I found the premise for If I Die Before I Wake exciting and original and couldn't wait to read it. I devoured it in two sittings.
This follows Alex who's been in a coma for awhile now after a rock climbing accident and his family and girlfriend are debating turn off his life-support...Until the police re-open the investigation and perhaps Alex's 'accident' wasn't in fact an accident...
The entire novel is from Alex's POV and the reader is with Alex trapped in his body. I think Koch did a great job capturing the claustrophobia, frustration and pain of being able to hear, smell and sense everything around you but being paralysed and unable to communicate. This aspect of the novel felt authentic and well-researched so props to Koch. I also enjoyed the secondary characters and found their relationship with Alex really moving.
The only gripe I had was with the pacing. I found the suspense element was slow and it wasn't until the last third of the book that it picks up. But as the writing and protagonist was compelling it kept me turning the pages nonetheless.

This book was so different from any crime thrillers that I've ever read. Thought provoking, interesting, and with a unique plot I was hooked from the beginning. Definitely worth adding to your reading list

The way this story is told is so unique, that I was gripped from the get-go. Alex is in a coma after an accident, and the story is told through Alex's eyes. Through the many visitors to his hospital room, he is the fly on the wall, witnessing the goings-on around him but unable to participate, no matter how much he wants to.

Interspersed with the conversations that Alex witnesses from his dad, sister, girlfriend, and a number of friends and healthcare staff, Alex fills us in on little anecdotes from his life which gradually build the story. Was Alex's fall an accident? Or was it something more? As Koch guides us through the story, we are alternately suspicious of everyone that Alex comes into contact with, until we reach the very end and the answer is revealed.

Koch's style of writing is absolutely brilliant, and she managed to build the suspense steadily but gradually. To use an old cliche, this is a real 'page-turner'. The only reason I didn't aware 5/5 stars was because I felt that the ending fell a little flat, and came a little out of the blue. I know that twists often are out of the blue, but this felt that there hadn't been enough lead-up to this ending, so when it finally came, it seemed as though it had been written as an afterthought.

Provided with an ARC in exchange for a fair review

I'm really surprised at how highly rated this book is. I found it pretty boring, the protagonist is literally in a coma for the whole thing and it's all just flashbacks and snippets of overheard conversations. I wasn't really invested in any of the characters. It feels like an effort to even review and I think I'll have forgotten it entirely pretty soon.

There was perhaps something intriguing in the idea of the drama and mystery playing out around someone trapped in their own body but in execution, it relies too heavily on everyone around this person having stagey conversations. I also felt very irritated that throughout there is a level of suspicion laid towards many of the main characters but the actual situation involves someone we've never heard of until the protagonist suddenly remembers the incident in the last 10% of the book. It felt like all the suspicion and work the reader does in trying to understand the mystery is useless.

This book is simply incredible. I am literally struggling to remember a book that has evoked so many feelings inside of me. I felt the pull of it constantly yet almost tried to drip feed myself, not allowing myself to read too much or too quickly as then the journey would be over.

Koch transported me into an inner world, Alex's whole world. Alex's inner voice resonated my very core. I felt his confusion, his terror, his love. His fight became my fight. Sometimes I cried so much I couldn't even see the page.

Powerful and richly imaginative, this is a book to be savoured and to be raved about. Let Alex tell you his story, it's one you won't ever forget.

Thank you so much to the Publisher and to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review. This book deserves the highest of recommendations.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book as an arc.
It is told solely from the viewpoint of Alex, who has been in a coma for almost 2 years since a climbing accident. However, Alex could see, hear and feel things and his situation seemed to be that of locked in syndrome which is one of my worst fears! The book was written extremely well, we were really drawn into the character of Alex. The thriller element to the book comes about half way through, when we find out the accident might have actually been intentional, and a police investigation begins.
I did enjoy the book, I certainly couldn't put it down and the whodunnit aspect was excellent, but at times it read more like a horror to me. Because the situation Alex was in was so horrific, I found it very hard to read at times, but I realise that is purely due to my own personal opinion.

I was really drawn in to this story from the start. It makes you think and wonder what it would be like in his situation as well as those of his family and friends. The ending was not quite what I expected. Overall a good read.

This book is told from Alex's view point, he is in a coma and everyone gives him little hope of any improvement. He lies motionless in an hospital bed but can hear the goings on around him. Alex is torn between wanting to die and wanting to live. Unable to communicate he tries to work out what has happened to him and how he has ended up in a coma, and fears he may still in danger.
This is an excellent read and I will be looking out for more books by this author in the future.

I would like to thank Random House UK and Net Galley for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Ms Koch had taken a potential boring subject matter (climber falls and ends in a coma) and made an absolutely fantastic story from this idea.

Alex is the main character and you cannot help but take a liking to him, and you want things to work out well for him.

The book actually features a lot of action and is written in such a way that it is unobtrusive, but fleshed out the people and story.

There are some neat twists and the ending was, to me, a surprise.

All in all, a very enjoyable read.

Liked the concept, certainly very different but after a while I found it quite irritating. Some of the scenarios were not plausible and I found I was skipping a lot of the padding - some of which had no bearing on the story whatsoever! Am also a sucker for happy endings and therefore the conclusion did not help my irritation!

This was an incredibly addictive novel that I could not put down once started. I would highly recommend this to anyone wanting a thrilling page turner with fantastic characters

Written from an unusual point of view from someone in a coma, Alex had a terrible climbing accident and has been in a coma ever since. Unable to move, speak or eat however Alex is very aware of his surroundings. The book is really fast paced and I enjoyed it immensely. It kept me enthralled right to the very end. Without spoiling for others it is a powerful, emotional psychological thriller that I devoured in one sitting. Thoroughly recommend this book and look forward to reading more by Emily Koch.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for my advance copy in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book immensely I can't say too much as it's not she out until next year but I will say it was amazing and a really good read.

Alex is in a coma and has been for 2 years after a climbing accideng(or was it an accident?) but he can hear everything that goes on around him.

This book is based around him trying to figure out what happened, as he can't remember a thing. He hears his visitors snippets of conversation and desperately tries to piece it all together, and that's the story!

But....there's a fair few twists in there and I didn't guess the ending! The characters were good I hated one of the nurses though for reasons you will see yourself and really felt fo Alex who went from hope to despair so often.

A really original book and plot and a fantastic read ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

A .unique story unlike any I have read before. Highly recommended

I really enjoyed this book which kept me puzzling till the end. In some ways it was quite a thought provoking book, how much are you aware in a coma? Quite a scary thought, being aware but unable to move. I found myself willing Alex to move throughout the story. In the parts where he is trying so hard to make parts of his body move I found myself stretching parts of my body in an effort to help! I don't want to spoil it so can't say too much about the ending other than I loved this book, which was a roller coaster of emotions and a very good read.

Wow. I was captivated from the beginning of this book. It was a tremendous and thought provoking read. Alex in a PVS and able to hear and having not lost his sense of smell was able to piece together from overheard conversations what had happened to him. The victim of a climbing "accident" with life threatening injuries the story unfolded with the reader never really knowing what the outcome would be. A gripping read and a brilliant first novel by Emily Koch. I will certainly keep an eye out for her next book.

I had to give up, I'm sorry! JUst couldn't follow it.

A genuinely really good book! I loved the way this book was written - all from one perspective, rather than scattered between different personalities, but in a way that made it easy to get to know each of the characters and form different feelings about them. Its not very often I read a book like this where I don't guess 'who-dunnit' but this one had me reeling.

Will definitely recommend :)

I know that this book is not going to be published until January. Plus, I have plenty of books on my reading list that I should be reading first. But I felt like I just needed something a bit different, something that stood out from the fray– what would fit the bill better than a mystery told from the POV of a character in a permanent vegetative state, his active mind trapped in a lifeless body and unable to communicate? I just couldn’t resist!

Alex is in a coma, unable to move his body, eat, speak, or even move his eyes. Two years after a terrible climbing accident, the doctors have long given up on him ever regaining any function and have been unable to prove that Alex is even aware of his surroundings. Pneumonia has almost claimed his life several times, but still Alex clings on to the small hope that one day he can return to his old life, his girlfriend, his family. Lying helpless in bed, totally at the mercy of others, he overhears his visitors talking about the incident that has cost him his life as he knew it, but as hard as he tries to think back, he cannot remember anything. Hearing that the police are investigating his accident as a possible attempted murder, Alex is determined to find out what happened – if it’s the last thing he will ever do.

I really loved the premise of If I Die Before I Wake, which was both original and captivating. Imagining what it must feel like for our main character, Alex, trapped in his own body unable to communicate even his most basic needs or pain, created an almost unbearable tension. His frustration over his helplessness was highlighted by the many scenes in which he had to endure pain or suffering, simply because of being locked into his lifeless body. It was horrible to imagine what this must be like! The mystery element is well thought out and kept my attention, and it was interesting how slowly but surely all the pieces of the puzzle came together in Alex’s mind. The interpersonal relationships were sensitively drawn – the nurses, the doctors, Alex’s girlfriend and family – and made for some touching and some infuriating moments.

The main issue I had with the book was the pacing. Whilst Alex’s predicament made for an original plotline, it also slowed down the story quite significantly in places, whilst the reader follows his long internal dialogue and his daily frustrations. It reminded me a bit of Tom Hanks’ epic movie Castaway, where a marooned Chuck Noland only has his volleyball to talk to – which, to be fair, is very original, but wore a bit thin after a while. Parts of the story dragged a bit for me, and I would have liked to have a different element introduced, a different POV perhaps, just to move the story along and shed light on some other aspects of the investigation Alex was not privy to. Some threads didn’t seem to go anywhere, like the scene where Alex’s catheter “fell out”, which made me wonder if I had missed something? Because of this, I struggled at times to fully connect to Alex, hoping for things to move along a bit faster than they did.

All in all, If I Die Before I Wake was a very original mystery written from the POV from the most unlikely character – a man trapped inside his lifeless body, surely one of the most terrible situations a person could find themselves in. Koch explores this topic with sensitivity and insight, realistically portraying the frustrations of her helpless character as he strives to find out the truth. Whilst the pacing was a bit slow for me at times, the story certainly made up for it in originality. One of the most unusual mysteries I have read this year.