Try Not To Breathe by David Bell (Review by Jessica Heatherly)

4 stars

I was entirely consumed by this story and shocked by the climactic ending! At its heart, Try Not to Breathe is a story of two young women working to find their true selves among the unbearable weight of family expectations.

This book starts of with a simple task. After an argument, a father asks his oldest daughter to locate her younger sister to make sure she is OK. What happens next is a domino effect culminating in the exposure of a long-buried and life-altering family secret. Because their father is a retired Captain of the state police, Anna and Avery live a much different life than most. Thankfully, Avery also has a past, albeit short, with the police department and uses her acquired skills to try and locate Anna. But Anna is on a mission and has no interest in being hauled back home to Mom and Dad. On a trek across the state, including a stop at a human rights protest where tempers flare, Anna stays one step ahead of Avery until they both find themselves at a final destination neither could have imagined.

David Bell is a phenomenal writer. I love how he was able to give each character a solid backstory and personality while also building suspense throughout the book. Each character had a realness about them that made me more invested in how each event turned out. Definitely read this book if you’re a fan of action-packed suspense, volatile relationships, and multiple discussion worthy turns!