Don't You Dare

Don't You Dare is a fast-paced psychological thriller set around a game of dare between three university friends with challenges that are taken to extremes and eventually the game goes horribly wrong. Sixteen years later, two of the trio reunite but the reverberations from the fateful night that broke them apart continue to impact the friends. 

This is an intense and unputdownable read that felt like I was rubbernecking at a horrific accident. You know the feeling. You don't want to look. You know it's going to be disturbing, but you just can't help but be curious. This story, told in two timelines - the university years when Thomas, Scarlett and Hannah first meet and sixteen years later when forces bring them back together, with dire consequences. 

The story is filled with unreliable and unlikeable characters and is a compelling and intense page-turner. Unhealthy and questionable relationships abound within an intense story that includes a surprising amount of spicy sex scenes. Filled with nosy neighbours, a creepy lurker and many secrets, readers will question the motives and intentions of this cast of morally questionable characters. And while I guessed the identity of the culprit midway, Hamilton keeps the tension high and kept me madly turning the pages. 

This thriller has a Desperate Housewives vibe with its setting, secrets and dysfunctional relationships that will cause readers to question who is telling the truth and have them reading well past their bedtimes.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Crooked Lane Books for my advanced copy which was provided in exchange for my honest review.

My Rating: 4 stars

Author: Jessica Hamilton

Genre: Suspense

Type and Source: eBook from publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

First Published: May 16, 2023

Book Description from GoodReads: When Hannah and Scarlett meet Thomas in college—the chemistry is instantaneous. They grow closer while playing the Daring Game, where each dare is riskier than the last. As the trio grows closer and jealousy develops, Scarlett dares Thomas one final time—a dare that ends in tragedy. When Thomas gets expelled from school and leaves without a trace, it seems like the Daring Game has finally ended.

Sixteen years later, Hannah is unhappy in marriage and in life. That is, of course, until she gets a mysterious email about the Daring Game from none other than Thomas himself. With Scarlett out of the picture, the sparks begin fly between them once more. When Hannah and Thomas are called back to the place where they first played the game, they are welcomed by a single dare—“to tell the truth.”

Someone else is playing the game and knows about their affair, going as far as leaving a cryptic message in Hannah’s house: Don’t You Dare. Hannah’s list of suspects is long: Could it be her noisy neighbor, Libby, who has a few secrets of her own? Or did her husband plan this as revenge for the torrid affair? Is Scarlett back and ready to play again?

The truth may set Hannah free—but only if she dares to risk everything she knows and loves.