I’d like to thank Avon Books UK and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘I Dare You’ by Sam Carrington in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

The people living in the village of Mapledon don’t like Billy Cawley, they think he doesn’t fit in, and the children repeatedly play ‘Knock Knock Ginger’ on his front door and call him Creepy Cawley, so when in July 1989 ten-year-old Jonie Hayes goes missing they’re only too pleased to lay the blame on Billy. After being tried and found guilty of her murder despite her body never having been found, Billy is released from prison thirty years later but the people of Mapledon are worried that he’ll return to the village as they know what really happened to Jonie and don’t want retribution.

‘I Dare You’ is a disturbing yet gripping thriller involving the inhabitants of Mapledon, some of whom know what happened and some who are unable to remember. The story is well-written and moves from the present time back to the events of 1989 when Jonie disappeared. It’s well thought-out with twists and turns, a red herring or two thrown in to confuse, and ends with a bombshell of a conclusion that I wasn’t expecting, when we finally learn what happened on that eventful day and who was to blame. This is an entertaining thriller which I enjoyed reading.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for my advanced copy of this book! This is my first book from this author. I thought this was a solid book. It is told between 1989 and present day between different POV’s. I was sucked in from the very first chapter. Although I felt it was a little too drawn out, it kept my interest. The chapters were short and it was a very quick read. I kind of figured out the twist early on but not quite so I was still surprised at the end.

🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 stars

This was a really good read. I loved the dancing back between the past and the present as it really helped to develop the characters and the village scenarios. It is an emotional story with lots of unexpected events but the multiple twists at the clinched the rating. I would give more than 5 stars if I could.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to read this fantastic book.

A story set in a tiny village as we read to discover what happened to little Joanie. Told between then and now as secrets and lies unfold. This book is full of unpredictable twists and turns. I really enjoyed this book and the characters. I certainly will be recommending this book.

Did he do it?

Was he guilty?

That's the question being asked throughout I Dare You.

30 years ago two girls were playing a seemingly innocent game of knock down ginger but perhaps they played one time to many because one little girl went missing and her body has never been found.

This book is very interesting because we have everything going on in the present day. A dolls head pinned to a front door, a long lost daughter returning to her childhood home.

And as secrets and lies are beginning to be unraveled we get everything in reverse in the past.

I say this because the author works backwards from the day that little girl got into a car and disappeared, all those days that led to her vanishing start to reveal a lot more than anyone intended.

I Dare You is cleverly written, it certainly kept me guessing.

My only complaint was with the ending. After all of the build up it just ended a little flat. I would have liked a bit more drama.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one! I love a good thriller and this was right up my street. I loved the different time perspectives and how they all fed into the story so well. The characters were all interesting, some more annoying than others but true to small town or village life! I decided how I thought the book would play out at the beginning and made the wildest stab in the dark as to to who it would be, Sam took me in every direction but that person but it turned out my wildcard was right which I was super happy about!! There's nothing better than when a book totally throws you at the end, and that's what this one did. I have all of Sam's back catalogue so I will definitely get started on them soon :) Must read book!

There are lots of twists and turns, so many that I couldn't put it down. It definitely kept me guessing. This was my first book by Sam Carrington but I really enjoyed it!

In 1989 a young child goes missing in a small town. A local man, Billy Cawley, having previously been tormented by the kids in the area, and nicknamed "Creepy Cawley" is convicted and sentenced to 30 years for the murder of Jonie, despite her body not being found.

Fast forward to 2019, and Lizzy, a journalist and Anna, both natives of the small town, return following the release from prison of Billy Cawley, and Anna's mum is on the receiving end of some sinister and intimidating messages which she is convinced it is Billy Cawley.

The plot in this book is very slowly teased out between a now and then POV, told by both Anna and LIzzy, and as such I didn't find it very gripping. The characters of Lizzy and, particularly, Anna are a bit one dimensional especially after a traumatic childhood incident such as a friend going missing, and I didn't feel any connection to them, or their feelings at being back in the village after such a long time away. I did also guess the twist coming and the whodunnit fairly easily. However, a quick and easy read 3/5

A good thriller which kept me reading. I feel though that it was a bit slow in places and I guessed the ending early on.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

As soon as I saw this cover and read the brief description, I knew I had to read it. It was quite the thriller and kept me guessing throughout the novel. Super creepy (why do dolls creep me out?) and the ending was not what I expected.

This is the first book that I’ve read by Sam Carrington, but I’ll definitely be reading the rest of their books! I found this one really easy to read. I liked the chapter sizes - although it did lead to a case of “just one more chapter”! I was hooked from the start and was desperate to know what happened. However, by about 60% I had a prediction on what was going to happen, and it turned out to be true, so that disappointed me. A couple of things shocked me, but I did predict the biggest twist. I really liked the characters and enjoyed the chapters in the different points of view. I also liked that you read about the past and present. It was an interesting storyline that definitely gripped me. The only thing I didn’t like about this book was that I predicted the ending - other than that I loved everything! I’m looking forward to reading more from Carrington in the future!

Wow, wow, wow!!! I absolutely loved this book and I am so happy I chose to read this one. This is my first book by this author and definitely won’t be my last. I just loved this book so much and would recommend it to the moon and back.

This book was about trying to find out what happened in the past so everyone can move on to a happier future. A young girl went missing to never be seen again. What happened to her? Who was at fault? Was the right person blamed? All these questions and more are answered.

I want to first say on how much I loved the way the author went from past to present throughout the whole story. It really gave the readers a chance to see how what happened in the past affected the characters in the present. It weaved the storyline perfectly together all the way up to the end. I also loved the mind blowing ending. I did not see that coming at all. It was filled with all these twists and turns. It was like a roller coaster ride you never wanted to get off from. I could not wait to find out what happened next. It was like a home run you been waiting on the whole entire game for. This was a book I could not put down once I started. I could not sleep until I was done.

Between the plot, characters and all the twists in this book it made it an easy and fast read. I would definitely recommend it and happily give it 5 Hearts❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I will rate I Dare You by Sam Carrington a solid 4/5 stars... While it took me a few chapters to get into the story, it proved to be an interesting mystery. Two young women, Anna and Lizzie, return to the small village of Mapledon after a child murderer, Billy Cawley, is released from prison 30 years after committing the heinous crime. Both women want to know the reason behind Billy (otherwise known to the villagers as Creepy Cawley) murdering then 10 year old Jonie Hayes. They also want to know where he ditched the body. When they go digging up the past, both women discover more than they bargained for.

What I Enjoyed About This Book:

The storyline was plausible and moved at a relatively fast pace. The author captured the villagers need to hoard secrets very well. I also enjoyed how the author went back in time with the flashbacks going in reversed chronological order to truly paint the picture of what occurred 30 years prior.

The story also shows the great lengths parents and friends will go to protect their children, reputations, and keep secrets buried.

What I Didn't Enjoy Anout This Book:

Halfway through the book I had pretty much figured out the truth behind Jonie's death. It's a particular chapter in the book that gives light to what happened. I was also able to pinpoint Lizzie's true identity early on. While this didn't take away from the story, I still was able to figure things out fairly quickly.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review.

Anna hadn't been back to her hometown in 20 years. Her mum, Muriel, would visit at her place, instead, Lizzie, a free-lance journalist with a curiosity and a possible story, had not returned to the same hometown in 30 years.

Due to a frightening call from her mum, Anna takes off to her mum's home to help her out and finds that someone is scaring her mum - on purpose.

30 years ago, William Cawley was sent to prison for the murder of one of Anna's friends, Jonie Hayes.. William (Billy) is now out of prison. The people in the town still remember him (and his daughter)r and the murder he was sent up for. Has he returned for revenge?

A wild ride through a small town as the reader is brought into an everlasting amount of suspense!
Great characterization, plotline and descriptions.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Many Thanks to AVON Books, UK and NetGalley for a sweet treat of a story!

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

I Dare You by Sam Carrington seemed like the perfect thriller for this time of the year - an eery small town in the middle of nowhere, the closed community of natives that would always guard their secrets, and a young woman going back to visit her mother just when she thought she was able to escape.

But was it as suspenseful as I thought it would be?

No matter how many issues I had with the story, it was still a fun and quick read. I powered through this 400-pages book in just under 6 hours, which is truly astonishing. And it was very easy to get into the story. The first half was exciting - Anna just came back to the village and all the old secrets and memories started to slowly emerge. The 30-years old tragic events never really left the village and affected everyone in a different way.

I think I was expecting more thrills that we got, that’s why my mind started to wonder elsewhere noticing awkward dialogues and weirdly written plot lines.

The dialogues often felt awkward and pulled me out of the story, when they are supposed to do the complete opposite. Especially the conversations between Anna and her mother, they seemed more like friends or companions than mother-daughter chats. I don’t mean by that the need to have a mother-daughter bond, but something about the dialogues didn’t make it feel as genuine as it was supposed to.

It’s difficult to care about the crime and the truth behind it when you don’t care for the characters. I felt very distant from the story. It was as if I was watching it all play out from above, not actually feeling myself a part of the story or the community. And the reason for that, in my case, was the narrative style.

As I said previously, I love the “now and then” technique. However, in this book, we had too many points of view from now (2019) and from then (1989), so at the end, this writing method didn’t serve its purpose of unveiling the hidden facts, it was mere storytelling.

The plot wasn’t well thought through. The author had this main line of events and big twist ready and prepared, but the intentions of the characters kept switching during the story. She needed Lizzie to go on this trip from the very beginning, but Lizzie’s beliefs suddenly changed mid-book for no other reason than “I had this feeling”.

Also no matter how hard the author tried to throw shade onto Lizzie and make her look guilty of some things that were taking place in the village, it never seemed plausible enough to raise that doubt in my head.

I really enjoyed this book! This is my first book from this Author and I'm definitely going to read the other books. It kept me turning the page to find out what happens next. Very good book and highly recommended!

There are some books which you get so involved in, you don’t want them to end, there are others where you are desperate for them to end. I Dare You by Sam Carrington is of the latter variety. The desperation is more to be put out of your drawn-out misery. It’s a flip flop in style. Moving from one period to the another, one character to the next, all in discrete chapters. Half way through it’s easy to see a miscarriage of justice and who the suspects may be. Poor Billy driven to distraction by kids playing the ‘knock knock’ game, ends up as a contender to almost be beatified.

Sam Carrington has nailed the insular Devonian village where outsiders are never truly accepted. Been there, left without buying the ‘T’ shirt.

There were some weaknesses in the story though. I doubt Billy would have been found guilty on the skimpy evidence. As a model prisoner, fully rehabilitated, I doubt he would have served thirty years. There’s absolutely no way a child’s body dug from the moor would not have had the world’s press cause Billy so much grief that he could stick to his ‘repentance’ story. Surely it would have been an unlawful exhumation too, attracting instant police interest and maybe putting Billy back inside?

A play date between two ten year old girls goes horribly wrong with devastating consequences. One of the girls is missing, she was identified getting into the the truck of the local weirdo Creepy Cawley. The body was never found but evidence was found and Cawley was jailed for MURDER. Fast forward thirty years, Cawley is out and wants revenge. A Villiage from hell with so many secrets lives will be changed forever. Creepy, intense and utterly gripping. An easy five stars and so Highly Recommended.
I would like to thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

This is an enthralling thriller from Sam Carrington about the disappearance of a little girl in 1989 and more broadly, the secret and lies of small town inhabitants. Although the central concept of this novel is far from original, Carrington's deft touch and skilful storytelling, avoids this from becoming a trope. Gradually, alternating between the events of 1989 and those 30 years later, a plot device I particularly enjoyed, the truth about the disappearance of the little girl is revealed. Here Carrington expertly ratchets up the tension to its thrilling, shocking denouement.

A twisty, expertly constructed psychological thriller.
I look forward to reading more from this author.

Summary:
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?