Don’t Wake Up by Liz Lawler

Brenda’s Thoughts

Don’t Wake Up takes dark and disturbing to a different level here when we learn the unsettling scenario our main character Alex has endured. So unbelievable that everyone starts to question Alex’s story, setting Alex up to be an interesting unreliable character. That dark and twisted part of me was drawn into Alex’s life and at times I questioned if maybe this one has gone a bit too far for me. Things start to slow down a bit there as Alex’s life spirals out of control and the dynamics between the characters become interesting however at times the story felt like it wasn’t moving forward as fast as I wanted it too. Norma who was ahead of me struggled a bit here too but told me to be patient and give it some time. Things started to pick up for me as we learn the truth.

Liz Lawler does a good job here leading us to those twists and turns as there were a few ways the story could of went. What at times felt like the story could be predictable took a different turn than I expected to keep me guessing right up to that satisfying ending.

Edgy, mysterious, & disturbing!

DON’T WAKE UP by LIZ LAWLER is an engaging, dark, suspenseful, and intense psychological thriller that I was immediately drawn into.  The subject matter is disturbingly nightmarish and terrifying to make this quite the intriguing, enjoyable and entertaining read.

This book immediately grabbed my attention but necessarily didn’t keep it all the way through though.  I did get a tiny bit impatient with some aspects of the storyline as it seemed to stall a little bit but it totally grabbed me again and in the end I was thoroughly impressed with the way certain things played out.

LIZ LAWLER delivers a character-driven, interesting, and well-written read here that had me feeling anxious as well as had me questioning and suspicious of almost everything that I was reading.

The only thing that bothered me a little bit while reading this one was something to do with the investigation and the actions of the authorities.  I have a reading pet-peeve when a character’s behaviour is questioned and not believed by the police. It definitely bugs me as a reader.

Thank you so much to Edelweiss, HarperCollins Canada & Liz Lawler for the opportunity to read an electronic ARC of this book.

Mysterious, suspenseful and chilling!

Dr. Alex Taylor wakes up under the bright lights of an operating table, groggy and confused. She is strapped down and hooked up to an IV with no sense of what happened. Assuming she had a bad accident, she asks the doctor beside her for details. The next thing she knows, she is waking up on a gurney in the hospital she works at, surrounded by her co-workers. They tell her she was found unconscious in the parking lot. What happened between those two waking moments? Alex knows she was targeted and something happened to her in that mysterious hospital operating room. She embarks on a quest to find answers and uncover the truth behind her peculiar and puzzling situation.

The first chapter starts with a bang! It pulled me right into the story, feeling the suspense and sympathizing with Alex’s situation. I applaud the author, Liz Lawler, for creating such a powerful start to this debut novel – it was unique, captivating and suspenseful. As the novel progressed, my intrigue weakened as I couldn’t fully connect to the characters and the pace slowed. There were some surprising twists in the novel which kept me on my toes, but some of the dialogue and behaviour felt unnatural and took away from my connection to the story. 

Overall, I enjoyed the book, am glad I read it and would be interested in reading more from this author. Many readers have loved this one, so be sure to check out those several raving reviews! 

Warning: there is a scene with animal abuse that I found difficult to read.

Thank you to Edelweiss and HarperCollins for providing me with an ARC to read and review!

Norma’s Stats:
Cover: Suspenseful, intriguing, mysterious, dark, eye-catching and a fitting representation to storyline. 
Title: Appealing, suspenseful, disturbing, intriguing and absolutely love how the title plays so fittingly and terrifyingly into storyline. 
Writing/Prose: Well-written, engaging, and captivating. 
Plot: Harrowing, dark, tension-filled, suspenseful, gripping, fast-paced, clever, absorbing, enjoyable and entertaining. 
Ending: An unexpected and unpredictable ending that totally took me by surprise. 
Overall: I was quite delighted that the author totally took me by surprise here and I totally missed a major clue to the “who” of the “whodunit”! Loved it!!!! Would definitely recommend!

Have you read this one? Want to read it? Drop us a comment! We would love to hear from you!