A sun-soaked escape hides shadows of betrayal in this slow-burn thriller. Bishop weaves tension and desire into a story that lures you in like a perfect beach day—until the storm hits. Atmospheric and unsettling in all the right ways.

Tense, riveting and compelling”
A look at how memory can change over time. How that can mean someone got away with murder and that person is still about. I love vex this! Very original.

This was a murder mystery was split between two timelines following Nina who was the only witness to her sisters death when she was just a child. Years later she’s left doubting her recollections and wondering what really happened to her sister.

This was a quick read, good for reading on holiday by the pool but I found it quite forgettable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of High Season by Katie Bishop. I received no compensation for this review, and all thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.

Rating: 4 stars

Set against the glittering backdrop of the Côte d’Azur, High Season is a taut, atmospheric mystery that captures both the allure and the danger of an endless summer. The novel draws you into a world of privilege and longing, where the thrill of youth collides with the weight of consequence. Bishop perfectly evokes the heady intensity of being a teenager—the divide between the haves and the have-nots, the fragile bonds of friendship, and the choices that echo far into adulthood.

The story unfolds across two timelines, 2004 and 2024, a structure that I always enjoy when done well—and here, it’s seamless. Bishop weaves together a narrative of trust, betrayal, and the complicated ways love and loyalty can twist under pressure. At the heart of it all is the death of a teenage girl, the punishment of another, and the lingering guilt of a boy who loved them both. Moving between perspectives, the book gradually peels back the layers of deception to reveal a truth that feels both inevitable and devastating.

The writing is sharp and immersive, making it easy to slip into the luxurious yet claustrophobic setting. The Côte d’Azur isn’t just a backdrop—it feels alive, pulsing with sun-soaked beauty that hides its darker undercurrents. I appreciated how Bishop explored the way wealth and privilege shape not only opportunities but also the moral choices her characters make.

High Season is a quick yet compelling read, perfect for fans of dual timelines, multiple character perspectives, and unreliable narrators. If you enjoy stories where sunlit glamour masks deep secrets—and where the past refuses to stay buried—this is one to add to your summer reading list.

There is definitely a big audience for this type of book and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a fairly easy read on holiday. However I’m a bit bored of the podcast angle as the world and his wife seem to be using them to develop a plot.

I liked the premise of this book and the questioning of memory, and the beginning hooked me in. However I did find it overlong with the pacing in the middle section a bit slow for me, although this did improve by the time I got to the clever ending
Thank you to netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book
3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

The rich love to party in the Riviera and twins Tamara and Blake return every summer to their mother's beautiful pink house for a summer of indulgence. But other people, like 16year olds Hannah and Josie, live there all year and spend their summers working for the summer families. When the teenagers become involved with each other tragedy ensues, and Tamara is found dead.
The only witness is 5 year old Nina who says she saw Josie and Tamara fighting., leading to Josie's conviction.
20 years later, a true crime documentary throws doubt on the case and Nina begins to question what she saw. All the key players return to the Riviera to try and find out what really happened.
This is a fabulous, page turning, clever novel. Brilliant characters interact across dual timelines. I found the themes of family loyalty and false memory syndrome particularly interesting . The ending is brilliant and quite unexpected. Highly recommend.

I really enjoyed High Season - set in the French Riviera, it jumps back and forth between now and when the incident happened, 20 years ago. Great characters and storyline, a great read!

3.75*

Set against the sun-soaked glamour of the Côte d’Azur, 'High Season' is a compelling domestic thriller that gives us rich atmosphere and plenty of unsettling psychological tension. In this story we are introduced to Nina Drayton who, as a child, was the key witness in her sister’s mysterious drowning, but is now dealing with unreliable memories as a true-crime documentary reopens old wounds.

Overall I would say I enjoyed Katie Bishop’s writing. It is vivid without being overwritten and you do become invested in the characters, I enjoyed the dual-timeline structure which helped build suspense and effectively moved the narrative forward. But what dropped it a little for me were a couple of story elements. There were a few narrative beats that were a bit over familiar and I felt that some characters, mainly Nina's wealthy family strayed cliché.

These elements didn't detract too much and the twists were satisfying and the story was well paced. I also appreciated the novel’s exploration of memory, truth, and the consequences of unspoken trauma which elevated it above other books in the domestic thriller genre. Ultimately all of this makes 'High Season' a truly evocative and thoughtful read with enough thrills to keep the pages turning.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers | Bantam for a digital review copy of "High Season" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

I absolutely loved this book. A dark tense emotional and enjoyable read.
A story about family dynamics, memory, social class, trauma, relationships and so much more..
It’s beautifully written, character driven, layered and the setting is so descriptive. Told in two timelines alternating between 2004 and 2024 and divided into four parts with POV’s of Nina, Josie, Tamara and Hannah. I loved the podcast transcripts and interview extracts. It’s gripping, thought provoking and intriguing. I couldn’t put it down and was kept guessing all the way through.
I enjoyed all the character backstories. You are just pulled right in and you feel invested in the characters.
Definitely recommend this mystery thriller. It’s well worth a read if you enjoy this genre. I look forward to reading more from @katiebishopwrites
With thanks to #NetGallery #RandomHouseUk #TransworldPublishers for an arc of #HighSeason in exchange for a honest review.
Book publishes 14 August 2025

I loved the authors debut novel so I was really excited for this one - and it absolutely did not disappoint!

It was such a compulsive read! It’s packed with intrigue, tangled relationships and enough twists to keep you second guessing almost to the final page. The dual timelines work beautifully - 2004 has all the intensity and angst of teenage summers, all suncream and secrets, while 2024 brings reflection, emotional weight and that building sense of dread.

The characters are brilliantly drawn, even when they are at their most unlikeable, and I loved that you are never quite sure who to trust. Once the story found its stride, I genuinely struggled to put it down, and the final chapters delivered a satisfyingly sharp wrap up long after the main reveal - the perfect balance.

Bishop’s writing is vivid and atmospheric, capturing the heat and tension of a Mediterranean summer in a way that makes you feel you’re right there. If you enjoy literary thrillers with unreliable narrators, layered characters and a generous dose of psychological suspense, this one is well worth picking up.

Twenty years ago Nina was responsible for sending a young woman to jail, Josie was employed to look after her. The person killed was Tamara, Nina’s big sister. Tamara was 17, Josie was 16 and Nina? She was five. Now all Nina can remember is the drawing she did, the drawing used to send a young woman to jail.
Out of the blue Nina is contacted by a true crime podcast, they are revisiting her sister’s death and want to know what she remembers.
A really good thriller which kept me glued to the book, so much so that I read it all at once.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc.

Twenty years ago 17 yr old Tamara Drayton was found floating face down in her family’s swimming pool. A testimony from her five year old sister Nina, convicts 16 yr old Josie Jackson, who works for the family, looking after Nina.
As the 20th anniversary of Tamara’s murder approaches, there is renewed interest in the case. A documentary is planned. Nina, now a psychologist, has spent her life haunted by the case. Her emotions see saw between wanting to become involved and stepping as far away as possible from opening up old wounds. What she cannot avoid is how she begins to call into question her memories of that time, and the validity of her testimony.
Set on the Cote D’Azur, in the Drayton family’s glamorous home overlooking the sea, the story moves between 2000 and present day as it builds a picture of the then and now. Evelyn, the Drayton matriarch, a woman who inherited a fortune at 19 and has spent a good deal of it, has had several husbands and as many lovers. She is the worst kind of mother, more concerned with herself and her champagne social life than that of her children. Local girl Hannah Bailey, whose parents run a local diving school aspires to have the lifestyle of Tamara and her twin brother Blake. Being friends with Josie, who at the time of the murder, is employed to look after Nina, proves a way in. It’s clear, however that Tamara is less than happy, especially with the blossoming friendship Hannah begins to develop with Blake.
This is a tale of friendship, rivalry, bullying and betrayal. It’s easy to see the way the older Drayton siblings have turned out is not only because of their wealth, but also because there’s absolutely no parental guidance. The men in Evelyn’s life also bear some of the responsibility. In between all this, there are glimpses of happier times, when Josie and Hannah first met and established their girlhood friendship with days of laughter and camaraderie. Sadly, as events unfold, it’s clear to see the train crash approaching.
Fast forward to present day and Hannah, Nina and Josie all return to the South of France. Their lives have changed. They have all moved on over the last twenty years. Although they are all there for different reasons, none of them plan to meet, but they do, with unexpected consequences.
I really enjoyed High Season. A great plot with memorable characters. Definitely one of my favourite reads so far this year.

My thanks to Transworld, the Author and Netgalley for an ARC of High Season in exchange for an honest review.

When Nina was Six years old, she was the only witness to her 17 year old sisters murder. A drawing of the murder scene, based on Nina's description, was used as evidence in court to convict Josie Jackson.

Now, 20 years later, Josie is out of prison, a Tiktok true crime star is creating a documentary about the case and all Nina can remember of that night is the picture. Which begs the question, if she can't remember it, how does she know that her six year old self wasnt making it up?

This story is set in 2024 with the flashbacks to 2004 covering the events leading up to the murder of 17 year old Tamara Drayton. In 2004 we follow Josie Jackson and Hannah Bailey. Josie's mum works as a cook at the Drayton family's holiday home who only live there during 'High Season' and Josie babysits the Draytons daughter Nina. Hannah is Josie's best friend who works at her families surf shack. We learn how Josie and Hannah first met and their close friendship as each chapter counts down the the evening of Evelyn Draytons big Party and the death of her daugher, Tamara.

In 2024 we learn about how Nina's life has been affected by witnessing such a traumatic event and her subsequent therapy. She's clearly haunted by that night 20years ago and when she's approached by a production company to take part in a true crime documentary she chooses to return to the South of France during High Season to meet with her Mum Evelyn, and her brother, Tamara's twin, Blake.

We also follow Josie now she's out of prison, who has also been approached to take part in the documentary. Her struggles to hold down a job, and her reluctance to stay anywhere for long as it doesn't take long for people to realise who she really is and what she did 20 years ago.

I loved this book. The way that the present and the past are equally important to this story is so well put together. I was quickly invested. The slow build up to the murder back in 2004 works great. I had some sympathy for each of the leading characters, which shows how well written they are.

Its quite an emotional journey for each of the "kids" and of course there's a few twists along the way. The reveal was not surprising but it was a satisfying conclusion to everyones story.

I would like to convey my thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for providing the opportunity to review this novel. All opinions are my own.

High Season is due to be released on 14th August 2025.

4.5 Stars

Another cracking novel from Katie Bishop!

Tamara Drayton has been dead for 20 years by the time the novel starts, and Josie Jackson has been convicted of her murder. However, the facts of the case are not as clear cut as the prosecution would have liked you to believe and this book is all about seeking the truth. Josie was mainly convicted on the word of a five year old - Tamara's little sister, Nina. However, the weight of this knowledge has played on Nina's conscience for years. The story is told in a variety of voices, changing from one character to another and across the original timeline leading up to the murder and then 20 years later when the story is brought back to the public's consciousness via a social media influencer.

There are many complex characters in this novel, many of whom have reasons to lie, deceive and try to cover their trail, It is hard to know who to trust and no-one if very likeable for a large part of the story. Intricate plotting and many complex twists and turns will keep you guessing almost to the very end!

This has a satisfactory ending after an unpredictable and exciting read.

A top class thriller that kept me going. Often I find with who-dunnits there is a pile of useless, boring and slow stuff in the middle of the book, but this kept me going on every page. I’d love to see it as a Netflix series, the setting is lush, the good guys sweet and the bad guys horrid. I thought the story was well plotted. And most satisfying of all, there is an excellent last few chapters that wraps everything up, well after the reveal. I was a big fan of Bishops first book, The Girls of Summer, and this is as good.

For twenty years, Nina Drayton has told herself that she must have seen her sister, Tamara, being murdered by the family babysitter – Josie Jackson. That she doesn’t remember it because she was five, and amnesia is a normal trauma response.
But now, with the anniversary of Tamara’s death approaching and true crime investigators revisiting the case, Nina finds it harder to suppress her doubts. Returning to her family’s sparkling villa on the Cote d’Azur for the first time since the murder, she wants to uncover more about the summer that changed so many lives. Because if she was wrong, then she sent an innocent woman to jail – and the real killer is still walking free.

This is a wonderfully written book. Lots of intrigue, twists and turns and a great ending. The characters are well described, some lovable and some that deserve hate. Once it got going I found it hard to put down.

Katie Bishop’s ‘High Season’ is a murder mystery exploring the idea of memory and family and displacement. The novel looks at two particular time frames: a 2004 party that ended in a murder and the present day (2024), when a true crime podcaster seeks to examine whether the convicted murderer actually committed the crime at that party.

‘High Season’ is all about memory. Nina wants to remember what happened that night as the sole witness to the murder of her sister. She wants to believe that what she testified to at trial was the absolute truth. As the convicted murderer, Josie wants to live her life but she's constantly haunted by her conviction, and readers have to question whether she did commit the murder or if she's an innocent victim. Did Josie kill Nina’s sister, Tamara?

Bishop also introduces us to the character of Imogene, the true crime podcaster who wants to solve this mystery. Imogene believes that Nina was too young to testify and she may not have understood what she witnessed. Imogene acts as the plot device to get all the characters together to recreate the events of 20 years ago.

Bishop does an admirable job of creating the mystery and the cast of characters who work as suspects. She blends third-person narration, police interrogation transcripts, true crime podcast narration, viewer comments, emails, etc. to explore the fascination that happens with true crime. Anyone who has followed The Mushroom Murders will understand how oftentimes a real life murder case will become entertainment fodder for the masses.

I have two problems with the novel. ‘High Season’ is way too long as it could have been cut by about 50 pages. There are conversations that feel repetitive and slow down the progress of the narrative. Bishop constantly switches back and forth between the past and the present so readers can put the jigsaw pieces back together. In doing that, readers are very much aware that the authorial voice knows the identity of the murderer and is keeping it from the reader. This would not be a problem if the novel were not almost 400 pages.

‘High Season’ has potential and Bishop has a nice eye for describing haughty and callous behaviour. She knows how to create a possible list of murderers and that’s integral for the mystery genre.

For those triggered by instances of sexual abuse and assault, I would go into this novel knowing that there will be descriptions of such events. Proceed with caution.

In the heat of summer, the past can become hazy.

Twenty years ago, five-year-old Nina watched her sister die. Or at least, that’s what everyone said happened.

The suspect was convicted. The case closed.

But trauma distorts things, and as the anniversary approaches and a true crime podcast revisits the case, Nina starts to question what she saw. Did she really witness her sister’s murder… or did she help put an innocent woman behind bars?

Set between the shimmering beauty of the Côte d’Azur and the sharp, shifting dynamics of adolescence, High Season is a slow-burn domestic thriller that blurs memory and reality. It’s about grief, guilt, girlhood, and the stories we tell ourselves, especially the ones that help us survive.

The 2004 timeline is packed with the unbearable intensity of teenage summers, suncream and secrets, pool parties and betrayals. Bishop captures that phase of life so perfectly: when every emotion feels huge, every friendship is a battlefield, and a cruel word can feel like the end of the world.

In contrast, the 2024 narrative brings reflection, emotional weight, and a growing sense of dread as Nina begins to pull at threads long buried.

Bishop once again delivers her signature blend of evocative settings, psychological suspense, and deeply human messiness. If The Girls of Summer swept you off to the Greek islands, this novel drops you into the glittering Mediterranean heat of southern France: same tension, same slow unravel, new emotional terrain.

Read it if you love literary thrillers with unreliable narrators, dual timelines, and twisty explorations of memory, truth, and trauma all wrapped in sun-soaked suspense.

Thanks so much to the publisher for the advance copy, as always, all opinions my own.

High Season is out later this month, and it’s certainly one you’ll want to pack for your holiday reading.

I very much enjoyed reading this fast paced novel. The plot centres around an entitled family who live for part of the year in a jaded mansion in the Côte d’Azur. . One of the family is murdered and her five year old’ sister who allegedly witnesses the murder gets the housekeeper’s daughter sent to prison. The story is told in the present day and also in the year of the murder, A new documentary programme in the present day questions the strength of memory. The characters are well depicted and the ending of the book is very satisfactory. Recommended. Thank you Netgalley.