I am a sucker for medical thrillers and have read my share of them. I understand that this is a debut novel and the author has done a good job of keeping me turning pages.

The main character, Dr. Alex Taylor, wakes up and finds herself on an operating table, naked, scared and terrorized. The doctor standing beside her speaks to her and she doesn’t recognize the voice or the OR theater.

When she wakes up again she is in the hospital surrounded by her colleagues who have thoroughly examined her and find nothing wrong except for a bump on her head. They found her in the car park with broken branches around her and think that Alex probably had a mild concussion and was having some type of nightmare/ hallucination from this. The fact that Alex would have had to be lying there for a long time and her clothes aren’t dirty from the fall doesn’t seem to add up to Alex.

The book moves quickly along and there are other women who are found traumatized, bloodied and even dead, one of them murmurs a message to Alex. Dr. Taylor is out to prove that what she went through was not a trick of her imagination but real. She is also convinced that the other murders are tied to her. She gets a phone call and a message written on her car from the attacker but her friends and those she works with still don’t believe her. There is a doctor that has been ordered to work alongside Alex while she is going through all of this trauma and he is the only one of the staff who wants to support and help her.

Here is when I start to have a real problem with the storyline. There is a seasoned detective who begins to question all of the murders and what Alex seems to think is going on, but Alex has no proof. Another police officer, a young woman trying to make a name for herself, seems out to prove that Alex is lying and may in fact be a serial killer or suffering from Munchausen syndrome (Alex’s actions wouldn’t fall into the medical description of this syndrome). I had a very hard time believing that none of her colleagues rally to her side even though Alex is a well respected, highly intelligent woman.

I worked in the medical field and there were so many things that just wouldn’t happen in these situations. The police don’t work very hard for any other possible leads or search the hospital until the final killing of Alex’s best friend. They are then searching for Alex and yet they still don’t do a thorough search. The evidence against Alex starts to appear, tire marks from the spare tire in her car, pill packets in her car and messages on her phone, in fact so many that it doesn’t seem believable. Why would Alex leave so much evidence in her car when she knew the police would be searching it? Why does her phone disappear and then reappear with incriminating evidence on it? No, just too much points to her being set up for the killings.

I think this is a quickly moving thriller which can be enjoyed if you don’t think or analyze the plot too much.

Will also post to Amazon upon publication.

The claim that this is a thriller that you will not be able to put down is not unfounded. I could not read fast enough. Alex Taylor is a young but accomplished doctor. She has a handsome, dreamy veterinary boyfriend, tons of friends and a reputation as a life-saver. One day, she wakes up strapped to an operating table by a psycho who promises to do unspeakable things to her. When she next comes to, she is in the hospital where she works, being checked for a concussion caused by a falling branch. There is no sign that Alex was ever abducted. She knows that what she saw was real but she has no way to prove it. Little by little, her life, reputation and even her mind start unravelling. It is a really smart, well-written novel that plants little seeds of doubt around pretty much every character. At the same time, seemingly unimportant details become crucial in the end. There is romance, suspense, villains that you want to punch in the face (ironically, not the killer), and more twists than the hallways of a hospital. Top-notch!

Alex Taylor, a Doctor, Pilot and all round over achiever is the likable main character of this Thriller.
As you begin the story Alex awakens on a table and bound, restrained with someone standing over her who is dressed as a doctor but likely isn't. Next time she comes to shes in the car park.
No one believes her, and slowly she alienates people but trying to share her version of the truth.
The story makes you question who you can trust, if it really happened, and more importantly is being a good person all you need?

Gripped from the minute I picked it up. I only meant to browse for my next book. Thoroughly recommend this for anyone who enjoys a thrilling read

Fast paced with well described characters. Highly recommended

A young A&E doctor Alex wakes up tied to an operating table and threatened by a masked man. When she is found later unharmed her claims are dismissed by colleagues and family. Shortly afterwards a young nurse bleeds to death after an apparent self abortion. and Alex realises she has met the next victim. A compelling, dark pyschological thriller that will keep the reader guessing.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to preview this book. I enjoyed it, but something seemed missing. Perhaps a little too melodramatic. I loved that it takes place in Bath, which I have visited more than once, but again, it was a good story, but not great. Still worthwhile.

3.25-3.5 STARS

Dr. Alex Taylor suffered a horrific and terrifying ordeal at the hands of her psychotic abductor. Upon her release, she recounts her unbelievable tale to no avail. The police don’t believe her story, and her almost fiancé is convinced she needs psychiatric help. Even Taylor’s co-workers are skeptical, finding her sudden erratic behavior unnerving.

As the story progresses, an overly ambitious police detective sets her sights on unraveling Alex’s story and proving that she’s responsible for the murders that subsequently follow. A twisted psychological story unfolds, as a desperate Alex tries to convince her friends, co-workers and the police, that she’s telling the truth. If she can’t, more lives could be at stake.

While I found the premise to be unique and intriguing, I also thought it unrealistic in many respects. First, I found it unbelievable that EVERYONE discounted the word of a well-respected doctor—how quickly and easily they dismissed her account of events. Really? Not one person in her life believed she was telling the truth? Then, there was the unorthodox behavior of a female detective hell-bent on turning this victim into a murderous perp.

Aside from the story being a bit too far-fetched for my liking, I also found several of the characters annoying. And while the story was able to hold my attention throughout, I was able to deduce the true culprit early on—only the motivation still left to be determined. So, while, I liked the overall premise, the execution left a lot to be desired. What promised to be a thrilling read, in the end, failed to live up to my expectations.

This book is a thriller with a capital T!! The storyline, descriptive scenes and constant questioning of characters is on par with some of the greatest films and if I could have read it with my eyes covered like I do with scary movies, I probably would have done.

Different in a good way. Why won't anyone believe Alex? I did not see it coming.

Incredibly fast paced and intriguing. The opening chapter is truly the stuff of nightmares, and Alex's fear and complete lack of control really set my pulse racing.

In some ways the book reminded me of a Nicci French book "Land of the Living", when an utterly horrendous act has been committed, but the victim is met with disbelief, a lack of support and outright derision. I felt angry on Alex's behalf, but I didn't feel that the police acted in a realistic way and this did spoil my enjoyment a little.

The what, the who and the why are resolved, but the person I thought was responsible ends up dead, and the reveal is a good one. Even right up until the last minute I wasn't sure whether Alex would make it out alive and the tension is really ratcheted up in the closing chapters.

There was a little bit of confusion in the book (timescales of past events seemed a little confused at some points), a large degree of disbelief is required and there is a pretty gruesome scene with animal cruelty in it.

Overall though, a great thriller that kept me up to the early hours reading and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

This is a very scary story! Young doctor, Alex Taylor, wakes up to find herself on an operating table and at the complete mercy of a man dressed in mask and scrubs, who threatens to perform a horrible procedure on her. When she finally comes round, she is in A and E being treated by her colleagues, but nothing seems to have happened to her. What follows is a catalogue of horrible deaths, for which it seems that Alex is being blamed, as her friends and work mates believe she is having some kind of breakdown. A good page turner with lots of blood and gore!! Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.

Thank you Netgalley for the Advanced Reading Copy of Don’t Wake Up. In the beginning Alex Taylor emerges from a sleep strapped to an operating table. Somebody she doesn’t recognize is standing over her threatening to do unspeakable things to her in the operating theatre. Later when she retells her story, nobody believes her. They act like Dr. Taylor has lost her mind.

After a short period, she wonders that herself. But then other mysterious things happen to her. Her boyfriend doesn’t buy her story and neither do her co-workers or her boss. In fact they have all decided she’s a troublemaker and maybe even a serial killer.

The beginning moves a little slow for my taste, but once you get into the heart of the story, it sings right along. It’s hard to decide who the killer is. The author did a great job of making you think it was someone else. The character of Alex is well depicted, the scenery descriptions were very well done – so much so – that I could actually feel and smell the operating room. It’s a well-plotted thriller and I foresee more good novels coming from Lawler.

A good story but a little far fetched. It dragged a bit and almost all of the characters were annoying.

This was thrilling read from page one. Endless twists and turns, the pace of the book was fast and exciting. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, the characters were real and both likeable and loathsome. This is a must read

I zipped through this book! It has the addictive quality I look for in a psychological thriller and has a very creepy quality which I enjoyed.
A really good read!

This was a great read and tension built throughout. Dr Alex Taylor wakes up on an operating table with a man standing over her and she had no idea what's going on. She's then found unconscious outside and no one believes her story, did she imagine it?
Then other people come into the hospital with similar stories. Is Alex a victim or perpetrator?
I would definately read this author again as this is an impressive debut.
Thanks to net galley and Bonnie Zagreb for an ARC.

I really enjoyed this book and found it hard to put down particularly the last dozen or so pages. It certainly starts well with our heroine waking up in an operating theatre. The police characters were brilliant, I loved the little asides and the working relationship between Gregg and laura.. I don't think it would have taken anything away from the overall plot to have more of a storyline attached to the first two victims, more compex characters to muddy the waters of confusion. I would defintely read more by this author.

Alex Taylor is a doctor in a busy accident and emergency department, she has just finished her shift and has been promised Champagne and flowers from her gorgeous boyfriend Patrick and if she has read him right she thinks a proposal of marriage is on the cards dressed for the occasion she is on her way to meet him the in the hospital car park.
So when she wakes up she knows she's in hospital as she can hear the equipment working around her, she feels groggy and her body cant move when she looks down she realises its her who's linked up to the equipment. She drifts back off to sleep and when she reawakens she is with her work colleagues
Caroline keeps Alex calm when she insists she has been abducted and been raped she wants all the tests to make sure she has not contracted and diseases from her abductor.
Head doctor Caroline and her best friend Fiona are bewildered there are no signs anything has happened to Alex they tell her Patrick and a security man found her not far from the exit she'd left by. Her clothes were all in tact she had no marks on her, she does have a bump on the back of her head they tell her maybe the bump is confusing memories of an incident that had happened to her just over a year before.
As time passes things happen around Alex making it look as if she is losing her mind. Is she losing her mind or is someone setting her up?
Alex doesn't know who to trust anymore her boyfriend her friends her work colleagues all think she having a breakdown.
I loved this book I have never suspected so many people in this one novel of crimes. Liz Lawler has written a blinder of a book keeps you guessed not right up to the end. It's a 5 star from me.

This was a fantastic edge-of-the-seat book. I loved it and missed half a night of sleep reading it. I love medicine and found the whole story brilliant. More please