Don't Wake Up - Liz Lawler

Alex Taylor wakes up tied to an operating table. The man who stands over her isn't a doctor.

The choice he forces her to make is utterly unspeakable.

But when Alex re-awakens, she's unharmed - and no one believes her horrifying story. Ostracised by her colleagues, her family and her partner, she begins to wonder if she really is losing her mind.

And then she meets the next victim.

So compulsive you can't stop reading.

So chilling you won't stop talking about it.

Don't Wake Up is a dark, gripping psychological thriller with a horrifying premise and a stinging twist . . .

What did I think?

There is an abundance of psychological thrillers out there with the emphasis on police procedures, so Don't Wake Up was something so completely different as it was set in a hospital.  I was not surprised to learn that Liz Lawler had a long-standing career as a nurse as this was so procedurally accurate that I felt as if I was in the hospital at times.

Alex is a popular doctor in a busy A&E department, but one evening as she leaves work to meet her boyfriend she finds herself on an operating table.  With her legs in stirrups she feels violated but then next thing she knows she is found fully dressed in the car park so nobody believes her story.  When another apparent victim appears in casualty, Alex knows she didn't imagine what happened to her but more and more evidence seems to point at Alex being unhinged and dangerous.  Something happened in Alex's past that she doesn't like to talk about but it might just hold the key as to the identity of the person who has set out to destroy Alex.

Don't Wake Up is a really enjoyable, fast-paced medical thriller.  Alex is a character that you can see falling apart in front of your eyes and, as a reader, you are helpless to stop it.  I wanted to shout: 'I believe you, Alex!' as she felt so very alone.  I could have given her boyfriend, Patrick, a good slap as he doesn't even hide the fact that he doesn't believe her.  What a detestable man - as a vet, I do hope he was kinder to animals than he was to someone he was supposed to love.  It just shows what great characters Liz Lawler has created to make me display such feelings.

If you're looking for a different thriller, I'd definitely recommend Don't Wake Up, although I definitely wouldn't give it to somebody to read whilst in hospital.  

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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