Much like The Girl on the Train, which is also a mystery that unravels through alternating perspectives, I was mesmerized by Try Not to Breathe. As in glued to the pages until the very last word mesmerized.
Brutally attacked as a teen, Amy has been confined to a hospital bed for fifteen years. She thinks and dreams, breathes on her own and hears what’s going on around her; however, she can’t talk. And even though her eyes are open, she doesn’t see anyone because she’s trapped inside her own head. Who’s responsible for Amy’s condition? That’s what I was dying to know throughout the entire novel!
Seddon expertly toggled between multiple perspectives to tell Amy’s story. There’s Amy, of course, whose narration dates back to the day she was attacked all the way up to the day her attacker is revealed. I have never encountered a narrator like Amy before. At times I was confused because she was confused, but then after processing what it might be like for someone who’s in a coma-like state with self-inflicted amnesia (for lack of a better term), I found myself in awe of the way Seddon presented Amy’s perspective. Wow. Just brilliant. Then there’s Alex, an alcoholic who’s trying to crawl her way back to being the respected reporter she once was, and Jacob, a man who sits and talks to Amy regularly.
If you’re a suspense junkie like me, then I highly recommend Try Not to Breathe.
GOODREADS
AMAZON
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy via NetGalley.
K. J. Farnham 