Loved the synopsis of the book but took me awhile to really get into it. Was a bit slow in some parts. Enjoyed the back and forths in time, kept you in suspense. Nice little twist at the end!

The Beach is my first read of 2020 and it didn’t disappoint. I love thrillers based around travel and this fitted me perfectly, and reminded me of the master of this type of book - Emily Barr, and also CL Taylor.

The Beach is a well paced read switching between now (set in Yorkshire and the past (Leeds student life and backpacker Thailand), and kept me up reading long into the night. I did feel it was a little far fetched in places, in the way that people wouldn’t make some of the choices, but it didn’t detract from the story. A tale to remind us that people are often not as they seem.... A recommended holiday thriller for the summer.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The blurb for The Beach grabbed my attention, but unfortunately, the story within did not. The characters were uninteresting and the plot muddled around till I found myself skipping forward just to be done with the book. While I’m sure there are several that will enjoy, this reader could barely finish.

**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **

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.

It was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime,they had been planning it for months. Holly, Meg, George and Kristof, four friends who had recently graduated from University, spending their final summer together backpacking in Thailand. To begin with everything goes to plan but as time passes petty arguments and jealousy causes divides amongst the group. Then one night whilst they are at a beach party there is a tragic accident.

Four friends went on a backpacking holiday but only three returned home.

Five years later, Holly is now a schoolteacher and is secretly dating Tom, the father of Jack who is one of her young pupils. She hasn't spoken too or seen her friends from University since they returned home after swearing an oath that they would never tell anyone what really happened that night on the beach. For Inc in her life Holly is really happy and content and finally feels like she is no longing being overshadowed by her successful celebrity sister. But then she starts receiving text messages from someone who knows that they didn't tell the truth about what happened on the beach all those years ago.

As her tormentor's campaign intensifies, Holly struggles with her conscience,does she keep her word and stay quiet,knowing that she is putting the lives of herself and her loved ones at risk or does she tell the truth and lose everything that she has worked so hard to achieve including the man that she loves.

This gripping,captivating thriller is voiced entirely from Holly's perspective and has chapters that flip back and forth between the present day,the friends time at university and the fateful backpacking holiday. Interspersed throughout the story was chapters that were voiced by Holly's tormentor but who was it? Were their actions justified? How far would any of us be prepared to go to uncover the truth about the fate of a loved one? Should readers dislike that character or feel empathy for that person? I can say that I thought any of the four friends very likeable both in the past or the present day. They were all vivid individuals who had their own unique personalities but I couldn't say that any of them had any redeemable qualities and one of them definitely had some serious mental health issues. I loved Tom and his interactions with his young son Jack who was a really sweet little boy. I loved the descriptions of the idyllic small village in the Yorkshire Dales where Holly lived and the author's descriptions of the places that the friends visited during their backpacking holiday. There was just enough description to set the scene so you could picture the places in your head but not so much that you lost interest in the story.

I find it very hard to believe that this extremely well written thriller is a debut novel. I was totally captivated from the first page,right through to the final chilling sentence. Once I started reading this brilliant book,I couldn't put it down. I look forward to reading more books by this very talented author in the future. Worth far more than five stars, definitely one of my favourite reads of this year and very very highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I consider anew the self-assured prose and expertly constructed narrative of "The Beach", I am more than a little surprised that this is Sarah Linley's debut novel. What an absolute corker of a novel! Though there is the currently in vogue ' friends reunited' trope at the heart of the story, this is weaved into the narrative with the verve and style of a seasoned practitioner of this genre. Sarah Linley writes with an immediacy and dare I say urgency of emphasis, that managed to grip me from the first page of the novel. It is essentially a tale of a once in a lifetime holiday with friends to Thailand gone wrong and just when our main protagonists are assured that their secrets and lies are well buried.... well they discover they are not. Though there are a series of mini-reveals as the narrative progresses, Linley saves the best for last, with a denouement that is as shocking as it is surprising.
A highly enjoyable read - "The Beach" deserves to be a hit.

Summary:
The gripping debut thriller – you will not want to miss the book everyone will be talking about this year!It should have been paradise. But it turned into hell…
It was supposed to be the perfect trip. Four friends, fresh out of university, backpacking around Thailand. But among the sun, sea and sand, something went horribly wrong…
In the years since, Holly has tried hard to push memories of that terrible summer from her mind. Now a schoolteacher, she believes her life is finally coming together when she meets Tom and his adorable five-year-old son, Jack.
But then, Holly starts receiving anonymous messages, showing photos which Holly was sure she destroyed years ago. Someone clearly knows the truth about what really happened. The only question is, how far will they go to get revenge?

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!