The Summer Dare

by Joanna Dodd

Six weeks of friendship. A lifetime paying for it.

They were the cool girls. Two years older, oozing glamour. She could prove herself worthy of their friendship. She could do the dare.

Twenty-five years later, Lucy has a perfect life. She is still friends with the cool girls. All except one. Maddie. The one they never saw again after the dare. They don't talk about her. They don’t think about her. It is as though she never existed until…

Lucy gets a text from an unknown number. Why didn't you tell them where I was?

The past hurtles into the present and secrets push their way to the surface.

Who is the message from? Is Maddie back? Or is someone else set on exposing the truth and seeking revenge?

A gripping domestic psych thriller perfect for fans of Shari Lapena, S.E. Lynes and Lisa Jewell.

Praise for The Summer Dare:

‘I absolutely LOVED The Summer Dare - it was so perfectly plotted and so, so tense! It had me biting my nails all the way through.’ Lisa Hall

‘A tense, absorbing thriller that builds to a lightning pace and delivers a killer final twist.’ Sarah Clarke

‘Clever, chilling and intricately plotted. The shocking end twist floored me.’ A A. Chaudhuri

‘An accomplished debut that I couldn’t put down. Perfectly plotted with a twist you won’t see coming. I loved it.’ Sophie Flynn

Genres: Thriller

360 pages, Paperback

First published July 11, 2024

About the author

Joanna is fascinated by toxic friendship and family groups, and the long shadows cast by old secrets. She lives in London, where she enjoys acting in plays, running very slowly, and spending time with her (lovely and not at all toxic) family and friends.

She’s wanted to be a crime writer since she became addicted to Murder She Wrote as a teenager (although her real-life sleuthing skills are probably not quite as honed as Jessica Fletcher’s).

Reviews

[Melany · Rating 4 out of 5]

What's summer without a suspense novel? I know they call it a thriller, but it's more suspense than thriller. Old friends with a secret trope and the ending shocked me! It is a slow burn but truly picks up after the first half. A group of gal pals having one another's backs with secrets, but one may have kept more secrets than the others. Such a thrilling read, so many twists and turns!

I received this ARC from NetGalley and Hera to read/review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.

[Laura Osburn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read the reviews (after I read the book) and I have to say ..I don't get it. Nothing really happens in this book, I didn't feel the characters were that well developed and by the end of the book I felt no compassion for the lead character she just annoyed me. The ending was completely anti-climatic and disappointing.

[Conor Tannam · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could go into why this book wasn’t for me but it would just end up sounding mean and there’s no need. I am sure there is an audience for this sort of story. I am not amongst that cohort.

[Collyn Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

read if you like:
😱 missing people
🤫 truth or dare
👯‍♂️ girl group dramas

summary:
This book is about a group of girlfriends - Lucy, Claire, Hayley, and Jenna - who twenty five years ago, had a friend, Maddie, disappear during after a dare while the girls were at theater camp. Now as adults, one of the girls, Lucy, starts getting anonymous text messages, bringing her back to that fateful night. While their lives carried on without Maddie, is someone looking to seek revenge? Or is Maddie still alive?

This book is like many others — friend goes missing, remaining friends always wonder what happened, someone comes out of the blue saying they know what happened, etc. The characters in this story are really likable — I admired their friendship and the fact they stayed so close even after a tragedy. I also loved that they still lived near each other. Lucy herself is so relatable and the multiple POV’s from her in past and present made it such a compelling read. The plot itself is a little bit of a slow burn, but the book isn’t too long and it goes by quick. The only part i disliked was the added layer of Lucy’s job as a ghost writer and the tie in of life initiating art. It just felt like a distraction.

The ending — WOW. I audibly gasped at the end of a chapter (you’ll know which one I’m talking about!) I love that it wasn’t predictable and had more layers than I was expecting!

Thanks to Hera and Net Galley for the ARC, and make sure to check out THE SUMMER DARE when it comes out on July 11!

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good mystery read, but not one that I'll be thinking about for days after. I struggled to tell the difference between the four friends, they weren't really introduced properly or developed that much. Also the ending didn't really go in a way I liked, it could've been a lot better.

[aziza · Rating 2 out of 5]

didn’t hate it but didn’t really care for it tbh…
i feel like the characters actions were a bit unrealistic like if i was in the main characters position i would have definitely opened the door the second time ?? even if i had done all the stuff lucy did i don’t think any thirteen year old would have refrained from opening the door for the reason she did
also it had potential but the ending?? what happened did joe and everyone else just leave her? a little more clarification would be nice??
didn’t see the plot twist of it being Naomi so that’s a win ig

[kasey mac ᰔᩚ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley, Joanna Dodd, and Canelo for letting me read this book early in exchange for honest feedback.

This psychological thriller was exactly that, a psychological thriller. This book kept me on my toes and I did not expect those plot twists at all! Go pick up this book if you want an underrated psychological thriller that will make you say “what the fuck did I just read?”

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐️

This was my first thriller and it was not very thrilling

It could have been so much more but it just wasn’t. There wasn’t much depth to the characters, not much happened other than flashbacks and meetings in coffee shops. The end could have been so much better. But what actually happened? It literally tells you who did it and then stops?

[Murrin Thomson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is set around a friendship formed 25 years ago following a tragic event that led to the friends lifes changing forever. We now follow these characters navigating adult life as the past comes back to haunt them.

Overall, the book was still an enjoyable read but I felt it was missing some key plot points between the friends and some scenes were rather irrelevant. In addition to this I found the ending to be quite unrealistic and never really came to a full conclusion.

I liked what the author was trying to do and I may pick up a book by them again but this particular book was not my favourite.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am sure most girls remember the 'cool 'girls' at school, whether you were one of them or a girl outside looking in wishing you were.
Lucy the main narrator of this story, was always the latter who broke through this boundary but was it worth it?

The story revolves around four girls including Lucy and the coolest Maddie who go away to summer camp. Whilst there they become aware of an old house that was once lived in by a 1920's Hollywood star. The house is now old and run down and the camp director forbids them from going there. Well as we all know, once we are told not to do something this becomes even more enticing, so of course they do. Maddie makes a dare that they will each go into the house and take something to prove they have been there but unfortunately when it is Maddie's turn she does not return, now she is missing.

Fast forward 25 years and Lucy starts receiving text messages that now make her think that there is a possibility that Maddie may still be alive and is after revenge, otherwise who could be sending the texts? Throw in another couple of shady characters from the camp all those years ago and now Lucy is now wishing she had never become involved.

The book moves at a decent pace but after finishing it my main thoughts were that apart from the texts we are provided with, we are not given much else to go on and I realised that I really was waiting for more to happen as the story unfolded. That being said, as the book did progress towards the end we are provided with a big surprise that I was not expecting and this then did the story justice. All in all a good thriller that was enjoyable.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an advanced copy, all opinions expressed are my own. 3.5 stars rounded up to four.

[Isabella Hastings · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable read and I did finish it in one day, but the characters made so many decisions that made no sense… the characters were also hard to distinguish between and definitely could have been developed more.

In my opinion, 15 year olds would not be so scared of getting in trouble that they wouldn’t have shared the true story a lot sooner than 25 years..
Also, the house was close enough to the summer camp that the girls made multiple trips there and back during the days leading up to the disappearance. Of course the house and the surrounding areas would have been searched by police within hours and Maddie would have been heard in the secret compartment and found.
I would have loved a bit more explanation in the ending too regarding the state of Lucy’s marriage and the relationships between the rest of them.

[Amy Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good twist. Took me a while to get into it but overall a decent read.

[kerrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ending didn't make sense for rest of book really . But overall well written and I enjoyed the concept and style

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book and appreciated that it was tense throughout. It centers on Lucy, whose friend Maddie went missing 25 years ago when they were teens. Now Lucy, who is still close to the 3 other friends who were there when Maddie disappeared, has started receiving threatening text messages that appear to be from Maddie. The story is told in alternating timelines from the time when Maddie went missing and the current time.

I thought the characters were well-drawn for the most part, though I wouldn't have minded a little more characterization. I thought the dynamic worked well and was confused when Lucy made a comment that they probably wouldn't have even stayed connected if the disappearance hadn't kept them together, because they certainly seemed like really good friends. Also, while I found Lucy's insecurity a bit charming initially, it grated on me as the book continued and I didn't always feel that her internal narrative matched her actions. I really enjoyed the mystery around the text messages and the author's insertion of believable red herrings. I also love everything about abandoned mansions, which was my initial draw to the book, and thought those sections were suitably creepy. There was one part towards the end that was a little out there and I didn't think it was necessary but it didn't detract from my overall enjoyment. I liked the twist at the end and wasn't expecting it, but it was very close to another story (which I can't disclose without giving spoilers); I can appreciate how hard it is to come up with a twist that literally no one else has ever done with the huge amount of books that are out there in the genre.

Overall, I thought this was a good book, though. It was twisty and fast-paced and I wasn't able to guess the ending in advance. I'd recommend to those who enjoy psychological thrillers. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[J Kromrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

The Summer Dare by Joanna Dodd is a riveting psychological thriller that delves into the complexities of friendship, the weight of secrets, and the far-reaching consequences of youthful decisions.

Set against the backdrop of a seemingly idyllic suburban life, the novel follows Lucy, a woman whose perfect existence is shattered when a text message from an unknown sender drags her back to a pivotal summer twenty-five years earlier. That summer, Lucy was eager to prove herself to a group of older, glamorous girls, leading to a dare that would forever alter the course of their lives.

Dodd masterfully weaves a tale of suspense that keeps the reader on edge, with the narrative oscillating between the past and the present. The characters are intricately drawn, with their flaws and motivations laid bare as the story unfolds. The cool girls, once symbols of allure and aspiration, are now harbingers of a dark past that refuses to stay buried.

The central mystery revolves around Maddie, the one friend who vanished after that fateful summer. As Lucy’s life unravels, the reader is compelled to piece together the puzzle of Maddie’s disappearance and the role each character played. The tension builds as the truth inches closer to the surface, culminating in a twist that is both shocking and satisfying.

Dodd’s prose is sharp and evocative, capturing the nuances of teenage yearning and adult regret. The setting is a character in itself, reflecting the characters’ internal turmoil through the oppressive heat of the summer and the claustrophobia of small-town gossip.

The Summer Dare is a testament to Dodd’s ability to craft a psychological thriller that is not only thrilling but also a profound commentary on the human condition. It’s a book that entertains, and the twist at the end is truly shocking.

[Mackenzie Busalacchi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Summer Dare is a gripping, can't-put-down psychological thriller that is easily read in one sitting. Twenty-five years ago, Lucy was the new girl at school who happened to attract the attention of the older, cooler girls. When Lucy's semi-famous mother gets the group into an acting summer camp, Lucy is hoping this will cement her status as popular. However, while at camp, a tragedy occurs resulting in the disappearance of one of the group. A quarter of a century later and still friends with the remaining group, Lucy begins receiving unsettling text messages. While no body had been found, everyone, including the authorities, had assumed Maddie had died. But with these new messages, Lucy wonders if Maddie has been alive and in hiding all this time. And if so, why is she choosing now to confront her friends? And does she know exactly what happened that night at camp?

The Summer Dare is fast paced with short, exciting chapters. The story alternates between two timelines, with a third timeline and story weaving throughout. In the present, Lucy and her friends' lives are unraveling with these mysterious text messages. In the past, the reader learns about that fateful summer through alternating POVs (Lucy and Maddies'). Then, the story of a famous actor turned murderer is told throughout both timelines. The author does a beautiful job weaving all of the timelines together. Again, the pacing is perfect for a thriller; I seriously just had to keep reading. The characters are reasonably all well-developed and interesting. Finally, the mystery (ies) kept me needing to keep turning the pages. With that said, I did predict the big twist from the start; however, even that didn't take away from the book. I thoroughly enjoyed The Summer Dare and will be recommending it!

[Lydia Omodara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lucy Keeble can't believe her luck when Maddie Blake, the coolest, most popular girl in school - and, at fifteen, two years older than Lucy - wants to be her friend. From being the new girl on the fringes, Lucy finds herself drawn into a world of sleepovers, cigarettes... and secrets. She will do anything to be part of the gang - but what if popularity comes at a terrible price?

The Summer Dare is an entertaining, if derivative, story of four friends - and the secret which has bound them together for nearly quarter of century.

Author Joanna Dodd doesn't set out to do anything groundbreaking here, and none of the novel's twists and turns are particularly shocking or unexpected. She draws on various sure fire tropes - toxic female friendship, summer camp, a haunted house - but doesn't really do anything fresh or original with them. Not enough time is given to establish the drama camp setting, while the parallel mystery from the 1920s would have been far more interesting if told from the POV of the characters involved, rather than being summarised by the modern day characters. Aside from Lucy, none of the characters are well developed - allowing the author room to have them behave in whatever way suits the plot, and the final twist undermines too much of what has previously been established.

However, if you're looking for a quick summer thriller that will hold your attention without demanding too much of you, The Summer Dare may be just the thing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hera for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book.

[Melissa T · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story follows Lucy, a new girl who is shocked when Maddie and her group of friends ( the most popular girls in school) want to be her friend. The girls spend a week at a summer camp for acting - some hope to become actors, others like to be behind the scenes but they all are excited to be there together (for the most part), that is until one fateful night. There is the legend of an old actor whose house was nearby (legend had it this actor killed a young girl but was never tried for her murder). The girls go to this house, which is forbidden by those running the camp, and on a dare each girl needs to enter the house and bring something back out. All goes well until it's Maddie's turn. Maddie never comes back out of the house.

Fast forward to the present. The rest of the girls are still friends and have families of their own. One day, Lucy receives an ominous text message that she believes came from Maddie. Is Maddie still alive and if so, why is she contacting Lucy after all of these years?

This is a quick, fun read. I like the dynamics between the girls (each trying to have a voice in the group or trying to fit in). I liked the back and forth between the past and the present. The way the story unfolded was great and I'll be honest when I say that numerous times I was sure I had it figured out but I was wrong every single time haha!

I would recommend this book for those who like mysterious reads.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the chance to read this for free. This was my honest review.

[Elizabeth Reiser · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joanna Dodd’s latest psychological thriller, The Summer Dare, follows a group of adult friends as they find they can no longer run from a dark secret in their past.

When teenager Maddie disappears after a dare gone wrong, her friends vow to keep their part in it a secret. After all, why should their lives be ruined for a mistake they made as children? However, as they approach the 25th anniversary of Maddie vanishing, it becomes clear someone does know their secret and wants them to pay.

Told in alternating timelines from the perspective of Lucy (a new mother and the misfit of the group), the truth behind what happened is slowly unraveled throughout. Lucy is an okay protagonist, though she does not read as intelligent enough for the role. Uncharitably speaking, she is a bit of an idiot. If someone remotely intelligent is being stalked, they aren’t about to walk to the store alone in the dark just because they are craving chocolate; this is the book equivalent of running upstairs instead of out the door in a horror movie.

Frustrating main character aside, the book is well written, and the plot is compelling, though too much is revealed throughout to make the twist at the end much of a shock. This will make for a fun beach read for fans of the genre.

[Ayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Summer Dare by Joanna Dodd is a psychological thriller and follows a group of friends who are harbouring a secret from their teenage years. Twenty five years ago, they all went to a summer drama camp, but one of them, popular and beautiful Maddie, disappeared. The story is mainly narrated by Lucy, the youngest of the girls and perhaps the most ill fitting of the group.

The plot was solid and I was eager to keep turning the pages. Easily palatable, I finished this fast paced book in a day. It had an amazing twist which I didn’t see coming at all.
I really liked ‘-she’s like a beautifully wrapped parcel that’s smashed to smithereens inside’ , ‘The trouble with fearless people, Lucy thought, was that they sometimes did very dangerous things’ and ‘At what point do you stop being the picture of innocence, and why?’.

I found the characters to be lacking a little bit of depth and felt more flashbacks to the past could’ve helped make them all more vibrant, especially Maddie, as missing girls usually do have that aliveness and aura about them. I would have loved to hear a lot more about the camp.

I enjoyed this and will give anything else by Joanna a read. Thank you Hera and NetGalley for my ARC.

[Morag Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

'The Summer Dare' is a psychological thriller with a slightly chilling 'communication from beyond the grave' type vibe!

Lucy is a woman with a secret...25 years ago she, along with 4 friends dared each other to go into a haunted house, one of the girls didn't come out and was never seen again. The next day the girls reported their friend missing, but, fearing for the consequences, didn't mention the dare to the house. As time went on, with no sighting of said friend, all believed that she was dead. Now Lucy is receiving text messages from the presumed dead girl that suggest someone has retribution on their mind!

This is a twisty novel with a GREAT ending!!! Love a good plot twist? Consider it delivered!!

This has past and present timelines, it is told mostly from the perspective of Lucy. Writing is superb and the story is interesting enough to really work to hold interest - all in, this is one I would happily recommend.

My thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this novel in exchange for an advance copy.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

"𝘚𝘪𝘹 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱. 𝘈 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵."

25 years ago, 13 year old Lucy and her four friends Maddie, Claire, Hayley, and Jenna attend a summer camp. When they hear rumours of a haunted house nearby where a 1920s Hollywood star lived, Maddie dares them to go into the house in the pitch dark, but Maddie never comes out of the house again.
Now Lucys life is good and she still remains friends with her friends from camp. All except Maddie, who was never seen again after that night 25 years ago. And then Lucy gets an unexpected text from an unknown number.....
"Why didn't you tell them where I was?"
The girls have been keeping a secret all these years. Now they fear Maddie is back, or does someone know their secret and is out for revenge.
The summer dare is the perfect summer thriller about friendship, secrets, guilt, and grief, with a jaw-dropping final twist. I would definitely recommend this suspenseful thriller.
Thanks to netgallery and canelo for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Holli C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another new author to me - this time, a story about secrets and lies in childhood friendships going into adulthood.

Summer Dare is a story featuring a group of girls - Lucy, Hayley, Claire, Jenna and Maddie. In their teens, they go on a Summer camp and one evening, they play a dare. However something goes wrong and one of them goes missing.

Fast-forward to them as adults - they’ve kept in touch, however one of them starts receiving sinister messages supposedly from their friend who went missing. Someone knows their secret!

The girls come together to try and work out whether the messages are real, why they are being sent and who might know what really happened that night.

When I started this book, I thought ‘not another book about secrets and lies in friends’, but actually as I started to read it, I was hooked via the plot, the characters and the surprising twists. I did not think I’d be finishing this book within days!

The ending is unexpected and goooooood so definitely a worthy read!

[Stella · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dare turned deadly.

Lucy and Maddie were friends for 6 weeks in 1999. The time was cut short when Maddie disappeared inside of a rumored haunted house. Now, 25 year later, Lucy start getting texts seemingly from Maddie. Now, she and her (and Maddie's) friends must try and find out who is sending the messages and if Maddie is back in their lives.

----
The Summer Date by Joanna Dodd started a little slow for me, but then I couldn't put it down. It took some time to establish the pacing, who everyone was, and how they were related, but the story itself was rather stressful. I had to know what happened to Maddie. I had to know WHY Lucy was so scared of these texts.

This is a good thriller, but could use a smidge of revision by cutting some of the build-up to the final events. I did feel like there were some missing resolutions, but I was still satisfied at the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

[Nelia Polenz · Rating 5 out of 5]

💛💛💛💛💛
The Summer Dare
Joanna Dodd
Hey there! "The summer dare" by Joanna Dodd was my most recent ARC.
Short things short - I loved it!
The book let's you take part in the lives of Lucy, Maddie, Claire, Hayley amd their families. Dodd alternates between different timelines and stories, which come together beautifully in the end.

The plottwist was something I didn't see coming! I felt that something about how Lucy reacted to the threats and messages was off though.

We have toxic friendships, guilt, grief, reliving the past and finding a way to get rid of it.
We have lovely characters and friendship dynamics, as well as realistic and inspiring love for your family.

The only thing I had to learn to accept, was the storyline between Harriet and Lucy.

I totally recommend this book to anyone looking for a realistic thriller, not too spooky but tense enough to keep you on your toes.

This book will be released in the middle of July! Go grab it!

[Ambur.Holmes · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book but I just couldn't. From the begining the characters were unlikeable and the story was disjointed, the time jumps from present day to the past were not really linked together in anyway.

The main characters were all just trying to be friends cause they thought they killed Maddie at summer camp when in reality Lucy killed her out of pettyness because Lucy didn't want it to get out that she stole from people and that's the reason she had to move.

Also the fact that her daughter ruby is mentioned every few seconds gets annoying after a while, we get it you've got a daughter.

I wanted to love this book but it only got me interested in the last 50-20 pages of the book.

[Rachel Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slow burn suspense novel that keeps the intrigue and mystery coming! Although I felt it started of rather slowly, it definitely picked up the pace and kept me reading!

With dual timelines it was interesting to see the plot development. It had me guessing what had happened that night but for the majority of the book I was wrong. While I did figure out what had happened before the end of the book, there were still enough twists in the last few chapters that it was still a very enjoyable read!

I liked the comparisons between the main storyline and the history of the house. It was a clever way to show history, and mystery, repeating itself!

Definitely an interesting, but easy, read!

[Farah G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Youth is a time when most people will do almost anything to get in with the group that they admire - which is usually the cool kids.

But sometimes, the price is more than you can or should have to pay. And the indiscretions of your past can sometimes catch up with you most unexpectedly...

This is a cleverly plotted thriller that maintains a high level of tension throughout. Enjoy a taste of revenge chilled to perfection. This one gets 3.5 stars.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

[sora (sorasbookland) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This thriller starts off a little slow, but once it picks up you find yourself finishing the book in one go, I really liked the dual POVs of Lucy in the past and in the present. The characters in this book are very likeable and relatable, and the mystery of what actually happened to Maddie, is she dead or alive, kept me engaged in the book till the very end.

The epilogue shocked me, I wasn’t expecting that at all! This is actually the perfect summer thriller.

Thank you Joanna Dodd, Hera & NetGalley for an e-ARC copy.

#TheSummerDare #Netgalley

[Jacki van de Schoor · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Summer Dare was a tense and twisty read. I really enjoyed it.
I was drawn in immediately and couldn't put it down.

I loved the storyline, and the characters were interesting and complex.
Lucy was very likable, but I wasn't as fond of her friends.

I thought I had it all figured out, but I was way off. I didn't see that twist coming at all.

I highly recommend.

4 stars from me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to Netgalley, Canelo, and Joanna Dodd for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.