I wanted to enjoy this more than I did.

It started off quite strong. I was immediately pulled in to Keely's story, intrigued by her backstory and the mystery unfolding around her.
However, once the mystery was revealed, it lost all momentum. The characters of Reece and Ms Procter felt one-dimensional and unrealistic. The ending itself also felt a bit too easily wrapped up.

It was a good concept but the execution could have been better for me.

This was an enjoyable mystery about a girl going on a school camping trip. She's obviously had some sort of trauma and moved to try to get on with her life, but before long it's coming back to haunt her. The reader finds out about what happened to her as the story progresses and is told in flashback form. It's worked in pretty well as things start to go from bad to worse as the trip progresses.
It would be fun to see as a movie as it had a beautifully visual setting in rural Wales, but the story itself was kind of predictable. It was a quick fast paced and enjoyable book that was read in an afternoon.

I started this book, really enjoying it. However I am about 70% through and finding it very drawn out now and am struggling to finish the book. I will read it to the end, but wanted to give a review so far as it may take a while to complete it.

Another gripping and fast-paced read I was hooked from start to finish highly recommend this one I just could not put this one down. I can’t wait to see what else she brings out five stars from me.

An intriguing and gripping story, I loved the characters and can't wait to read more by this author.

3/5 stars

Something about surviving a murderous school trip bonded people for life.

Well this was a nice read! Didn’t know what to expect but I quite liked the pace and atmosphere of You Wouldn’t Catch Me Dead. I had my issue with the characters, especially our MC, Keely, but this was a quick, easy and spooky read.

Tess James-Mackey's first book was a tense game of wits played in a confined space - an abandoned prison with only certain areas open. This new novel is a tense game of wits played in an extremely open space; a national park in Wales, with hills, slopes and a very abandoned church.

Our main character has a secret hidden past, and as she and her new classmates begin their climb, she worries that it's coming back to haunt her. Reluctantly making friends with her team, she determines to keep them safe. This book brings up some important topics that teens should be aware of, keeping them in a fun story that will keep readers engaged and desperate to know what's coming next.

BE AWARE there is violence, some of the bodies are treated very violently and it's described quite clearly.

This is a tense, interesting read and anyone who's into thrillers should give it a go.

This book did not disappoint! I read half of this book at bedtime and finished it the next day, I couldn't wait to get back to it.
I was intrigued by this book because it sounded intriguing and I'm still scarred from my own high school camping trip. I will also never camp again!
Well, I loved this book. Our protagonist, Keely, was prickly and did not want to make friends. Although her reasons became clear and while I can't say I liked her, I was rooting for her to find peace. The over achieving fellow students felt so real, and I liked how they welcomed Keely into the group. Nothing brings a group together quite like being in mortal danger!
I enjoyed how I was kept guessing whether there was something paranormal going on or if our villain was a real person. I loved how creepy this story was, the ghostly monks! It gave me After The Hole (by Guy Burt) vibes, so creepy that it will stick with me for a long time.
I kept wondering, what happened to Amy? I liked having this revelation delayed. Because my mind went into overdrive.

I adored Tess James-Mackey's debut, set in a former-prison-half- turned-play-area, so much that I immediately ordered a copy for myself and one for my fiancé's mum (who also thought it was brilliant!) For this reason, I was desperate to read You Wouldn't Catch Me Dead as soon as I heard about it.

Once again showing how Mackey has a gift for choosing the creepiest locations and scenarios for her stories, this novel takes place in the Welsh countryside on a school camping trip, which goes wrong almost immediately. The five students who attended are left to their own devices, trying to survive, find help and co-exist all whilst battling the elements, the unnerving locals and trying to escape the feeling that they're being watched.

Keely, our protagonist, is excellent with her inner dialogue and commentary about her peers. She's flawed in the way that you just want to give her a hug and tell her that it's okay to let people in sometimes, whilst simultaneously seeming just so human! The secrets of her past - which are every bit as mysterious as they sound - are also hinted at fabulously and revealed bit by heartbreaking bit.

If you're looking for a fast-paced atmospheric YA thriller, and you've already devoured Someone is Watching You, definitely pick up this book and give it a go. It's enjoyable and entertaining, all whilst feeling horribly plausible!

A group of teenagers go on a school camping trip to a remote mountain in wales..

I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading this & could have quite easily binged this in a night! This was very fast paced YA and with short chapters you just wanted to keep reading to find out what happened. It had me hooked from the very beginning!

Keely & Barry’s friendship from start to finish was really lovely to see bloom especially with how Keely was in the beginning! I loved that there was flashbacks as it broke up the mysterious story a little bit but still kept it interesting.

A solid 4.25 ⭐️ as it was truly great fun to read!

Thank you NetGalley & Hachette children’s group for the ARC, I can’t wait to read more from Tess!

Keely and her family have moved across the country and she's changed schools to escape from her past. It'll be fine now, she just needs to get through it and there's no point making friends. Her grades aren't good though, so to gain extra credit she signs up for the camping -yuk- weekend in Wales. She's not been to any of the preparation meetings but it probably doesn't matter, they probably didn't cover what's she's about to experience anyway....

I'm not saying any more. It's fantastic, I couldn't put it down and I had a tantrum when my kindle ran out of battery half way through a chapter. 5 stars.

Also shared to Goodreads but unable to link account.

After a tragic event in Keelys past, she resolves not to make any friends at her new school, but to help her get into college, she is roped into a Wilderness camping trip

When tragedy also strikes there, the group are left to fend for themselves. Are the strange goings on part of a local haunting, or teenage pranks gone wrong...

Can Keely and the rest of the group, make it though the trip. And can Keely keep her distance from them when we all know there is safety in number

Great wee story, kept the pages turning and I read through it over a day in a couple of sittings

Thanks to NetGalley and Hachette/Hodder for the review copy this book... out on 18th Jan so you can pick this up now!

Tess always has a way of pulling me into her books and this was no exception. the setting, the plot line, the characters, it all had me hooked!!

Rain, fog, horror stories and dead bodies. While that's enough to put people off camping it did not dampen my enthusiasm for this great book.

There's not much that can be said about the characters or the story without giving much away, but both are well written. The location may even have you temped to head off on a camping trip, if you have friends like Keely. And they are very well written people, there's no back ground fillers here.

As for the story it's well written and well executed. The pieces slot into place so well, but not obviously that you'll get it in the opening chapters.

Those opening chapters had me worried in wouldn't like the book, but before they reached double figures I was hooked. The chapters lead into the next, so be prepared to binge this nightmare inducing adventure.

And then an epilogue, thank you! I do like knowing how our adventurers get on after it's all over. This epilogue may require tissues.

Grab this book for a single sitting read. Start early in the morning and finish before dark then keep the lights on.

From start to finish this was suitably terrifying and entertaining in equal measure. Elements of the story surrounding Keely felt rather underdeveloped, and I’m not wholly convinced that someone so dangerous would not have left some clues as to the risk they posed.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I genuinely could not put it down. The anticipation, the heart racing thriller that this book is, is so good. I have given this book 5 stars I’m definitely recommend to anybody that would like to read a book that they can’t put down and love a thriller. It’s just such a hauntingly good book.

You Wouldn’t Catch Me Dead by Tess James-Mackey follows 16 year old Keely on a school camping trip she didn’t want to go on in the first place, and is only proven right as her companions start disappearing. I have to admit I didn’t really like Keely in the beginning, but as we get to know her past a bit better, the reasons for her behaviour become more clear, and she becomes easier to like and root for. The book is quite spooky and has a wonderfully eerie atmosphere, being set in foggy Welsh mountains (on a sidenote, I loved the appearance of a Welsh speaking character). As bodies start to pile up and more and more strange things start happening, the book became harder and harder to put down. I think I’m becoming a fan of YA horror, as there are no really gory descriptions, and it’s way easier to forgive teenagers for doing stupid things (like going out in the fog alone) than it is adults. And while some parts of the backstory felt a bit underdeveloped to me, it was still an entertaining and exciting read. Definitely recommend if you like spooky stories!

You wouldn’t catch me dead isn’t quite spine chilling as the blurb suggested but it is a reasonable tale, it’s a bit slow to get into the characters and would suit young adults as even as the body count rises it’s not overly graphic.

2024 52 Book Challenge - 32) Timeframe spans a week or less

I really enjoyed this book! It was addictive and I didn't want to put it down once the story gripped me.

To begin with, Keely really annoyed me, but as the book evolved, and her backstory was explored, she became a much more likable and tragic character. I admit, I really wasn't a fan of her name because every time I saw it, I was like, where is the missing e, which distracted me from the plot a little.

I think the secondary characters were pretty solid, and I really liked Barry and the friendship that is developed between him and Keely.

I also really liked that it was set in Wales, with a character that speaks Welsh.

YOU WOULDN'T CATCH ME DEAD is the perfect book to read if you want an excuse not to go camping. In it, a school camping trip goes horribly, bloodily wrong.

For a book with a small cast (six students and two teachers, plus a few other people), the body count is impressive. So many people die in this camping murder-fest that, if the rain and isolation and cold hadn't put you off camping, then the body count would!

Beyond the body count, there's also a very uncertain, creepy atmosphere to the book. There's the uncertainty over certain characters' fate, strange things happening at night, and the terror of being isolated while bad things happen around you. It's very spooky, particularly the night time scenes where the author plays so well on a kids from the city/south-east England (with its light pollution) suddenly in the middle of nowhere with no light other than the moon and one torch.

There's also a ghost story woven into the tale, a monastery with a dark past and a history of tragedy arising from the crime. It plays well on the eeriness of the ruins and some of the darker chapters of monastic history. Plus it gives the kids an extra jumpiness in case it might just be a ghost or two out for revenge.

It's also a story of friendships - the strains they can go on under relationships (particularly coercive ones) and the difficulty opening yourself up to create new ones. I loved that there wasn't a romance at the heart of this story. Instead, the firmest relationship Keely makes across the book is purely platonic (and to have a m/f relationship at the book's heart without it being a romance was so nice to see.)

In all, a creepy tale that leans in to its surrounding well.