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A review by urbansapphire
If I Die Before I Wake by Emily Koch
4.0
Alex Jackson is a 27 year old journalist from Bristol, he loves rock climbing and as we first meet him, he is a prisoner in his own body following a climbing accident.
The story is told from Alex's perspective, and the first thing we find out is that although
his medical team believe he is in a vegetative state and completely unaware of anything around him, Alex is actually suffering from locked-in syndrome - aware of everything going on around him, but unable to move or respond in any way. He's been like this for around 2 years - he's measuring time by listening to the conversations going on around him from his Dad, his sister Philippa, his girlfriend Bea and his care team, amongst others.
When the story starts, Alex has, understandably, given up hope and is wishing for death. As he hears snippets of various conversations around him, he realises that his accident is being reinvestigated, as a possible murder attempt. This sets him thinking - after all, he can't do anything else, and he starts to try and work out who could be behind this - who would want him dead? He can also hear conversations about turning off his life support, which is the stuff that horror movies are made of and made me shiver to think about. This galvanises him and he is determined to survive, and move again, and tell Bea how much he loves her.
I found this book extremely engaging and found it very hard to put down. It is the thing of nightmares to be trapped in your own body, unable to communicate, and this is conveyed very well in Emily Koch's debut thriller. Full of tension, twists and turns, and genuine frustration for Alex not being able to do anything about his suspicions, it's a must-read for 2018 and is sure to be a massive hit!
Thanks to Random House UK/Vintage/Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.
The story is told from Alex's perspective, and the first thing we find out is that although
his medical team believe he is in a vegetative state and completely unaware of anything around him, Alex is actually suffering from locked-in syndrome - aware of everything going on around him, but unable to move or respond in any way. He's been like this for around 2 years - he's measuring time by listening to the conversations going on around him from his Dad, his sister Philippa, his girlfriend Bea and his care team, amongst others.
When the story starts, Alex has, understandably, given up hope and is wishing for death. As he hears snippets of various conversations around him, he realises that his accident is being reinvestigated, as a possible murder attempt. This sets him thinking - after all, he can't do anything else, and he starts to try and work out who could be behind this - who would want him dead? He can also hear conversations about turning off his life support, which is the stuff that horror movies are made of and made me shiver to think about. This galvanises him and he is determined to survive, and move again, and tell Bea how much he loves her.
I found this book extremely engaging and found it very hard to put down. It is the thing of nightmares to be trapped in your own body, unable to communicate, and this is conveyed very well in Emily Koch's debut thriller. Full of tension, twists and turns, and genuine frustration for Alex not being able to do anything about his suspicions, it's a must-read for 2018 and is sure to be a massive hit!
Thanks to Random House UK/Vintage/Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.