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wjreadsbooks 's review for:
Stay Awake
by Megan Goldin
Megan Goldin's books have been a mixed bag for me. [b:The Night Swim|51169341|The Night Swim|Megan Goldin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1569898236l/51169341._SY75_.jpg|70932279] was a compelling mystery with a powerful payoff, [b:The Escape Room|41150380|The Escape Room|Megan Goldin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1539265141l/41150380._SY75_.jpg|60014954] was fine but didn't live up to the originality of the first book. Stay Awake has been the most disappointing so far, as the characters felt extremely flat and the plot had a pretty terrible payoff and it felt like there were plot holes.
Stay Awake alternates between two perspectives - that of Lila Reeves, who is extremely confused about her life as she can't remember anything that has happened from two years ago to date; and the detectives that are investigating into the murder of a man that they can't identify yet. Lila and the man's death are inexplicably connected, as she wakes up with the murder weapon on her but no memories of how she knows the man and how he died. However, there's a message written in blood on the window of the site of the crime: STAY AWAKE - the exact same message that Lila finds scribbled on her hands.
Like I've mentioned before, the characters are really flat. We're told that Lila has a terrible childhood with a mother who basically uprooted them each other she got into a new relationship, that Lila is a fantastic cook (though we don't actually get to witness any of that cooking) and she's in love with Marco, who treats her pretty poorly. However, we don't learn much more about Lila - such as why she can't let go of Marco, even after her best friend and roommate Amy, basically hints to her that Marco is a terrible person.
Regarding the police detectives, they felt like extremely random additions to the story. Darcy Halliday is a veteran turned homicide detective and it's briefly suggested that she might've worked in military intel, with a close friend that had died after failing to adapt to civilian death but then this point isn't really developed upon? Meanwhile, Jack Lavelle is the more senior detective on the case and aside from being widely respected at his job, there is nothing else that we know about him.
The book might've been saved if the plot had a better payoff as there were some genuinely creepy moments in Lila's past. Lila believes that there's someone stalking her as this mysterious person messages her cryptically; sends her gifts and seems to following her. However, the police don't seem to believe her, even as the scenarios become stranger and more menacing. However, the reveal of the mystery on what happened to Lila was just kinda "meh".
Stay Awake alternates between two perspectives - that of Lila Reeves, who is extremely confused about her life as she can't remember anything that has happened from two years ago to date; and the detectives that are investigating into the murder of a man that they can't identify yet. Lila and the man's death are inexplicably connected, as she wakes up with the murder weapon on her but no memories of how she knows the man and how he died. However, there's a message written in blood on the window of the site of the crime: STAY AWAKE - the exact same message that Lila finds scribbled on her hands.
Like I've mentioned before, the characters are really flat. We're told that Lila has a terrible childhood with a mother who basically uprooted them each other she got into a new relationship, that Lila is a fantastic cook (though we don't actually get to witness any of that cooking) and she's in love with Marco, who treats her pretty poorly. However, we don't learn much more about Lila - such as why she can't let go of Marco, even after her best friend and roommate Amy, basically hints to her that Marco is a terrible person.
Spoiler
The Lila of today is even more underbaked, but then I suppose this may be because Goldin wants to maintain the air of mystery around Lila to cause her to appear delusional or ill.Regarding the police detectives, they felt like extremely random additions to the story. Darcy Halliday is a veteran turned homicide detective and it's briefly suggested that she might've worked in military intel, with a close friend that had died after failing to adapt to civilian death but then this point isn't really developed upon? Meanwhile, Jack Lavelle is the more senior detective on the case and aside from being widely respected at his job, there is nothing else that we know about him.
The book might've been saved if the plot had a better payoff as there were some genuinely creepy moments in Lila's past. Lila believes that there's someone stalking her as this mysterious person messages her cryptically; sends her gifts and seems to following her. However, the police don't seem to believe her, even as the scenarios become stranger and more menacing. However, the reveal of the mystery on what happened to Lila was just kinda "meh".