I would like to thank #MirandaSmith, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheSchoolTrip in exchange for an honest review. Miranda Smith knows how to pull the heartstrings while creating a tense mystery that does not disappoint. I look forward to what she writes next. Deliciously addictive… I read the book in one sitting because I simply could NOT look away… perfect… I seriously loved this one!! And I audibly gasped when the ending was revealed. Totally unexpected!”@floralbooklover, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Together with her work colleagues and her daughter, Claire who also attends the school, it’s a day of fun and adventure.

Miranda Smith is always at the top of her game and with The School Trip, she has penned a first-rate thriller that will have readers chewing their nails to the elbow. I loved how the story funneled into intensity while maintaining an intense pace. The subtle escalation was so well done. I found the emotions within this book genuine and well-written. The author, Miranda Smith, has done an excellent job of creating a tense and suspenseful atmosphere throughout the book. The characters are great! Emma is very strong and caring, she likes to do things herself without relying on others. Smith’s writing style is engaging and easy to follow, making it hard to put the book down. YES!… Entirely captivating, the plot twists at the end had me on the edge of my seat… Mind blown. Do yourselves a favor, READ IT!”Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The School Trip by Miranda Smith is a thriller that will keep you on edge until the end. Emma is a single mom of a six year old daughter, Claire. Emma's husband was killed in a car accident 2 years ago and it's been very difficult on her and Claire. Emma is a teacher at the same school that Claire attends. It's hard for Emma to find a balance in her life between work, taking care of Claire, and life. The emptiness she feels over the loss of her husband doesn't ever go away.We call the police and frantically scour the fields and playgrounds, my heart breaking as I cry out Claire’s name. And then a detective shows me a my daughter, skipping away from the farm, holding hands with an adult in a bulky coat, their cap pulled down low. The story unfolds through Emma's perspective as well as the first person narrative of the kidnapper and their unhinged "plan". I did question some of Emma's decisions but as I'm not a mother I guess I can't fully comprehend her reasoning behind her behaviour which seemed a little unhinged herself. But the mystery itself was thrilling, emotive and made for addictive reading. There are plenty of suspects to sift through but the real surprise was who. I really didn't see that coming...but it so made perfect sense. Of course, Claire had hoped to be spending the day solely with her mum at the Pumpkin Patch farm and isn't at all impressed to be having to share her with other students whose parents couldn't come on the school trip. But Claire's attention is soon diverted with the promise of feeding the animals and playing on the ten foot slide and play equipment the farm have. Tantrum diverted. Disclaimer: all items are bought personally unless otherwise stated. Posts that have been commissioned will be labelled as sponsored or collaborative based on the brand’s preference. Emma is a kindergarten teacher, and today is field trip day! She and her colleagues will be taking their classes to a pumpkin patch, and Claire, Emma’s six-year-old daughter, will be joining her mom and classmates. Emma’s been having a rough year; her husband was killed in a car accident, and she’s now raising Claire alone. She’s looking forward to her day, despite field trips being a challenge.

I STAYED UP UNTIL 1AM FINISHING THIS BOOK. I tried going to sleep, I really did. But every time I closed my eyes, I just kept thinking about this book, and I neeeedddddeddddd to know how it finished.” Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Had me hooked from start to finish, I binge read it in just over a day it was that good! So many twists and turns… didn’t see what was coming! A must-read.” Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Make no mistake I really liked this book. It had a few red herrings, had me guessing, there were twists and turns, and I was here for it. At 60ish percent I had formed a pretty solid theory. At 70 percent it was destroyed. I was salty, excited, irritated, and ready for this to play out. Impossible to put down and I read it in one sitting because I just had to know the ending... an absolutely fantastic book that I have been highly recommending." NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This novel was incredible, and not just in terms of suspense (where it was INSANE). But there's so much to be said in here about grief and the domino effect loss can create. Emma is a kindergarten teacher. She's a recent widow and worries about her 6 year old daughter Claire and how her father's death will affect her. As the story begins, all of the kindergarten classes take a field trip to the local pumpkin patch. Even though Claire isn't in Emma's class, they are on the field trip together. The kids have a great time - petting the animals, going on a hayride and playing in the park. Claire doesn't get to spend as much time as with Claire because she has to take care of her own class but she trusts her daughter's teacher to do the same. When a little girl goes missing, Emma works with the other teachers to find her. The police are called and when the little girl is found, the parents and their children begin to leave. That's when Emma realizes that Claire is missing. She knows that her daughter wouldn't leave with a stranger and begins to search for her. The police have a video of the park exit that shows Claire walking out of the park with a stranger. After losing her husband two years before, she is totally upset that she may have also lost her daughter and blaming herself as she wonders if there is somehow a link between her husband's death and her daughter's disappearance. Some Days Are Dark is a gripping, suspenseful story centered around bad choices and the possibility of second chances. This story will draw you in and hold your attention to the end. The story comes with a great flow, and the end will make your jaws drop. There are also numerous twists and turns that will keep you guessing. If you are a Gone Girl fan, you will love this book. We go on to meet Emma, a school teacher and single mother, taking her students (including her daughter) on a field trip. Within those first few chapters, you really grow to like Emma & her coworkers. There's not an overbearing amount of detail about them, but it's enough to want to see where the day takes them. The day takes a turn when one child goes missing, and as a the reader, you are immediately put in panic mode. Unfortunately, that is only the start of the horrible day to come.

This book follows Emma, a single mother to a six year old daughter, who is trying to navigate her life two years after her beloved husband was killed in a car crash. She is also a dedicated teacher at her daughter, Claire’s, school. The book starts with Emma and Claire on a school trip at a pumpkin patch with the whole class. The day starts off good, but ends in disaster when Emma’s daughter goes missing, and is suspected to have been kidnapped. Emma is sure Claire wouldn’t have left with a stranger and it must have been someone she knew, so Emma is questioning everyone and everything and has no idea who she can trust.The rest of the book races through the evening, as they try to find Claire. As the police investigate, Emma soon realizes that some of her coworkers she thought were friends were anything but. Everyone seems to be lying, who can she trust? We also get the first-person narrative of the kidnapper thrown in, and “The Plan” is definitely unhinged.