Some authors are 'must-reads'. As soon as you see that they've written a new book, you know you need to read it. Lesley Kara is one of those authors, and The Dare doesn't disappoint. It's a well-paced page-turner. Thoroughly enjoyed!

This book is full of suspense. It is a complete page turner
The story is told through dual timelines
It’s such a well developed novel and filled with tension

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

I found this book a bit slow and the switch between timelines was a bit disjointed.
I did not warm to the characters.
Not at all what I expected from this author

3.5 stars rounded up. I really enjoy dual timeline books so was not disappointed with this one switching between present day and 12 years earlier where a tragic and possibly sinister event happened.

This book was a solid thriller with unreliable memories and a low level of sinister intent throughout. I guessed the main reveal quite early in which did not detract from the story and seeing the situation unravel was interesting and intense.

I have the author's debut novel and will be pushing up my priority list.

I would rate this book 3.5 out of 5 stars.

I was really excited to get a copy of this book having read, and loved, The Rumour by Lesley Kara. This was an enjoyable read but I definitely didn't love it the same way I did The Rumour. A reveal at the ending felt really clunky and the ending itself was unsatisfying.

This was just okay but an enjoyable read overall.

Brilliant! Lots of twists and turns and interesting characters. Full of tension and suspense. Highly recommended.

The Dare follows the story of Lizzie, who is battling with the demons of her past following an accident that killed her best friend. Just when Lizzie thinks her life is starting to come together, her past comes back to haunt her. A suspenseful psychological thriller and enjoyable read.

Another good book by Lesley Kara.
Well written, good pace, twisty, turny and great characters. I will definitely be reading more by this author and can't wait for the next book.

This was a good twisty story that follows the life of Lizzie, as a young girl her best friend Alice was tragically killed by a train , although Lizzie was there at the time she suffered a seizure so was never sure of exactly what had happened on that fateful day. Fast forward to years later and Lizzie is now an adult trying to get on with her life with her new fiancee but someone is out to find out the truth of what really happened on that day years ago. This was an easy enough read and kept me intrigued although I did kind of guess what was going on quite early on in the book.

An excellent read - well written and pacey. Just what I needed. This writer never fails to deliver, and cannot wait for the next one.

I love a good crime thriller and this didn't disappoint. Although the story wasn't completely original, it was a nice easy run that allowed me to get back into the flow of reading for fun. Lizzie and Alice are best friends that go for a walk but only one of them returns. Alice dies and Lizzie can't remember what happened to her. The novel follows Lizzie as an adult, who enters therapy and begins to remember what happened to them both as teenagers.

I have read other books by Lesley Kara and I enjoyed the Dare. A little slow and the characters apart from the protagonist a little unrealistic.

This isn't my first book from Kara, I really enjoy her mysteries. Characters have an important place and I like the writing.
Thanks a lot to NT and the publisher for this copy.

Straight away the plot grabbed my attention . This book had me guessing all the way through . I was constantly changing my mind about what was going on. Oh my the suspense was top notch in this one. It has two different timelines so it keeps you on your toes.

Twelve years ago Lizzie’s best friend Alice was killed by a train and Lizzie has always been haunted by it as she was having an epileptic seizure at the time and has no recollection of how the accident happened. Catherine, Alice’s sister, has never believed her and has always thought that the accident was Lizzie’s fault. Now Lizzie is engaged to Ross, the local doctor who does not know about the accident, but when Lizzie’s parents bring round a box of he past belongings it brings back memories of Alice and what happened. When Catherine suddenly appears again in her life strange things begin to happen and Lizzie doesn’t know who she can trust. Her past has come back to haunt her as the truth of what happened that day may be about to be revealed. The story flits between the present and the past, before and after the accident. It is a tense and gripping read, with so many twists and turns that it will leave you reeling and keep you on the edge of your seat. A highly recommended book.
Thanks to Netgalley and Transworld for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Another great read from Lesley Kara.

I was looking forward to reading this book as I had enjoyed all of her others. It was fast paced and kept me interested throughout.
I guessed a couple of things in the story but this didn’t spoil the book in any way.
I read the book very quickly as I couldn’t put it down.

Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for allowing me to read this book.

This is a really good psychological thriller, one that didn't necessarily wow me but which I enjoyed nonetheless. In fairness to the author, it's getting more difficult to impress me just because I read a large number of thrillers and so I'm very used to them.

This story moves between different time periods and I always love that because it's like getting two stories in one, and it's fun to try and work out how the past and the present are linked. There are also short one page chapters interspersed between the main chapters and they're interesting because it isn't clear at first exactly who is relating their story in these chapters. That only comes out in the second half of the book. The plot does unfold somewhat slowly, but I never felt bored or like the pacing was off. The pacing was fairly typical for a psychological thriller.

In general, I thought there were some really intriguing characters in this story, and although Lizzie's family history does get a bit messy and perhaps a little bit far-fetched, I still felt that the whole story pulled together in an interesting way by the end. As is normal for psyche thrillers, there were twists and turns along the way which were entertaining and which I didn't see coming.

I struggled to decide on my final rating for this one. It was a toss up between 3 and 4 stars (I don't believe on sitting on the fence with a half star :-)). At the end of the day, this was a very entertaining and fun read. But, I just didn't fall in love with it. There was nothing wrong with it and I can't exactly put my finder on why I'm more comfortable with 3 stars, but I just am.

An interesting read that I'm glad to have discovered. I'll definitely be seeking out more by this author.

First book I’ve read by this author and it won’t be the last. Enjoyed the pace & unexpected twists. I would recommend this book to anyone.