Fabulously gripping sinister tale I did actually think I should steer away from this one as a mother and Early Years teacher about to go on a trip… Anyway, as with any good thriller it plays on our worst fears and insecurities and shows them In horrifying reality in story form. There were various twists and turns, some I guessed and some I didn’t and some nice little details which added to the story, like the soda can which appealed to my inner geek. I liked the characters and the pace and the backstory and reasonings were good too. Recommend.

The School Trip was an 'unputdownable' book that kept me up way past bedtime. There was no way that I could sleep until I found out how the book ended.

Emma is a kindergarten teacher. She's a recent widow and worries about her 6 year old daughter Claire and how her father's death will affect her. As the story begins, all of the kindergarten classes take a field trip to the local pumpkin patch. Even though Claire isn't in Emma's class, they are on the field trip together. The kids have a great time - petting the animals, going on a hayride and playing in the park. Claire doesn't get to spend as much time as with Claire because she has to take care of her own class but she trusts her daughter's teacher to do the same. When a little girl goes missing, Emma works with the other teachers to find her. The police are called and when the little girl is found, the parents and their children begin to leave. That's when Emma realizes that Claire is missing. She knows that her daughter wouldn't leave with a stranger and begins to search for her. The police have a video of the park exit that shows Claire walking out of the park with a stranger. After losing her husband two years before, she is totally upset that she may have also lost her daughter and blaming herself as she wonders if there is somehow a link between her husband's death and her daughter's disappearance.

As a parent, it's hard to imagine anything worse than having your child disappear and the author takes us through all of Emma's anguish and tears. Her willingness to do whatever she can to find her daughter cause the police to begin to leave her out of their case but she's willing to go against them and follow an idea that she has about who is responsible. This book was a real roller coaster ride with lots of twists and turns. The author did an interesting thing to make things even more tense for the reader -- interspersed in the story are several chapters by the kidnapper who has an attitude that is totally unhinged. Those chapters made me worry more about what the outcome would be because I could see the unnamed kidnapper as someone willing to hurt Claire


This was a fantastic thrilling book that melded the search for the child with the grief from the loss of her husband that Emma continues to work through. I highly recommend this thriller and have ordered some of Miranda Smith's earlier novels.

I was a little apprehensive about this one being a parent whose children will inevitably go on school trips, but I absolutely love psychological thrillers so was very grateful to receive this arc!

This story had me on edge the entire time! Full of twists and turns that shocked me and made me audibly gasp multiple times. I read this in one sitting, it gripped me immediately and did not falter.
An absolute nail biter, and a quick and easy read!

It was the title of the book that attracted me to this book. I haven’t read any of Miranda Smith books but really enjoyed this one and look forward to more of hers. I just could put this down. It was so addictive and left me turning page after page. I found it had to stop reading. I was shocked with the ending.

Thank you netgalley and bookoutre for this ARC.

eARC book review ✨
“The School Trip” by Miranda Smith
published: April 13, 2023
content warning: murder/death, loss of child/baby
rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

For all the thriller book lovers, tap in 😱


✨I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish. Ever heard of anyone refer to a book as a "nail biter?" Well... this is indeed a nail biting read. ISSA THRILLERRRRRRR!! This had me on edge. There were some plot twists that I was NOT expected by any means. This kept me on my toes for sure.
Each and every guess I made about certain outcomes were wrong. Miranda Smith’s writing is amazing! Love her writing style. I am looking forward to reading more by her.

✨The plot development of Emma (the protagonist) was PERFECT! I loved seeing ver growth throughout the book. I wanted to give her a big hug. It was the growth for me.

If you love thrillers like I do, get into as soon as possible! You won't regret it! 10/10!

Lastly, thank you @NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this! @bookoutre

🏷️ #bookstagram #bookish #booksta #bookreview #arcreview #netgalley #mirandasmith #thriller #thrillernovel

Thanks NetGalley and the Publishing House for this digital ARC in exchange of my honest review.

The School Trip is a nice psychological thriller that blend well with suspense and action. The story revolves around Emma, a kindergarden teacher and her six year old daughter. On the day of the trip one of the students goes missing and Emma leaves her daughter, Claire, in the hands of another teacher to go and search for the missing kid. Not knowing that her own child is in danger.

The characters are well made - you can feel their pain, their feelings and the author played well with the situations. The book is full of action and plot twist and even if there are not some mindblowing details it makes you to keep reading to find out what's happening. I have to say the main character, Emma, was that one character I didn't vibe with personally. She's the kind of "heroine mom" that doesn't necessary has to live alone but choose to do so and then complains daily about how she made it this far by her own. On more than one occasion she said things that made me not take a liking of her.

But the story is alert and even if Emma didn't stuck with me (I don't want it to be confused with me hating her as a character, I feel she was well written, I just don't like that type of people and I met plenty in my life that I know to stay away from them), the other characters were more of my type. The detective was really good at her job, thing I really want to add because is not common.

I didn't necessarily thought that the ending was good because it was really rushed for me. And even if the whole investigation is taking place in a few hours and we are witnessing every bit of information about the suspects you can feel the rush at the end when everything falls into the right places. But it was fast paced and to be honest I didn't mind it that much. It was a quick read full of action, suspense, feelings and I liked it.

I recommend it to everyone who wants to read a fast paced, suspense psychological thriller that will most likely make you question some things.

I love when I am reading a book and thinking I have guessed the twist, only to be proven wrong. This happened multiple times while reading The School Trip! I devoured this book in less than 3 days! As a big fan of psychological thrillers, it takes a lot to "wow" me, but this did exactly that! I have always loved reading books by Miranda Smith and cannot wait for the next one!

Quick, propulsive read that will have you racing to the end! Well-developed characters, told with emotional maturity and with plenty of suspects -,just not who you might think.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

When Emma's daughter disappears from a school field trip while Emma is searching for another child who wandered off, she has no idea how connected to the kidnapper she is.
This was a couldn't turn the pages fast enough read.
I thought I'd guessed who it was but I was so wrong. The actual identity of the kidnapper was one I didn't see coming.
A must-read for anyone who enjoys page-turning mysteries.
I received a complimentary copy; all opinions are my own.

I started this book and quickly realized I was over 100 pages in. This book is every teacher's fear x 1000 ( including myself) losing a child on a field trip. Emma a K teacher is on a field trip with her school along with her daughter. Towards the end of the trip a student goes missing and Emma along with a few others begin to look for the girl. She leaves her daughter with a colleague. The little girl is found however when Emma returns now her daughter is missing ( Claire). Emma and Claire have already suffered the loss of her husband / dad a year prior. Claire is no where to be found and Emma has her work friends for support. She has not kept in touch with her Brother in Law since her husband died. Her Brother in Law and his wife come to help. They also have some secrets of their own that are exposed. On top of this one of her work friends is not who they say they are. Emma quickly realizes the disappearance of Clair is linked to her husbands death.
This is a quick read that will keep you wondering what will happen next. All of a sudden you are half way through the book and don't want to put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Another good one from Miranda Smith. This one focusing on a school trip to a pumpkin patch.
A slow starting thriller that is a very enjoyable read.
Always enjoy books by this author.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for this eCopy to review

I found The School Trip slow and predictable with a few too many plot holes. I found all the 'I'm a bad mother ' parts a bit over the top and not really believable.

My main issue being How the first girl is just missing and there is not too much panic. To it being a full blown police investigation/abduction when Emma's daughter Claire goes missing. There was such a big difference between the 2 that was never fully explained.

Also the culprit came out of left field, and it seemed very rushed at the end I would have liked more of their point of view.

Overall, It's an easy ready but could be a much better thriller.

Thank you to netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this book!

The book starts at a field trip to the local pumpkin patch. Emma (FMC) is a teacher at the school where her daughter also attends. Claire, Emma’s daughter is so excited for this day because her and her mom look forward to visiting this pumpkin patch every fall. Emma isn’t giving Claire the full attention she wants her mom to give her because she still need to do her job as a teacher. The day is more stressful than fun for Emma. Things get even worse when a student goes missing…once that student is found Emma gets even worse news, Claire is now missing. I don’t like to give a lot of details in my reviews because I always think it’s best to go in blind!

I rated this book 4.5 stars. I was not immediately sucked in from the start but once I got hooked I couldn’t stop reading. This is easily a thriller you can binge in one day. I loved the writing style and the twists. Not once did I think “that’s dumb” like some thrillers. Certain parts I think could have had a little more emotion or suspense but overall I really enjoyed it! Put this on your tbr for Halloween time! Check trigger warnings before reading!

<i>The School Trip</i> was my first Miranda Smith, and it seemed like a good introduction to her writing. I like that <i>The School Trip</i> didn't feel like every other mystery that I've read lately, which is a feat because the market is so saturated right now. At times the plot felt a little too rushed. I don't know if I fully bought into who the kidnapper ended up being since it seemed to come quickly and out of nowhere. However, I still enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more of hers.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

This was a fast and engaging read that really sucked me in. It centers on Emma, whose daughter Claire disappears on a class trip. Working with friends and police and digging further into the death of her husband 2 years ago, Emma is able to connect some dots as who who might be behind the kidnapping.

The book really puts you front and center in the investigation and it was scary to be in Emma’s position. The first part of the book with the distraction is really well done- I went into the book blind and didn’t realize until I read it that the initial scary situation was only a diversion (which the synopsis tells you). I was periodically frustrated with some of the things Emma said and did, but I could also fully empathize with her under the circumstances. I thought the ending of the book was a bit abrupt and almost a little too easy, but that also tracked with what I had learned up until that point about the characters involved.

Overall, good story that really gives you all the feels while also providing a good mystery to solve. Not a whole lot of twists, as I would say this falls more into police procedural than psychological thriller, but an engaging mystery. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first read of Miranda Smith's and what a read it was.
Fast paced, emotional. Suspense and twists and everything you would expect from a thriller.
I felt connected to the characters.
Plenty of secrets being uncovered as the story goes on.
Five Stars from me

Massive thank you to netgalley for giving me access to this before publication date.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC of Miranda Smith's upcoming publication. I have read Smith's work before and really enjoyed her way of storytelling. This novel takes place in a day when during a school field trip Emma's daughter goes missing. Throughout the novel and the police's investigation we find out why Charlotte was abducted and by whom for reasons that go back to the time that Emma's husband died in a car accident two years ago. Good storytelling with a resolution at the end. Would recommend.

I finished this in one sitting and all I could think of was.. what a mess.. in a good way!! The book started off with a little backstory of some of the characters. As the story progressed, I started getting frustrated because I COMPLETELY empathise with Emma’s distress in every chapter even though I don’t have kids myself. But the story does get more enjoyable as the suspense builds and when it started to pick up, it went really fast and was impossible to put down.

One thing I didn’t like was how almost every single character felt the need to lie about something and there are way too many convenient coincidences, although that didn’t affect how much I enjoyed this book.

The School Trip is my first book by Miranda Smith and I can’t wait to read more!

This book immediately drew me in with the point of view of an unnamed narrator who is obviously very troubled and reveals plans to "take the girl".

Then the point of view shifts to Emma, a single mother who is an elementary school teacher trying to balance the demands of being both teacher and mother to her daughter Claire. While Claire is not in Emma's class, she's a part of the school trip to the pumpkin patch, which should have been the perfect trip. The circumstances were idyllic--the weather was beautiful, the kids were all excited, and the reader is learning small yet personable things about Emma and her co-workers.

As a teacher there are few things more terrifying than losing a student on a school trip, but that's exactly what happens. After a frantic search, the girl is found, only for another tragedy to occur--now Claire is the one missing.

The twists and turns and how intricately the moving pieces of the plot all come together was nothing short of amazing. There are layers of mystery to uncover, and I found myself reading at breakneck speed to see what everything meant.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an early read. THE SCHOOL TRIP will publish April 13, 2023.

A very interesting read focused around education settings. I must admit, I was pretty much hooked from the word go and devoured the book!