Book Spotlight: Try Not to Breathe by Holly Seddon

Author: Holly Seddon
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date of publication: February 2016

In TRY NOT TO BREATHE, we’re introduced to Amy Stevenson, the biggest news story of 1995. At only fifteen years old, she disappeared while walking home from school and, three days later, was found in a coma after being brutally assaulted. For months, her angelic face was plastered across every tabloid and nightly news segment. And yet, her attacker was never found.

Fifteen years later, Amy lies in the hospital, forgotten by the world, until reporter Alex Dale stumbles across her while researching a routine story on vegetative patients.  Remembering Amy's story like it was yesterday, she’s determined to solve this cold case. The only problem? Alex’s credibility—and will power—are shot. Her addiction to alcohol has cost her everything from her marriage to her professional reputation and her skills as a journalist are rusty, to say the least.  Compelled to find Amy's attacker, and in turn her own salvation, Alex embarks on a dangerous investigation which soon becomes a powerful obsession.

“Seddon’s impressive first novel….Told from alternating perspectives and alternating decades, this gripping thriller about family and redemption will keep readers engaged to the very end.” —Publishers Weekly

 “Engrossing…Seddon's storytelling skills are strong. The world she's constructed is fascinating and slightly dark.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Try not to breathe, try not to make plans, try not to commit to anything in fact till you've finished Holly's debut novel, because we must warn you now - you'll be fully hooked from page one. The book follows Alex, a troubled journalist who finds herself working on a cold case from the 1990s involving the horrific attack of a young girl. The victim, now in a coma, becomes Alex's confident as she slowly unravels a dangerous web of lies. A brilliant, gripping must-read.—Glamour UK 

“Brilliantly readable, fast-paced stuff”—The Sun, UK

About the author:

Holly Seddon was born and raised in the sleepy south-west of England and now lives slap bang in the centre of Amsterdam with her husband and four children. Throughout her 15-year career, Holly has been privileged to work in some of the UK’s most exciting newsrooms. 

TRY NOT TO BREATHE is her first novel, published in the UK (Corvus/Atlantic), USA and Canada (Ballantine/Penguin Random House), Australia and New Zealand (Allen & Unwin) and The Netherlands (Ambo Anthos). It will soon be available in the US , Germany (Heyne), Russia (Sindbad), Swiat Ksiazk (Poland and, Crown (Taiwan) .

Holly is currently writing her next novel.

http://www.hollyseddon.com