Nearly put this down after just a few pages as a bit too American for me but carried on and totally changed my mind.
Totally different sort of read but well worth it and loved the ending.
Really glad a read this book.
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House.

Don't turn around is a book full of action and suspense,Cait is driving Rebecaa from Texas to New Mexico in the middle of the night ,they are strangers and we don't know why they are going there in such secrecy and fear.There is a killer out there who is out to get one of them and so starts a scary chase through the sesert .It was so well written I felt their fear and was scared for them .The story went backwards and forwards in time so that the full story is told..A very good read .Many thanks to the Publishers the Author and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review .

What do you think of when you read the words ‘action thriller’?

I won’t deny I think of danger, fast-paced chapters, and most of all, guys. Why does my brain connect action with men? We women are pretty productive ourselves, and we often are at the center of the action, of a hundred reasons. One of the worse reasons being danger. So why on earth do I end up with an old-fashioned way of thinking? Will we ever get rid of the frail woman losing her mind over the threats surrounding her?

If women like Jessica Barry keep writing pieces that give women their strength back, yes. There is hope.

Don’t Turn Around surprised me by the sheer force of its writing, the subjects tackled, its outstanding characters, and the impact it had on me. I love thrillers. I love it when I can slip into a life that faces danger, from the safety of my couch or bed. That word again. Danger.

Danger has a different definition depending on our identity. As early as childhood, girls are told to ‘be careful’, to ‘stay where we can see you’, to ‘not talk to strangers’. We grow up learning to be on our guard. Don’t trust strangers, don’t accept drinks from people. Don’t wear that. Don’t go out too late. The author took the universally accepted truth that women are not safe, and built a story that has the sweet taste of payback.

No, the characters you will meet in Don’t Turn Around are not big clichés of strong women who aren’t afraid of nothing. They are women like you and me, caught in the headlights of a big truck called danger, but they decide to fight back.

Cait and Rebecca could not be more different. Yet both have secrets that could put them in… well, yes, danger.

The alternating chapters only offer a drip-feeding of information, giving more strength to the threats you feel hovering over. Instead of a feeling of freedom and excitement at driving the roads of America, I became more claustrophobic in this car as the miles rolled by. Why would two women who have never seen each other before met at midnight, one in her car, waiting for the other, before driving off to a destination the reader is first not privy to? The opening sets the tone and gets the reader reeled in instantly. There is no room for hesitation. Once you are in, you are in.

Although I had no real clue what Rebecca was fleeing from, I did my best to guess and the usual suspects crept in. An abusive husband? But it soon became clear there was more at stake. At first, I thought Rebecca was too cold and distant that I would not be able to connect to her.

On the contrary, it only took me a few lines to warm up to Cait, and her Jeep. She seemed to know what she was doing, despite her sense of wariness. Cait’s job was to pick up women and drive them to safety. Young and ready to help, I simply thought her heart was in the right place and she was much less complicated that Rebecca. How naïve of me! Not to say women are complicated, or at least more complicated than men. This is another cliché we need to get rid of. Men are just as complicated, they just show it in a different way.

Back to our women. As the speedometer’s needle pointed towards higher numbers, my curiosity grew. Jessica Barry kept me in the dark, just as she did her characters, long enough to see their life threatened by a mysterious truck. Immediately, it reminded me of all the times I’ve driven on my own, double-checking my rear-view mirror. Yes, I am paranoid. Aren’t we raised to be this way, at different scales? We’re touching the heart of the book. What makes Don’t Turn Around‘s heart beat is not the fear, but the women’s refusal to give in to it.

Once the hunt is on, it is hard to take a break! I just couldn’t tear my eyes off the pages. Who was the truck driver? Why was he following them? Well, following is an easy way to say he was out to get them! Two women, in the deserted roads of Texas, chased by a big shadow. If the usual answers to my questions popped into my head, the author made sure I was never ever sure of anything. Was Rebecca the target? Or had Cait been hiding something? I could feel the adrenaline run through my veins as if I were sitting in the car too. Not because I am a woman and I know what it feels like to be in a position where you’re the vulnerable one, but because the writing makes it impossible not to care, not to be entranced by the journey and its bumps in the road.

You want action? Grab Don’t Turn Around. You want action with a touch of something more? A goal, an eye-opening story that is supposed to make you feel outraged at the unfairness of life and the dead ends we hit? You’ve got your next read.

Both women have been doing things that have led them to this dangerous night, and now it’s time to face the monsters. Can you trust the woman sitting next to you with your life? Cait and Rebecca’s relationship must be one of my favorites. From strangers to each other’s last hope, they go through their personal nightmares bloodied hand in bloodied hand. When the whole world could be your enemy, it’s the only way to go. Fight the creepiness! Gosh, every page almost felt like fire under my fingers. The creepy vibe is strong. I had to reason myself not to glance behind my back, knowing all I’d find would be my wall! I seriously recommend this book if you need a boost of action!

I am in awe of Jessica Barry’s way to include very sensitive and controversial matters in her plot. Things happen every day that put women in danger, feeling cornered by ideas that need to be fought. I am glad I read Don’t Turn Around as it acted as a strong reminder we can’t let our guard down.

Don’t Turn Around is an exceptional action thriller with a top-notch psychological side. Everything in this book is ready to shake you, in every way. I couldn’t get enough of it, and I was sad to say goodbye to Cait and Rebecca. I was left on my butt, with a lot to think about, and the need to rest after so many turns. I will not use the word ‘twists’ here as I never felt Jessica Barry needed to twist her storyline to make things happen. They did because of her excellent flair at creating scenes, plausible and so real they smoothly took me from one page to another. No big shocking twists needed when you can breathe life into paper.

I have been lucky to find several five-star reads this year, but this book is very special to me. Is it its American tone? Is it the characters? Is it the plot? It’s everything. So, each of the stars I am giving Don’t Turn Around is special, and counts for double! The novel and the author go straight on my list of favorites.

What a fast paced novel this was! The story starts with Cait Monaghan collecting Rebecca McRae from her home at midnight to make a pre-arranged journey which becomes fraught with danger. Alongside the journey and what led each of the two women to make this trip is a moral dilemma which causes deep and strong feelings on both sides of the argument. Food for thought!
Many thanks to Netgalley/Jessica Barry/Random House UK for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Our protagonist a loser in the journey of life. A dead end job, a victim lost in the banality of her daily existence. Our victim, married to a handsome , wealthy and successful politician who would willingly give it all up to experience a successful pregnancy and healthy baby. What circumstances could possibly bring these women together in a life and death chase from an unknown assailant intent on murder.Mistrust, fear and uncertainty must be discarded to be replaced by loyalty and trust if our two vulnerable women are to survive. The author tackles difficult subjects related to a woman’s rights in this me too era. The right to object to violent sex. and expose the perpetrator without fear of reprisals. The right to chose abortion when a viable pregnancy is impossible. The ability to live a life free of fear and intimidation. Two women taking upon themselves a life changing decision which will alter their lives forever. Many thanks to publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

Don't Turn Around by Jessica Barry is an engaging, suspenseful thriller that hooks the readers right from the beginning! It encompasses several important themes that's revealed layer by layer which is masterfully done.

https://readerdad.co.uk/2020/07/30/dont-turn-around-by-jessica-barry/

Cait volunteers for an organisation that helps women when they are most in need. Tonight, Cait’s job is to collect Rebecca from her fancy home in Lubbock, Texas and drive her the 300 miles through the night to Albuquerque, New Mexico, then bring her home safely again. They don’t get very far before it becomes clear that someone is following them, someone who isn’t above trying to run them off the road. Through a series of flashbacks we catch glimpses into the lives of both these women, and the reasons why someone might want them dead. But as the ice breaks inside the Jeep, Cait and Rebecca find that they have more in common than they might have thought, and an uneasy friendship begins to form, a friendship that will be tested to its very limits before the night is through.

Don’t Turn Around is Jessica Barry’s second novel, and it grabs the reader by the throat from the opening page and doesn’t let go until we reach the end, breathless and wishing only for more. Having whizzed through this excellent thriller in a matter of hours, I’m glad to discover that there’s another book out there that I can inhale at some point in the near future.

Barry’s narrative centres around two very different women who find themselves in a car together, in the middle of the night, on an empty road between two of America’s lesser-celebrated cities. On the one hand we have Cait, a bartender in the type of establishment that requires its bar staff to wear Stetsons and Daisy Dukes, a wannabe writer who has written one article that went viral and made her the target of a campaign of hate orchestrated by the type of men who like to tell the internet just why women are wrong. On the other, we have Rebecca, wife of the man who might just be Texas’ next senator, a woman on a mission that is clearly tearing her apart.

The narrative jumps quickly, in a series of chapters no more than a handful of pages long, between the points of view of the two women, and between the now – the car journey – and the then – the recent events that have shaped these women and ultimately led to them being in a car together. It’s obvious from early on just what awaits Rebecca at the end of this journey, but what remains unclear as the tension builds is just who is chasing them, and are they being chased because Rebecca is in the car? Or because Cait is?

Don’t Turn Around is a masterclass in tension and reader manipulation. We’re putty in Barry’s hands from the moment we start reading, and we’re part of the journey for the long haul, as the relationship between these women first thaws, then builds into something that we know will make them inseparable, not to mention an unbeatable team. Barry keeps us in suspense, only feeding us the information we need, as we need it. A number of red herrings are thrown into the mix to keep us on our toes, yet they all seem to tie neatly together in the end, so that not one word is out of place, not one character more or less than there needs to be in order to tell this excellent story.

In this era of #MeToo Barry uses Don’t Turn Around to highlight, and to examine, some of the issues that face American women – and, indeed, women around the world – in what is still very much a male-orientated society, from the reaction to Cait’s article to the many obstacles faced by women – particularly in southern states – who have decided to have an abortion.

It’s tough not to make comparisons to Spielberg’s Duel (nor to Richard Matheson’s original story), and Barry manages to capture the tension we feel as we watch that classic and put it on the page. But where Duel is little more than a game of cat and mouse, Don’t Turn Around is a much more cleverly plotted thriller that keeps us guessing til the very last page. I can’t believe I missed Jessica Barry’s first book. Don’t make that mistake: make sure Don’t Turn Around is on your must-read list for the rest of the summer. You can thank me later.

I enjoyed this book, although it was a bit nail biting at times. It was well written and I enjoyed the “desert” road trip. Something us Brits can only imagine. It must be a scary place to be driving through alone The story was an unusual one, which keeps the reader guessing the plot for some time.
A very good pacy read and I would recommend.

Cait has got a job, she just has to pick up Rebecca and take her to another state before returning her when the job is done. It should be simple but it soon becomes obvious it's anything but. They find themselves being tailed but the question is who are they after and can they escape?

Wow what a read this was. It wasnt quite what I thought it would be but I still found the story fascinating. It deals with some really tough themes like abortion. The plot is fast paced and you can feel the tension building throughout until the two final showdowns. Both different but equally powerful. The ending was perfect for the story and finished it just right. The characters are not instantly likeable but you warm to them as you learn their stories. For me Rebecca stole the book as she goes through so much but comes out stronger. A brilliant thriller.

3.5-4*
We have two women travelling out of state together – at first we don’t know why. Cait is driving and picks Rebecca up one evening but they are strangers. As we are taken with them on their journey and threw flashbacks we learn about both women. They each have a story. They both have reasons to ‘get out of town’ fast which become even more apparent when they realise they are being followed. Followed by someone who is determined to stop them from going any further. But which of them has attracted such bad attention?

I’m going to throw it out there at the start I found the back and forth in the book a bit challenging at first, which is unusual for me, even though it is clearly marked with headings of who was speaking, when and where the action was taking place. Having said that this is an interesting and gripping story so it didn’t stop me from reading on and finishing the book.
The action certainly moves up a few gears as the women try and outrun whoever it is.

This book takes on some difficult subjects and reveals the stories using an interesting setting and in a situation which has Cait and Rebecca journeying forward whilst having to look backward, both literally and in their memories, to try and see which of them is being hunted down.

They look at what they have done and are doing and as they do so it shows that there are two sides and, perhaps, more to a situation. Things are not always simple or what they appear to be. On top of which it isn’t just what men have done, or wanted or expected but also that women have the ability to make bad moves and do wrong things. That not all men are bad but some are. That men have feelings but can’t all express them well or they come across badly, overbearing and expecting to have their way.

Yet – and isn’t this the thing – the women talk it out, admit any wrongdoing and work things out. They understand things aren’t always just one way or another. There are so many things that need to be taken into consideration but in the end the actions of men mean that women must trust one another, must be truthful with each other and must look after each other.

And importantly we need to learn that it is never right to impose ourselves upon, take advantage of, harm, belittle or disparage another person regardless of, or indeed, because of their gender, colour, race, orientation, age, ability, capability or status.

There is certainly a strong message in this book. One that is important to tell but it is wrapped up in a gripping and well told story. A story well worth reading.

I have previously read and reviewed Freefall* Jessica Barry’s debut novel.

Thanks
Thanks to Kate at VINTAGE, Penguin Random House UK, for the invite to read Don’t Turn Around and an eCopy via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own, I have not received any payment for this review.

Don’t Turn Around was intriguing, fast paced thriller that revolved around Cait and Rebecca’s 322 miles journey from Lubbock to Albuquerque. It was about social media abuse and trolling, suffocating relationship, abortions and women’s feeling about, patriarchy and people’s judgement.

Don’t Turn Around was written in third person narrative from Cait and Rebecca’s alternative POV with past and present and chapters counting down the miles from Lubbock to Albuquerque. Writing was compelling, tense, and atmospheric with dangers on the road and past that was going to catch up these women.

Plot was most interesting. I haven’t read a thriller that took place on road and in car. It started with Cait picking up Rebecca from her house in the middle of night who was supposed to take her to Albuquerque at the centre of Sisters of Service. At first I wasn’t sure what this service was about and why they took so much precaution and swore the confidentiality but as the book progress and we read the past stories of characters we know what was going on.

First few chapters were all about character building and telling readers what was going on in their life, what happened to them in past and how they came to be in present situation. We don’t see much conversation between characters until the truck hit their jeep and tried to take them off the road. After that hit things started to reveal one by one, we see what Cait was hiding and why Rebecca needed to take Sister of Service’s help.

I was curious to find out who was driving the truck. There were intermittent chapters from other characters of the book created tension and made me think who from these characters was after these women. Past chapters gave the clear idea on why and yet there were enough surprises that I couldn’t guess.

Characters and mystery were intriguing. Both Cait and Rebecca were flawed, scared with what was happening to them and yet they were stronger than they thought. I felt for Cait who was victim of abuse. She wrote an article about it that took her life downhill. I did feel she was making mistake as soon as she went after that musician. She was being honest in article, admitted she went willingly and wrote how she felt violated and yet people were trolling her telling she deserved it and should die! I was shocked at people’s reaction to it. Right or wrong nobody deserve this. The level of threat scared me and made me anxious for Cait and yet she was brave to carry on with her life until everything got worst. I admired her for being conscientious even though she felt rage and vengeance and doing right thing and sticking with Rebecca after knowing her story. She kept feeling guilty for writing that article but it’s those people trolling her should feel guilty.

Rebecca was most relatable character and I really felt bad for her. She was nice and lovely wife who loved her job as teacher in school, her hometown California and her father but she left it all for her single-minded husband, Patrick, who wanted to make career in politics from his hometown Texas. Once they moved there and things started to go left for Rebecca. It was clear she wasn’t happy with this change in life and in Patrick and I was surprised that idiot husband ignored that. Life of politician’s wife was not for her and I felt bad how both Patrick and his manager belittle her and made her feel bad for not doing it right. I wanted to shake her tell her just leave him, you don’t have to do this for him. And then there were many miscarriages and present condition. She was timid, too yielding for my liking. She was sensitive with world’s reality and death of her parents and yet it was amazing to see how a child can make a woman strong beyond her limits. I loved her for sticking with Cait and helping her even after knowing her secret and I admired her for what she did in climax and at the end.

Men in this book were written to hate. Every single men this book thought what they do and think is above everyone, especially women. I hated Ken for passing judgement on what Cait did and about women going to abortion clinic. Mike for driving his anger of injustice and losing love to totally wrong direction, Patrick for thinking he had right over deciding what Rebecca should do about her body and over baby, and that bastard manager who thought he was most clever of all. I hated those pro-life protestors who didn’t even want to see in what condition women went to abortion centre, what it felt to be violated, how it is for women to carry a child of abuse or even worst a child that is going die or born with condition that make child and mother suffer for whole life. It was outrageous to read their thoughts.

Mystery was cleverly written. There were lots of red herrings. It turned out different than what I expected but in good way. I couldn’t guess who was driving the truck until climax. And goodness that villain was clearly maniac and delusional. Last 25% of the book was full of action and chase. I enjoyed reading this adrenaline inducing part. When they came out of it there was another shock. I knew Rebecca’s husband planned something and other men in book but what happened was unexpected. End was perfect.

Why 4 Stars-

My only complaint is he way women fought even after accident was a bit implausible. I mean you can’t just get up and drive after you are beaten badly in such condition.

Overall, Don’t Turn Around was riveting and fast paced thrill ride with amazing characters and thought-provoking theme. I definitely recommend this.

Thank you to Jasmine Marsh at Vintage books for my invitation to the blog tour and for my copy of the book via Net Galley.

The story begins with Cait waiting outside a house for someone. She has been given a time and she is t only to wait 20 minutes before leaving. Rebecca gets into the car and the start their journey. You know there is peril and that Rebecca is possibly running away. The story then goes back to the lives of both Cait and Rebecca before this evening, leading up to this night.

Cait has had an horrible encounter with a famous singer who she has a one night stand with and Rebecca is the dutiful wife of a senator. The story is cleverly crafted to lead you to conclusions about what Rebecca’s story is and when you discover about the organisation that Cait works for things become even more confusing.

They nearly get run off the road twice and Cait is breaking all the rules to help Rebecca. Things take an even more sinister turn and the book has a really strong theme of women helping each other, against the odds.

This book is gripping without a doubt but I personally found it difficult to read in places due to some of the subject matter. Even though this was the case I still needed to read to the end and there are even more surprises in store for them both.

It is a very topical subject matter and quite shocking but I don’t want to give any spoilers as it would ruin the suspense and this book has tons of that. A great super fast paced thriller with a shocking finale.

Cait works for the Sisters of Mercy. They are an organisation that help women who are in difficult situations. Her new task is to drive to New Mexico to help a woman who is in a difficult situation. But a truck is following Cait and Rebecca. It's quickly catching up with them, trying to drive them off the road. Rebecca is running from her powerful husband who is a politician. Both women have more in common than they think. They are both keeping secrets.

The story covers some sensitive topics: rape, abortion and murder. The story slowly unfolds as we find out more about the women's lives. The timeline flips back and forth from the past to the present day. It's told from Cait and Rebecca's perspectives. I couldn't read the book quick enough. My heart was beating out my chest during the car chase. This is a well written and twist filled read. A thought provoking read.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Random House UK, Vintage Publishing for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Buckle up because Don't Turn Around, Jessica Barry's follow-up to her successful debut thriller Freefall, is one wild ride. From the tense opening, in which a battered jeep collects a women from an affluent neighbourhood in the dead of night, right up to the nail-biting climax, this is a novel that keeps the tension high and those pages turning!

Cait and Rebecca have never met and, in many ways, their situations couldn't be more differnet. Aspiring journalist Cait is stuck working in a sleazy bar, whilst Rebecca is the wife of a rising political star. But the two women have more in common than first meets the eye. Both of them are victims of patriarchal power, judged for having dared to defy powerful and popular men. Both of them are running. And both of them are in terrible danger on the road. 

I don't want to say too much more about the plot for fear of spoilers but, once they pick up a tail on the lonely road, the two women have to learn to overcome societal judgement, trust each other, and work together in order to survive. 

For me, the developing bond between Rebecca and Cait is the high point of Don't Turn Around. As the novel progresses, you're given flashbacks that show how these two very different women ended up going on a 322 mile journey together - and how both of them have fallen foul of conventional society. Both women are really well developed as characters  and I shared in their anger, their despair, and their determination, as well as in their doubts, fears and shame. 

Unfortunately I found the supporting characters, the most significant of whom are the respective men in Cait and Rebecca's, less convincing. Given that the plot revolves around the abuse of patriarchal power over women, I wasn't expecting to find many likeable guys in Don't Turn Around but it was still somewhat disappointing to find quite so many unequivocal b*stards. If the aim was to make me detest these men, then Barry has certainly succeeded - there really isn't one redeeming feature amongst the lot of them - but they were so one-dimensional, that they felt like a cardboard line-up of 'Me Too' villains.

This is doubly disappointing given how fantastically well-rounded and nuanced Cait and Rebecca are as leads, and it made the hugely important central messaging surrounding Me Too - and the way in which the movement has empowered many women to speak about about oppression - feel somewhat heavy-handed in its delivery. 

With that one exception though, I found Don't Turn Around to be a nail-biting thriller with some fantastic set-pieces that are neatly contasted with sections of slow-burning build-up and tension. Short chapters, alternating perspectives, and flashbacks keep the pace high throughout and I raced through the novel in a matter of days, making this the perfect accompaniment for thriller fans going on vacation (or taking a staycation) this summer.

This book sadly did not deliver on the premise. Very slow burner. Just not a gripping thriller. Not for me I did not take to it at all and a struggle to get to the end. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

Don't Turn Around is a fast paced, roller coaster of a novel. An American politicians wife races to cross state lines for an urgent appointment, aided by a feisty female driver. A great read, two interesting female protagonists and topical story. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

Plot

322 miles of road. 6 hours. 2 strangers. 1 killer. Too many secrets.

Midnight. Cait Monaghan and Rebecca McRae are on a desolate road that slices through the New Mexican desert. They've never met before tonight. Both have secrets to protect. Both of their lives are in danger.

When a truck pulls up fast behind them, they assume it's punk teenagers or run-of-the-mill road rage, but it soon becomes clear that whoever is driving the truck is hunting them for sport—and they are out to draw blood.

As the miles unspool and the dangers mount, the pasts they've worked so hard to keep buried have come back to haunt them. Someone wants one of them dead. But which one? And given the lives the two women have been leading, that someone could be almost anyone.

If Cait and Rebecca are going to survive, they'll have to learn to trust one another—and themselves. But trust is a costly business, and they’ve both paid the price before. . . .


Review

This book has drawn every single ounce of energy I had as I was reading it.

It is extremely well written and the plot is engaging. Cait and Rebecca are not perfect, they know it and the road trip has a sinister Thelma and Louise theme. Patrick is basically a puppet at the hands of his campaign manager who is ruthless in getting what he wants and this shows how easily something can be corrupted.

There are many red herrings thrown in along the way as and soon as you think it’s over it starts all over again.

The one thing I will say is that the themes in this book are not easy. The author dies not shy away from controversial topics such as religion, the Me-Too Movement pro-choice, ruthless politics etc. It’s not an easy read and the fact that I do feel drained afterwards. If you find any of these subjects triggering then maybe this one isn’t for you.

However if you can get through it then this is a very good read.

Rating

4 stars

Recommend

Yes but with the trigger warnings

This book was very kindly gifted as part of a blog tour by the publisher. All opinions are me own

A compelling thriller that perfectly fits the cliché of the book you can’t put down. The pace is as frantic as the desperate journey that Rebecca is taking with Cait. Someone is chasing them but whose secret is the cause and what will the effect be? However, the less you know about their initial motivations, the more rewarding the overall experience. Turn that page and take the journey with them into the unknown.

I was pleased that the novel took the reader into a territory that could spark a wider discussion so it wasn’t just another cat & mouse tale with women in peril. It has much more substance to it then you would expect. Rebecca and Cait draw you in to their secrets in such an engrossing & cinematic way. It was extremely striking and something that I think will captivate all who pick up this book. This is the way storytelling should be!

I really enjoyed this story. Read from two different perspectives. Lots of content and shows you should never assume anything about anyone. Would recommend.

Don't Turn Around to sum it in one word? WOW! This book is one you will not put down till you have finished, it's one you will pass on to your friends, co-workers and book club. It is that book you will read, and not forget.