Available from November 11, this focuses on neighbours Mary and Tim, who suffer from insomnia: Mary because she has two small children and Tim after a traumatic event that had ended his career. One night both see what looks like a violent attack in the window of a neighbouring house. The following night both seek refuse in a nearby park and realise they were not dreaming about the attack. The police disbelieve them despite a teenager being reported missing. They take the matter into their own hands and set out to find the answers despite police warnings. Are You Awake? will keep you guessing until the final page. This is an addictive thriller packed with secrets and lies with a twist that will knock you sideways.

2.5 stars.

Thanks for the ARC copy! I was drawn in by the title and the cover of this book, so sometimes it isn't a genre or an author that draws me in.

Now, the title of the book just doesn't live up to the name. Granted, the first few chapters featured our sleep-deprived main characters but then it went off in a new direction - especially when the character Eric Johnson popped in with his big reveal. Whoa.

Unfortunately, it took me almost three weeks to finish this book and that just never happens. But I found that I wasn't invested in the characters, they were a bit odd and didn't match the tone. Although the two-year-old was a riot!

I predicted almost every portion of this book, apart from one section which took me totally by surprise. Even the last paragraph in the epilogue didn't get my gears going.

All in all, it's an okay book.

Not the thrilliest thriller or suspensiest suspense story. I definitely felt the tension of a sleep deprived mom and a raging insomniac. That part was well done. I just thought the actions of the various characters were a bit over the top and unrealistic. The story itself was perfectly fine - I just had a hard time buying into the actions and reactions of these various people and the situations they put themselves in.

I have enjoyed previous books by this author but this is definitely not one of her best. It was an easy, fast paced read but it just was not memorable for me.

I wanted to like this book because usually, Claire McGowan's books are well written. The characters in this story were well developed; however, they were bland and boring. The storyline was plodding to develop, and the ending was entirely predictable.

Thank you to Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for letting me read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

In this book we meet Mary who is a mother to two young children. Who is feeling like she has had enough. She hasn't slept in what feels like two years and really needs a break. So one night in the middle Mary decides to escape to the park for some much needed air.

Here Mary meets Tim who also cannot sleep and has alot of demons in his past and is suffering from PTSD after what happened to him in the park. Here they both witness a terrible attack in the window of one of the houses which faces the park.

Horrified by what they have seen Tim and Mary form a bond and work together to uncover what has happened.

This is a very tense, edge of your seat thriller by amazing author Claire McGowan. It has lots of twist and turns in this book to keep you guessing throughout and it is very well written. If you love physiological thrillers then this book is perfect for you.

I have loved all Claire's books. This is very good with enough twists and turns to keep you from guessing the end which I can usually do. I like the journalist, Tim and his back story very much. Mary is also drawn very well. I would recommend this book to my friends and family.

I really enjoyed this. It was just so much fun. I love books where people who normally wouldn’t know each other team up or encounter each other and that’s really McGowan’s strength. In this book she brings together a tired lawyer mother and a reporter with PTSD who can’t sleep. I wish she would make them into a series! They had great skills and really pulled off an interesting mystery investigation. No one believes them and they are so tired they may be hallucinating but they save the day.

Are You Awake will definitely keep you on your feet and guessing until the end. I enjoyed it and turned page after page until the end. I did find the plot a little ridiculous towards the end, but will wanted to find out who the bad guy was. Overall, recommend for a quick easy read thriller!
Thank you to net galley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was not my cup of tea. It was slow, crawling. And even at the big reveal, the big climax, nothing really happens and it's a let down. Characterization was also weird and things didn't add up quite right.

My first Claire McGowan book. I like her writing style. It flows easily from page to page and I really was intrigued by this premise. This is a book I THOUGHT I would love. I was intrigued right about up to 40% and the direction seemed to change.

Mary is a mother of two who is on maternity leave and is in desperate need of some sleep. Her children keep her up at night. Tim, her neighbour is a former journalist who suffers from PTSD and can't sleep at night. These two are separately looking out the window one night and think they see something sinister occurring in one of the (abandoned) homes across the street. There is also a girl missing from the neighbourhood. Mary and Tim later bond and try to piece together what they saw that night and begin to connect it to the missing girl.

I enjoyed the beginnings of this one as the two neighbours were acting as amateur sleuths. This was more of a mystery than a thriller IMO. I didn't really feel a strong connection of friendship between the two main characters. One thing that did bother me a little was that Mary was a lawyer but did not seem to understand the law. A lot was packed into the last half of the book. It seemed to try a little too hard but in saying that it still kept me second guessing and reading.

This one reads a lot like a made-for TV movie and I think it would make a good one. I know that the author does write for television in the UK.

It’s a bit like rear window meets strangers on a train meets brief encounter. A really clever mix of plot lines and I loved it so much. This author never disappoints me and I wait hopefully for a new book. This is so good it’s so worth a read whatever your favourite.genre.

I liked this book quite a bit. Mary is the mother of 2 young children. She doesn't feel like she has slept in 2 years. Tim is a reporter who is in London recuperating from an injury suffered in the Middle East...and the death of a love.

One night while they are both up, they see something in a window of an abandoned house. It looks violent. Over the next couple of days, they both become aware of a missing girl and wonder if that was who they saw. They meet in the park and discover they saw the same thing. After doing research, they discover this missing woman isn't the first one in the area.

The book covers their investigation. They're actually pretty good at it. The book leads in a different direction than I thought it would and I liked it a lot. Satisfying ending.

Ive read all of Claire McGowans books,, never disappointed! So excited to get this one. I binged this in one night and she did not dissappoint. Great thriller. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

This is the story of two sleep-deprived people whose life experiences are poles apart but who come together to solve the disappearance of a young woman and a series of historic murders. Both of them believe they have seen a missing girl whilst they were awake in the middle of the night but they struggle to get anyone to listen so decide to investigate for themselves. I really enjoyed the way the story twisted and turned so that I could not be sure what would happen next. I did work out who the serial killer was fairly early on but this is not the only mystery that has to be solved and it did not detract from the pleasure derived from reading such a well-crafted story. As much as this is a whodunnit, it is also a story of redemption as a journalist with PTSD tries to get his life back on track and a mother who is struggling to cope finds ways to reinvent her life and her relationship with her family. I would highly recommend this novel for anyone who enjoys good crime fiction combined with a feelgood ending.

I wanted to like this - but the domestic thriller is getting so old. When are we going to stop accepting books where the characters just do ... absolutely ridiculous things that would never ever happen? I wanted to like this - and I did care about the characters. But the tropes were soooo thick with this one I just couldn't get past it.

This is a chilling story about a missing girl and two potential witnesses. They both think they saw her. But can they trust their own eyes? And can you trust them? Told from differing viewpoints, I often felt I was surrounded by unreliable narrators but with all the twists and turns, that became almost secondary. I did not see the end coming at all which is what I look for in a good thriller and this one delivered. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

Having read Claire McGowan books before I was thrilled to get the chance to read her latest offing.
Sadly it just didn't hit the mark for me I found it to slow paced for my liking I was left dissapointed.
Thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Publishing for the ARC

Book: Are You Awake
Author: Tess Stimson
Publisher: Amazon Publishing UK
Pub Date: November 22, 2022

Are you awake? Well I had trouble staying awake reading this…I put this book down a lot and had a hard time finishing it. This just wasn’t the book for me. I didn’t find it exciting enough to hold my interest. The characters themself are interesting but just not enough to carry the book.

Thank you Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is November 22, 2022.

I’ve loved all of Claire McGowan’s other books and this one certainly didn’t disappoint.
It’s unique, clever and well written. There’s plenty of twists and turns and despite me finishing it a few days ago, the story has stuck with me. I was super invested in the characters throughout.
It’s one I’d definitely recommend.