I Dare you is the type of book that chills you to the bone and makes you hope and pray that you'll never have to face something as horrific as what plays out in this book.  

During the summer of 1989 10 year old Jonie Hayes 'disappears' after a game of dares goes wrong.  Her close friend Bella is quick to implicate the town misfit 'Creepy Cawley' and the situations spirals from there and life suddenly moves on.  However, jumping ahead to the present day the villages does not appear to have moved on from Jonie's murder and disappearance.  Perhaps, due to the fact that her body has never been recovered.  Bella, who now goes by the name Anna, is drawn back to the village when Cawley is released from jail and strange goings on appear to be targeting her mum.  In, the meantime, journalist Lizzie arrives looking for answers but what is her strange connection to the village?

Is everything as it seems?  

Overall I found that I was desperate to find out what happened to Jonie and I kept reading on and pretty much suspecting everyone in the story - a sign that I was well and truly hooked.  This is a pretty enthralling read and I'd highly recommend.

Omg.......... this book was amazing I could not put it down I enjoyed it so much it's one of them books that keeps you hooked and on the edge of your seat so many twists and turns I was getting dizzy I loved it well done definitely worth a read but one you start you just can't stop so be warned

I seem to be going against the majority of reviewers in finding this very disappointing. The characters were not very well drawn and the writing poor. The split timeline was bad enough, but the earlier one being in reverse was just irritating. Books like this just seem to me to be chaeting by the author as they reveal the answers little by little with proper plot development at all
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WARNING SPOILERS
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I also found the idea that Cawley would spend 30 years in clink when he knew the real killer just laughable and I'm glad I skimmed most of the book to get to the end.

Sorry, not for me.

This was a superb thriller set in timelines of thirty years apart.  In 1989 when a young girl goes missing,, a resident of the village, whom children have given the nickname Bill ‘creepy’ Cawley is arrested on suspicion of murder.  He is released after 30 years in jail and strange things start to occur in the locality.  

The characterisation is great and I loved the growth of the book to an unexpected finish.  A great read and very well written.

My thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books Uk for a copy of “I dare You “ from Sam Carrington.

I found this book to be a well written , suspenseful psychological thriller that kept me guessing to the end.
I loved the village setting, and the development of the characters 
I would definitely recommend this to others and will be reading more from this author in the future.

First book that I have read of Sam Carrington and I loved this thriller. For sure I wasn't expecting that ending. Will be checking out other books by him.

This was fabulously crafted and twisted as Bill  ‘Creepy’ Cawley   (come on, the name alone is worth an extra star) is released 30 years after a horrendous crime involving two young children in a small town.  Told from both 1989, when it happened, and today, in the typical short chapters, we realize the 1989 narrator is telling the tale in reverse, making it even more intense and enthralling.  I had no idea of the truth and the ending had me gasping!

In 1989 Bella and Jonie are 10 years old and best friends.  They live in the village of Mapledon and along with other children in the village play a game where they taunt the local ‘weirdo’ Bill ‘Creepy’ Cawley.  One day Bella runs home and informs her parents and the police that she saw him dragging Jonie into his truck.  Jonie has never been seen again and her body was never found but Cawley was convicted of her murder due to Bella’s testament.  Bella, now known as Anna, left the village and her nightmares behind and is now married to Dom.  It is now thirty years later and Anna receives an urgent telephone call from her mother that takes her back to Mapledon.  Cawley has recently been released from prison and all the village fear that he will return.  The story goes back and forth between 1989 and the present day and we learn that all the villagers have been harbouring secrets and the story of Jonie’s kidnapping is gradually revealed.  This is a tense thriller with so many twists and turns and a totally unexpected ending.  I haven’t read any of this author’s previous books but I will certainly be looking out for them.  A highly recommended read.
Thanks to a Netgalley and Avon for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

My first read from Sam Carrington and I loved loved loved it. Flew through this in an afternoon and evening and could not put it down. A brilliant thriller set in a quaint and isolated English village. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the arc.

I haven’t read a book by this author before, but wouldn’t hesitate to read another!
This was a great book, filled with suspense and twists.
30 years ago, Jonie Hayes disappeared while playing with her best friend Bella Fisher. A local outcast, Billy Cawley was arrested and charged with the murder, but he is now due for release from prison. 
Anna travels back to the village she grew up in when her mother calls and asks her to visit, what she discovers there changes the lives of many of the villagers.
I have to confess that I had an inkling of what had happened towards the end, but really enjoyed the drama along the way.

A brilliant thriller/mystery book. 
I dare you was a suspenseful, eery book that had me guessing until the very end. The premise is that a young girl goes missing and the blame falls upon a likely suspect... but did they really do it? 30 years later and the imprisoned man is released, things start to go amiss but who is to blame? 
If you are a fan of creepy, suspenseful whodoneit stories this is definitely one for you!

An interesting, gripping book – why have I never read anything by this author before? I will be rectifying that.
An unpredictable story full of twists and turns, full of excitement that kept me hooked and not wanting to put this book down. Taking some time to get going, I enjoyed this more than I usually would. 
Being told between two time periods, with storylines being interwoven and various characters POV keeps it interesting I enjoyed this and never found it confusing at all which has been a problem in other books of this genre.
 A well written and thrilling book, Id highly recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

This was my first Sam Carrington book and honestly, I requested it because of the title and the cover. They are a very catching combination, in my opinion. Lately, I have been into books that are more suspenseful than romantic and this one did not disappoint. It starts out with two girls who have grown up together since their mothers are best friends...their relationship isn't exactly equal, however. Many of us grew up with a friend who was a little more bully than friend. Someone you always felt like you had to impress or you might lose them. This was the case for Joni and Belle. So when Joni repeatedly gets Belle to do things she doesn't want to do, things have to go wrong at some point. Kids will be kids and the entire neighborhood of kids has made up a game of driving an old man(who isn't even really old) crazy until one night, the worst thing possible happens. He has snapped, one friend has gotten away and one friend is never seen again. The entire book goes back and forth from past to present, which I don't normally like, and eventually things become clear. Jump to the future and a new kind of game and you realize that things were never as they appeared. There were quite a few twists and turns all the way to the end. This was a very quick read that kept me interested the entire time. It definitely won't be my last Sam Carrington book.

This was my first Sam Carrington novel and it really did not disappoint! It grabbed me from the get go and was full of twists and turns which is just the kind of book I like.

Billy Cawley is the local outcast, accused and imprisoned of killing Jodie Hayes when she goes missing in 1989. Fast forward to present day and he is released and the local villagers are scared he will come back for revenge. The story then flits back and forward from 1989 to the present day, written from the perspectives of Anna and Lizzie. Both ladies have links to the village and this reveals itself as the book goes on.

It really had me gripped and whilst I had my thoughts that Billy didn’t do it, I was none the wiser to who had done it! This book is full of suspense and thrills, keeping you wanting to read more. I loved the twists at the end and the book was really satisfying in how it was finished. So often books can be thrilling and fast paced but the ending dull - this was definitely not the case with I Dare You!

The way Sam Carrington writes is engaging and suspenseful - she made the two time lines run seamlessly together and not at all confusing. Now to investigate what other books she has released and hope they are as thrilling and as answer demanding as this one!

This is a slow burn of a novel about a date between two schoolgirls that goes wrong.  I have mixed feelings.  The characters did not engage me or feel real and the ending was unsatisfactory.  I was drawn into the atmosphere of a small village and the sense of alienation of a newcomer of they do not fit in.  Two stars.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.  

I couldn’t really get into this book. It had a decent storyline, but I had guessed pretty quickly what had happened and  I just could not connect with any of the characters. Small town mentality, a missing presumed dead little girl, the convicted man being released,, 30 years since the crime, it all had the makings of. a great book, but it fell flat for me. I see many other loved this book, I don’t know what it was about the book for me that I did not like,. I have enjoyed this authors other books and will read more.

I enjoyed this book but wasn’t surprised by  the ending! The story was good and I found the characters engaging.

Sam just gets better and better and this is brilliant, great characters, I loved Creepy Cawley. Never really sure what way this was going to go and it surprised me! I could not put it down as it keeps you hooked all the way through. Excellent writing and a best seller in the bag.

This was a really solid psychological thriller 

I really enjoyed this book because it incorporated some of my favourite thriller tropes. 1. Being set in a small town and 2. Something bad happening, in this case a girl going missing and someone 30 years later trying to find the truth 

I thought it was really well written, and I liked the fact it was told from mutiple perspectives and timelines but was never confusing 

However, I did feel that this book was slightly too long and the middle did drag a bit

But the ending, the pace really did pick up and I did not see the sending coming. There was plenty of twists and turns throughout with some pretty big ones towards the end, which I loved

This also had some really creepy elements which I loved too! 

I really enjoyed this thriller overall and I definitely think it's one a lot of people will enjoy 

TW: child abuse and pedophilia

AN INNOCENT GAME. A SHOCKING CRIME. A COMMUNITY FULL OF SECRETS.
Mapledon, 1989
Two little girls were out playing a game of dares. Only one returned home.
The ten-year-old told police what she saw: village loner Bill ‘Creepy’ Cawley dragged her friend into his truck and disappeared.
No body was found, but her testimony sent Cawley to prison for murder. An open and shut case, the right man behind bars.
The village could sleep safe once again.
Now…
Anna thought she had left Mapledon and her nightmares behind but a distraught phone call brings her back to face her past.
30 years ago, someone lied. 30 years ago, the man convicted wasn’t the only guilty party.
Now he’s out of prison and looking for revenge. The question is, who will he start with?

This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believeable.
Great suspense and action with wonderful world building that adds so much to the story.
Can't wait to read more of what the author does next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher.  This is my own honest voluntary review.