I enjoyed this psychological thriller overall but it was a little slow and a tad drawn out in places. Having said this it had a remarkable last few chapters that were certainly worth the wait.

This is a complex thriller involving teenage relationships; full of tension, jealousy, bullying and a wish to fit in. Beth is a lonely child, frozen out of a normal school life by a group of girls, one of whom used to be her best friend. When Corinne, a French exchange student comes to stay, Beth thinks she has found a real friend but then events take stranger and stranger turns.. After Corinne's visit, Beth and her family follow her back to France and the situation becomes even more complex. This is a well written and very cleverly plotted novel. The dramatic ending is neatly signposted by flash forwards. It is a bit of a slow burner which gets darker as it progresses. It is definitely worth sticking with. The characters are believable and I felt a real sympathy for Beth. An enjoyable read with an important message about the insidious nature of bullying. Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Having read this book I can see why my mother never let me take part in the foreign exchange at school. You never know who it is your letting into your house. They watch you, they steal your secrets, they know to much. Interesting characters have been created by the author Karen Perry. Corinne comes over from France. Abi is pleased as the girl seems to be bringing her daughter Beth out of her shell but is life as rosy as she thinks. This book is a slow gentle burn. However, don't let that put you off. A fabulous ending with interesting characters. Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the oppurtunity to read this book.

Apart from being a bit hit and miss with pacing throughout, it piqued my interest from the first page and sucked me in with some rather interesting intrigue - how did we get to this point ? It centres around Corinne, a young French exchange student that comes to stay with the Holland's. Specifically with their youngest daughter Beth. A good thing really as, after a incident, Beth had really turned in on herself. Despite not being around as much as her husband Mark, mother Abi starts to notice Beth being influenced by Corinne, and not in a good way. But the rest of the visit rubs along and it isn't until tragedy strikes when both families get together in France that Corinne's true nature starts to really come to a head. And, to be honest, that's really all I can say here without possibly giving stuff away... Less is more going in... Although I do have to add that it is very slow in places, and not always in a good way and I did struggle a bit at times but that beginning is so explosive that I really wanted to see how we got to that point. And when we eventually got there, it was worth it. It helped also that the characters were on the whole able to hold the story up in the places it needed it! It's not necessarily what I would call a wholly character driven book but nearly. And I did feel for the characters as the author had put them through quite a lot before the book even begins and then heaps the pain on as the book progresses. All in all, not the strongest book I have read by this writing duo but a decent enough read in itself if you can read through the slow bits.

I found it difficult to get into this book after the first few attention grabbing pages, and even by the end I didn't fully believe in the character of Corinne. However, the final third really whipped along with satisfying twists and revelations. Thank you to netgalley and Penguin Michael Joseph for an advance copy of this book