The New York Times Book Review - Marilyn Stasio
…an edgy suspense story by Michael Koryta that brilliantly plays on the primal fear of being buried alive.
From the Publisher
One of South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Best Mystery Books of 2019!
"An edgy suspense story...that brilliantly plays on the primal fear of being buried alive."—Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review
"Multi-award winning author Michael Koryta again shows his affinity for smoothly melding sophisticated action with solid character development - even when one of the individuals is in a coma... Koryta is such a polished writer that his plots zip by as he delves into the amorality of Dax and the humanity of Abby and Tara, whose personality emerges, despite being paralyzed. Believable twists propel the tense "If She Wakes" as it moves to a surprising finale."—Associated Press
"Another superb effort...a nail-biter throughout."—Chicago Tribune
"In If She Wakes Michael Koryta gives readers not one or two but four formidable female leads...Koryta writes them with confidence, and each is someone to be reckoned with."—Shelf Awareness
"Koryta keeps the action fast and furious, tempered with his characters' determination to persevere against all odds."—Bookpage
"A good thriller to kick up your feet and read."—BookRiot
"Adept at creating Hitchcockian moments, Koryta keeps the suspense high throughout."—Publisher's Weekly
"It's a measure of how good this book is that the chilling, masterfully sustained suspense is only one of its standout achievements. Koryta never brushes off anyone's death; he makes you feel for the victims. The relationship between Tara and her sibling is beautifully nuanced, full of revealing details going back to their childhood. Koryta has never been better than with this knuckle-biting thriller."—Kirkus
"it's the human element, the stories of two young women trying to reclaim their lives, that makes If She Wakes so compelling."—Tampa Bay Times
"Koryta tries his hand at psychological suspense with excellent results."—Crime Reads
"Instantly gripping, with realistic action, a breath-snatching twist, and a few untied ends that hopefully signal a sequel."—Booklist
Bookpage
Koryta keeps the action fast and furious, tempered with his characters' determination to persevere against all odds.
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
It’s a measure of how good this book is that the chilling, masterfully sustained suspense is only one of its standout achievements. Koryta never brushes off anyone’s death; he makes you feel for the victims…Koryta has never been better than with this knuckle-biting thriller.”
Publisher's Weekly
Adept at creating Hitchcockian moments, Koryta keeps the suspense high throughout.
New York Times Book Review
An edgy suspense story by Michael Koryta that brilliantly plays on the primal fear of being buried alive.”
Associated Press
Koryta again shows his affinity for smoothly melding sophisticated action with solid character development—even when one of the individuals is in a coma…as it moves to a surprising finale.”
Chicago Tribune
Another superb effort...a nail-biter throughout.
New York Times Book Review Marilyn Stasio
An edgy suspense story...that brilliantly plays on the primal fear of being buried alive.
BookRiot
A good thriller to kick up your feet and read.
BookPage
Koryta keeps the action fast and furious, tempered with his characters’ determination to persevere against all odds.”
Publishers Weekly
Adept at creating Hitchcockian moments, Koryta keeps the suspense high throughout.”
Kirkus
It's a measure of how good this book is that the chilling, masterfully sustained suspense is only one of its standout achievements. Koryta never brushes off anyone's death; he makes you feel for the victims. The relationship between Tara and her sibling is beautifully nuanced, full of revealing details going back to their childhood. Koryta has never been better than with this knuckle-biting thriller.
Shelf Awareness
In If She Wakes Michael Koryta gives readers not one or two but four formidable female leads...Koryta writes them with confidence, and each is someone to be reckoned with.
Booklist
Instantly gripping, with realistic action, a breath-snatching twist, and a few untied ends that hopefully signal a sequel.
Tampa Bay Times
it's the human element, the stories of two young women trying to reclaim their lives, that makes If She Wakes so compelling.
Crime Reads
Koryta tries his hand at psychological suspense with excellent results.
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2019-02-19
Slowly emerging from the coma she's been in since a black cargo van rammed the car she was using to transport a visiting professor, killing him, Maine college senior Tara Beckley is targeted by a ruthless young hit man.
After the driver of the van admits his guilt, police rule the collision a simple wreck. But it doesn't take long for insurance investigator Abby Kaplan, a former racer and stunt driver who knows how cars behave at high speeds, to determine that this was no accident. She responds emotionally to Tara and her family; Abby's boyfriend in Los Angeles was left in a coma after a reckless joy ride she took him on ended badly. The bad news for the bad guys, who are desperate to get their hands on a device that was in the professor's possession, is that Tara is now conscious and alert and able to communicate by moving her eyes. Dax Blackwell, the boyish, creepily calm gunman (whose father, Jack, an Australian assassin, died in Koryta's Those Who Wish Me Dead), must not only get past Abby to get to Tara, he also has to contend with Tara's fiercely protective sister, Shannon. It's a measure of how good this book is that the chilling, masterfully sustained suspense is only one of its standout achievements. Koryta never brushes off anyone's death; he makes you feel for the victims. The relationship between Tara and her sibling is beautifully nuanced, full of revealing details going back to their childhood. And Koryta's (How It Happened, 2018, etc.) fans will surely appreciate the suggestion of a sequel.
Koryta has never been better than with this knuckle-biting thriller.
