You Wouldn't Catch Me Dead - Tess James-Mackey

The only thing worse than being lost . . . is being found.

Keely planned to keep her head down at her new school - she isn't there to make friends or memories, she just wants to be left alone.

In order to get into college, she is roped into a programme that involves camping in the Welsh wilderness with five over-keen try-hards. Her plan is to keep her head down, keep her mouth shut and get through the next few days.

But Keely is running from something. Something that drove her family out of their home and to this quiet town. And when her fellow explorers start disappearing and the bodies begin to pile up, she has to ask herself: did she run far enough?

The second spine-chilling standalone from the author of Someone is Watching You, Tess James-Mackey.

 

What did I think?

After reading Tess James-Mackey's outstanding debut, Someone Is Watching You, I was very excited to read her next book, You Wouldn't Catch Me Dead, and I was not disappointed.  It is every bit just as creepy, tense and disturbing as I expected and I loved every second of it.

I've never been camping and I certainly wouldn't want to now after reading about a school trip to the Black Mountains in Wales that goes terribly wrong.  Keely is the new girl at school after a tragic event that saw her leave her old life behind and start again where nobody knows her.  She can run but she can't hide

Keely is haunted by her past, that is gradually revealed to the reader through flashbacks, but she has more pressing things on her mind at the moment when the group finds themselves lost in the spooky Welsh wilderness with no phone signal.  The barren location is completely bone-chilling and I could easily visualise the creepy ruins of the abbey.  

Tense, creepy and disturbing, You Wouldn't Catch Me Dead is a chilling YA read that is filled with suspense.  The stories of ghostly monks that entertained the group sent shivers down my spine and I was totally creeped out when things started going bump in the night.  A highly recommend read for teens and adults alike.

My rating:

Buy it from:

UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

BLOG TOUR: The Hiking Trip - Jenny Blackhurst

 

Don’t trust everyone you meet here…

A young British backpacker goes missing on the West Coast Trail.

No one is sure whether she died or simply disappeared.

Apart from Laura.

Twenty years later, a body has been found.

And there’s only one person who could reveal the secret that Laura’s been hiding all this time.

But she knows that two can keep a secret.

IF ONE OF THEM IS DEAD.

A tense and suspenseful thriller perfect for fans of M.J. Ford and Susi Holliday.

What did I think?

You're always guaranteed a good read with a Jenny Blackhurst novel and The Hiking Trip is no exception.  I really enjoyed it, even though I did manage to work out one of the twists (but then it was a 50/50 chance, so I'm really not that clever).

It's a dual timeline novel set in 1999 and 2024. In 1999 we follow Maisie as she sets off on adventure to go hiking in Canada.  She was let down by her friend so she's on her own but she soon befriends fellow hikers Sera and Ric.  25 years later, Laura's world is rocked when bones are discovered in Canada...

Well, I just couldn't read fast enough to discover all the secrets of The Hiking Trip.  Both Maisie's and Laura's stories had me gripped like a vice and I had to constantly stop my eyes from skipping ahead on the page.  It's non-stop entertainment with lashings of mystery, intrigue and danger woven throughout both storylines.

Fast-paced, gripping and highly addictive, The Hiking Trip is another great read from Jenny Blackhurst; she is a fantastic author and I absolutely love reading her books.

I received a digital ARC to read and review for the Instagram tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

Follow the tour:

BLOG TOUR: Force of Nature - Jane Harper

FIVE WENT OUT. FOUR CAME BACK...

Is Alice here? Did she make it? Is she safe? In the chaos, in the night, it was impossible to say which of the four had asked after Alice's welfare. Later, when everything got worse, each would insist it had been them.

Five women reluctantly pick up their backpacks and start walking along the muddy track. Only four come out the other side.

The hike through the rugged landscape is meant to take the office colleagues out of their air-conditioned comfort zone and teach resilience and team building. At least that is what the corporate retreat website advertises.

Federal Police Agent Aaron Falk has a particularly keen interest in the whereabouts of the missing bushwalker. Alice Russell is the whistleblower in his latest case - and Alice knew secrets. About the company she worked for and the people she worked with.

Far from the hike encouraging teamwork, the women tell Falk a tale of suspicion, violence and disintegrating trust. And as he delves into the disappearance, it seems some dangers may run far deeper than anyone knew.

What did I think?

I named The Dry as one of my Top Books of 2017, so wild horses couldn't have kept me away from reading Force of Nature.  Although it didn't quite match The Dry, in my opinion, it was still a great read.  I apologise in advance for comparing Force of Nature to The Dry, but I blinking loved that book so will drop it in wherever I can.

Alice Russell joins her work colleagues on a team building corporate retreat.  Now, anyone who has ever been on one of these will know just how much fun they are NOT!  I always say that I spend enough time with them at work, I don't want to socialise with them in my free time (sorry, work 'mates').  So 10 colleagues set out to hike across the bush split into men’s and women’s camps.  Alice, along with her colleagues Jill, Lauren and twins Beth and Bree, make up the women's camp.  Nothing good is ever going to come of pitting 5 women against the elements and it isn't long before they turn on each other, resulting in Alice storming off.  The others assume that she has made her way back to the meeting point but Alice never made it back and a search party is assembled.  The reader knows that Alice's last phone call was to Aaron Falk, with Aaron putting pressure on Alice to 'get the contracts'.  Did somebody silence Alice before she could deliver evidence to the police?

When the colleagues turn on each other, I could have pointed my finger at any one of them, as women are so vicious.  The speed of implosion of the relationships was staggering, and frighteningly true to life.  I could totally imagine this happening and I'm never going on a work outing ever again - I'm sure Jane Harper will write me a note (Yay!).

Back to comparisons with The Dry, the only reason I knocked one star off Force of Nature is that there just wasn't enough Aaron Falk in the book.  He seemed like a secondary character so for anyone who hasn't read The Dry, they might not recognise him as the glue that binds the two.  I would have liked a bit more about Falk so we could have developed his character a bit further.  

Aaron Falk aside, Force of Nature is a mighty fine story that shows just how far women will go to protect themselves and their loved ones.  Don't ever underestimate a woman - they have claws!

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon


Follow the tour: