Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Impulse and Killer Reads for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Holly is a teacher, dating the parent of one of her students when strange things start happening. It goes back to her time in Asia 5 years ago with her 3 best friends and what happened during that trip.

This book was just ok. It was a quick read, but it wasn't that amazing. My problem was that we knew who was tormenting Holly early on and why and it was just waiting for it to play out. There was a bit of a reveal at the very end but it didn't do much too move this book out of the just ok category.

Enjoyed reading the novel! The story was well written and full of suspense which makes you read till the very end. Would love to read another

3 for neutral, unfortunately, I could not get into this book on the occasions I tried. Will update my review if able to get into it and finish!

The Beach is a great read! Sarah Linley writes tight prose and weaves an intricate plot that you'll want to follow until the very end.

I’d like to thank Harper Impulse & Killer Reads and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Beach’ by Sarah Linley in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Holly and her friends Meg, Kristof and George go on holiday to Thailand to celebrate the end of university but something goes wrong and only three of them return home. Eight years later Holly is a schoolteacher, happily dating Tom whose five-year-old son Jack is in her class, but Holly’s being stalked and is receiving anonymous messages about her part in the accident in Thailand. Despite the friends’ agreement to keep it secret, someone wants answers and is putting Holly’s life at risk to order to discover the truth.

I found ‘The Beach’ a bit disappointing as we found out early on what had happened in Thailand and it wasn’t too far a stretch of the imagination to work out who the stalker was. Although the plot was interesting I couldn’t empathise with the characters who I didn’t like and thought they were shallow and uninteresting, and I couldn’t wait to reach the end of the book. Sarah Linley shows ability so I’ll look out for her next novel and hopefully she’ll pick a subject with a bit more intrigue and excitement.

I was excited for this book after reading the synopsis however this was a slow moving story for me. I just could not get into the book.
Thank you to the publisher, author and netgalley for a copy of this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Very clever book which I did enjoy. Kept me guessing right up to the end with a well written and tense plot. Thank you.

The protagonist was not a likeable person. For her I couldn't enjoy the book to the best of my ability. You figure out pretty early in the book also who is doing all this so that ruins it too.

I really enjoyed this one. I liked how the story was told from a past and present perspective and I also enjoyed how the stories interlinked. I think a few parts were a little bit exaggerated however all in all the story kept me gripped throughout and I didn’t expect the final twist. Definitely a recommendation from me.

Thank you Net Galley and One More Chapter for an early copy of The Beach. I’m not sure why I stayed with this book, the main character was ridiculous, I never liked her. The plot was interesting in waiting to find out what happened in Thailand but the current plot was a bit all over the place. I’m still not sure if I liked the book.

I am fascinated by stories of holidays or travels that go wrong so I thought this read would be right up my street. Unfortunately I found the book slightly boring. You find out who is stalking the main character pretty early on so there is no suspense there and a tiny non twist at the end. I also found some parts really quite far fetched . Disappointed.

What an outstanding debut!
This book is a great, fast paced, suspenseful read that kept me reading right through the night as I just could not put it down.
I cant wait to see what she comes up with next!
This years Gone Girl but better!

Although it started slowly, the author weaves enough suspense into the story to keep you reading on. The characters are believable and likeable for the most part. The suspense is maintained until the very end where the author inserts a deliciously wicked twist. A good debut offering and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Holly, Meg, Kristof, and George are the best of friends in college. A somewhat unlikely bunch that meet on the first day of school and stay together throughout college. After graduation they head to Thailand for a last hurrah before beginning the rest of their lives. That trip changes all of their lives forever.

Fast forward 5 years. The friends have scattered. Holly moves to a small town where she used to visit her grandmother in the summer. She has worked hard to restart her life after that faithful summer with her friends. She teaches primary school, has a good friend in one of the other teachers, and is secretly seeing Tom, one of her students fathers. Everything is going great, until she starts getting messages from an unknown number. A picture appears on her phone from that summer... a picture no one else even knew about. This is the first message of many that causes fear in Holly’s heart. As she begins to try and understand where these messages are coming from, dead bodies of people she knew begging to pile up and Holly fears for her life and the lives of those she cares about.

I did not see The beach as a book where I felt I knew or even cared about the characters. I wasn’t rooting for anyone, and I felt that was lacking. Despite that, the story did carry me, and I did want to know how it ended. There was a final twist, that I didn’t see coming, so the book will keep you guessing until the very last page.

People who enjoy a twisty, suspenseful mystery will love The Beach.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I finished this book in two days. That says a lot about how good it was! It had a bit of a slow start but once you get to know the characters of course it picks up. The story is told in alternating timelines of Holly’s college days with her three best friends/roommates and her present life as a schoolteacher carrying on a budding romance with one of her students fathers. In the past we learn that after college graduation the four friends go on a trip to Thailand that ends with one of them dead. In the present Holly begins receiving messages/photos from someone who seems to know what happened that night and wants revenge. But is the revenge justified? And who died and why? Even if we learn a lot of the mysteries rather quickly in this book, I love how the author saved the best little twist for the last chapter. So just when you think you know it all, she knocks you down with one last shocking surprise! I loved it!

Absolutely loved this thrilling novel! The writer has a beautiful and seamlessly flowing narrating style and I literally could jot put the book down.

Really enjoyed this once the story got going, it was really fast paced!, I was gripped & incredibly intrigued.

However I did find the ending somewhat lacking!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the E-arc copy of The Beach.
The book has a slow start, but picks up the pace a third of the way through. It has a solid mystery and the end was a strange one. I think it will find an audience with light mystery readers.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read The Beach by Sarah Linley!

I was initially not grabbed by this book. The beginning was very slow, but I really enjoyed the writing, so I kept reading and I am happy I did! The writing was very visual and descriptive, and you get the sense quickly that there are secrets still yet to be said. By the middle of the book, I was hooked!

Holly meets her soon to be best friends, Meg, Kristoff, and George, at the university, and they become inseparable. At the end of their college experience, they all plan a 3-month trip to South-East Asia, and unfortunately, it results in the death of George. Was it an accident or was it murder? That's what George's brother, Mark, wants to know and will stop at nothing to hear the truth. Holly wants nothing more than to live a normal life in her cottage, to enjoy her new romance with one of her students’ parents, Tom, and to forget about what happened that one night in Thailand. Mark wants revenge, he wants blood, and he wants a confession. Who will win?

Great book – Recommend!

A great mystery you cannot put down once you pick it up. If was fast paced and intense. The plot was great and the whole book was very enjoyable especially the flashbacks