#Heatstroke #NetGalley
This book is the next level of brilliance. I really couldn't put it down until i got my all answers. Rachel is Lily's teacher. Her daughter Mia is Lily's best friend. The girls are fifteen - almost women, still children. As Rachel becomes increasingly fixated on Lily's absence, she finds herself breaking fragile trusts and confronting impossible choices she never thought she'd face.
I adored the characters of Rachael and Lily. Rachel was so twisted character that she remained with me after finishing this book. Narration of the story is superb.
Thanks to NetGalley and Headline for an advance copy.

Heatstroke is a novel about a group of friends, a missing girl and the relationships between mother and daughter. It's not the story you think though as when a girl goes missing and the subject of a teacher-pupil relationship starts to develop, it turns into a very different novel indeed. Its got some very complex and damaged characters in it and the heat of the title does seem to warp everyone's minds and thoughts.
I just felt a bit empty at the end not really understanding what I had just read. I guess I thought it was going to clearer, more of a novel than a series of themes (although these are very well explored)
I think my reaction to this book was my fault as I expected more of a hot location, a summer scandal and a gripping, heat infused, sweaty thriller and I didn't feel I did.

Heatstroke is the assured debut novel of Hazel Barkworth.
Rachel is mother to 15 year-old Mia ,who has a small but tight-knit group of friends. She's also a teacher at the school that those same friends attend. One of them, Lily, goes missing and when the full story of her disappearance becomes known it causes all kinds of problems for Rachel.
The book explores several themes, the journey through adolescence, family relationships and loyalties,friendship,choices and decisions amongst others.
Rachel is a complex character ,prone to being judgemental then finding herself completely wrong. She's flawed yet seems to expect others to behave correctly and her crashing through her life , which is on the verge of spiralling out of control, like a bull in a china shop is as much the story as the disappearing girl.,
Amongst the thanks at the back of the book is one for Erin Kelly ,who endorses this book in turn, and if you're a fan of Ms Kelly's books you'll enjoy this one.. An involving and well-written book.

Thanks to Hazel Barkworth, Headline Books and Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Absolutely enjoyed this novel by an extremely talented writer. She weaves a twisted net and the reader immediately gets wrapped up in it. Can’t recommend it enough!

A moody, intoxicating, sexy and beautifully written book. I look forward to seeing more from Hazel Barkworth.

I've been watching people online received gorgeous proofs of this book all summer and was absolutely hooked by the synopsis, so it was with much delight to see that I was accepted to read a digital version via NetGalley!

I started reading this book just before a major work deadline and honestly, it was a mistake. I could not get Heatstroke out of my head. A lot of books are described as gripping, but this book truly was.

Intricately plotted, well-paced and full of speculation, Heatstroke is full of complex characters that are cleverly interwoven to drip feed twists and turns you genuinely don't see coming. Combined with the insufferable heat described throughout, this book is tense, claustrophobic and utterly fantastic. Highly recommend!

An impressionistic piece of writing that is full of atmosphere: heated, fevered, febrile - as a schoolgirl goes missing, and her best friend and best friend's mother find themselves caught in an emotional tempest of power, secrets and love.

Some of the writing feels laboured and try-hard ('an untouched rump of avocado', 'the roof of Rachel's mouth throbbed') and, fundamentally, this is a story that is currently being written to death in commercial literature with very little new being said.

The approach here of not so much developing a story as giving a series of word pictures of key moments makes this feel a little different - but it's also frustrating that people behave incomprehensibly, particularly Rachel as both mother and teacher. Worth a read: this still has a first-novel feel about it but hopefully Barkworth will mature.