A thrilling read that explores a decades-old murder of a young woman after a true crime TikToker reveals the convicted killer might be innocent.

Josie Jackson was charged and imprisoned for the murder of Tamara Drayton in 2004. It was a dynamic group of friends of the opposite social classes - Josie, Hannah, Tamara and her twin brother Blake. Tamara's body was discovered by her five-year-old sister, Nina. The story is told from Nina's perspective in 2024. She's contacted by a true crime TikToker who believes that Josie, now released, is innocent and wants to share their findings. The story goes back and forth between the days leading up to the 2004 murder and present day.

I enjoyed that this showed the good and the bad sides of every public case being shared on social media and everybody having an opinion. This showcases the dynamics between the working class and the wealthy. The characters were well-rounded and I found myself relating to present-day Hannah as a mother, many times. The narration was great, even changing to an American accent for the TikTok scenes.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy on exchange for an honest review.

Review: This book honestly surprised me with how good it was. Everything it promises, it delivers. This is a tightly woven mystery that goes back and forth in time as it sheds light on relationships, power, family, memory, friendship, and growing up. Prepare yourself for hot summer nights, adolescence and impulsive mistakes. The writing is through, enjoyable, descriptive and suspenseful. I found the end to be satisfying and answered all of my questions and more. If you’re looking for a thriller for the latter half of your summer I would highly recommend this. I had the audio copy from NetGalley and the narrator does a wonderful job of bringing the characters to life as well as the intensity of the story.

So I guess I’m kind of the outlier here with this audiobook. I had a really hard time following along and had to re start several chapters. It was confusing keeping track of multiple timelines and points of view. I got the basic theme of the novel which was good. Narration was good. I wasn’t a huge fan of the characters. This one was a struggle for me.

20 years ago Tamara Drayton was found face down in her family's pool. Her little sister Nina at six years old was the youngest person to ever titisfy claimed to know what happened... that her babysitter Josie pushed Tamara under and held her there. Now 20 years later Nina is not sure if her memories are correct. Told in timelines leading up to the night of the party Tamara died and in the present there is a lot of suspense and sadness. We get memories from many characters which I liked and the impact the night Tamara died had on them. I will say this book was too long for me though and could have been edited down some and less repetitive in parts. Overall I enjoyed not knowing what happened to Tamara until the end and getting know each character throughout the story.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for giving me an advance audiobook in return for my honest review.

I flew through High Season—a fun summer thriller that’s perfect for a weekend read. Twenty years ago, Tamara was murdered in her own pool during a party. The only witness? Her 6-year-old sister, Nina. Now, a true crime podcast is digging into the case, questioning whether Nina’s memory holds the truth—or something far more complicated.

I loved how the story flipped between present day and 2004, slowly revealing what really happened that night. The pacing was great, the cast of characters kept me intrigued, and some definitely took me by surprise.

I listened to the audiobook, and Alix Dunmore did a fantastic job setting the tone. Her narration was smooth and engaging—easy to follow and perfectly matched to the story’s mood.

If you're looking for a mystery to add to your end of summer reading list, keep High Season on your radar! Big thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 ~ 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇 𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍 ~ by Katie Bishop ~ Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, Netgalley and the author for an ARC copy of this emotional thriller due to release on August 12, 2025. This mystery/thriller is a story of haves and have-nots, along with some rich-people-behaving-badly all set in the French Riviera in Cote D’Azur. The descriptions of the setting were great. It is structured in four parts and includes a past and present timeline along with multiple POVs. It is actually paced well in the beginning and the end, gets repetitive a bit in the middle, but still includes plenty of character development to carry readers through. There are many layers to this beyond the solving of the death that is at the core of the mystery. It delves into family relations, friendships, youthful summers, class, social status, love, perception and memory, psychological manipulation, grief, forgiveness, and more. All-in-all this was a solid enough family drama and mystery (not as much a thriller), that requires a bit of attention but provides a few little twists and a satisfying conclusion. I can definitely recommend this to my mystery reader friends. If you're in the mood for a whodunnit framed by plenty of character drama with a unique setting then this is a good fit.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ just making it to 4… in writing my review I am feeling like I had a good rainy summer day time with this overall so….
𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐀𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐥𝐥! 📚❤️🇫🇷

This audiobook was sooo well done! The narrator did a fantastic job bringing all the characters to life and making sure the listener knows who is saying what. The time jumps were done really well by the author too and kept me super engaged in the story.

Listening to this one made me want to be laying by a body of water with a cocktail in my head until I found out what happened to Tamara. Sometimes mystery’s don’t work well for me & I get bored, but I really loved this one!! Engrossing and atmospheric!

This is one of the best books of the year. I love this style of writing and the mystery kept me guessing until the very end. I listened and read both to keep the story going!

Thanks to NetGalley for an ALC. I loved the alternating timelines in this and thought the writing was very good. The characters were well-written and the story flowed nicely. The ending was good too. Great summer read!

Not the story I expected or hoped for.

I went into High Season expecting a tightly wound psychological thriller, but this felt more like a drawn-out internal character study. While I appreciate emotional depth, the pacing here was just too slow — most of the book was spent circling the same thoughts, the same memories, without much actual movement.

Rachel’s reflections became repetitive quickly, and even though I understood what the author was going for — exploring trauma, memory, and denial — it started to feel like I was reading the same page over and over. I found myself wanting the story to push forward, but it never really did.

The dual timelines didn’t help either. The past and present weren’t always clearly separated, and the structure felt choppy. I kept waiting for something to shift, for a turning point or emotional breakthrough, but it all stayed kind of flat for me.

And honestly — this just isn’t a thriller. At least not in the way it was marketed. There’s no real suspense, twist, or urgency. It’s very introspective, which some readers will love, but I was expecting something with more narrative tension and less emotional looping.

It had the potential to be powerful, but for me, the execution just didn’t land.

Although this book wasn’t for me, I am grateful to Net Galley and Macmillan Audio for gifting me an advance audiobook in return for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan audio for this ALC. I thought this was a good mystery that kept me pretty engaged. I had some theories about what happened- I was right, but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment. I do think there was some added details that bogged down the plot a bit and took away from my attention at times. Other than that, I did enjoy this and would read more from this author in the future,

Twenty years after a then six-year-old girl claims she saw her sister murdered, she’s beginning to doubt her own memories. Did she really witness her sister being drowned? Did she send an innocent woman to prison? A true crime podcast, reopens the case and raises plenty of questions about what really happened that long ago summer.

Many thanks to Macmillan audio for my #gifted copy.

I really had fun with HIGH SEASON. It had a great cast of character. Some of the characters you will probably like and others may surprise you. I enjoyed how it flipped back and forth from present day to 2004 when Nina was just a little girl. The pacing was good and kept me intrigued. If you're looking for a mystery/thriller to add to your summer collection. HIGH SEASON is a great choice!


This review will be shared to my Instagram account @coffee.break.books shortly.

Thank you so much Macmillan Audio (for the speedy approval!) and NetGalley! I wanted to read this book as soon as I saw the cover! Didn't need much more convincing!
20 years ago, 6-year-old Nina witnessed her sister's murder (allegedly....)
Now, a true crime documentary is reopening old wounds and buried memories.
What really happened that summer night in the south of France?!
Listening Speed: 1.5X
Narrator: Alix Dunmore
Feedback: Absolutely LOVE Alix Dunmore's narration! I listened to this audiobook all night in one go, I just love the delightful and elegant British accent. This book is so atmospheric, summery and thrilling. Alix's voice is rich and engaging, effortlessly captivating, drawing you in from the very first word! Highly recommend !!!