Holly Seddon Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Holly Seddon is an international English bestselling novelist of Try Not to Breathe, The Woman on the Bridge, Love Will Tear Us Apart, Don’t Close Your Eyes, and The Hit List. She was born and raised in the English countryside, where she became obsessed with music and books. After school, Holly Seddon worked as an editor and a journalist. She lives in Kent with her beloved family, where she spends most of her days writing.

Holly Seddon’s 2016 novel, Try Not to Breathe is a character-driven story with plenty of twists and turns, misery, guilt, secrets, and mystery innate in most 21st-century psychological thrillers that will hook you in from the first page to the last. It is the story of two damaged women who become best friends.

The first of the main characters, Amy Stevenson, is severely damaged. She is admitted to the hospital in a vegetative state. A decade and a half ago, when she was only 15 years old, she made a big decision that immensely changed her life and those around her. A naive schoolgirl crush and a bet among her classmates about who would lose their virginity first… She had a reliable boyfriend, Jake, but she yearned for a “wilder” and more adventurous boyfriend like most pretty teenage girls. On her way home after school, she accompanied a man who had sexual relations with her, assaulted her, and then abandoned her for dead.

Fast forward we find Emmy imprisoned in her mind and unable to communicate. She has thoughts, but they are murky and reminiscent of dreams. She is oblivious to her situation and continues in a warped, perplexing, yet static limbo where she is permanently fifteen. She is unconscious that time has passed without her involvement. She is unaware that she is currently thirty years old. An unbelievably terrible circumstance.

The second main character of the story is Alex Dale. She is a journalist and a barely functioning alcoholic. At the same time, she is of the same age as Amy, and her alcoholic nature has made her lose everything- including her husband and their unborn baby. Having reached rock bottom, she is now attempting to return to journalism by writing a health piece about those in vegetative states. This only occurs in the morning because, afternoon, she spends her time heavily drinking. Alex is an example of denial. She deludes herself into believing that if she exercises every morning, it will somehow counteract her daily lethal drinking habit. She suffers from memory lapses, sleeplessness, delicate feet, easy bruising, and nighttime incontinence. Her physician has informed her that she will die within a year if she does not stop drinking.

Alex is still in love with her police officer ex-husband Matt. Unfortunately, he has already moved on and remarried and expecting a baby. But that’s not an option for Alex. She grows increasingly intrigued by Amy when she visits the hospital for her report. She converses with Amy, plays her music, and shares her thoughts. They share teenage experiences and memories due to their similar ages. As a result, she begins to examine Amy’s case and strives to discover who committed this heinous act. Amy’s assailant was never identified. Alex incorporates Matt into her examination of Amy’s case. As terrible as seeing him, she desires to demonstrate that she isn’t a complete failure by accomplishing anything. She also contacts Amy’s ex-boyfriend Jacob, which has catastrophic effects on him.

Jake makes regular secret visits to the hospital, and so does he keep this secret from his pregnant wife, Fiona. He truly loves his wife but still has feelings for his former girlfriend, Amy. Try Not to Breathe is set in Kent, England, and is narrated between two time periods- the present and the past through flashbacks to the time when Amy was attacked. Holly Seldon does a fantastic job of creating strong characterization and fascinating world-building to create a compelling read.

Don’t Close Your Eyes is Holly Seddon’s 2017 psychological suspense novel that centers on two sisters whose lives have drifted apart and the shocking skeletons in the closets that bind them together. Meet the two sisters, Sarah and Robin, twin sisters who haven’t spoken in years. Robin remains indoors, shuts herself from the outside world, and spends her days spying on her neighbors and indirectly meddling in their lives. She has demons she struggles to keep within, but it’s becoming overwhelming for her to keep them out forever. Someone from her past is back in town and desperately trying to return to her life.

On the other hand, is Sarah. She can never go home as her husband kicked her out and denied her access to their child. She is determined to do whatever it takes to get her daughter back, but she is unknotting under the mounting pressure of keeping the dark secrets from her past hidden. But her lies are soon catching up with her.

Holly Seddon propels the readers in alternating chapters through each main character’s present and past perspectives. It informs about how the effects of their childhood drove them into their respective future selves. We can see how each layer of their lives slowly builds into a world of deception, so they are unsure of what’s happening. Their story teaches that as parents, we must pay attention and always understand that our actions impact our children. Holly Seddon did a fantastic job of creating such a complex story.

The brief chapters and the intricate changing perspective help the reader keep up with the pace throughout the story. It is an interesting domestic and psychological thriller that perfectly captures the theme of family dysfunction and how its effects are rolled over into adulthood. The characters are creatively crafted and complex. You will love reading about them, want to know more about them, and sympathize with them. These characters are sometimes weak, conniving, pathetic, and self-absorbed. Some have permanent scars that won’t heal and emotional trauma that oozes such that you can’t help but get emotionally attached.