I can always rely on Jaye Ford to provide me with a fast read that is easy to devour. I like the side serve of romantic interest she interweaves with her suspense.
3.5 stars, rounded up

This book was intense! Fast paced and scarily believable, makes you warn others to “ trust your gut “! I thoroughly enjoyed this and will definitely be reading more from this author.

Jodie and three of her friends are off on a girly weekend out into the sticks, (from what I gathered, the story is set in Australia), renting a refurbished barn which is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Things go wrong from the off, when meeting an erratically driven vehicle on a narrow road as they make their way to the barn, Jodie loses control and smashes the car up. The other car disappears and luckily, the women are unhurt, but they’re stranded. That is until Matt turns up.

Matt is taking a career break and is helping out at his Dad’s car mechanic business. He arrives to tow the car off, but as there isn’t room for all of them in the pick up and at Jodie’s insistence, leaves her and Corinne to be collected by a local taxi driver. Unfortunately, the taxi driver never arrives, so Jodie and Corinne finally make their way to the village pub. Here there is an altercation of sorts between Jodie and one of the vile Anderson brothers (a pair of local psychos) which sets the stage for the story. There’s a lot that’s been going on behind the scenes with these two men and Jodie and her friends have unwittingly wandered slap-bang into the middle of it. I can’t say too much else about the story without ruining the plot, but what I will say is that it’s very well done and kept me wanting to turn the pages.

The four women in the story are all very different characters and formed an unlikely allegiance from meeting in the school yard whilst waiting for their children. I didn’t particularly find any of them very likeable – certainly not a group I’d want to be stuck anywhere with! Jodie is an extremely hung-up character – her experience with a violent, traumatic event from her past has quite understandably affected her, but left her with such a chip on her shoulder I found her to be stand-offish and rude to just about everyone. I found her mental procrastinations about what she’d gone through and her regrets and her endless need to prove her ‘strength’ to everyone in her vicinity (especially to men who showed her any form of chivalry or politeness) irritating after a while and she certainly didn’t come across as the strong, brave woman she wanted to portray and more like a self-absorbed women’s libber with more hang-ups than a shop changing room!
Corrine on the other hand is a spoilt materialistic self-centred woman. Hannah is bossy and opinionated and Louise – she was the most likeable
and well-balanced one of the four. All very different characters, but ones who got on well enough to go on yearly trips together – however, this trip would push them to the limit.

Matt had his own issues – shying away from returning to the police after
a leg injury, but mainly because a decision he made which did not produce a good outcome left him doubting his professional ability.
Despite this, he can’t stop thinking like a cop, plus liking the look of Jodie regardless of her consistent rude behaviour towards him. How he has the patience to put up with her quite frankly nasty attitude towards him, whilst labelling her behaviour in his own mind as strong, I have no idea, but it was lucky for Jodie and her friends that he did.

I found the book to be well-written and the characters done well. Although a bit slow going to start with, the story drew me in and the world-building is also excellent with great descriptions, which really brought it to life. I enjoyed the book and thought it a good read.

It is chilling and creepy. Read this with the light on if you're reading this at night. It'll have you looking over your shoulder at every little sound. It'll linger with you long after the last page. A really good read. Happy reading!

Excellent Australian thriller with strong female protagonist

Wow...this was a great book. It started out giving me shivers and by the end I was jumping at every stray sound.

Jodie, the protagonist, is 35 years old, divorced, has two children, teaches P.E., and also teaches self-defense classes.

When Jodie was a teenager, she and a friend were abducted and horribly assaulted. She has tried to put that time behind her but it rears its ugly head once in awhile.

Jodie and three of her friends have been taking a yearly weekend away just for the girls (this is their 8th year) and Jodie made the arrangements this time at a renovated barn B&B north of Sydney. The weekend starts out badly and quickly grows much worse.

Let me tell you, there were a couple of women in this story I just wanted to slap.

This is definitely an author I will keep a watch out for. I notice she's published some books in Australia that haven't made it to the U.S. yet. I hope they do soon. There's one book coming in July 2020 called SCARED YET? that I plan on reading.

I received this book from Independent Book Publishers Association through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.

My first encounter with Jaye Ford and his storyline based in Australia. One hears the phrase ‘page turner’ and in this case definitely true. I really couldn’t put this down a gripping and riveting storyline. Keeps the reader hooked to the very end. Looking forward to more from this author.

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.

Four women are about to head away for an annual girls weekend. With no kids, husbands and no worries their weekend should be filled with laughter and fun, but it seems this it is off to a bad start with a car accident. When they eventually arrive at their destination Jodie, Corrine, Hannah and Louise begin to relax a little until there is a knock at the door. Jodie had been feeling uneasy beforehand, only now with two men at the door, she was feeling a lot worse. Who were these men and what did they want?

OH MY GOODNESS! Beyond Fear was a fast paced page turner which kept me on the edge of my seat. If you enjoy a really good thriller, then make sure you read this book. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

If you are looking for a great Thriller with a touch of mystery “Beyond Fear” is for you. Even the title lets you know your in for one heck of a story! Jaye Ford is a master of setting the stage and sucking you into the story. I was hooked right from the start! I stayed up all night to finish it. This is my first book by Jaye Ford but it definitely won’t be the last, I’m hooked! Jodie’s character has been through a horrifying experience when she was young, now many years later not even her best friends know of the horror she had experienced. Jodie and her three best friends have girl time and this year it’s Jodie’s turn to pick, Jodie had learn to fight and protect her self over the years and relies on her instincts. When her friends learn of her tragic past they think everything she is feeling, hearing and seeing is related to her past, but is it? You have to read “Beyond Fear” it has twist, turns and will have you on the edge of your seat! Loved it!!!

I decided to pick this up not only due to an intriguing synopsis but because it won two Davitt Awards for Australian Women Crime Writers, namely Best Debut and Readers’ Choice. It was also the highest selling debut thriller in Australia when it was initially published in 2011 so I figured it had to be worth a dabble. At its heart, this is a psychological thriller centred on the trials and tribulations of main protagonist, Jodie Cramer, who certainly hasn’t had it easy. To gain a little rest and relaxation her and four friends take a girlie break to an idyllic retreat hiring a hunting cabin in the stunning, isolated countryside of Hunter Valley, New South Wales. However, the time away ends up dredging up terrifying feelings of paranoia over a vicious incident that happened to Jodie eighteen years ago. It’s quite frankly astounding that this is a debut novel as it is just so pitch-perfect and exhilarating whilst authentically portraying the impact past trauma can have on a victim going forward.

Jodie is a strong, tough heroine and an ordinary thirty-five-year-old mother of two who was inspired by an attack on a girl close to Ford’s home that she read about in the newspaper. Ford has very much thrust an ordinary woman into extraordinary circumstances and made her dig deep to survive. It will get your heart racing, your blood pumping and those pages turning feverishly like no tomorrow. The pace is quick but slow enough to allow the author to craft a truly oppressive-feeling, moody atmosphere that worked so well and the isolated surroundings with no mobile service only served to heighten the tension more. There was a profound unease right from the outset and that continued to slowly but surely grow with the menace creeping up on you before you know it culminating in an explosive ending. Beyond Fear has been described as Nicci French meets Karin Slaughter, and I have to admit it has touches of both.

It is a highly accomplished, deliciously dark and spine-chilling thriller from beginning to end. Boy am I glad to have picked this up and urge other crime readers to do the same. This is an author with bags of talent and a wicked imagination to boot. A proper nail-biting read. 4.5 stars. Many thanks to Jaye Ford/IBPA for an ARC.

meet jodi she is divorced women with 2 children, in her past she had a traumatic event.
Jodi goes away with four friends for a break where anything can happen they expect a nice break but that is not what they get instead they meet 2 criminals......
Had me reading to late at night so i could find out what happened next good book.

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.

5 stars Thanks to Random House Australia and NetGalley for a chance to read and review this book. Publishes in the US April 20, 2020.

I received this book directly through the author. And I am so happy that I did. There are few books that I gave a 5 star rating to, but this one sure deserves it. Seldom do I regret entering the last chapter of a book, however in this case, I will miss the characters that I came to know and understand.

From the opening page this story grabbed me and then it took on a life of it's own. So many instances in this story relate to real life situations and happenings. And for a woman, one of the most predominant fears is to meet men like the Anderson brothers.

Four women go on a weekend get-away. Things do not start out on a good note, then they disintegrate even further. Their destination is beautiful, warm and welcoming - their stay is much less so. Three of the four women begin to think their friend has gone off the deep end, and is losing her mind, seeing and hearing things that are not there. Then comes a knock at the door...

Jayne Ford is no novice author. Her writing is strong, her characters show their vulnerabilities, her plot lines are demanding. This is one author that I will continue to follow.

Imagine if your worst fears came true … again.

At seventeen, Jodie Cramer survived a terrifying assault at the hands of three strangers. Now thirty-five, she is a teacher and mother, her memories of that past horror are buried deep – so when she sets out for a weekend in the country with friends, all she has in mind are a few laughs and a break from routine.

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 her friends relax, the isolation reawakens Jodie’s terrifying memories. When she finds evidence of trespassers, she is convinced they are in danger. But the other women don’t believe her and suffering flashbacks that threaten to ruin the weekend for everyone, Jodie begins to doubt herself.

Until two men knock at their door …

This was an amazing read. Jaye Ford is the new queen of suspense. A fast paced suspense that keeps the reader turning the pages until the books end.
I loved that the story was centred around four strong women and that the characters were very real.
Another

If you like dark and twisty with a strong female lead, you're in for a treat!

This was my first Jaye Ford book and it was awesome!!

Meet Jodie. She's a survivor of a traumatic event as a teenager. She's now a 35 year old, divorced, with two children. She's a super vigilante self defense instructor and PE teacher. Her and her girlfriends are on a weekend escape in a newly renovated barn that used to be a flop house......and some people haven't gotten the message....

This is an action packed thrill ride that also appeals to my inner diva wanting to sip tea and hear about girl drama.

A special thank you to NetGalley, Independent Book Publishers Association, and Jaye Ford for providing me with an ARC.

BEYOND FEAR is the award winning and bestselling Australian author, by Jaye Ford, author of five psychological thrillers. Her first novel, Beyond Fear, was the highest selling debut crime novel in Australia in 2011 and won two Davitt Awards for Best Debut and Readers’ Choice. This is a new author to me, but not one I will forget.

At seventeen, Jodie Cramer survived a terrifying assault at the hands of three strangers. Now thirty-five, she is a teacher and mother, her memories of that past horror are buried deep – so when she sets out for a weekend in the country with friends, all she has in mind are a few laughs and a break from routine.

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 her friends relax, the isolation reawakens Jodie’s terrifying memories. When she finds evidence of trespassers, she is convinced they are in danger. But the other women don’t believe her and suffering flashbacks that threaten to ruin the weekend for everyone, Jodie begins to doubt herself.

Until two men knock at their door … and Jodie’s fear could get them all killed.

This book started with a tiny fizzle, but ended with a gigantic bang. I liked this book for many reasons, most of all because it is a simple mystery story. No complex forensic procedures, no grizzly murder scenes... Just a handful of complex characters, and an isolated barn in the middle of the night.

I usually don’t read the thriller-type novels because I am a huge scaredy-cat but I got an early preview thanks to #NetGalley.

It was a genuinely creepy read because you can put yourself completely in the position of Jodie. There have been times for all of us when we feel a little off, like something is not quite right. Beyond Fear recognizes that, and shows that sometimes our gut instincts are right, no matter what our nearest and dearest think. If you're a fan of good crime and old-fashioned mysteries, I have no doubt you will love this book.

I found this book really good and it had a gripping storyline throughout. I think the characters were really well written and believable. I wish the story carried on to find out what happens to them after this book. I look forward to reading more books by this author.

The last half of this book was wayyyyyyyyyyyy too long. When the action gets going about halfway through, I wondered what could possibly take place for another 50% of the book. TBH I skimmed most of the second half because every time I started to read again, the same events were taking place at a different area of the barn. I feel that at least 20% of the last half could have been cut and the story still would have been told effectively. For that reason, I couldn't recommend this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. It is always appreciated.

This book was too slow, bland, repetitive and a little too mundane for me. I found myself skimming the book to get to the actual intrical pieces of the book since there was too much odd filler in the book for me.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for my ARC for my honest review!

I loved this book from the start to the end. It was a really descriptive and gripping book throughout. The only thing I kept wondering was why Jodie didn’t go for help when she had the chance? I know it was explained, but I thought that she would have done. I couldn’t put this book down. Shared in books and booze 🥂 on Facebook.