I can say that this was my first Miranda Smith novel; however, it will not be my last. By the time I started reading it, I was already almost halfway through without realizing it. It is a powerhouse, edge of your seat thriller that I simply could not, nor did not want to stop reading. Miranda Smith brings to life one of the greatest fears ever known, the fear and agony of someone who is missing, a 6 year old child. This book will draw out your most untouched emotions, and make you feel anger, rage, sorrow, fear, sadness, joy, elation, and every human emotion that exists. The writing is so evocatively and emotionally powerful, that The School Trip will stay with you long after reading it.

The book starts off with a kindergarten field trip to a local pumpkin patch, playground, and petting zoo. There are several teachers and parent chaperones there for the children. One of the teachers, Emma, has her class of about 16 students; additionally, Emma’s 6 year old daughter, Claire, is there with her kindergarten teacher. Both Emma and Claire are looking forward to a few moments that they will be able to share on this field trip. Backstory of Emma and Claire, is that Emma’s husband was killed a little over 2 years ago in a car accident.

During the outing of the school trip, one little girl, Katy Callaway, cannot be found, and has now been missing for a little more than an hour. All the teachers and their aides, as well as some parents and the pumpkin patch employee set out to find little Katy, but unfortunately are not able. Panic starts to set in, is the girl hurt, was she taken…no one knows. Emma calls i. The police and the search begins, in an organized manner. Just when you think all hope is gone, Emma find little Katy hiding - scared, crying, and cold - in the middle of the corn maze where she had gotten lost. The police are informed, and all the parents and the children begin to be released from the secured pumpkin patch.

Once the chaos if finding Katy quiets down, one of Emma’s fellow teachers and close friend, Sarah, comes up to Emma with a look of worry and dread on her face. Sarah had been placed in charge of watching Claire, Emma’s daughter. Sarah tells Emma the worst thing any parent can be told…”Emma, I can’t find Claire anywhere!’

After the joy of finding Katy, the first little girl that was lost; the police now have a much larger and more terrifying ordeal on their hands. Claire is not just simply missing, she has been kidnapped amongst the chaos of finding Katy, that was created as a distraction, so that the real sinister plan of abducting Claire could take place.

This is every parent’s worst nightmare, and the most terrifying and harrowing thing that you could ever face. Why my child? Are they safe? Are they being hurt? What do they want with my child? All of these questions and more are brought about in this nail biting thrill ride to catch the kidnapper before little Claire could be gone for good.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Bookoutre for the ARC and the opportunity to write this unbiased and honest review.

This was very well paced and very well written - lots of tension throughout which made it difficult to put down. Exactly what a book needs!

Highly recommended for fans of the genre.

A solid, fast-paced mystery. Is a quick read through the story of not one but two missing children, the betrayal of friends and the power of family.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Wow! This was a fast paced book with so many twists. As a mother, it rips your heart out and also makes you rage! I cannot wait to read another book by Miranda Smith!

The story start with a field trip to a pumpkin patch--Emma who is a kindergarten teacher along with her daughter Claire goes to the school trip. As the trip is nearing to an end, a girl goes missing first and Emma being a responsible teacher starts looking for the girl, leaving her daughter behind with other teachers. As the girl was found and the crowd start leaving the premises, Emma realizes someone else also goes missing--her daughter had gone missing.

This was actually a really good thriller! Though it started out a little slow, it started gaining momentum towards the middle of the book when Claire was kidnapped. I was then hooked into the story. There are some twists, the story itself was fast paced and engaging. Did one of the teachers kidnap Claire? Secrets are revealed showing true color of the characters making nearly everyone in the story a suspect. The ending of the story was unexpected. This was the third book I have read from this author and I have to say, I really start enjoying reading her thrillers.

If you are looking for a thriller with child abduction as a theme, a thriller that is a page turner and unputdownable, then this book is one for you--worth five stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

The School Trip is a masterful example of how you write a domestic thriller. Missing kid books are pretty standard but I loved this one due to the ways that the plot unfolded and kept you guessing, The back-and-forth POV chapters kept me interested from start to finish. Bravo. Thanks for the advance review copy.

An interesting book with a story that all mothers dread, looking around and finding your child is not there.

As a teacher your main priority is to safeguard your class, however on a school trip what happens if your own child is on the trip and after looking for one child yours has gone missing.

A good and well written book with a few plot twists to keep you interested.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this book! Quick read because you can’t put it down. Such a smooth story line. Highly recommend!

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Bookouture for this entertaining ARC! All opinions are my own.

This book is a 3.5 out of 5 for me, just because of the ending.

Emma Howard is a teacher at North Ridge Elementary, and her young daughter, Claire, attends the school alongside her. Emma is still dealing with a loss over two years later that changed her life. The story starts off on a field trip to a pumpkin patch, but soon launches into a story about a mother fighting to get her baby back from the monster that snatched her.

I felt pretty entertained for the majority of this book; I needed a bit more action, though. I would’ve definitely enjoyed more chapters devoted to the kidnapper and his madness. The story started a little slow, but I think those extra chapters were necessary to tell the story. In addition, the last book I read had a young character, and I could not have been annoyed more by that kid’s behavior. Miranda Smith is fortunately able to write a child character without making them whiney or bratty, and that was the part of the book that made me happy.

In mystery books like this, I like to play detective and try to figure out the culprit/murderer/traitor, and I was wrong! I thought it was going to be an Along Came A Spider situation, but no. Smith stumped me which is great, but maybe there could’ve been a clue or two.

Overall, I would say that The School Trip was a pretty good read, and I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys these kinds of thrillers!

I really enjoyed this book. The story had me hooked from the start. I did suspect the person responsible very early in the book however it didnt deter from a great story. Highly recommend.

Anytime Smith releases a new thriller I’m there waiting.
Her novels always has me eagerly looking forward to the next one.

The School Trip by Miranda Smith had me up so late flipping the pages on my Kindle! Her writing style is pure gold and every single time she has me so engaged wanting more.
The characters were great, the plot was excellent and the style of writing was perfect. I have read many books by this author and enjoyed every one of them. I would recommend this to anyone who likes reading psychological thrillers.
An edge of your seat thriller could not put it down.

If you haven’t read The Killer’s Family you should, it’s one of my favorites.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Bookouture for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

THE SCHOOL TRIP is a straightforward psychological thriller with a couple of good twists. It wasn’t anything mind blowing, but I did want to keep reading to discover what happens at the end.

Emma is a teacher who is on a field trip with her kindergarten class. When a child goes missing from the sprawling pumpkin patch, she does whatever she can to find the little girl. But while Emma is busy searching, her own daughter, who is also on the trip, disappears.

There are several suspects in little Claire’s disappearance, but you won’t be able to guess the ending of this one. The book deals with grief and how it affects a family.

I rated this one three stars, which for me means it’s a good, solid book that I enjoyed reading, but nothing earth-shattering.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher Bookouture for the opportunity to read an eARC of THE SCHOOL TRIP in exchange for my honest opinion.

🎀 Review 🎀

Book: The School Trip
Author: Miranda Smith
Publisher: Bookouture
Release date: April 13, 2023

Star rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A child has gone missing at the school field trip! Who took her and who is to blame? Why did they take her? How do we get her home safely?

You are not going to want to put this book down! I was heartbroken and scared for the main character Emma through this page turner!
Emma is a teacher, a widower, and a mom to a kindergarten who is now missing. Learning about Emma’s past and how it ties in with her present was well done. After loosing her husband and now maybe her daughter Emma is lost.
Throughout the book you go on this rollercoaster with her of who she can and can not trust! I though half the characters in this book were the kidnapper at some point in the book.
It was also interesting getting the viewpoint of the kidnapper and why they are justifying their actions. It was frustrating to hear his perspective but it added another dimension to the story and made it feel realistic.
Both characters lost someone and were dealing with that grief so differently. This book shows your perspective on a situation can lead you down very different paths.

Favorite Quote: “We all have moments in our past we wish to change, but all we can really control is our actions in the present.”

Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture, and Miranda Smith for providing me with a ARC to read and give a honest review!

This book is written from a mothers point of view, Claire goes missing on a school trip in October after her mother left her in safe hands of another teacher, this book has you on the edge of your seat with unexpected consequences around every corner, this book is a gripping thriller and one you wouldn’t want to miss!

This was my first book by Miranda Smith but it definitely won’t be my last! It started off a little slow for me but it eventually picked up.

The School Trip by Miranda Smith is a must read! 4 out of 5 stars for sure. The ending shocked me and I usually can figure out endings so that was a nice surprise.

Claire and her mother was to go on a school trip in October
They went and to have a perfect animal and Halloween Pumpkin
But Claire had gone missing and I wondered if I could get her back
I had an ARC

Another brilliant abduction thriller, these are always my favourite l, and they’re even better when there’s an unexpected twist waiting just around the corner.

It’s the day of a school field trip, Emma is excited as this year her daughter Claire will be on the trip. Emma has promised to spend as much time as possible with Claire however she still has her responsibilities as the class teacher to uphold.

When one of the children from another group goes missing Emma jumps straight into action and goes looking for the missing child. With no sign of Katy and time ticking by Emma decides it’s time to involve the police.

Finally Katy is found, however when Emma returns to the main group she cannot find her own daughter Claire. Two children going missing in one day cannot be a coincidence surely?

Was someone planning this all along, were they waiting for Emma to be distracted so they could snatch Claire. The police believe whoever abducted Claire must be known to Emma as it’s usually the people closest who are capable of hurting us the most.

Emma has already lost her husband, is she now about to lose her daughter as well?

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for an advance copy of this book in exchange for this review. I’d definitely recommend this book for anyone who loves an abduction thriller and enjoys a book that’s easy to follow and to read.

A routine school trip becomes a nightmare when a child is missing. This has me on the edge of my seat as I tried to unravel the mystery. This is every parenting worst fear. I was unable to put this down.

Review date: March 18, 2023
Release date: April 13, 2023

What a ride! This was everything I like about thrillers. Fast paced, hard to put down and emotional. The main character Emma is very likeable and you feel all the emotions she’s experiencing with the loss of her husband and missing child. I kept guessing throughout the whole book who the kidnapper could be and why. But then when you think you have this all figured it out…boom comes the twist. Highly recommend it!

This is a first book by Miranda Smith that I read but it won’t be my last one.

Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.