How on earth did I end up reading two books about women in comas in the same month?

This is fluff, plain and simple. It's the James Patterson school of 'thriller', wherein the 'twists' are obvious logic and the villains twirl their mustaches. They aren't bad, it just takes no brain power to read these.

My two common complaints about these types of books:

1. Please stop showing off how much medical research you did. No one knows what you're talking about, and unless the doctor is an asshole, he's not going to use advanced jargon with concerned friends and family.

2. Once you reveal who the villain is, there is literally no need to make them act sketchy. For the first however long of the book, they were a normal human. Now that the audience knows who they are, they're twitchy and sweaty and suspicious. This makes. no. sense. The villain doesn't know the unseen audience knows who they are, they have no reason to be freaking out if they weren't acting twitchy beforehand.

The villain is revealed less than halfway through the book, and there is literally no reason they don't kill off our scrappy heroine right away. No, seriously. She's in a fucking coma, in a fucking hospital. You're telling me you couldn't figure that out? I'm only a sociopath and I could rub two brain cells together long enough to kill someone in a coma, come on.

There is so much nonsense here. But again, it's fluff.

If you like James Patterson-esque books, this is for you.

If you like Gillian Flynn-esque books, go pick up [b: Sometimes I Lie|32326398|Sometimes I Lie|Alice Feeney|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1498135142s/32326398.jpg|52960112].

Women in a Coma: A whole genre unto itself, apparently.

I think this was a decent read for my first time with Joy. There was good character development and I enjoyed her writing style. I thought it was an interesting concept to read about someone in an immobile situation throughout the entire book and it worked well enough. About halfway through the story is where you learn what led to Casey's accident. The buildup to the end was not great but I don't think it was bad either, just okay. So I will give more of Fielding's novels a chance later down the road.

Book 15/100 for the 2023 Goodreads Reading Challenge.

Unnerving novel about a woman in a coma who can hear what everyone around her is saying.

I found this book predictable and filled with WAY too much dialogue. I mean that's understandable considering the MC can only hear but still. And so much unnecessary, over-the-top dialogue. If the antagonist could've had a mustache to twirl, I'm sure he would have..... like just ridiculous.

I empathized with the MC and cannot imagine how frustrating and disheartening her situation was. I loved watching the character progression of her younger sister Drew and her fucking GENIUS ploy at the end with the baking soda.

2.5 stars rounded up. Fast-paced and thrilling, but predictable with too quick of an ending.

enjoyable read

2.5 rounded up to 3

I really enjoyed this book. About a 1/3 of the way through I never wanted to put it down.

Joy Fielding has been writing compelling candy for decades. I love her early stuff and I will pick up her books in paperback for airplane reading because her stories are dependably fast-paced and entertaining. Still Life is the best novel she's written in over a decade. The premise is great -- a woman in a coma who can't communicate but can hear what people are saying. A real page-turner.

4 STARS

"Beautiful, happily married and the owner of a successful interior design business, Casey Marshall couldn't be more content with her life. Until a car slams into her at almost fifty miles an hour, breaking nearly every bone in her body, and plunging her into a coma. Lying in her hospital bed, Casey realizes that although she is unable to see or communicate, she can hear everything. She quickly discovers that her friends aren't necessarily the people she thought them to be - and that her accident might not have been an accident at all. As she struggles to break free from her living death, she begins to wonder if what lies ahead could be even worse." (From Amazon)

A great suspense novel from the POV of a woman in a coma. Very creepy and so good.

This book centers on Casey, a wealthy, beautiful woman, who is grievously injured by a hit-and-run accident, leaving her in coma. She "wakes up" to realize that she is in a coma and can't see, move or communicate but can hear everything that goes on in the room around her. As the plot unfolds, Casey learns some things about her closest friends and relatives that come as a big surprise. In addition, she ultimately learns that her accident was not, in fact, an accident and starts to get a glimmer for who might have been responsible. The premise of this book is very unique and the way the plot unfolds is interesting and surprising. One of the stronger efforts of Joy Fielding.