Reviews

If She Wakes by Michael Koryta

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syddnixx's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

maleficentbookdragon's review against another edition

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2.0

Meh. I only finished this book because it was a book club book. It was a little more spy thriller than I like; so much double crossing and hired killers. What was really interesting was the story of locked in syndrome. The chapters from Tara’s point of view were the most engaging for me. Dax was an terrifying and compelling character, but Abby and Boone fell flat for me. I don’t think I’m a fan of Koryta’s writing of women characters. I didn’t hate it, but I would have bailed had it not been part of a group read. As it was, I did a lot of skimming.

shaymurph's review against another edition

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mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

dern7663's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

lisaeirene's review against another edition

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3.0

This is the second "girl in a coma but she can hear everything around her" type of book I've read lately and I almost didn't read it because the premise didn't interest me, but the author is one I've read before and I really liked the other book I read by him.

It turned out to be a unique, interesting book full of hitmen and exciting twists and turns. Tara Beckley is a senior in college in Maine. She is driving a visiting professor to a conference when there is a car accident that leaves the professor dead and Tara in a coma. Abby is an insurance investigator hired by the college to look into the accident. Except, Abby used to be a stunt driver in Hollywood and she immediately sees that something isn't right about the accident.

It turns out that Tara is the key to the mystery, but she's in a vegetative state. And there are two hitmen trying to get to what Tara knows.

theliteratureladies's review against another edition

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4.0

Growing up, I loved mysteries. Trixie Belden (generously gifted to me as a young girl from my aunt, who read them when she was young!), Nancy Drew, The Boxcar Children…I loved the intrigue of a whodunit. And, as readers often do, I drifted away from that genre for a time. I’ve recently found myself circling back to the occasional mystery/thriller these days, and my most recent dip in that pool was with If She Wakes by Michael Koryta.

Written from several characters’ perspectives, If She Wakes tells the story of an “innocent” car crash turned murder investigation. When Tara is chosen to escort a guest speaker to his talk at her college campus, she doesn’t expect to end up in a coma. However, after a bizarre evening with the speaker, she finds herself slammed into by an out-of-control van and wakes up trapped inside her body – fully alert but unable to move a single muscle. The speaker? He’s dead. A tragic accident really…or is it? What did the speaker have that someone else wanted?

Enter Abby, a stunt driver with PTSD trying to pull her life back together after a horrific (and legitimate) car crash. She’s working with insurance to wrap up legalities surrounding the crash. All routine, until she arrives at the crash site and uses her natural driving knowledge to ascertain that this was no accident. What follows is one killer’s quest to eradicate all who discover that secret. No one is safe…especially if Tara wakes.

I really only had one thing I didn’t love: the ending. I felt like the resolution of why the speaker had been murdered was not as exciting as I would have liked. I felt like the final showdown between the “bad guy” and the other characters was anticlimactic. It just seemed like a lot of build up and mystery for a kind of hastily and easily wrapped up ending. Was it enough to ruin the book for me? No. Was I somewhat disappointed? Yes.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It kept me invested. I found myself wanting to read it any time I had spare time (which is a wonderful treat after a few duds). The characters were likeable, there was some humor to help lighten the overall tone of the novel, and the plot moved quick enough for me. I didn’t feel like there was anything exceptional, but it was an overall solid enough book that I gave it four out of five stars.

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