Are you awake? Tim and Mary do not seem to be

If you've read my other Claire McGowan post to date you'll know that I am a huge fan of the Irish author. Claire McGowan writes standalone novels and has penned a series of forensic psychologist stories set against the backdrop of recent Northern Ireland history. I love the Paula Maguire books (not reviewed on my blog) and I highly recommend them if you are interested in Northern Ireland and forensic science. Paula's a great character and her family's history during The Troubles is authentically and cleverly woven into the series.

Here's my review of McGowan's 2022 standalone novel.

Are you awake? | Published November 2022 | Read February 2024

Are you awake? is set in a nice (fictional) part of London where neighbours, Tim and Mary, bond over their mutual sleep issues. They both think they saw something in an abandoned house across the park from where they live while dealing with said sleep issues. The pair then become potential witnesses in the case of a missing teenage girl but when the police don't believe their account, they set off to solve the case themselves.

Tim's sleep issues stem from the PTSD he is experiencing from his time as a war correspondent in the Middle East. Mary is a new mother with a hot but hopeless husband, struggling to get some rest with a baby and toddler to care for in a small flat.

I thought the plotting of Are you awake? was intriguing enough and I didn't guess what was going on until quite near the end. I connected with Mary's sleep deprivation issues but her husband's clueless and unsupportive behaviour made my hackles rise. Mary is a lawyer but she didn't behave as if she understood the law much at all, which was odd. I get that Mary's maternity-leave brain was addled by the lack of sleep, but some of her thoughts and actions were at odds with her professional expertise.

I did like Tim, too, as I felt his struggles with the aftermath of a Syrian bomb attack that forced him into a period of long-term leave. I embraced his unlikely friendship with Mary and the duo's slightly mad search for answers, even if the ending was somewhat implausible.

The comical moments in the book were a highlight and I loved the sass of Mary's toddler daughter, Audrey, who often seemed to be the most astute person in the book 😜. While Mary dragging her children around on her amateur sleuthing seemed somewhat irresponsible, it did allow for lots of Classic Audrey Moments. Perhaps if McGowan had embraced the humour and the madcap antics of Tim and Mary, the book may have worked better. I'm still a McGowan fan, though, and I eagerly await her next book.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐