I really got into this one immediately, the character dynamics really intrigued me and I'm a sucker for novels that deal with possible wrong convictions with a real mystery at the heart.

The writing is immersive and the plot I'd clever, you flip flop between one theory and another whilst being entirely caught up in these characters lives.

Overall an excellent read. I enjoyed this authors last novel too so now she is on my must read list.

While the premise of this book really captivated me, I couldn’t really keep my interest.

I think the plot of whether or not Nina had seen the murder was exciting but the two timelines dragged and there was nothing new here.

Good for a beach read.

I absolutely loved Katie Bishop’s debut novel The Girls of Summer so was really looking forward to reading High Season.
20 years ago 17 year old Tamara Drayton was found in her family pool in the South of France, the testimony by her five year old sister Nina led to the conviction for murder of Josie Jackson, 20 years later a documentary is being made about the case and Nina, her brother Blake and Josie are all back in the same French town. High Season is a stunning read, it’s told over dual timelines and the reader is taken back to the weeks leading up to Tamara’s death. As with her previous novel, the author is so skilled at portraying the thoughts and lives of young women and teenage girls and I was completely drawn into the lives of Josie and Hannah in the earlier section and Nina in the present day section. The setting is gorgeous and I longed to be reading the novel in the South of France. It’s a multi layered and beautifully paced novel that I highly recommend.
4.5 stars.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

I rarely enjoy a book which skips between two periods in time and unfortunately the way this book was written, didn’t manage to convince me that it a good way to write a story. A five-year-old girl sees her sister lying dead in the family swimming pool, but did she really see what led up to this event? The story is told in two different parts with over twenty years between them. It was okay but didn’t really hold my interest.
My thanks to Net Galley and the author for an ARC.

3 and a half stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
An enjoyable read, definitely one for reading on a sun lounger by the pool. Lots of twists and turns keeping you turning the pages. Nina’s memories of witnessing a death as a five year old haunt her as an adult and alongside some other interesting characters we see the plot unfold. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this early copy.

#HighSeason #NetGalley
A good read.
For twenty years, Nina Drayton has told herself that she must have seen her sister, Tamara, being murdered by the family babysitter – Josie Jackson. That she doesn’t remember it because she was five, and amnesia is a normal trauma response. But now, with the anniversary of Tamara’s death approaching and true crime investigators revisiting the case, Nina finds it harder to suppress her doubts. Returning to her family’s sparkling villa on the Cote d’Azur for the first time since the murder, she wants to uncover more about the summer that changed so many lives. Because if she was wrong, then she sent an innocent woman to jail – and the real killer is still walking free.
I really loved it. It's very enjoyable.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK Transworld Publishers Bantam for giving me an advance copy.

An interesting book although I did feel that it is the sort of book you would read on a sunbed around the pool with a drink in your hand. There were lots of twists and turns and back and for the with the time line which worked for the book but not my taste really.

If you liked Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid you will love this book.

Intriguing characters , down to earth writing and some True crime videos thrown in the mix., This book has pretty much everything I love in a thriller.

I was hooked with all the different characters the author portrayed . I was invested in how the case affected all the victims. A true page turner read.

I only knocked off a star due to some repetitiveness.

i definitely would recommend to friends and family I very much enjoyed it.

Thanks NetGalley for the read in return for my honest review.

Loved, loved, loved this one.

High Season tells the story of the death of Tamara Drayton, the daughter of socialite Evelyn Drayton. When Tamara is found dead in a pool during a party, occasional babysitter Josie is found guilty of the murder - largely based on the evidence of 5-year old Nina, the youngest person to give evidence at a trial.

20 years later, the death is brought back into the public imagination through a podcast which casts doubt on Josie's death. With Nina unable to remember much about the fateful day, what did she really see that day and was Josie actually innocent?

Firstly, I know what you're thinking. Cold or historic crime, podcaster casting doubts on conviction, true crime community become interested. Haven't I read this before? I sort of agree. I think there are so many books with this trope however this one is so expertly written I would encourage everyone to read it.

It tells the story over a dual timeline, the present day and the lead up to the fateful party. The book teases away nuggets of information in both timelines which come to a dramatic conclusion.

I loved it and would recommend to all.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers | Bantam for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

It is 2024, but Nina Drayton is still haunted by events twenty years earlier when she gave evidence following the drowning of her older sister, Tamara, in the south of France. Her evidence led to the conviction of a local girl, Josie Jackson, but, now, the verdict is being challenged and Nina is not entirely sure that her evidence was the truth, the whole truth.

Back in 2004, Nina is the youngest daughter of Evelyn Drayton and her brother, Blake is assured of, or at least believes he is entitled to, the attentions of Josie Jackson and Hannah Bailey, who live at the poorer end of the Cote d’Azur village. The family have inherited money and like to party.

As story moves from 2004 to 2024 and back again, the truth about what happened to Tamara gradually unfolds. It’s a complicated story, added to by a commentary from an amateur Instagram crime reporter and a documentary film team revisiting what happened. The time shifts can be confusing and you have to keep track of a range of characters.

As in her previous novel, The Girls of Summer, Katie Bishop writes well about young people and the Mediterranean setting and, of course, in the end the truth will come out in an explosive ending. It’s a good story, highly readable and well written.

A good page turner. | Ideal as a beach read to while away the hours whilst on a summer holiday. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance reader copy.

Nina’s recollections as a five year old leads to the conviction of a young girl and those memories continue to haunt her as an adult. There are some interesting characters involved and a twisting plot which leads to a surprising finale.

I was surprised and pleased to receive an ARC of The High Season in exchange for my honest review, especially since I had previously reviewed Katie Bishop’s debut novel.

I really enjoyed this book! It was packed with mystery and suspense, keeping me hooked from start to finish. The twists and turns were so well-crafted that I could never have imagined the way it all ended, it completely took me by surprise.

Katie Bishop has done a fantastic job weaving an engaging and unpredictable story. Overall, it’s a great read and one I’d definitely recommend to fans of suspenseful, gripping novels.

An enjoyable read, found it to be very pacy and once I'd settled into the story I tore through it. I did think I guessed who the real killer was quite soon though, but I still enjoyed the payoff of the truth

All the main characters felt well fleshed out, or at least as well as they could be for the length of the book. Would have liked to see deeper into Tamara, and felt Nina got little screen time (if you will), but then again it wasn't *really* her story

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The reason why I gave it three stars though other than the above, was that I didn't enjoy it quite as much as The Girls of The Summer, which I've already re-read more than once

I really enjoyed this book and it was chalk full of mystery and suspense. The authors descriptions were impeccable and I loved her writing style. A great story. X

When 17 year old Tamara Drayton is found floating dead in her family's swimming pool at their property on the Cote d'Azur, suspicion falls on the family babysitter Josie, who is also tasked with the care of Tamara's younger sister Nina.

Nina herself plays a part in Josie's conviction, but were her perceptions of what happened at that time entirely reliable? Many years later it seems not...

This is a gripping story told through timelines featuring two summers that are years apart. Earning 3.5 stars with ease, this one is well worth a read.

This was a very gripping book from beginning to end. Someone trying to live their life after a false imprisonment told between their life then and the time of the crime. I knew I'd love it.

I was a big fan of Katie Bishop's debut novel so was very excited to get my hands on 'High Season' and it didn't disappoint!
I loved the way in which the story of Tamara's murder was told over two summers twenty years apart as Bishop balanced the pacing and time switches effortlessly. The way the tension built between the characters in the present but the backstory unravelled in the past flowed so well across the entirety of the novel.
The synopsis of this story feels familiar but this approach is fresh and vivid, I can really see how Bishop has progressed in style and confidence since her debut, whilst also a willingness to try and play with tone and structure. 'High Season' is the perfect summer read with layers of intrigue and a setting of high lux for this thriller. A gorgeous page turner beginning to end.

4.5 rounded up

The summer of 2004, The High Season, leaves many lives shattered when 17-year-old Tamara Drayton is found floating face down in the pool of her family mansion on the Côte d’Azur. Her six year old sister , Nina, becomes the key witness in the murder trial in France at which her babysitter Josie Jackson is convicted. What exactly did Nina see, never mind questions about how reliable the evidence of a six-year-old can be?? Twenty years on, all those involved live with the legacy of that night, some can party on, others are tortured by it or riddled with guilt. Can the truth finally emerge when a new documentary programme explores the notorious case?

As avid readers, you’ll understand that feeling when you just know you’re going to enjoy a book right from the start. That’s how I feel about High Season as Katie Bishop nails the follow-up to her successful debut ‘The Girls of Summer’. The different narratives and dual timelines work really well, allowing you to grow in understanding especially of the central characters and makes my mind work overtime trying to figure out the truth of THAT night, I don’t incidentally! The author drops little bombs into the storyline which makes me sit up very straight often with a sharp inhale of breath.

So, what is so good? Everything really! The plot explores so many things as well as the obvious one centring around Nina such as the true crime community, dynamics of family and friendship, those with wealth and potential power versus those who haven’t and so on.

The south of France location really is Location, Location, Location via Nina’s mother Evelyn’s somewhat jaded pink villa by 2024 though its former glory of 2004 is easy to see. The heat of 2004 which I clearly remember as coincidentally I’m in the south of France and it sure was a hot one, adds to the intensity as there seems to be no escape from it and it mirrors the increasing temperatures between the various characters.

The lifestyle, lifestyle, lifestyle of the high season looking at how the other half lives, the notoriety of Evelyn, the glamour, the romances, the gossip, the self-destruction, the death of Tamara all leads to atmosphere in abundance.

The characterisation is excellent, they’re all well portrayed from Tamara to Nina to Josie and so on what emerges is not a simple tale, the tension between them with the addition of teenage angst and being outsiders, the dysfunction and the dynamics are all fascinating. If you add in the true crime angle, you definitely have trouble in paradise. Some scenes are so intense they take my breath away and the ending is very good and moving.

Overall, this is a terrific follow-up and one I can highly recommend.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Random House UK., Transworld, for the much appreciated arc return for an honest review.

I was really looking forward to this one, but unfortunately it didn’t turn out to be as good as I expected. The plot was somewhat unique for me as I have not read many thrillers with the dead sister storyline, although I know they must exist but for me personally it was a new trope, and this was the best aspect of the book.

It was not boring and it kept me reading to the end without being desperately bored, but the writing itself was very elementary and basic. I felt that this author lacked the finesse and skills needed to write a properly fleshed out novel. There were some pacing problems and overall this just felt like the book of a writer who has not yet honed their skills it’s her second book and while it was only a 2.5 for me this time the bones of the book were decent enough to keep the door open for her later works. I would be interested in seeing what she comes out with in the future.