3.5 stars rounded up - This is a great read for anyone looking for a fast paced drama.

Twenty years ago, the murder of 17-year-old Tamara Drayton rocked a small coastal town in southern France and shattered the Drayton family. Her little sister Nina was the only witness to the crime, whose testimony sent local teen Josie Jackson to prison for manslaughter. Since that night, Nina has always struggled to remember what really happened and is determined to find out. The story follows Nina, Josie, and Josie’s best friend Hannah in both the present day and the past as the truth is revealed.

Some of the material is tough/dark so I don’t know if saying “I enjoyed it” is the best choice of phrase, but I thought this was well written. I honestly didn’t care much about Nina, and found myself more interested in Josie and Hannah’s interactions and individual storylines. The unraveling of the mystery was done well; it wasn’t a shocking reveal, but I got invested with the characters and wanted to know how everything would play out in the end.

Thanks so much to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed High Season, the second book by Kate Bishop and the first one I’ve read (I will be adding her debut, The Girls of Summer to my TBR list). High Season takes place in France and tells the story of Tamara, who died 20 years ago, at the age of 17. Josie, who babysat Tamara’s little sister, Nina, age 5, was convicted of Tamara’s murder, based on Nina’s testimony. Josie spends 10 years in prison and another 10 in England, before returning to France. With the 20 years anniversary of the event and a true crime podcaster looking into it, there is renewed interest in the case.

The narrative is told from multiple POVs, alternating between present day (2024) and 2004. There were a lot of characters, but all distinctive. My least favorite character was the podcaster but she redeemed herself in the end. The story was well written and moved quickly. And I found the ending thoughtful.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this digital AR

If you’re like me and can’t resist a twisty, turny mystery that keeps you second guessing until the very end, this one is a must read. I went into this thinking I had a grip on what was going on, but let me tell you, every time I thought I knew who was responsible for Tamara’s death, something else came along to change my theory!

The book kicks off with a tragic incident: a young girl, Tamara, dies at a summer birthday party. Josie, just a teenager herself at the time, is convicted, based largely on the testimony of a five year old child. Fast forward years later, and the case reemerges. The once five year old witness is now grown, a true crime podcast has reignited public interest, and the cracks in the original story begin to show. What really happened to Tamara? Who’s been keeping secrets? And why are things starting to unravel now?

🎧I paired this one with the audiobook of course and let’s just say the narrator gave it that added atmosphere needed. That’s one thing about audiobooks and thrillers. With the right narrator, they will kick the book up a notch! It felt like I was part of the investigation, not just a listener. If you’re into audiobooks, this one definitely adds another flare to the experience.

If you’re a fan of mysteries that unravel over time and keep you questioning everyone’s motives, this book delivers just that!

Nina Drayton, 25, has her PhD to be a clinical child psychologist in London. She lives with her boyfriend, Ryan. Nina’s older brother, Blake, is headed back to the family’s mansion on the Cote d’Azur in southern France. He very much wants her to go too but she is quite hesitant to do so.

In 2004, at 5-years-old, Nina was with her mother Evelyn and her brother, Blake and his twin sister, Tamara, at the mansion for the season. Their grandfather had been a wealthy and famous film producer and had built the place in the 1950s. At the time, the family stayed just for the summer. Their mother drank a lot and had numerous husbands and boyfriends over the years.

Josie Jackson and her friend, Hannah, lived year-round in the area and Josie's mother was a housekeeper for the Drayton family. The two girls had always looked forward to the family’s return in the summer and they had also had a bit of a crush on Blake. However, Tamara was not friendly to them as she was rather withdrawn. Josie worked a lot with babysitting little Nina and enjoyed being with the little girl.

It was an early evening when Nina passed by the pool and saw Josie holding Tamara under the water. Nina screamed and someone pulled Tamara out. She was not dead but was sent to a hospital where she died some hours later. At Josie’s trial, Nina was called to testify against her which was unusual for someone so young. Josie was sent to prison. Over the yers, Nina has been traumatized by this and has required lots of counseling and medication. Now, she wants to stop the medication and through her work, help other young children working through trauma.

A podcaster wants to open a true crime documentary pressing on the question if Nina truly remembered seeing Josie attempting to drown Tamara. They want to interview Nina who finally and reluctantly agrees although her mother and Blake want her to just ignore the whole thing.

Whew. This was in some ways a tough read. It kept repeating scenarios that became tedious. In doing this, the book became way too long! Ugh. A pet peeve of mine. Entitled characters with some money and pull vs. the poor people who earn their money by catering to these people. Frankly, I was glad when I finally finished the book.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I enjoyed this book. The back and forth between the present and the past kept the mystery going. Bishop does a great job of showing the fallacy of memory and how things are shaped by not just what we see, but what we think we see and what others tell us we see. I found this book hard to put down. There were some bits that were a bit telegraphed, but overall a solid mystery.

High Season is the kind of story that keeps its secrets locked in a sunlit paradise, only to let them slip through in the shadows. Twenty years ago, Nina was just five when she swore she saw her babysitter, Josie Jackson, kill her sister Tamara in the shimmering blue of their French estate’s pool. But memories—especially childhood ones—can be treacherous.

Now a child psychologist, Nina has built a life on control and composure. But when Josie is released and a relentless TikTok true crime sleuth starts unearthing new evidence, the carefully constructed walls around Nina’s past begin to crack. The narrative drifts between the golden heat of 2004 and the present-day chill of 2024, peeling back layers of family lies, fractured trust, and the dangerous seduction of half-remembered truths.

Katie Bush spins a slow-burning web—sometimes lingering too long in its corners—but when the threads tighten, they hold you fast. In High Season, the question isn’t just who did it, but whether you can ever truly trust what you think you saw.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the Advance Readers Copy.

Thank you NetGalley, Katie Bishop, and St. Martin’s Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

This was a good one!! I saw this arc, loved the cover and the synopsis and it saw it releases right smack in the middle of summer. I thought this would be the perfect book, and I was totally right!

I not only loved the coastal waves and hot heat setting, but the complex characters as well! Gosh, it was a cluster of messiness, but the good messiness that you can’t stop reading about. The beginning was a tad slow, but I didn’t mind because it really helped build the suspense in the last half of the book. I was completely gripped by how this story unraveled. What a page turner!!

If you’re looking for a slow burn thriller with a summery atmospheric setting in the French rivera, this is a great book for you! I fully recommend!!

I loved reading this escape to the sun-drenched French Riviera during the lingering days of summer. The atmosphere, the mood, just felt perfect during these hot, humid days.

A narrative that is both sultry and suspenseful, it is about the summer a teenage girl drowned or was murdered. Her six-year-old sister was the one who testified that she saw her babysitter, Josie Jackson, hold her sister under the water.

But twenty years later, with a true crime documentary being made about Tamara’s death, Nina realizes she has little memory of what happened that day.

This is a slow-burning mystery, with pieces and parts coming together over time. I found the interjection of the podcaster helpful, as it allowed me to organize my thoughts and facts throughout the story.

Besides being a gripping mystery, the story deals with topics such as wealth and privilege, the frailty of memory, and the tendrils of trauma. I especially found the idea of events having or not having weight because of a person’s memory being a fascinating concept. It was also interesting to see how people responded to Josie, who was now out of jail.

In the end, I was shocked, but maybe not surprised. I enjoyed this atmospheric and thought-provoking mystery.


Thank you @stmartinspress for the #gifted book and ebook and the awesome book package. #SMPInfluencer
Thank you @macmillan.audio for the gifted audiobook. #MacAudio2025

4 1/4 stars
In this standalone Mystery/Thriller, the main character was five years old when she witnessed her older sister killed in the swimming pool of their family's vacation home in France. Since her statement sent someone to prison, Nina has always worried that she remembered things incorrectly. Now, twenty years later, a documentary is being filmed about Tamara's death and the person found guilty of the crime. Could this bring the answers Nina has always wanted or will it create more questions and danger?

The story is told through two timelines, the present and the time of the crime. Mixed in with the narrative are a few podcast and interview transcripts. I love when books include mixed media like this to make it seem more realistic. Lots of secrets come out during the course of the book and eventually characters show their true colors, both good and bad. The beginning of the book flew by, but then things slow down a bit in the middle. with side-drama that didn't contribute enough to the main storyline. However, I really enjoyed the part when the full truth is revealed, and I was satisfied with the ending. Overall, this is an entertaining book and I would read more by this author.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advance review copy. My review is voluntary and unbiased.

Never speak of that summer.

Set over two unforgettable summers two decades apart, in the south of France, High Season is a dark, tense exploration of the nature of memory, the enduring power of truth, and all the gray areas in between.

Though this book started a little slow, it really helped build the suspense for the last half! I was completely enthralled with this story and especially with Nina who was only six years old when she had to testify in a French murder trial. Getting multiple povs from the two timelines really added to the building tension as well!

I switched between listening to the audiobook and reading the ebook. The narrator was very engaging, helping me feel very connected to the characters and the story. I don't want to say much more so I don't spoil it, but if you enjoy twisty, suspenseful, psychological thrillers, you should give this one a go!

3.5 stars rounded up.

High Season is a summer mystery set on the coast of the South of France that followings an infamous family. The matriarch is a former 70s "it girl" and socialite who is mother to two teenage twins, a boy and a girl (Tamara), as well as her youngest daughter, Nina. Twenty years ago, Tamara was found dead in the family's pool, the only witness being Nina, who was just 5-years-old at the time.

Nina's testimony in the murder trial of her babysitter, Josie, leads to her conviction and imprisonment. In present day, Nina is a child psychologist who is questioning her memory of the events surrounding Tamara's death, while a true-crime podcast host is featuring the story. The family reconvenes at the mansion for the summer to celebrate the matriarch's birthday, leading Nina to seek answers from her mother and brother to long-buried questions and secrets.

There are past and present timelines, which reveal complex family relationships and socioeconomic (class) differences between the wealthy Dayton family and the others in their lives, including their former babysitter Josie. While I often enjoy novels that explore these themes and feature outsiders, I did not connect fully with any of the main characters. However, I enjoyed the podcast within the story!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ebook ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5/5 stars

While I saw the reveal coming from a mile away I still enjoyed this book. I really liked the true crime Tik Tok influencer element that was sprinkled in - I feel that bit set this book apart from others that have a similar premise.

I really enjoyed the writing style in this one. I thought the back and forth between the past and present was nicely done and flowed really well. The pacing in the middle dragged a little for me but thankfully it was short lived and picked right back up.

Overall, I enjoyed this and recommend if your looking for a quick thriller to round out your summer TBR!

Thank you so much to St Martins Press for the gifted ARC

Title: High Season
Author: Katie Bishop
Pub Date: August 12, 2025

This was the slow burn mystery/drama that I needed after binging and missing WE WERE LIARS on Prime. It's not the same, but somehow the VIBES felt the same! The dual timelines, the unreliable witness, the DRAMA kept me locked in!

Like I said, this is a SLOW burn, but just when things would start to slow down for a minute, something would happen that would pull me back in! These characters definitely captivated me and I couldn't look away!

I loved the whole concept that the only murder witness was a 6 year old who is now second guessing her memory as adult. How much can a child really be trusted? Especially when she doesn't even trust her own memories as an adult!

I do think the ending of this one paid off! I would love to see this book come to life on the screen some day!

This is the perfect book to add to your summer reading lineup! At the heart of the story lies a mystery and a healthy dose of drama. It causes you to ponder how our earliest memories are formed. 

It starts off with memories of a long ago summer's night where 5-year-old Nina finds her big sister Tamara floating face-down in the family pool in the south of France. Is what she remembers real? Did Josie Jackson murder her sister? Josie spent 10 years in prison for the crime…

Highlights | 
☀️Privilege & Class 
☀️Rich kids behaving badly 
☀️Unlikable characters 
☀️Memory 
☀️True-crime documentary/multimedia aspects
☀️Friendships & secrets

I am not normally drawn to these types of stories, but this one grabbed my attention and didn’t let go. Although a few parts were disturbing, I enjoyed both sides of the dual timeline and this one kept me up well past my bedtime. I just had to finish it! 

CW | This book contains some strong profanity, and describes some sexual activities, sexual assault and drug use among teens. Same gender attraction.

[Thanks to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley, for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.]

5 Stars! Thank you to St.Martin's Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for a review. All opinions in this review are my own.

The cast of characters:

Tamara Drayton: The bad twin, twin of Blake, and older sister of Nina. She tragically died at her mother's birthday party, after she was pushed into the pool by Josie Jackson. Nina testifies in court that that's what she saw at five years old.

Blake Drayton: The golden child, and twin of Tamara, older brother to Nina. He and Nina reconnect 20 years later at their mother's estate after Nina travels back to their hometown to participate in a documentary about Tamara's murder. Blake secretly has a relationship with Hannah.

Nina Drayton: Younger sister to Blake and Tamara, who witnesses Tamara's tragic drowning at 5 years old. Nina questions if her memories of that night are 100% correct, and hopes to find answers by participating in the documentary about her sister's murder.

Josie Jackson: Nina's babysitter, and Tamara's murderer. She served 10 years for the crime, and has come back to their hometown to stay with her brother after odd jobs that took her around Europe. She helps participate in the documentary about Tamara's murder by providing the documentary makers with the case file.

Hannah: Josie's best friend, and secret girlfriend of Blake. Her and Josie start to grow apart the summer Tamara is killed as Hannah plans for her future. She reconnects with Josie 20 years after the crime in their hometown.

WOW I loved this book! The cast of characters was so well done, and I loved reading the different points in time from their POVs. This story is told prior to the party where Tamara is killed, and twenty years after the crime when Nina, Blake, Josie and Hannah are all back in their hometown. The timeline is perfectly paced, and you really get a good deep dive into everyone's back stories.

I highly recommend grabbing this book - which is out TODAY! Such a great thriller, and one that is going to go down as one of my favorites I've ever read. I will definitely be picking up more books from Katie Bishop!

Talk about a book that demands to be talked about. High Season is a fantastic book for book clubs as there are so many points to ponder, talk about, and absorb. Twenty years ago, seventeen-year-old Tamara Drayton was found dead in the pool at her family's mansion in the south of France. Her family, including her twin brother, Blake are devastated. Her six years old, sister, Nina was an eye witness and became the youngest person to testify in a French murder trial. Nina reported that it was her babysitter, Josie, who pushed her sister, Tamara into the water!

But memory can be a tricky thing. Now, Nina is an adult and she has vague memories of that time. She isn't quite sure what really happened the night her older sister, Tamara was found floating in their family's home. With a true crime documentary being made about her sister's murder, Nina is finally ready to take a look back at the past ...

High Season takes a look at family dynamics, memory, power, social class, relationships, and everything in between. Can a traumatized child's memory be trusted? how reliable is their testimony? How much does a small child understand about what they saw or does one's mind come up with solutions???? Was it real, what is the truth, what really happened?????

This book is told in two timelines and provides readers glimpses into all of the characters in both times. We see how they grew, how they changed, how the past affected their present lives. Readers get the POV"s of Nina, Josie, Tamara, and Josie friend, Hannah.

I found this book to be gripping, thought provoking, shocking, and evoking of emotion. I did not see the big reveal coming and loved the shock value of that reveal. I also enjoyed the many twists and turns as well. This is an exploration of memory, the truth, and tragedy.

Wonderfully written, gripping, thought provoking, and hard to put down!

Dear Katie Bishop,

Let it be known that I adored your debut, The Girls Of Summer, but it's got nothing on High Season!

What an incredibly powerful sophomore novel!

I was entranced by this story, reading it in a single day - simply needing to know how Tamara truly ended up face-down in the pool, and if six year old Nina's testimony was solid. As the plot unfolded, I quickly learned just how instrumental the four parts to this story were; told in two timelines and from various character's perspectives, each new section dug further into their recollections, carefully overlapping memories upon memories.

The version of genre bending that you've created might be my very favourite kind! Thrilling, suspenseful, mysterious, romantic, yet never solidly slotting your books into one single category - your mash-ups are perfection! Additionally your words are adorned with beautiful covers and wrapped up with a feminist bow. (Which yes, might just be my very favourite part! Though, obviously, I'm a fan of the podcast elements, which were added cautiously, deliberately, and were never overdone.)

Taking some themes from your debut and chiseling them further down, approaching them from different angles with fresh perspectives... it's brilliant!

Here I'll extend my letter to audiobook narrator Alix Dunmore because her poignant delivery added yet another important element to your words. So if you could just pass this on to her, that'd be great!

What else can I say? You're an auto-buy author!

Happy Pub Day to your new beauty!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary copies to read and review.

High Season is an atmospheric, slow-burn thriller that blends a compelling plot with deep character exploration. The story unfolds across a dual timeline—spanning 20 years—and is told through multiple perspectives, giving the mystery layers upon layers of intrigue.

In 2004, 17-year-old Tamara Drayton is found floating face-down in her family’s glamorous Côte d’Azur pool. Josie Jackson, a trusted babysitter for Tamara’s 5-year-old sister, Nina, is quickly charged and convicted of the murder—thanks in large part to Nina’s eyewitness testimony. The ripple effects of that moment echo across the decades, and as the narrative shifts between past and present, the truth begins to take shape in unexpected ways.

Katie Bishop’s writing is immersive, with the French Riviera setting practically shimmering off the page. The characters are complicated, their flaws—especially those of the main character—laid bare in a way that feels authentic and human. The medium pacing allows for a careful unraveling of events, making it as much a character study as a suspense novel.

That said, at times the number of characters felt overwhelming, occasionally pulling focus from the central mystery. Still, the strong development of the core cast, the moody atmosphere, and the emotional weight of the story made this a thoroughly engaging read.

If you enjoy slow-burn thrillers with rich settings, morally gray characters, and a haunting sense of the past colliding with the present, High Season is worth diving into.

Katie Bishop has written a twisty tale of wealth and power, family secrets and murder all set in the beauty of the Cote d’Azur. I could not put this down. The characters were engaging and the pace was expertly ratcheting up like the first rise of a roller coaster until there was no going back.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an advance review copy.

I just finished High Season by Katie Bishop and here are my thoughts.


Twenty years ago something tragic happened… Tamara.. Just 17 years old, was found floating face down in the pool. The only witness, her 6 year old sister who testifies that her babysitter, Josie, held her sister’s head under water and was to blame.

Trouble is… All these years later, Nina isn’t sure she saw what she saw and now a true crime documentary is going to dig deep into the incident, Nina is invigorated to find out what really happened that night but truth always comes at a cost.

I always go in blind and the last time I did that was with a Katie Bishop book… The title and cover didn’t match the intensity of the story hidden inside so I went in knowing to expect the unexpected.

This book was set over 2 timelines. The past, on the lead up to the drowning and the present day. I normally feel two timelines tend to get messy and sometimes they are defined enough for you to know you have switched but this worked really well. True crime is a hot topic right now and it was a clever twist to add the documentary into it. Lots of POVs didn’t distract from the excellent plot either.

It was very atmospheric. You could feel the tension in this slow-burn mystery. I actually thought the less fast pace worked excellent in building the story to the right crescendo.


There's one thing that the author always manages to do… She will serve you up characters who are a total and utter mess but so relatable. You can understand all the characters and find empathy with them all. I loved the setting of the book too! The writing is so eloquent for a thriller and the narration was done to perfection! I switched between my ALC and my hardcover I was sent and even did some immersion reading. It’s not the easiest thing to do but it was so worth it.

4.5 stars and out today!

Thank you to @netgalley @stmartinspress and @macmillanaudio for my ALC, ARC and hardcover!