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Don’t You Dare by AJ Waines

What if your daughter becomes your enemy?

When barmaid, Rachel, discovers her soon-to-be-married daughter, Beth,​ pinned down by a stranger in the pub cellar, Rachel lashes out in panic and the intruder ends up dead. In desperation, Rachel convinces Beth they should cover up the crime and go ahead with the planned wedding in one month’s time.

Rachel, however, has her own reasons for not involving the police.

Hiding their dreadful secret is harder than they both imagined and as the big day approaches and the lies multiply, Beth becomes a liability. Rachel looks on in dismay at the hen party​ ​when, after too many drinks, Beth declares she’s about to make a special announcement. But before Beth can say a word, she disappears…

When two people share a chilling secret, can both hold their nerve?

This book explores the dark side of a mother-daughter relationship when pushed to the limit.

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Author’s Bio

AJ Waines has sold over 450,000 psychological thrillers worldwide and topped the UK and Australian Kindle Charts in 2015 and 2016 with her number one bestseller, Girl on a Train.

She was a Psychotherapist for fifteen years, during which time she worked with ex-offenders from high-security institutions, gaining a rare insight into criminal and abnormal psychology.

She is now a full-time author of psychological thrillers and murder mysteries with publishing deals in France, Germany, Norway, Hungary and USA (audiobooks). In December 2017, she signed a UK two-book deal with Bloodhound Books.

AJ Waines has has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and The Times and been ranked a Top 10 UK Author on Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing).

The author lives in Hampshire, UK, with her husband. More on AJ’s psychology background here.

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My Review

5 Stars

Rachel is a barmaid and discovers her daughter, Beth pinned beneath a man in the pub’s cellar. She immediately thinks that Beth is being raped and reacts. Unfortunately the poor man hits a barrel and ends up dead. Rachel doesn’t want to report the death to the police because she has secrets of her own that she wants to keep quiet. Beth is supposed to be married in one month and was not exactly being attacked so she has her own secrets. What follows is a back and forth telling between Rachel and Beth as both try to deal with the death and the all of the lies that try to cover each other.

Rachel is a single mother and very protective of Beth. I understand this but she takes it to the extreme and has to be in control of Beth’s life. Beth is trying to find her way in the world and is having a hard time dealing with the death because she knows she should do the right thing and report it but her mother is controlling her. This leads to a lot of guilt and potential trouble as she has a announcement at her hen party.

This story goes round and round as both women has their own issues and the pressure builds to a breaking point. It’s easy to understand why Rachel wants to protect Beth but it gets frustrating the amount of control she has. As the pressure mounts we get closer and closer to finding out what her secret really is. I can understand how Beth is trying to find herself and is easily going to lose it with her own secrets.

This is a great thriller that draws you in and holds you tight as you get closer and closer to finding the truth buried beneath everything. This is one thriller you need to check out.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

I would like to thank Bloodhound Books for the opportunity to read and share this book.