Winner of two Davitt Awards for Australian Women Crime Writers. Described by Sisters in Crime as ‘deliciously scary’. When four women set out for their annual weekend getaway, all they have in mind is a few laughs and a break from routine. But dark secrets simmering out of sight could stop them from ever returning home.Jodie chose the secluded cabin for this year’s event, unaware it was once the … this year’s event, unaware it was once the focus of a police investigation – and that it, like her, nurtures a dark past.
The isolation triggers frightening flashbacks to a crime Jodie almost didn’t survive as a teenager. Shaken by memories she thought were buried deep, she’s worried when she finds evidence of trespassers. But her suspicion infects the mood of the weekend and an argument makes Jodie begin to doubt herself.
Paranoia, though, doesn’t mean you’re wrong and when the cabin’s violent history resurfaces, Jodie’s fear might be the only thing that can save them … or get them killed.
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This is my first Jaye Ford book and I am looking forward to many more, this is her debut book which released in 2011 but has been re-released in 2020 and what a fabulous read it is, a heart stopping, edge of your seat story that had me turning the pages. Four girlfriends are off on their annual weekend away never thinking that it would turn out the way it did, this is one that was very hard to put down.
It was Jodie Cramer’s turn to choose the place for their weekend away for her and Hannah, Louise and Corrine, what more could four girlfriends want on a weekend away with no kids but an old renovated isolated barn in the country. On the drive there on a dark country road they have a car accident which sets Jodie back to a time eighteen years before when her life changed and left her with many physical and emotional scars, she is determined to put it behind her and enjoy their fun filled weekend of food some wine and lots of laughter never thinking that their weekend would turn into a horror of a weekend.
Jodie is convinced that there is trouble brewing with strangers turning up when they arrive and then lights and a car in the night, the girls are convinced Jodie is overreacting and are determined to get on with their weekend, but when two men arrive and start talking and get inside the barn things turn horribly bad. When the tow truck driver Matt shows up at the right time Jodie pulls him in on the danger unwillingly her guilt is running high.
This story moves fast and had me on the edge of my seat what a thriller, I felt so much for Jodie what she had already been through in the past was enough but to have to go through it again but the anger bought so much strength out in her. This is a must read story, one that I highly recommend you will not want to put it down till the end and see how things work out for Jodie, Hannah, Louise, Corrine and Matt. Thank you Jaye Ford for a fabulous read, I loved it.
Jodie and three of her best friends are having a ladies-away weekend … leaving behind their husbands and/or kids.. to spend some relaxing time in a secluded cabin.
Unknown to the four women, their secluded cabin was once the focus of a police investigation and, like Jodie, it nurtures a dark secret …
As a teenager, Jodie and her friend were abducted by three men. She luckily escaped, but not before she was witness to her friend’s murder. Is it any wonder that she has severe trust issues .. especially when it comes to men.
As they settle in, Jodie begins to have flashbacks and panic attacks. She wakes up screaming in the middle of the night. She is convinced that they are in danger when she finds evidence that someone has been watching them. Her friends don’t believe it ….
Until the two men show up……
This Australian author presents a well-crafted, highly suspenseful, novel that’s guaranteed to have the reader double checking the doors and windows. It’s a real page-turner with characters that are deftly drawn. It’s riveting and chilling….
Many thanks to the author / Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members’ / Netgalley for the digital copy of this highly suspenseful novel. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
Wow! An air of menace hangs over this thriller from the very start and just keeps building to a phenomenal climax! Heroine Jodie is a real powerhouse who has been through purgatory in her teens and, instead of allowing the past to keep her down she takes hold and uses it to push on. I loved this fast-paced, adrenaline-filled plot!
Author Jaye Ford is new to me but I will now be looking for more of her work.
First, I love a good yarn set in Australia. The book’s well-written and she did a superb job of building her characters and the foreboding, isolated setting in the rural countryside of Australia’s New South Wales. Yes, the other women in the story are skeptical, repeatedly unsupportive of Jodie and quite catty at times, but their life experience has not shaped them as Jodie’s did. And injured, traumatized copper Matt is a great addition to the mix. His character brings in important knowledge of the villains who terrorize Jodie and her friends and a lethal personal relationship that ratchets the tension even higher. Plus, I must admit that I am a sucker for a bit of romance in my thriller reads, and Matt is a perfect example of the flawed hero type.
This is a definite recommend from me if you don’t mind some bloody violence and repeated references to physical and sexual assault. I considered it a cautionary tale and found the story compelling and the end cathartic.
Thanks to the Independent Book Publishers Association and NetGalley for providing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review and the opinions expressed are my own.