Try Not to Breathe by Holly Seddon

You won't be able to put it down.
Just remember to breathe.

Alex is sinking. Slowly but surely, she's cut herself off from everything but her one true love - drink. Until she's forced to write a piece about a coma ward, where she meets Amy.

Amy is lost. When she was fifteen, she was attacked and left for dead in a park. Her attacker was never found. Since then, she has drifted in a lonely, timeless place. She's as good as dead, but not even her doctors are sure how much she understands.

Alex and Amy grew up in the same suburbs, played the same music, flirted with the same boys. And as Alex begins to investigate the attack, she opens the door to the same danger that has left Amy in a coma...

Title:               Try Not to Breathe
Author:           Holly Seddon
Published By: Corvus
Date:               7th Jan 2016
Link:               UK: Amazon US: Amazon

My Review

Wow, wow, wow! This book is amazing, I read the whole thing in one day simply because I couldn't put it down.

The story starts with Alex, a freelance journalist who is writing a story about a hospital ward with patients in comas. Whilst there she realises that one of the patients is a girl called Amy who had been abducted, beaten and left for dead fifteen years ago. Alex realised that she was the same age as Amy and remembered the story when it happened. She becomes intrigued with the unsolved case and is determined to find out what really happened.

There are many elements to the story but one of the most compelling is how much Amy actually brings to Alex's life, as she has had no sense of purpose for a few years since losing her baby and husband due to her excessive use of alcohol. She is troubled and lonely but Amy's story gives her a sense of purpose and gradually the strength to prove she is good at what she does and she can finish what she started. Alex's story was in some ways as sad as Amy's and that is probably what draws her to Amy.

It was interesting to read about how Amy's situation had affected those around her, especially her boyfriend at the time, Jake, who almost loses his current relationship because of divided loyalties.

The saddest part was being able to read about Amy's thoughts and the fact that she could still hear people talking to her but was quite confused about the whole situation, I was so pleased that Alex had found her and I was very moved at the end with just one simple act from Alex which would have made such a difference to Amy.

Holly Seddon is a natural storyteller, I could almost hear her voice reading this out to me around the campfire with every word  keeping me enthralled. Her descriptive prose set up each scene clearly in my mind and her characters were strong despite their flaws. She is an amazing writer and is brilliant at building suspense, my stomach was tensed the whole way through with this gripping story.

Although it is about a traumatising event with a devastating outcome for Amy there is an uplifting light that shines through from the eventual friendship between Amy and Alex.

Simply brilliant, an outstanding cleverly written masterpiece from an awe inspiring writer. This book will stay with me for a long time.

Thanks to Corvus books for the review copy.

Sincerely

Book Angel x

About the Author

Holly Seddon was born and raised in the sleepy south-west of England and now lives slap bang in the centre of Amsterdam with her husband and four children. Throughout her 15-year career, Holly has been privileged to work in some of the UK's most exciting newsrooms.

TRY NOT TO BREATHE is her first novel, published in the UK (Corvus/Atlantic) in January 2016. Soon after, it will be available in the US (Ballantine/Penguin Random House), Germany (Heyne), Russia (Sindbad), Swiat Ksiazk (Poland), Crown (Taiwan) and Netherlands (Ambo Anthos).

Holly is currently writing her second book.