how she got there or why there is this bizarre writing on the back of her hand telling her to stay awake.  What is even odder is that she discovers not only doesn't she know what happened the night that landed her in the taxi asleep, but she doesn't remember the last two years.  While trying to figure out what is going on she finds out that someone has been murdered and the murderer has written, in blood on the window, a message about remaining awake.  Could she have done something terrible?

Holy cow does this book move.  Honestly, don't start this unless you can finish it.  The story boasts short chapters, often ending with terrifying revelations, bouncing between two years ago and the present day.  This suspenseful thriller fills the reader with the urgent need to know what has happened to Liv.   I don't want to give anything away but turn on Netflix for your kids, order take out, and clear your schedule, this one is wild.

By the way, hubby wants to read this book.  Finally, I have something to keep him awake!

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

 

Hello everyone.  I hope you are well.

My husband says I should have been a lawyer.  I used to be fascinated by court cases broadcast on television.  Perhaps he thinks I'd make a good lawyer because I always win our arguments. I can't help it, I remember things from the past to support my point and when he accuses me of something I insist he give me specific examples, which he never can. It doesn't give him more confidence knowing that over the last year I've read several thrillers that feature court cases.

I recently read The Night Swim by Megan Goldin. If the author sounds familiar to you, she wrote the very popular The Escape Room, which I  enjoyed.  The Night Swim is the story of, Rachel, an owner of a podcast that looks at true crime. When she arrives in a small North Carolina town for a real time rape trial, Rachel finds that she is being stalked.  The person following Rachel desperately wants her to review an old case, the death of the stalkers sister, which is ruled drowning but the stalker believes was murder.  Of course, the town is full of a rich cast of characters some of which lived there during both crimes.  

The thriller part of this novel, is page-turning and suspenseful. The legal areas may have some procedural errors but unless you are a criminal attorney, I doubt it would detract from your experience. One thing I want to warn you about is rape. This book is about rape, no way around it. Some of the descriptions are disturbing. If you have been the victim of this crime in the past, I would skip this book. All other thriller lovers you might want to find this book a spot on your "to be read" list.

The Escape Room by Megan Goldin

Hello everyone.

There are many odd things about writing a blog, one is that you really don't know anything about those that are reading it. I don't know if you live in the country or city. Are you a business professional? Are you a housewife, maybe looking for book reviews and cleaning tips...good luck with that...no cleaning here. Yes, I've seen the bathrooms and the dishes in the sink but I must read (and procrastinate). Because of this impersonal kind of communication you may be too young to know some reference I give or find something that amuses me to be ho-hum everyday for you. Why do I mention this? When I was a kid I remember going to New York City for the first time. I recall looking out the hotel room window down at the street and it was so busy, always. Of course we climbed inside the Statue of Liberty, looking out from her crown. We went on a shopping trip as my mom wanted a very specific bedspread that she was certain Gimbels carried. We saw the Rockettes Christmas show at Radio City Music Hall. We also went up to the lookout floor in the Empire State building. I was so young and had never been in a building that high before, the elevator ride seemed to go on forever. I realize this may be an everyday thing for you, but if you haven't been in a skyscraper before it is an usual experience initially. By the time I was in college we were cutting classes to go "into the city" to see a Broadway show, one time almost getting elbowed in the face by Frank Langella (look him up). I digress, let's talk about a book.

I just read The Escape Room by Megan Goldin. This is a thriller about a group of people that work in a cut throat financial merger company in New York City. The story follows a specific team of coworkers. We discover that two of the team members have died and the rest have been called to a team bonding exercise, an escape room, that is an actual elevator in an empty luxury office tower under construction. The elevator is up high, where the one guard can't hear any screaming or pleas for help.   I won't say more, except I hope you aren't claustrophobic. This book is well written and sticks to the storyline. Anywhere the author takes you is absolutely necessary. The reading is quick, easy, and pleasant yet tense, as a thriller should be. There are those books that you want to slow down and savor, this is not one of those books. This novel you want to gobble up whole, just ask me, I read 290+ pages today...a new record for me. Yup, this was a great page-turner from beginning to twisty, satisfying end.

I think the publisher might be able to sell this as an exercise book. After reading this, I bet a lot of people will be skipping the elevator and taking the stairs!