I feel like this had promise going into it. I’ve loved the author before, started off with an intriguing plot line, and then my interest sort of fizzled.

Mary's two young children won't let her sleep; Tim, a journalist, just can't, following recent trauma. When these two sleepless people witness something concerning in the dead of night, perhaps linked to a recent crime, the unlikely pair - both experiencing their own form of desperation - come together to investigate. Tim is a journalist who suffers from PTSD and Insomnia, since getting injured in the field. His partner, Alice has left him and he is on administrative leave from the paper he works for. Mary and Tim are neighbors who’ve never met. Neither of them sleep well, and they spend their days wishing to go to bed. Mary has 2 young children who are never quiet and keep her up all night (and an unsupportive jerk of a husband to boot). Tim can’t stop thinking about something tragic that happened in his past, and it keeps him up. Unfortunately, the story only works if the reader can buy into her all-consuming need to solve the mystery of the disappearing Samantha. And I couldn’t. There is no doubt that McGowan can tell a beguiling tale. Sadly, ‘Are You Awake’ is an exception. Well written but increasingly unbelievable as the narrative unfolds.

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. But with her marriage under strain and the police on their tail, Mary begins to doubt her own mind...and Tim's. How reliable is a man who doesn't sleep?

Claire McGowan is clearly a talented writer and, as she showed in "I Know You", she is perfectly capable of producing a well-constructed, tense and enthralling mystery thriller. Sadly, those are not words I could use to describe "Are You Awake?" I am not averse to a slow-burning novel, but this one never really got going at all. There were a few false dawns when I briefly felt like the pace was about to be ramped up a few notches, but it wasn't to be. I was never convinced by the central characters, nor did I ever find myself feeling compelled to get being them in their endeavours. There were times when I found it quite a struggle to carry on, but I hate not finishing a book, so I made sure that I got there in the end. This is certainly not the author's best work and with content as tedious as this often was, the choice of title may be ironically appropriate. There is no secret I absolutely adore Claire McGowan. I have bookstagram to thank for the introduction. After seeing just about EVERYONE post about Are You Awake, I knew I had to make this one a priority. I pushed aside my Christmas themed books and took a dive right in. AFOJFOJFOJ WHYYY!! ??? I absolutely loved Claire McGowan's writing in I Know You and What You Did, so naturally I was pumped af to grab her latest off NetGalley. The start was promising with Mary's raw af account of being a mom of two young kids with a bum ass husband. Her daughter, Audrey, was the uncontested star of this book—which is why I gave this two stars instead of one.

I like the characters in this book. It's told from Mary and Tim's POV as you get to know each. I was a bit disappointed in the ending though. To me it seemed to just happen and then that was that. No real closure maybe. Or explanation. Something was just missing. I enjoyed the premise of two strangers coming together in the dead of night to solve a kidnapping. The author did a really great job of setting the witching hour scene and anybody who finds themselves awake through the night will really empathise with the characters. The feelings of loneliness and tiredness, and not being sure if you can really trust what you see.

All the remarks about the middle east. Yes there are war zones in some places in the middle east, but it is not all that it is. And this book is full of micro-aggressions that I felt personally as an Arab. There are a few red herrings, but equally so, they are also a paramount part of the mystery. Figure that one out. I did...and it seemed I had two answers instead of one. But which one what the truth? As I mentioned above, there are some very amusing scenes in this book, and I think it would have benefited if it just embraced the humorous aspects of what silly things the characters were doing here and there. It didn’t deter my reading, but I wonder if other readers would’ve embraced the silliness a bit more if it was straightforward in the funny department. I love reading about amateur sleuths, and it was fun to picture Mary and Tim bopping around town, trying to get information…only to find themselves in more trouble. I also found the pacing perfect. I had a hard time putting it down (until the end, when I was ready for it to wrap up), and wanted to know how it ended.

A Note From the Publisher

Sipping thoughts: I reallye enjoy McGowan's writing style. This was not my favorite of hers but I enjoyed it. It was a little repetitive but I had to find out if the characters were just crazy or delirious. I did figure out one part of the twist early on. And ended up figuring out the second part before the reveal. The main characters, Tim and Mary, really bothered me with some of their reactions but it made for a good read. Can't wait for the next release. taking a bite of the juiciest, cheesiest, creamiest mac n cheese but the aftertaste is kraft dinner dry ass powder. From the bestselling author of What You Did comes a chilling story about a missing girl and two potential witnesses. They both think they saw her. But can they trust their own eyes? As for the investigation, Mary and Tim weren’t very good at it, they just kept stumbling across situations, and it was frustrating that the police were doing nothing. As for the conclusion and what had happened to Samantha, this just fell flat and certainly wasn’t worth persevering with the book for. I have heard great things about this author’s work, so I will have to give her another try-but this one unfortunately, was a MISS for me!