It was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime,they had been planning it for months. Holly, Meg, George and Kristof, four friends who had recently graduated from University, spending their final summer together backpacking in Thailand. To begin with everything goes to plan but as time passes petty arguments and jealousy causes divides amongst the group. Then one night whilst they are at a beach party there is a tragic accident.
Four friends went on a backpacking holiday but only three returned home.
Five years later, Holly is now a schoolteacher and is secretly dating Tom, the father of Jack who is one of her young pupils. She hasn't spoken too or seen her friends from University since they returned home after swearing an oath that they would never tell anyone what really happened that night on the beach. For Inc in her life Holly is really happy and content and finally feels like she is no longing being overshadowed by her successful celebrity sister. But then she starts receiving text messages from someone who knows that they didn't tell the truth about what happened on the beach all those years ago.
As her tormentor's campaign intensifies, Holly struggles with her conscience,does she keep her word and stay quiet,knowing that she is putting the lives of herself and her loved ones at risk or does she tell the truth and lose everything that she has worked so hard to achieve including the man that she loves.
This gripping,captivating thriller is voiced entirely from Holly's perspective and has chapters that flip back and forth between the present day,the friends time at university and the fateful backpacking holiday. Interspersed throughout the story was chapters that were voiced by Holly's tormentor but who was it? Were their actions justified? How far would any of us be prepared to go to uncover the truth about the fate of a loved one? Should readers dislike that character or feel empathy for that person? I can say that I thought any of the four friends very likeable both in the past or the present day. They were all vivid individuals who had their own unique personalities but I couldn't say that any of them had any redeemable qualities and one of them definitely had some serious mental health issues. I loved Tom and his interactions with his young son Jack who was a really sweet little boy. I loved the descriptions of the idyllic small village in the Yorkshire Dales where Holly lived and the author's descriptions of the places that the friends visited during their backpacking holiday. There was just enough description to set the scene so you could picture the places in your head but not so much that you lost interest in the story.
I find it very hard to believe that this extremely well written thriller is a debut novel. I was totally captivated from the first page,right through to the final chilling sentence. Once I started reading this brilliant book,I couldn't put it down. I look forward to reading more books by this very talented author in the future. Worth far more than five stars, definitely one of my favourite reads of this year and very very highly recommended.
PUBLICATION DATE: 21st February 2020
PUBLISHER: One More Chapter
ASIN: BO7SDC71XF
GENRE: International Crime & Mystery
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