My thanks to Graeme Williams for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for the paperback release of Don’t Turn Around by Jessica Barry. I’m delighted to stay in with Jessica today to find out more about the book and only wish I’d had time to squeeze in reading it as it sounds fabulous. Let’s see what Jessica told me:

Staying in with Jessica Barry

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Jessica and thank you for agreeing to stay in with me.

Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

I’ve chosen my latest novel, Don’t Turn Around, which is just out in paperback in the UK.

How exciting. Congratulations! What can we expect from an evening in with Don’t Turn Around?

Well, it’s a thriller, so hopefully it’ll have you on the edge of your seat! The novel opens with Cait and Rebecca driving through the night on a deserted road. Their destination is unknown. Out of the darkness, a pair of headlights appear, intent on destruction. The two women – who, up until that night, were strangers to each other – are forced to dig into their pasts to understand who might want to do them harm.

Wow. That sounds brilliant. Tell me more.

It’s a novel about the way in which women coexist with the constant threat of violence.

Anyone could be behind that pair of headlights. Anyone could be waiting for us around a darkened corner, waiting to strike.

You know that old cliché, ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’? For most women, that mantra is a way of life.

And very much resonant with recent events in the world Jessica. I think Don’t Turn Around feels bang up to date.

So far, so dark: I know. But there’s a silver lining in all this, and that’s the way that this fear bonds women together. The risk-assessment calculations make us sharper. The keys clutched between fingers make us tougher. The close calls and rough scrapes and stories of survival make us stronger.

For Cait and Rebecca, in order to survive their night on the road and make it to safety, they will have to work together and learn to trust each other. Their lives depend on it.

Don’t Turn Around sounds absolutely wonderful. I can’t wait to read it. I’m delighted it’s on my TBR.

What else have you brought along and why have you brought it?

I brought a bottle of bourbon to steady the nerves and a cosy blanket to hide under when things get a bit too tense!

I have a feeling that after reading Don’t Turn Around I might need that drink Jessica. Thanks so much for staying in with me to tell me all about it. Let me give blog readers a few more details.

Don’t Turn Around

TWO STRANGERS. DANGEROUS SECRETS. THEIR ONLY CHANCE IS EACH OTHER.

Cait’s job is to transport women to safety. Out of respect, she never asks any questions. Like most of the women, Rebecca is trying to escape something.

But what if Rebecca’s secrets put them both in danger? There’s a reason Cait chooses to keep on the road, helping strangers. She has a past of her own, and knows what it’s like to be followed.

And there is someone right behind them, watching their every move…

*Named one of the New York Times top 10 crime novels of 2020*

Already available in hardback and e-book, Don’t Turn Around is published by Penguin imprint Vintage and the paperback is available for purchase through the links here.

About Jessica Barry

Jessica Barry is a pseudonym for an American author who has lived and worked in London for the past fifteen years. Look for Me, previously published as Freefall, her debut thriller, has sold in more than twenty-two territories around the world and has also secured a major Hollywood film deal.

You can Follow Jessica on Twitter @jessbarryauthor and you’ll find her on Instagram.

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