The Dare

Lizzie and Alice were teenagers when they set out for a walk in the countryside. Neither knew that the day would be the last they spent together, or that Lizzie alone would walk home. Lizzie cannot recall what happened in the minutes before Alice died. She has always assumed it was an accident, but in the aftermath she finds herself shut out by Alice's friends and family, who believe she played some part in the death.

Twelve years later, Lizzie is unpacking in the house she now shares with her fiancé when memories she had buried begin to return. She has to ask whether the trauma of that day is finally resurfacing, or whether someone is working to destroy the happiness she has built since.

The novel is by Lesley Kara, whose earlier book was The Rumour. It is a psychological thriller that moves between the past and the present, and the twelve-year gap is central to its suspense, hinting at a patient plan built around one purpose.