What a fabulous, edge of your seat, thriller this is.

Cait is a bartender who wrote a damning internet article about a frightening one night stand and who now may be paying for it.
Rebecca is a client, picked up by Cait who is scared and running away from something.
With a powerful husband who doesn’t know her plan, could he possibly be behind the monster, stalking them across country?

What follows is a brilliantly written thriller as the 2 women, thrown together, are stalked as they drive. It’s an amazing tale of female solidarity, courage and love, but, I’m loathe to put it in a box and am confident that any gender, age or ethnicity will enjoy this fabulous thriller.

I really wasn’t sure about the storyline, but, jeepers, I’m so glad I was fortunate enough to preview this excellent read. I read in one sitting which is soooo unusual.

Buy it!

It’s an amazingly well told thriller that has the thread of female experience, love and friendship woven throughout.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Random House UK, Vintage Publishing for the opportunity to preview.

A very powerful book on an emotive topic. This story offers you such so much in reading it and is almost impossible to put down.

Absolutely loved this book!!! Would wholeheartedly recommend to all of my friends, and I cannot wait to read more from this author.

This had me gripped almost from the off. The sense of the size of.the landscape and the danger the women were in at times was literally the stuff of nightmares. Unsettling and rather well written.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC.
Started well but then gradually became more and more unrealistic as the book progressed. Barmaid turned superhero Cait was not particularly endearing nor was Rebecca and the male characters were positively loathsome. The book is told by several points of view (not a problem) but the timeline jumps around all over the place. A couple of pages in one place, then shift to the past for a couple of pages then a bit further forward for a few pages then somewhere else. I found that extremely distracting and I lost the thread of what I was reading on several occasions and had to go back and work out where I supposed to be. This made the book more hard going than it needed to have been
There were quite a few words I didn't understand and the highlight and explain function on the Kindle sadly didn't enlighten me. I think it would be very useful if this could be done as again it detracts unnecessarily from the book. Apropos of this I would suggest replacing the word "gestation" with the word "incubation" in reference to disease process. Gestation applies to pregnancy, incubation to the period of time between which one becomes exposed to a pathogen and develops symptoms. Of course with chlamydia the disease can be asymptomatic.
The Handmaid's Tale bit towards the end has been better done by Margaret Attwood.
Not an author I would rush to again-shame

A lot of people are going to wonder what they would do in this situation when reading this book. Two strangers, both women, are in a car on their way from Texas to New Mexico. They talk about their past but hide so much more. They are in a car with no one else around. Until there is someone else...on the side of the road....and they seem to want company....

I loved the idea of a roadtrip with a very serious purpose in this book. Gripping and fascinating in equal measure. The timeline jumped around a little too much for my liking but I guess a linear novel might have sounded flat. There were a few too many POVs for me though and flashbacks but you can all appreciate this at the end when the story comes full circle.

A thelma and louise kind of novel with a sting in its tail.

3.5 stars.
Blimey this was a ride and a half all the way through... It's also a bit confusing at times as to where we were going - from Texas to New Mexico apparently - but not initially evident why and the circumstances around exactly why the two female MCs are in a car together... And then when you know, it's not the whole picture. Not by a long shot!
Cait is driving Rebecca. Both have secrets. Both are running away. Both are scared of men who might be on their trail. And then there's a car on their tail... But who is it coming for and why?
And that's all I'm giving away. It's all a bit convoluted and interconnected and the bones of the tale are mostly told in flashback so to try and say anything else might include spoilers and that's a no from me on that front
Action is injected into quieter moments perfectly to maintain a high level of suspense throughout, with enough information held back to intrigue and make me keep reading without being too frustrating. Yes, I had to hold onto a couple of things that didn't quite gel along the way but I was happy to do that and was rewarded for my tenacity by swift resolution which gave me another boost to carry on.
But... I didn't really like the main characters. Oh I sympathised with them of course, who wouldn't but, for some reason, I didn't fully engage with either of them. I found them to be a tad naive and often a bit stupid but I guess their actions were needed to progress the book so it wasn't all bad.
All that said though I whizzed through it quite quickly as it did hold my attention mostly throughout and it did tie up all in the end and left me satisfied.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

When I first heard about Don’t Turn Around I wanted to read it because it was by Jessica Barry and I loved her previous book Freefall (since renamed as Look For Me). Then I read the blurb and wanted to read it just because it sounded good.

Cait and Rebecca are driving across America. Cait’s job is to transport women to safety and she’s learnt not to ask questions.

Rebecca doesn’t seem like the type of person Cait would normally be asked to transport but she knows there must be a reason behind her journey.

Cait knows what it is like to have secrets, to feel your life is at risk.

Now someone is following them, watching their every move. Which woman has a secret worth killing for?

Don’t Turn Around could be described as edge of your seat from the get-go.

“The smell hits her first: burnt rubber and gasoline. Then the pain comes. The roar of blood in her ears, the gurgled struggle of her breath. She squints out of the splintered windshield. For a split second, she can’t remember where she is. When she does, fear rushes over her…

And then she hears it: a long shivering scrape of metal against metal.

She sees a face at the window.

It’s him.

He’s outside and he’s trying to get in.”

Cait and Rebecca couldn’t be more different and originally, they rub each other up the wrong way. Rebecca is a politician’s wife originally from the Bay Area and Cait, originally from Waco, is a bar tender in a seedy bar.

Barry uses flashbacks effectively throughout the novel to explain how both characters came to be on this journey.

I found this backstory just as intriguing as the mystery of who was following them and trying to run them off the road.

Barry’s writing style made me feel as though I was in the jeep with them being followed by someone whose sole wish was to run me off the road.

“Cait sensed it before it happened, something tingling at the back of her neck. The sound hit her next. It was nothing at first, the buzz of an insect above the hum of the engine, but it grew louder, quickly, and just like that a pair of headlights was blinding in her rearview mirror. The truck was charging up the road towards them, fast. Too fast. The buzz became a roar.”

I have watched a lot of films set on desolate roads somewhere in America, a lot of thrillers, and I wondered if this would make me feel like I had heard it all before. However, I didn’t see any of the twists coming.

Don’t Turn Around is worth picking up.

Now this was an intriguing read, you are reeled in straight away when the moment Cait is waiting outside Rebecca’s house to collect her and drive her across state to New Mexico…. The why takes a while to reveal but we do know that Cait works for the Sisters of Mercy, a non profit charity who offer safe passage to a clinic for women who find themselves in difficult positions. However, they are being followed by a truck who tries to run them off the road, who is the intended victim and why, Cait or Rebecca, what secrets do one or each of them hold that could put their lives in danger.

This story is told in multiple POVs but easy to follow (sometimes this can get confusing but not in this case), can Cait & Rebecca make it to New Mexico in time for the appointment and unharmed? Don’t Turn Around is a perfect title for this book….

Two strangers, Cait and Rebecca, are driving across America. Cait’s job is to transport women to safety. Out of respect, she never asks any questions. Like most of the women, Rebecca is trying to escape something.

But what if Rebecca’s secrets put them both in danger? There’s a reason Cait chooses to keep on the road, helping strangers. She has a past of her own, and knows what it’s like to be followed. And there is someone right behind them, watching their every move...

What a road trip! I was immediately attracted to this book when I read the premise and I totally enjoyed it. I couldn't put it down and this was a quick read for me.

This is amazingly written book that covers almost all the problems that women face through the lives of the two main characters, Cait and Rebecca. Some parts of the book are a bit unbelievable. But what I loved the most in this book is the way the two women formed a bond despite not having anything in common and how they worked as a team to encounter the dangers they faced in their trip.

Even though it is not a usual faced paced thriller, it is still enjoyable and does have a bit of suspense!

Thank You to NetGalley and Random House UK, Vintage Publishing for this ARC!!

Don't Turn Around is about a road trip like no other...

Wow! I loved this book, it was so intense! Maybe I am biased though because I have been in the places described in the book, and the descriptions were so accurate I could imagine myself being back there. It's always nice when an author manages to capture the feeling of a place.

It drives me crazy that I can't really explain much more about this book without spoiling it. Think Steven Spielberg's Duel meets Thelma & Louise meets Gossip Girl and then add even more intensity and suspense!

A solid 5 star read.

Disclosure: I would like to thank the publisher for my free advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

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Unfortunately, this one is a classic case of falling victim to a synopsis that oversells. I went into this expecting a really strong and unique thriller, and instead the book itself was more of a female led 'drama'. I expected a thrill a minute road tripe full of danger and excitement, but the reality is quite a long and dull road trip with little else happening beyond two women talking.

Sadly, for me this one was a miss. It lacked the sinister atmosphere the synopsis hinted at, and instead was a rather dull affair that lacked the intensity needed to keep you invested in a novel that is largely two people in a car.

Disclaimer - I was provided with an advance reading copy by NetGalley. This has not affected my review in any way, and all opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Vintage for the arc of Don't Turn Around by Jessica Barry.

Thank you for such a hooking and chilling book Jessica Barry!

This follows a woman who works for the Sister's Of Mercy, her name is Cait. The Sister's Of Mercy are an organisation in which help women who need help in very difficult situations. Cait was given a task by the sisters which was to drive to New Mexico which is over 322 miles, to a woman in a difficult situation and needs help.

As she starts to go she notices a truck/lorry is following her and not that far behind her. So now Cait has her own situation she definitely thinks to herself that whomever it is following her is out to harm her/get her. As the story ends up progressing, You end up learning more about the two women and what they have both been through.This is a beautifully written story and covers sensitive topics like rape, murder and abortion and the hold that men have over women, their wives etc..

I love how it deals with sensitive topics in the right way, this had me engulfed and I couldn't put it down, this was a quick read for me within 1 day. Well done Jessica Barry.

Definitely Recommend
5 Stars⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This wasn't an easy book to get into, we are only given scant bits of information, which I accept, but the pace was rather slow, I felt as though I was on that long drive from one US state to another. Once the story line gets going we find out a lot more about the central characters and from then on it's a roller coaster ride. Still not quite my cup of tea but a good read nevertheless.

This was a brilliant twisty hold your breath thriller which kept you on the edge of your seat until the very last page. Really enjoyed this book!

Cait and Rebecca set off on an important car journey that has a deadline. Will they get to their destination in time and without being harmed. This book is brilliant. The story is so intertwined with danger, mystery and is a thriller I highly recommend. .
Without giving away the plot if you like an exciting read that has double bluffs galore then read Don't Turn Around, I loved it. A great read 10/10

This was another book that I could have read in one sitting had I started it earlier in the evening. As it was I woke up early this morning to finish it. This was a quick read, full of action and suspense that it very hard to put down, I loved Freefall and was excited to read Don’t Turn Around. It did not disappoint.

Without giving too much away, it is the story of 2 strangers on a journey from Texas to New Mexico. Cait is the driver, working for a women’s organisation that helps get women to safety, no questions asked. Bec is the wife of a politician desperate to cross state lines for an appointment. It soon becomes clear that both women have their secrets and they are being followed. Will they make it to New Mexico in one piece?

Thanks to Random House UK, Vintage Publishing and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book to read

A story full of suspense and a plot which is really current. Rebecca and Cait’s story is well written and a compelling read. Some of it is a bit unbelievable but overall it is a good and in places heartbreaking read.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Cait wants to be a writer but after an article she wrote she has real fears for her safety. She also helps women who need to make journeys to safety when needing medical help. Cait picks up Rebecca, a politician’s wife to drive her out of State for an abortion. This journey is nothing like any undertaken before. They are both in serious danger as they drive at night through the desert. Will they be ok? Will the journey have the intended results?
Fast paced and very enjoyable. Totally gripped but leave you to read to find out what happens!

I was so excited when I saw Jessica Barry had a new book coming out! After reading her debut Freefall I quickly fell in love with her way of storytelling so I had to request this one from NetGalley! While I absolutely hate to give a bad review, this book just didn't resonate with me at all. It was told in multiple viewpoints of characters that didn't seem to be the main characters / that important to the main storyline (which only confused things) and it had way too much passive voice for my liking. I am really disappointed because I really enjoyed Barry's debut, Freefall, and had high hopes for this one too. At around 75% it became unrealistic and just a little 'I have no idea why this is happening or what the point of all of this is' so I skimmed my way through to the end. Honestly, this wouldn't be my first recommendation to someone looking for a gripping thriller but I completely understand that is just my opinion.