A very compelling read. The pages turn quickly as you try to find out what really happened 12 years ago when Lizzie and her best friend, Alice, are involved in a freak accident that takes Alice's life. Lizzie is prone to epileptic seizures and on the day in question, she wakes from one to find Alice has been hit by a train. She has no recollection of what happened, can tell the police nothing, and has to endure the cruel whispers of others and the contempt from Alice's family. Secrets are slowly revealed as you find out what really happened and the story behind it. There are some good twists and turns to be found here.

(3.5 stars)

A woman deals with the memories of a childhood tragedy well into adulthood. When someone connected to the accident comes back, she begins to question her recollections and key people in her life. Author Lesley Kara brings an interesting element to a traditional genre in the slow-to-start but ultimately satisfying novel, The Dare.

Lizzie Molyneux deals with epilepsy on a daily basis. She knows that seizures are likely. She’s suffered several throughout her life. Some of them are partial or minor seizures that make her space out for a minute or so. The most severe seizures leave her unconscious and with no memory of the incident or what else happened during it.

She knows how bad these types of seizures can be. When Lizzie and her best friend, Alice, were 13, they were walking close to the train tracks when Lizzie suffered one. She has no clue what happened during the seizure, of course; all she knew afterward was that Alice was dead, victim of a train that didn’t stop in time.

It’s hard enough dealing with the medical aspect of it all, but Lizzie has never quite gotten over the emotional side of the accident either. Although the police cleared Lizzie of any wrongdoing, Alice’s older sister, Catherine, stalked Lizzie for weeks afterward, demanding that she confess to pushing Alice onto the tracks after an argument. Lizzie and Alice had disagreed about something, yes, but no matter how mad they were at each other Lizzie would never hurt her best friend.

Eventually Lizzie and her parents move away from that part of town, and now as an adult Lizzie lives in London with her fiancé, Ross, a physician who is the love of her life and who just bought a new home. Despite the challenges of her medical condition, Lizzie has managed to live a fairly normal life and is looking forward to making Ross’s home her own.

Ross suggests a housewarming party, and although Lizzie is hesitant because of the constant worry of having a seizure, she agrees. Her jaw nearly hits the floor when Catherine walks through the door and Lizzie learns that Catherine is now a nurse who has recently joined Ross’s practice. Lizzie has never shared the story of Alice’s death with Ross, but the details come out after the party.

The biggest surprise comes in the fact that Catherine apologizes to Lizzie for her terrible behavior when they were kids. She understands, she says, that Alice’s death was an accident, not Alice’s fault at all, and she hopes they can be friends for Alice’s sake. Although Lizzie is adamant at first that she wants nothing to do with Catherine, before she knows it the two begin spending time together.

Hanging out with Catherine triggers nightmares for Lizzie, the same nightmares she’s had as a child about Alice’s death. It also triggers more than one epileptic seizure. Lizzie admits to herself that it’s a relief to receive Catherine’s apology, but the entire situation still seems off kilter somehow. Like someone wants Lizzie to go back to the day of Alice’s death again and again until she ends up paying for it after all.

Author Lesley Kara builds all of the elements of a psychological thriller into the book from the start. It takes a little time to get off the ground, however. Much of the early chapters are devoted to Lizzie dwelling on her epilepsy and how it holds her back from tasks that others take for granted. With the appearance of Catherine, the story begins to pick up speed.

Interspersed with the present-day chapters are chapters that go back to different times right before and after Alice dies. A third series of chapters forms an intimate conversation between a character and the readers, although readers won’t know at first who is initiating the connection. Once the reveal happens, readers get a ringside seat to all of the unfolding action.

Confusion might come in connection to the title; it’s not clear early on just what “the dare” was, who did the daring, and who executed it. With a little bit of patience, however, readers are rewarded with all the answers. The book also deserves kudos for making Lizzie an active participant in her life. Even with her medical ailment, Lizzie refuses to sit back and let life happen.

For those looking for a fun thriller with a few predictable elements, this book hits all of the major components needed.

This was a compelling, can’t put down drama. I was flipping pages to see what happened next. Well written, it will definitely keep your attention.
Many thanks to Random House Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Whoa, this book was really good for me. It bounces back and forth in narration between current times and 2007. Alice is a young girl who is hit by a train and killed while on a walk with her best friend Lizzie, the main character. Lizzie is an epileptic with a history of grand mal seizures, and thanks to a seizure sees nothing as her friend is killed. In current times, Lizzie has to balance her life as things are finally settling in place - she has a fiancee who loves her, a nice house, and her seizures are finally under control. However, with one small event, her entire life is thrown into chaos and she has to question everyone and everything around her. I enjoyed the book and all of its twists and turns. I do wish that the ending had been different. It seemed like the author just wanted the book to end and didn't know much of a way to do it besides what happened. It was quick and before I had time to process what had happened, the epilogue came along. I wanted more after following along with this story for as long as I had.

The Dare is a fast paced psychological thriller. Though told through dual timelines and different points of view, good writing keeps it easy to follow. This is an enjoyable and fast read with enough twists and surprises to keep you guessing until the very end.

Thanks to Net Galley for an ARC .

Oh my gosh! What an amazing psychology thriller. Even better than the previous book, “who’d you tell?” I’d read by Kara. It figuratively kept me on the edge of my chair the whole time. Twists and turns galore. And, although some were less believable than others none of that interfered with my enjoyment.

Review

The Dare

Lesley Kara’s latest thriller delivers in a way that we have become accustomed to… EXCEPT that I really didn’t see some of these twists and turns that kept coming until the very end.

Lizzie’s life has never been easy. Plagued by seizures and insecurities, her friendship with Alice made her feel like a regular teenager. Alice’s friendship gave her life consistency.

Until the day that they both left for a walk, and only Lizzie came back alive. Everyone turned against Lizzie and blamed her for the accident. Even though she had no memory of what happened, was she really responsible like everyone believed?

Years later, Lizzie is settling into a new home with her fiancee when a box of memories crashes into her life and the doubts are back. This is only the beginning of many questions and strange occurrences. Was she really responsible? Why is she so paranoid? Is she imagining things that aren’t happening?

There was a time or two where things seemed a bit predictable, but there were more layers to dig through!

Thank you @netgalley @lesleykarawriter
@randomhouse #ballantinebooks

Wow! This is an awesome book to read. It is well written and will hold you glued to the pages until the last word. It is suspenseful and filled with twists and turns. As Lizzie struggles to come to terms with what truly happen her best friend Alice she discovers that not everything is as it seems.

This is an excellent book. The suspense had me thinking of when you watch a suspenseful movie and want to watch between your fingers to soften the blow of what you imagine is coming. Can’t do that with a book! Great characters and plot. It moves quickly as you read on to see what happens next. I highly recommend this book.

The Dare by Lesley Kara is a book you don't want to miss! When Lizzie was 13, she and her friend Alice were walking on the train tracks, as they often did. They ended up in an argument and suddenly Lizzie has an epileptic seizure. When she awakes Alice has been hit and killed by a train. Lizzie can't remember anything about what happened. The whole community and especially Alice's older sister, Catherine, blame Lizzie for Alice's death. Catherine torments Lizzie any chance she gets, sending dirty glares her way and even standing outside her house at night staring up at Lizzie's window. Lizzie's parents finally move the family far away and try to get on with their lives.
Twelve years later, Lizzie is living with Ross, her fiance. He is a doctor and they are madly in love. However, a news story about a young girl who gets killed by a train brings up very bad memories for Lizzie. She has never told Ross what happened when she was younger. Now, weird things are happening to Lizzie. Someone is dead set on bringing the past into the light.
This book was such a fast paced read! The chapters alternate between before Alice died, after she died, and present day. This makes the tension for the reader almost unbearable in a good way. I could not wait to find out what really happened in the past and what was going to happen now to Lizzie. The last fourth of the book made me cringe with anticipation of what was to come. I can't wait to read more books by this author! Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Lizzie and Ross are the perfect couple. Engaged to be married and having moved in together , they are getting comfortable in their new life together.
True, she has epilepsy but it has been doing well the past two years. So much that she is thinking of going back to school or getting a part time job.
Then her folks stop in to visit. They bring an old box of memorabilia from her school days. Unfortunately this brings back memories of her friend who was tragically killed in a train accident…at least she is pretty sure it was an accident. She was there when it happened but had a seizure and can’t remember @nything. What she does remember is the anger and hatred from her friend’s sister.
Then she and Ross have a housewarming party and discovers that Rosses nurse is that sister.
They resolve the anger issue and become friends after a fashion.
Then a series of events make Lizzie question her new friend , her parents @nd even Ross. Is she crazy or is there something going on?
This is a pretty decent story with enough twists and spins to make you wonder what you missed.
I recommend it

“You may wonder why I let her take the lead. Why I surrendered all sense of self on the altar of her desires. I wonder it myself sometimes, but I never had a choice. Not really.”

Before I get into this review, I want to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review! It is, as always, very much appreciated.

When I tell you this book was a wild ride… oof! This thriller took me on a lot of ups and downs and the twist actually made my jaw drop.

In this story, we’re following a young woman named Lizzie Molyneaux. Lizzie has just moved in with her fiancé, is thinking of going back to school to get her degree, and is finally on the right medications to keep her seizures at bay. It seems like things are looking up for her, but there is something in her past that still pops into her head. The death of her best friend, Alice, when they were both thirteen. Alice was tragically hit by a train at an unsafe crossing and Lizzie was there when it happened. She’s tried to move on from that past, to live her life without the specter of Alice and what happened after hanging over her. But then, the past drops on her doorstep and everything starts to change.

This is my third Lesley Kara thriller and, as with the other two, the writing is some of the best I’ve encountered when it comes to pulling me into a story. It just so incredibly readable, if that makes any sense 😂 The pages flew by and I found myself halfway through the book in what felt like a blink! I love the way she can pull you into Lizzie’s head and have you inhabited that space. I was fully immersed in Lizzie’s past, her fears, and everything she was dealing with as the story progressed.

Seeming as I loved the writing so much, you’d think I’d have finished with this in the span of a day or two. Unfortunately, I ran into a bit of snag because of a plot element. I’m always a little tentative when pregnancy comes into play in any book, but even more so when it’s a thriller. And I acknowledge that this is totally a me-thing! Before I had my son, I suffered a miscarriage and it’s one of the few things I try to avoid reading about in books. It happened 8 years ago, but it’s still a tender spot in my heart that I don’t really like to poke. So when Lizzie became pregnant, I was worried. To the point that I put the book down and just couldn’t make myself read for a couple of days. Eventually, I sat myself down and made myself continue because I had really been loving the book up until then!

And I’m glad that I did! Because, though the pregnancy plays a large role in this story, it didn’t go down the route I thought it would and I ended up really enjoying the twists and turns the author took. The bit in the middle involving the little asides in italics truly blew my mind! Once I got back into the book, it was hard to put it down! I will admit to the ending feeling a tad rushed and a little bit unsatisfying when it comes to a particular character. I also can’t speak to the epilepsy rep, but I thought it was handled well in my limited opinion. But, overall, it was a thrilling story that sucked me in and had me on tenterhooks throughout.

Final thoughts: This was an intense and frightening tale of a past that just won’t let go. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing and have come to realize I will read anything that Lesley Kara puts out into the world. Her writing has a way of gripping you within the first few pages and keeping a hold until you’ve closed the book. Though I’m not a fan of pregnancy as a plot point in thrillers (for very personal reasons!), I think this book handled it well. And though the ending felt a bit rushed, I still ended up really enjoying this read! If you’re a fan of thrillers with big twists, dual timelines, and lots of secrets, I think you would enjoy The Dare!

I really enjoyed this book . It was well written with fantastic characters . There was a lot of suspense and twists and turns . A great book !

The Dare by Lesley Kara brings the past to the surface when Lizzie is reminded of a tragedy that killed her best friend, Alice. Lizzie does not remember what happened that day because she had a seizure, but someone else out there wants to make sure that Lizzie does not forget what happened.

Kara is excellent at drawing the reader into this psychological thriller. There are a few plot twists and surprises. Alternating narrative helps flip back and forth from perspectives and we have the past and present timelines. This novel is crazy and will have you guessing until the end!!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and author Lesley Kara for this digital, free, temporary advance review copy for me to read and enjoy. As always, my opinions are mine and my reviews voluntary.

Y'all know that with a title like this it is going to be a crazy one!! Ooo and it definitely was. The author's storyline was fantastic and truly left you wanting more. I was so shocked by the ending!

Really fast and easy read. The flow that Lesley Kara has makes all her books fun to read. The plot twists and revelations in The Dare are really good. I would recommend this book to any fan of psychological thrillers. 4 stars

Ghosts is about what it feels like to be in your 30's and single. Everyone seems to be in a relationship, married or already having children. Nina with a lot of encouragement from friends starts using a dating app at meets Max. They hit it off right away and then he just disappears. Nina never hears from him again - he ghosts her!. Then add in health problems with her parents and this book is both very touching and laugh out loud funny at the same time! A great read!

This was a really engaging thriller that I can truly say I didn’t see coming! Great characters and good mix of suspense and moving the plot forward

Lizzie and Alice were the best of friends. A tragic accident happens one day and Lizzie's epileptic seizure prevents her from knowing what exactly happened. Due to the bullying by others, her family moved away, got her counseling, but she has never moved past it.

Now engaged to be married, she has to confront the issue again when a similar incident happens and brings it all even fresher to her mind. Anything more would be too much for me to say and I don't want to spoil the story for others. Suffice it to say, there is more than one twist to the story. Who will you be cheering for now?

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Oh, this was GOOD!! Lesley Kara has quickly become a favorite author with her last two books and this one just cemented that. Alice and Lizzie are 13 and best friends. They go for a walk, Lizzie suffers an epileptic seizure and Alice is killed. What happened to her? This haunts Lizzie for the rest of her life. Told mainly from Lizzie's point of view. this was a fast-paced read and I couldn't wait to find out what happened. It does start off a little slow, but....wait for it!! Looking forward to more from Ms. Kara! Thank you to #NetGalley, Lesley Kara and Ballantine Books for this ARC!