Blurb:
Some
secrets never die. They’re just locked away.
Alex
Dale is lost. Destructive habits have cost her a marriage and a journalism
career. All she has left is her routine: a morning run until her body aches,
then a few hours of forgettable work before the past grabs hold and drags her
down. Every day is treading water, every night is drowning. Until Alex
discovers Amy Stevenson—Amy Stevenson, who was just another girl from a nearby
town until the day she was found unconscious after a merciless assault. Amy
Stevenson, who has been in a coma for fifteen years, forgotten by the world.
Amy Stevenson, who, unbeknownst to her doctors, remains locked inside her body,
conscious but paralyzed, reliving the past.
Soon
Alex’s routine includes visiting hours at the hospital, then interviews with
the original suspects in the attack. But what starts as a reporter’s story
becomes a personal obsession. How do you solve a crime when the only witness
lived but cannot tell the tale? Unable to tear herself away from her attempt to
uncover the unspeakable truth, Alex realizes she’s not just chasing a
story—she’s seeking salvation.
Shifting
from present to past and back again, Try Not to Breathe unfolds layer by
layer until its heart-stopping conclusion. The result is an utterly immersive,
unforgettable debut.
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 fifteen-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.
Review by Rochelle:
I
received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest
review.
Wow! I
wish I could write like Holly Sutton. What an incredible book! Told in multiple
first person points of view, Ms. Sutton takes us into the mind of an alcoholic
who wants to battle her addiction but can’t, slowly peeling back the layers of
what led Alex from teenage binge drinking to full-blown daily drinking, and the
games she plays with herself to try to control her disease.
We see
the guilt Jake carries as he tries to balance a career, marriage, his wife’s
pregnancy, and the responsibility he feels toward Amy, his high school
girlfriend who lies in a coma after a horrific attack by an unknown assailant.
And the additional guilt he carries because of the effect his grief had on his
brothers, both of whom ended up leaving home rather than cope with him.
Finally,
we see inside Amy’s head. She worries her mum will be angry that she’s
overslept. She wonders why her friends haven’t called her to go out. When Jake
tries to tell her he’s getting married, she can’t understand why he’d break up
with her. Is Mum angry? Why has she stopped speaking to her? Who is Alex? What
is she talking about? What attack?
I
couldn’t put down Try Not to Breathe. I had work to do and Christmas gifts to
make. Yet I kept reading. Yes, when I grow up, I want to write like Holly
Seddon. And she’s quite young—just starting out. Wow!
Author Website:
Heat Rating: PG
Length: 368 Pages
Prices:
Hardcover Print: $20.26
Digital:
$12.99
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