Getting an early audio copy of FIVE SURVIVE had me absolutely giddy. Holly Jackson is one of my favourite authors, and after AS GOOD AS DEAD ruined me in the best possible ways, I was so excited for this book. I’ve had it preordered forever, but I still listened to the audiobook in almost one sitting.
Rating: 5 stars.
Thanks to Electric Monkey for the eARC of this book. It has not affected my honest review.
About the book:
Eighteen year old Red and her friends are on a road trip in an RV, heading to the beach for Spring Break. It’s a long drive but spirits are high. Until the RV breaks down in the middle of nowhere. There’s no mobile phone reception and nobody around to help. And as the wheels are shot out, one by one, the friends realise that this is no accident. There’s a sniper out there in the dark watching them and he knows exactly who they are. One of the group has a secret that the sniper is willing to kill for.
A game of cat-and-mouse plays out as the group desperately tries to get help and to work out which member of the group is the target. Buried secrets are forced to light in the cramped, claustrophobic setting of the RV, and tensions within the group will reach deadly levels. Not everyone will survive the night.
What did I think?
I loved A GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER, and I maintain that AS GOOD AS DEAD is one of the best reading experiences I’ve ever had. So as soon as FIVE SURVIVE was announced, I knew I was going to read it ASAP. I already had the physical copy preordered, but as soon as I got the audio review copy for it via Netgalley, I read it in a single sitting.
This is a claustrophobic thriller with a locked-room kind of edge to it. It would make a fantastic movie, honestly, and I highly recommend the audiobook. The narrator did a fantastic job and listening to the story built up a huge amount of tension. I was seriously on edge by the end of the story and though I usually multitask while I’m reading, I finished FIVE SURVIVE staring at my bedroom ceiling and focusing entirely on the story.
I thought the pacing and writing was as excellent as I ever expect from Holly Jackson and I recommend this to any thriller lover. With all of the characters trapped in a small space – and RV – and slowly unravelling under the pressure of unknown snipers, the story built in intensity fast. They all know that one of them has a secret worth killing over but, as they all have secrets they’re hiding they become intensely mistrustful of each other very quickly.
It’s hard to talk too much about the details because this is a book best experienced unspoiled, but I found the whole thing unpredictable and enjoyed all of the twists and turns taking me by surprise.
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Release Date: 29th November 2022
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