And when they see news reports of a missing woman who was last seen walking alone not far from them, the pair are convinced it’s her they saw being attacked—no matter what the police say.

They met in a park in the middle of the night where they both witness a violent attack through a window of a neighbouring house. Her two young children never let her rest, and so one exhausting night, in the middle of a London heatwave, she escapes to a nearby park for some air. Tim, a neighbour, was a war journalist but is suffering from PSTD and insomnia and has also escaped to the park. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. Like sleuths, they follow the clues, try to involve the police, but with no results, and eventually are in danger for their lives.Although I don't suffer from PTSD, I’m a worrier and often have difficulty getting to sleep because my mind wants to revisit every single negative situation I can imagine. I’ll spare you my entire rant about the ending which has the collective logic of storing ice cream in a heated oven.

Claire published her first novel in 2012, and has followed it up with many others in the crime fiction genre and also in women's fiction (writing as Eva Woods). Are You Awake by Claire McGowan takes the reader on a mystery that is both surreal and recognizable at the same time. Easy to read, if you aren’t really that into this genre and don’t read a lot then you may enjoy it a bit more than I did.Her narrative at the start was a bit much and seemed more like a chaotic day in the life of rather than the mystery of Samantha Ellis. despite Audrey's constant rants, and she thankfully blended into the background and became more of hubby's problem to deal with once he decided to be a parent instead of sleeping in when Mary more than deserved one. Believing it’s connected to the recent disappearance with a local teenager, they start investigating and getting increasingly intertwined in the mystery.

It was a cat and mouse driven piece as 2 women are both witness to a crime but are unsure if they can trust themselves. 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. Two incompatible characters just happen to both see the same suspicious activity in the middle of the night and decide to solve the mystery of what may or may not be a missing girl. And when they see news reports of a missing woman who was last seen walking alone not far from them, the pair are convinced it's her they saw being attacked-no matter what the police say. Reading about breast feeding, crying children, food being thrown, and dirty nappys always bores me to tears as a woman who is childless by choice.After the past two unprecedented heat-wave summers here in the Pacific Northwest, I understand Mary’s predicament. taking a bite of the juiciest, cheesiest, creamiest mac n cheese but the aftertaste is kraft dinner dry ass powder.