When Emily Swift's daughter wins a place at the prestigious and up market school full of the children of privileged parents, she understandably feel that her child future is bright.

The last thing she expects is for the minibus of school children training her daughter to go missing on the way back from a swim meet at another school.

The story is told in an intense combination of what is happening from the children's perspectives, and how the distraught, angry parents are coping with their disappearance.

There are plenty of twists (as you would expect, if you have read Jo Furniss' previous book set in a traffic jam), and quite a few of them are unexpected. One of the things that was genuinely surprising to me was the sense of unease the book left me with in terms of the moral relativism of modern day society in the UK.

Very entertaining and well worth checking out. Can't wait to read what she comes up with next!

A minibus full of kids disappears. The school calls
In the parents who all have their own secrets. It’ was ok. I skimmed more than anything.

Really enjoyed this book!

Wealthy parents begin to panic when their kids don’t return from a swim meet. Each parent and child has their own secrets to hide. Didn’t see the twists and turns coming as the story unfolded.

Full of complex characters, this is a fun fast paced thrilling read.

Emily Smith’s daughter has won a scholarship to the most sought after, ambitious school in town and she’s making the most of it.

When a minibus full of high achieving students goes missing on the way back from a swim meet, no one knows what’s happened. Is it an accident, a kidnapping or something else? They know stakes are high, the children include the son of an MP, daughter of a major business developer, the son of a TV influencer and more.

The story develops over a day with police, social media investigators, and private companies all trying to find the missing children. Back at school, the parents are discovering more about each other, some of it not strictly legal..

‘Guilt Trip’ cuts between the intense search for the children and chapters told from the children’s perspective. It’s a high octane adrenaline filled read that will make you want to keep your children closer.

I really enjoyed the first novel so was looking forward to this one. Both are standalone.

Guilt Trip is a twisty delight in which nobody is exactly what they appear to be and the plot is fast moving and addictive. Well written with great characters, it has the benefit of being a real page turner.

The Kind of psychological thriller I love. No jumping of the shark to get out of corners just a great story.

Guilt Trip is a good thriller that takes some very unexpected turns. It starts when the swim team from an elite private school goes missing on the way home from a meet. Parents are called to the school to meet with police as they try to figure out the motive.

The story develops in twin timelines, from the points of view of Emma Smith, a personal trainer and her daughter Olivia, who has achieved a full scholarship to the school. The other parents are all well off, including a property magnate, a social media influences and a government minister. But where does the motivation for the disappearance lie?

The characters, parents and children, are well developed and most seem to be hiding secrets. The story arc is wide and the reader is kept guessing about several characters until close to the end of the novel. Guilt Trip feels a little unrealistic on occasions but overall is a gripping read.

I loved Jo Furniss’s last book, Dead Mile, for its unusual premise, an ingeniously staged and plotted locked room mystery set on a grid-locked mystery. And she’s done it again in Guilt Trip, another transport-related thriller.
Working single mother, Emma, gets a text summoning her to her daughter’s school. Daughter Olivia is a pupil at Saints, an elite private school. The institution is out of Emma’s league, both financially and politically, but Olivia is an outstanding student and talented swimmer on a full scholarship.
On arrival at school, Emma is shown into the Great Hall where four other parents are waiting:
Akin, a consultant anaesthetist.
Jack Kent, a social influencer,
Ayesha, a government minister,
Mariah, Emma’s friend, married to a shady property developer.
The headmaster briefs them that their children’s minibus, due back from a swim meet at midday, has still not returned three hours later. Having had no phone contact with the teacher driving the minibus or any of the five pupils on board, the PR-conscious and scandal-phobic headteacher reluctantly calls the police.
Told from Emma’s viewpoint, the story reveals how each parent and the head teacher react to emerging news from the police search. Naturally because this is a thriller, each adult has something to hide and secrets that may have led to the teenagers being kidnapped. The school setting made me think of Your Time Is Up by Sarah Naughton.
The other viewpoint character is Olivia. Her story starts a few hours earlier at breakfast at home with Emma, moving to the swim meet and then to the ill-fated return journey to school. We meet the teenage children of the four other anxious parents:
Temi, all round good guy, son of the anaesthetist,
Kiran, neurotic geek, son of the government minister,
Alix, bad boy son of the social influencer,
Dixie, Olivia’s friend and daughter of Emma’s friend Mariah.
Their survival attempts put me in mind of The Search Party by Simon Lelic.
Lots of twists and deadpan humour I wasn’t expecting.
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.
On publication I will post this review on my blog and on GoodReads.

Fabulous read. Really twisty, it was hard to keep on top of who were the villians!
Loved the constant switch between the adults and the children.
Overall a really exciting read.
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book, it drew me in from the first page and kept me guessing right up to the end. I will be recommending this book to everyone I know.