TRY NOT TO BREATHE by Holly Seddon

TRY NOT TO BREATHE by Holly Seddon has been compared to Lianne Moriarty, Paula Hawkins, and Tana French. It is quite amazing that this is the debut novel for this young author. It has a level of maturity and experience to it that gives weight to the psychological suspense.

Alex Dale, a young reporter, tries find her sense of purpose in life again and heal from the mess her alcoholism made of her marriage by solving the mystery of how Amy Stevenson ended up in a vegetative state.

Amy was the biggest story of 1995 by disappearing from school one day at only 15 years old, only to be found three days later in a coma. Initially her stepfather was arrested as the suspect, but then released. Her true attacker was never found and many mysteries swirled around the reason for her attack. Now it is 15 years later and Amy is still in a vegetative state in a hospital surrounded by 90’s Britpop posters forgotten by all but her old boyfriend who visits her religiously. Is he hiding something? By chance Alex comes across Amy while she is researching another story in the hospital. Amy's story flashes back to her like yesterday and she is hooked. She must solve the case at any and all costs. 

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the advanced digital copy in exchange for an unbiased review. The book will be published February 23, 2016.