A superb read that shows you can never quite leave the past behind

Holly is settling into her new job as a teacher in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales, she is loving life but has a secret....a secret she shares with old Uni friends Meg and Kristoff....George was also in the ‘Gang of 4’ but,sadly, George is dead......

The book goes between Uni days and the present and covers a backpacking holiday the 4 took to Asia, this part of the book is described superbly ( was not surprised to read the author spent 2 years backpacking there ) and the story really takes flight on one of their last nights in Thailand, they go to a ‘anything goes’ party but none
of them expected what happened
to happen

A really good ‘read read’, it was great to pick this book up over the last few
days and immediately be back with the characters and the plot

Written in a welcoming style and easy to follow, the pretty chilling ending was unexpected, always a good sign 😊

Excellent debut novel

9/10
5 Stars

Four friends (George, Holly, Meg and Kristof) decide to take a trip to Thailand after graduating. They expect this trip to be life changing...and it is, but for all the wrong reasons.

Several years later, Holly has a teaching job and is dating the father of one of her kindergarteners. Holly has tried really hard to move past what happened in Thailand, but it has always lingered in the back of her mind. When she starts receiving text messages, photos and threats she realizes someone is making sure she never forgets about what happened to her friend. And this person wants to make sure the truth comes out about what happened that summer.

I always like to give debuts a chance, but this one just didn’t thrill me. There was no suspense because it is revealed early on who is behind the threats and why. Because of the lack of suspense, I didn’t find myself invested in the storyline. The only mystery that remained was who killed George in Thailand. And finally learning the truth didn’t come as a shock. I think this one had potential, but in no way was this a gripping thriller.

Thank you Netgalley and Killer Reads for this advance reading copy.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. I really enjoyed it, it grabbed me from the beginning and I couldn't put it down. I will be recommending this book to friends.

I really wanted to like one but unfortunately it fell flat for me. It wasn't nearly as thrilling as I had hoped and it turned into more of a character study than a mystery to solve. I wasn't a big fan of the characters either so that didn't peak my interest much, That all being said it was well written and the pacing was well done so I will certainly give this author another try.

The Beach is the story of four friends who go on a trip to Thailand, where love (or lust) comes out to play, and then there might be a little bit of mystery (and even a death or two). The Beach is a pretty easy read. There's lots of things going on, but none of it is confusing, and not too many lines crossing. You want to know what's happening with these people, and definitely what happened in Thailand. The story goes back and forth between the past (Thailand) and the craziness of the present. And maybe who is killing who.



4/5 Stars

It should have been paradise, but it turned into hell. I haven’t seen this book around Instagram much, but the tag line and the title of this book really drew me in.
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The Beach⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ by Sarah Linley is about 4 friends who have just graduated college and go backpacking around Thailand. On their adventure something goes terribly wrong. In the years since, Holly, the main character, has tried to forget what had happened and move on with her life. Unfortunately someone has started sending her anonymous messages threatening to reveal what really happened on their trip.
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I thought this was a really good mystery, the books pacing slowed a little in the middle of the book, but it really picked up in the last half and I really enjoyed the ending. This story switched between past and present and also between different viewpoints as well.
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I would recommend this book to mystery lovers, those who enjoy stories that alternate timelines, and those who are looking for a mindless escape. Thank you @netgalley and @harperscollins for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book captured me from the beginning. We first meet Holly leaving her boyfriend Tom's house, after a lunchtime tryst and quickly learn she's a schoolteacher in their village. On her way back to the school she witnesses a girl fall into the river and rescues her. The incident brings up memories of a tragic trip after college, and the story is told in alternating timelines - both present day, and also eight years ago in college and five years ago backpacking through Asia on their grand summer trip.

Holly finds herself with a stalker, suddenly receiving messages from fake accounts or burner phones, deliveries, letters left at her house, yet she is afraid of the consequences of the truth coming out of what happened on that trip so she keeps it quiet.

One thing that was different about this book than most other suspense novels is that we know who the stalker is from the beginning. But yet we still feel that chilling feeling of not knowing, because we don't know what happened that night either. 

There is so much sadness in this book - the horrific night five years previously broke up a group of best friends, destroyed lives, and left more than one family grieving the loss of their child. Yet there is also goodness - Holly's rescue of Samantha, a family in crisis getting the help they so desperately need, a boy abandoned by his mother finding maternal love again, the support of a good friend. 

The book is very well written. The descriptions were vivid without being wordy and burdensome, just enough to make me envision the scenery, feel the rain and the cold - or the heat in the case of the backpacking trip flashbacks. Ms Linley did a wonderful job of bringing these characters to life, and even causing us to feel compassion and empathy with the antagonist. 

But then that epilogue...

Holly is a teacher. She is in a relationship with Tom. His son, Jack is one of her pupils. Holly is getting frightening emails from someone who has access to her photos and knows about a trip she had taken to Thialand with three of her college roommates. A holiday that was a nightmare shed rather forget. Strange things start happening around Holly. Someone is out to get her, wanting the truth to come out about what had happened in Thailand.

This story has a slow start ut the pace soon picks up. Its told in alternating timelines covering the present day and Holly's college days. We are told quite early who the stalker is. I do prefer not to know and work these things out for myself. I couldn't find a connection to any of the characters, they came across as pretty bland. There were parts that were a it dragged out. It still an enjoyable read with a good twist at the end.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Harper Impulse and Killer Reads and the author Sarah Linley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A good read with twists right up until the end. I have read similar stories to this one. This one is not quite as good as some of them but the overall ending made me decide to give it 4 stars. There is a slow building of suspense the whole way through which kept me reading and trying to guess the ending. This is a good debut novel.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Four graduating university students decide to take a trip to Thailand. It was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime for the 2 girls and 2 guys. But something went seriously wrong.....

It's been several years and Holly has not forgotten what happened on that trip, although she's tried really, really hard to forget. Now a schoolteacher, she has begun a relationship with the father of one of her young students.

But then she starts receiving text messages from someone ... someone who obviously knows what happened that summer. And then the pictures come ... pictures that she swears she had destroyed.

And whoever it is ... they want revenge.

This debut thriller is well-crafted with memorable characters. My only complaint would be the reader knows who and why very early in the book. Suspense is lost ... as well as interest. I stuck with it just to see how it ended ... which was surprising.

Many thanks to the author / Harper Collins / Killer Reads / One More Chapter / Netgalley for t he digital copy of THE BEACH. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

I did enjoy this book but found parts of it confusing. The end is given away in the middle. Could have been much better without spoilers and going back and forth. Thanks to NetGalley for providing me the opportunity to read and review!

This is a debut for this author and it was enjoyable. 

This was written very well and the storyline was gripping. 

It was written in past and present tenses which I liked. 

This is a psychological thriller so pick this up please

The Beach was an ok read, I wouldn’t put it in the thriller category as it’s more of a mystery read as we find out the perpetrator early on the book, so it’s just a case of how it plays out.
Holly is the main character in this book and is told from her prospective in both the past and present tenses. Holly now is a schoolteacher, starting a new romance with a dad from her school where his little boy goes and we see this start to develop. The past is her time backpacking round Thailand with three of her best friends from university, this side of the story sees their adventures and that only three come home. Present day when we first meet Holly she has just saved a teenager from drowning so is a bit of a hero, it is after this that strange things start to happen. Usually in a thriller you would guess who it was but we are told fairly early on who it is and for me it did spoil it as it would have been better to have kept that hidden as it would have added some intrigue that was missing. It wasn’t a bad read and would recommend others give it a go, it’s just I prefer a thriller to a mystery.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Harper Impulse, Killer Reads for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

The past comes roaring back atop Holly after she saves a child from drowning and appears in the press. Her life is a peaceful one- she's a teacher, she's in a relationship, and all seems right. Five years ago, things also seemed right until they weren't. Holly and her friends Meg, Kristof, and George were spending time in Thailand when something very bad happened, something Holly's not talked about since. This is told in dual time line, alternating Thailand with the present day. You might guess what's really happening to Holly (I did) but it's a quick and entertaining read. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

Unfortunately, I ended up not finishing this book. I found it hard to get into and after reading about 20%, I found I didn't care much about the story. It wasn't gripping and I like mysteries and thrillers that are hard to put down. This book just wasn't for me.

Great debut novel which I enjoyed reading. It look awhile though to really get into it, so I only rated it 4 stars. The story alternated between past and present. Even though I knew who the stalker was partway thru the book, it still was a page turner to find out what happened to George in Asia. Loved the slight twist at the ending, definitely did not see that coming.

Holly is a primary school teacher with many secrets. Those secrets are coming back to haunt her as she receives texts and photos from an anonymous person claiming to know her past. As she strives to find out who it is and keep her secrets buried she is also trying to win over Tom her his son Jack in an attempt at finding happiness and pretend life is peachy to her parents and sister. Did I mention she is a primary school teacher and has to hide her emotions from her students all day too?

I found Holly a little bit annoying and that’s mainly because I am a primary school teacher and she is not my kind of teacher. My personal attachment to that side of her character meant I was analysing all of her teacher choices a bit too much. In the end I calmed down a bit and went with it and by the end I can see why Holly maybe isn’t the best primary teacher in the world because she’s got a lot to contend with. An easy read and a shock ending.

Holly and her three friends from university decided to go travelling after they have finished their exams and what starts out as a dream trip ends as a nightmare. Five years on Holly is a school teacher with new friends starting a new relationship. She starts to receive messages and pictures from an unknown number about her past from someone who knows what happened in Thailand and threatens to ruin her life. It was a really quick and easy read but I did struggle to like any of the characters or understand why they were such good friends. Overall it was an ok psychological thrillers.

Thanks to NetGalley I received an ARC of The Beach. The story was promising but didn’t deliver. I rated it 3 stars but it’s more like 2.5. I didn’t like it but didn’t dislike it, it just is what it is. I ended up skipping around just to get to the end and see what happened.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3164890726

This book was quite an enjoyable read but unfortunately I wasn’t gripped. The story was good and the characters were a little interesting. In my opinion it lacked the suspense as you know who’s behind it half way through. I will continue to read books by this author as I liked the style of the writing.
Thank you netgalley and publisher for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review