I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

And Don't Look Back is a twisty thriller about Harlow Ford, a teenage girl whose whole life has been spent on the run with her mother Cora. Harlows never spent long in one place and has always lived life, having to pack up at a fast pace and move on as something or someone unknown snaps at their heels.
Cora has always clammed up whenever Harlow questions why they're running, and after the pair start to run from their current home and are in a fatal car accident, which leave Harlow an orphan, Harlow must remember her mums rules and navigate the future alone. The last thing her mum told her was how to find a safe deposit box with her name attached to it. When Harlow accesses it, she finds a shocking bundle of items that lead her back to her mums childhood home.
As Harlow tries to piece fragments together, she is intact putting herself in danger.
I did enjoy the twist in this book and certainly didn't guess several parts within it, which was definitely a bonus.

this was such a twisty thriller! so many unexpected twists, threw you right into the deep end right at the start. very fast paced, typically ya but I enjoyed that aspect. my jaw dropped at a few of the twists, really was a great read.

I think going into this one blind is the way to go! but there’s mystery’s upon mystery’s to uncover & you’ll be jollied around to find out the truth!

thank you NetGalley & Bonnier Books UK for the arc of this 🫶🏻

Rebecca Barrow's *And Don't Look Back* is a gripping thriller that keeps readers on the edge of their seats from start to finish. The novel’s intriguing premise and compelling narrative make it a must-read for fans of suspenseful mysteries and family dramas.

Harlow's life has been a series of short-lived escapes and new identities, always on the run with her enigmatic mother, Cora. The reason for their constant flight remains a mystery to Harlow—until Cora's sudden death throws her world into chaos. Left with a slew of unanswered questions, Harlow embarks on a journey to uncover the truth about her mother's past.

The discovery of a key to a hidden safety deposit box leads Harlow to Crescent Ridge, her mother’s hometown. As she delves into the town’s secrets, she uncovers a web of buried truths that forces her to reevaluate everything she thought she knew about her mother—and herself.

Barrow’s writing is sharp and engaging, creating a vivid atmosphere and a series of twists that keep the reader guessing. Harlow’s personal journey is both emotional and thrilling, as she grapples with the revelations about her family's dark history. The setting of Crescent Ridge is evocatively portrayed, adding an extra layer of intrigue to the mystery.

Fans of *We Were Liars*, *One of Us Is Lying*, and *Girl in Pieces* will find much to enjoy in *And Don't Look Back*. It’s a thought-provoking thriller with strong character development and a plot that deftly combines suspense with emotional depth. This book is a testament to Rebecca Barrow’s ability to craft stories that are both gripping and profoundly resonant.

This was such a great read, I loved it so much. It was thrilling and twisty. I just ate up the pages. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Wow, this book surpassed all my expectations! My favourite thing about this was the characters. They were so three dimensional, real, and intense and they brought the story to life. There were so many unexpected twists and turns that kept me on edge the entire time I was reading. It was impossible to put down and it’s a story I definitely will remember!

If you like books that throw you in a that deep end from the first page then And Don't Look Back has to go to the top of your to read list. As right from the first page, the story just hits you in you in the chest, steals your breath and does not let you get it back until the final page. What a read.... excellently crafted, well thought out and one that keeps you on the edge of your seat!

Thank you to Bonnier books for this arc copy on Netgalley!

What a thrilling book! I was gripped from the first page until the last. Could not get enough.

This exhilarating story follows Harlow, who has been constantly on the move with her mother ever since she was born. However, when a sudden accident occurs, Harlow is forced to question her life and the reasons behind their constant running.

Determined to uncover the truth about her past, Harlow sets out to find her remaining family members. But in doing so, she uncovers more than she bargained for and is forced to confront her own identity and the secrets her mother kept hidden.

As she discovers more about her past and the mother she thought she knew, Harlow must decide whether to keep running or finally face her problems head-on. Will she be able to come to terms with the newfound discovered knowledge and learn to live with it? Or will she keep on running like her mother taught her to do?

I was captivated by this book and found myself eager to read on. There were moments when it kept me on edge and left me feeling anxious to learn what would happen next.

Harlow was a captivating character, with her flaws seamlessly integrating with her upbringing. Initially, I was concerned that the frequent shifts between centuries, from Harlow's mother's perspective at a similar age then back to Harlow, would be confusing and disrupt the flow of the narrative. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the transitions actually enhanced the story and helped to move it forward.

As someone who enjoys stories with mysterious disappearances and unexpected twists, I highly recommend this book. It is a captivating read from start to finish.

Being on the run may start out as an interesting way to create a new version of yourself but when that’s all you know, the lure of a normal life gets stronger as time goes on. Harlow would never tell her mother this but she wants roots and to discover who she really is. Her wish is granted sooner than she would like as her past comes crashing into her present when a decades old mystery is hard to resist.

It took longer than I would’ve liked to get caught up in Harlow’s curious family background. When the mystery picked up speed and got even more twisty, I started to get hooked and was determined to finish the book to find out the truth of the family secrets. It was a shame that the story felt uneven for me, but it did have a good surprise ending!

All Harlow has ever known her whole life is to run! Now that her mum Cora has,been killed in an accident, she has more questions than ever. Has her mum.made up that someone is chasing them and that's why they need to run? Or is there something else her mum hasn't told her about the past? Once Harlow decides to track down her mum's family it becomes apparent that there are secrets within the family that her mum never shared with her. Just who was her grandmother Eve and why did she walk out one night to go to the shops and never return? Leaving her three children behind.
Is a slow thriller but I thoroughly enjoyed it and couldn't wait to find out all the secrets. Will be recommending, many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this novel.

This was a bit of a slow thriller for me and didn’t really grip me. I felt it was too slow.

I expected the story to be quite fast paced given the first few chapters, a lot happened in them and I thought that would’ve set the pace but it didn’t, I felt it got slower which was a little boring for me.

I felt for Harlow, losing her Mum and having to find out about her life and secrets in the aftermath. She needs to keep running, like she had done her whole life.

I wanted more creepy, more thriller and more shock factors. I am quite disappointed.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bonnier Books UK for this ARC.

This is one of those books where I got into bed for an early night, thinking I’d just read a little bit before going to sleep, and then was still awake over two hours later finishing the book off.

This is a fast paced, high stakes thriller with more twists and turns than a country lane. Harlow is cautious and independent but she’s also grieving and vulnerable, creating a mix of reckless and careful actions to propel the plot forward. I rooted for her from the very beginning, a child who’s never had somewhere to home and who has now lost the only person she’s ever called that.

Plot wise, there was layers upon layers of history and secrets which meant even when there was a reveal, it wasn’t the full picture, which lead to me truly not being able to put this down.

And Don’t Look Back is a perfect cosy mystery, excellently plotted and wonderfully executed. I’m so exited to read Rebecca Barrow’s other novel and to see what comes next for her.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A girl is forced to uncover her family's dark secrets when her mother dies and leaves her with more questions and answers.

Harlow and her mum, Cora, have been on the run her entire life. She has no idea why or what they're running from, but in every place they stop, they create new identities and quickly move on to the next place at short notice. One night when they are once again leaving town, they are involved in a car accident, and in her dying words Cora tells Harlow about the location of a safety deposit box in her hometown which will be the key to the secret of their shifting, secretive existence. Cora is able to locate her mother's old home, her living sisters and starts to unravel the truth about her mother's life.

If you can suspend disbelief at the loopy plot with a fair few holes it's a pretty enjoyable, twisty thriller with some genuine surprises. Most of the characters except our heroine are fairly thinly drawn and sometimes the pace lags but overall it does deliver as a punchy, dramatic thriller.

Harlow has spent her young life with her mum, moving often and without notice, she has had to pack up and leave. it’s all Harlow has ever known. Until her mums tragic death. As she’s dying she tells Harlow about a safety deposit box, which will help Harlow move on again.
However Harlow discovers much more than she expected and is now left with the questions. Why were they always on the move? What were they running from?

Target audience YA will enjoy the twists and turns of this narrative. Harlow is a likeable character and you want things to work out for her.

I did feel like this was similar to a book and film I watched many years ago, however it did not curb my enjoyment of reading this

I am keen to discover more from this author and In the short straw we meet sisters Nina, Lizzie and Aisa. The sisters aren’t particularly close and after spending their dad’s birthday with him they are heading back to their separate lives when 1st a diversion and then the discovery they’re running out of petrol sees them heading towards the village they left as small children. A sudden storm hits and they realise they are near to the old mansion their mum used to clean at. Making the decision to head there as the car is seriously low on petrol, they are heading that way when the car has a bump. Badly injuring Nina’s ankle. They manage to get her up the driveway to the mansion only to discover it is derelict. Realising they are lost and alone, with no electricity and no way of contacting anyone they decide to draw straws to see who is going to brave the storm and head to the village to call for help. Youngest sister Aisa picks the short straw and heads off, while Nina and Lizzie explore the mansion. Childhood memories begin to come back. Are they alone in the mansion? Aisa meanwhile is running out of battery on her phone and as she is walking towards the village she suddenly realises she is not alone, who is out there in the woods with her? Will she manage to call for help and get back to her own life? The book is told in 2 timelines the now, as the girls realise that everything is not as it seems and begin to wonder if they are safe. And the past, from the point of view of their Mum, Rosemary who used to clean the mansion 1st for the old brigadier and then for his son and his family. I found this a very interesting but somewhat predictable book. I enjoyed the twists and turns but did work each one out as I read, Howe that is also part of the fun Holly has a good style of writing which makes you want to keep reading to find out if your theory is correct. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this titleoils like to thank Netgalley for introducing me to her my giving me the opportunity to read this title

Harlow and her mum have been on the run forever. As soon as Harlow gets used to a new school and a new name, her mum uproots her and she has to start all over again. Her mum just won’t tell her why. But then there’s a devastating incident and Harlow has to go back to her roots to find out exactly who she is.

A gripping thriller that builds throughout the book. A great YA mystery.

Harlow Ford has spent her life on the run with her mother, from town to town, changing identity. During another after-midnight escape, they get into a car accident and her mom succumbs to her wounds. Her dying words were of a key to a safety deposit box and to keep on running. She goes to the town and finds the box which contains money, IDs, life insurance papers, a will, a deed to a house, photos and an article about a missing woman named Eve Kennedy, who seems to be her grandmother. Will Harlow solve the mystery? Can she now have a future or will she be running all her life?

The narrative is intimate, the musings as attention-grabbing as is the intrigue, danger lurking in every corner of the powerful writing. Writing that has a quiet intensity. The author certainly knows how to build suspense. This is a slow burner with a melancholic vibe, the character's thought process deepening the emotional value even though her thoughts are occasionally repetitive. Infusions of the past add to the mystery and also aid the winding road to solving it.

The explanation for some things that happened was not what I expected, and I expected more if that makes sense: like how Oliver came into the story. But that jaw-dropping reveal that leads to all that comes after makes up for it. The back and forth between the before and the present was handled beautifully.

This book is about what it is to be family, the good and the bad that come with it. About secrets and the trouble they can cause. A poignant, deliciously surprising, thinking person's thriller that just keeps delivering till the end

I never could have guessed the ending no to this. The only thing holding me back was that it was a little repetitive at times.

And Don’t Look Back is a thriller that gathers pace slowly and results in a story that you do not see coming.
Our story is that of Harlow Ford, a girl who is used to running away. Her mother has taught her from an early age the skills needed to avoid being caught by the elusive presence she fears so much. Harlow is convinced her mother is paranoid…until the day they are in a road traffic accident and her mother’s dying revelation shows Harlow that nothing is what she thought.
What follows might be quite unlikely, but it definitely hooks you and makes you want to know exactly what Harlow’s mother was hiding, why she has over fifteen thousand dollars in a safety deposit box and how she links to the mysterious disappearance of a woman in a town Harlow had never heard of.
Finding things out as Harlow does is crucial to the enjoyment of this book. I wasn’t always convinced by her actions, but it was a great read. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this prior to publication.

Wow did I love this book. I’ll be honest and say I didn’t go into this expecting it to be a five-star read, but it was incredible. The writing wasn’t anything out of this world, but the twists were just so good. I really did not expect that ending, absolutely chilling.

My first thought about And Don’t Look Back is how similar its vibe is to Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power - the lack of fathers, mothers keeping secrets from daughters, and the women having eerily similar faces. This is meant as a compliment, they’re actually nothing alike, but to begin with, the creepy vibes were there.

Even though she made some questionable decisions, I really liked Harlow. Her flaws and surprisingly trusting nature, despite everything that has happened in her life, are what make her such an interesting protagonist. The fact that she is so young and therefore instantly trusts the adults in her, like most teens, is actually vital to the story and when everything comes together you do feel an intense dread for her.

I got through And Don’t Look Back much quicker than I thought I would. I’ve been in quite the slump lately, but I was instantly invested in this story. I wouldn’t say it’s a quick read, but the hours fly by quicker the further you get sucked into the mysteries.

I always find it so hard to review thrillers and mysteries without giving too much away. I’d love to talk about the plot twists in detail but I don’t want to ruin the surprise for anyone who’s thinking about reading And Don’t Look Back.

This was my first book by Rebecca Barrow and I will definitely be checking out her other thrillers. She’s become one of my favourite thriller writers. I’d highly recommend And Don’t Look Back.

And Don’t Look Back carves out a twisty atmospheric thriller that asks you what you would do in order to survive a horrific reality.

Ok, Barrow has my full attention. Bad Things Happen Here was a book that delves deep beneath the veneers of societally deemed perfection, exposing its deadly flaw, with wonderful representation and a killer mystery. It was a really twisty and constantly engaging mystery, with shocking reveals and an impressive focus on quieter character work. And Don’t Look Back shows that it was no one-hit wonder. It is packed with jaw-dropping twists and turns, as well as nuanced character work that allows for introspection and moments that are more internally devastating. It is a book that hinges on familial relationships and that bond of love and strength that can surface through horrendous circumstances. When the penny drops here, it is a true gut punch.

This is a book that delves head first into the lingering effects of abuse and trauma. It is a book that goes to some dark and difficult places. Barrow wallows in a complex morality that defies simplistic categorisation. Instead, it tells the story of love against the odds and the gritty dirt beneath your nails sometimes needed to survive. It is deeply touching and powerful. Barrow encapsulates it within a claustrophobic, atmospheric and Gothic style mystery. Setting here becomes its own character. The long buried secrets of Crescent Ridge feel omnipresent. They have invaded everywhere, with lies infecting everyone and everything around them. It feels corrosive to even enter the town. Barrow’s pacing is that of a thriller, razor-sharp and unrelenting. At every turn, the stakes are raised.

And Don’t Look Back is an ode to the murky depths you may go to in order to survive. It is affecting and character driven, yet still an incredibly strong and twisty mystery.