While not an original story line, Lesley Kara sets her psychological thriller in a small town where two friends are victims of an accident that will leave one of them dead. The other? She suffered a seizure and has no memory of the incident. While this is a side effect of seizures, the family of the dead girl refuses to believe they will never know what caused the accident. The family's feelings will spread to the rest of the local residents causing the traumatized young girl and her family too relocate. Fast forward to find current events causing the young woman to suffer incidents attached to her history. There are a few twists and a not so surprising appearance from a family member. Good story well worth reading.

Engaging and entertaining. A recommended purchase for collections where crime and thrillers are popular.

Two things have greatly effected Lizzie's life: she struggles with epilepsy and the death of her best friend, Alice, when they were only 13-years old.
Fast forward it’s been twelve years , Lizzie has finally found happiness . Her epilepsy is regulated and she has moved out of her parent's house. She’s now living with her fiancée Ross , even her parents couldn't be happier; I mean Lizzie is engaged to a doctor! Ross is the perfect person to watch out for her.
While unpacking boxes from her parent's attic, Lizzie comes across one from her teenage years. It contains some items that really start effecting memories of Alice and her death. You see Lizzie was with Alice when she died and was traumatized by the event, but she just can't remember what happened she suffered a seizure, her brain doesn’t have memory of that fateful time.
Alice's family and other kids at their school blamed Lizzie for Alice's death. They always believed she wasn't telling the whole story. Lizzie's story has always remained the same: she doesn't remember. It got so bad Lizzie's family had to move after the accident. They just needed a fresh start.
Now that Lizzie has found the happiness she been dreaming of, and a life with Ross, why is suddenly her past seems to be coming back to haunt her? The story is told through past and present perspectives The Dare is an absolutely addictive roller coaster and filled with deceptions and suspense.

"The Dare" by Lesley Kara is a pulse-pounding thriller that will challenge your nerves as you follow its characters through a maze of suspenseful twists.

3.5 stars

While this was engaging I found it a bit too predictable to rate highly. I did love Lizzie and she was fun to get to know!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

A fantastic twisty thriller told from past to present ( my FAVORITE plot lines) with 2 friends. Alice is hit by a train and Lizzie is to blame, so to speak, but she can't remember as she suffered a seizure at the time of the accident. Kids are cruel and torment Lizzie. Eventually Lizzie grows up and moves away trying to forget what has happened, but never truly forgets what has happened. This book took so many twists and turns. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to more by the author!

Really enjoyed this psychological Suspense!
This story revolves around Lizzy and her best friend Alice, who are out playing when Alice dies on a walk they took together. The story is told from present to past and alternates back and forth. Good solid writing with great story development that’s a nice and steady pace. Lots of twists which I didn’t see coming… I love when a book surprises me.
This is the second book I’ve read by this author, the first “Who Did You Tell”, was a fabulous read, and “The Dare” is just as good! When I first started this book I liked it so much that I purchased the Audible audio book so when I couldn’t sit and read I could listen to it. Great narration by George Maguire and Siam Brooke. I highly recommend the book or the audiobook to anyone who enjoys a good psychological suspense novel.
A very special thank you Random House Publishing/Ballantine Books via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was a good, engaging thriller. It was fast moving, and I could barely put it down. I definitely want to check out more by this author.

I really Enjoy Lesley Kara's Books. This is the Second book I have read of hers and she is such a good writer of fast paced, Entertaining thrillers. I would almost be interested in seeing what she can do with other genres as well!

Lesley Kara writes another mystery/thriller that keeps the reader engaged and waiting for the plot-twists-to-come! Lizzie and Alice have been friends "forever"...until the day that Alice is hit and killed by a train and Lizzie can't remember what happened.because she suffered an epiletic seizure at the time. Alice's sister Catherine and kids from school blame Lizzie, which makes her question her own possible guilt. Many years later Lizzie is in a happy relationship with Ross - and then Catherine unexpectedly shows up.....seeming to be a much-changed and forgiving person. And so it starts...........lies, deception by those she loves the most, and danger drag Lizzie through to an ending that is horrifying and yet leads to the ultimate truth. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read and review this advance reader copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #TheDare #NetGalley.

This was a very well done and well rounded novel. I really enjoyed the characters and the development of the plot throughout.

After reading The Rumour by Lesley Kara, I was so excited to get an advanced copy of The Dare. It did not disappoint! The whole dare premise has been done before, but Kara still managed to make this a fun read. I flew through it in a day. I wasn't super shocked by the ending, but I still really enjoyed it.

The only reason I'm only giving it 3 stars is just the fact that the premise has been done so much before and it was a tiny bit predictable.

If you're looking for a fast-paced psychological thriller, definitely check this one out.

* Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Good book. Lots of suspense, well developed plot and characters. I will be keeping My eye out for Lesley Kara’s next book. Thank you for my advance copy.

I really enjoyed The Dare. It was suspenseful and engaging. The main character was layered and sympathetic. I look forward to reading more from Lesley Kara.

I read this from 50% to finish all in one night. I was on the edge of my seat to find out who, what, where, when and why!

Lizzie and Alice are best friends who do everything together and know everything about each other. One day on one of their walks, they get into an argument. Lizzie wakes up to find she has had a seizure near the train tracks and her best friend has been hit and killed by a train. Living with years of questions, Lizzie continues on the best she can but not without the torment from Alice's older sister.

Now years later she has moved away and it trying to live a life free from the trauma of Alice's tragic death. She's engaged to a nice man, with a bright future ahead of her. She starts to have strange things happen, reminding her of the train accident. From this point the story develops in many different directions. I could not tell for certain what really happened on those train tracks, what secrets were being kept and why Lizzie still was being tormented until I got to the end. If you enjoy suspense with twists and turns, this is the book for you. I loved that it had me turning pages until the end at 2am!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. I really liked the author's writing and this is my honest review of The Dare.

I really enjoyed Lesley Kara's The Rumour, so I was excited to read The Dare...and it did not disappoint! The characters were interesting, and I liked that the story went back and forth between the past and present. I had a hard time putting the book down because I wanted to know what really happened the day Alice died and how everything would turn out. The Dare is a real page-turner, and I highly recommend it. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for giving me the opportunity to read and review a great new book by Lesley Kara. : )

Is a childhood dare a basis for murder? Or was it an accident? This is the question that haunts the heroine throughout the book and taints her adult life. There are many twists and turns to reach a satisfying conclusion.

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

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

I enjoyed this book overall. I love the premise, an "I dare you" game between children that goes wrong. I also enjoyed the past and present timelines. It kept me interested although it didn't feel as unique as I would have liked. It is still a quick and fast paced read.
#TheDare #NetGalley #RandomHousePublishingGroup #Ballantine