Review: It’s Behind You by Kathryn Foxfield

Hey everyone!
Today, I am excited to be sharing my review of It’s Behind You by Kathryn Foxfield with you all.

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GoodReads Synopsis:

Welcome to the reality game show that’ll scare you to death! Have you got what it takes to last the night?

Five contestants must sit tight through the night in dark and dangerous Umber Gorge caves, haunted by a ghost called the Puckered Maiden. But is it the malevolent spirit they should fear … or each other?

As the production crew ramps up the frights, secrets start to be revealed. These teenagers have hidden motives for taking part in It’s Behind You! and could some of them be … murder?

It’s ‘Most Haunted’ meets ‘I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here’ for fans of Holly Jackson and Karen McManus.

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My Review:

It’s Behind You was recommended to me for the 12 Challenge, and I also managed to tie it in to my 2022 Reading Challenge for the ‘YA Book’ prompt. I have been wanting to pick up a book by Kathryn Foxfield for a while, so I was definitely excited to read this one, and it didn’t disappoint.

The story begins with the final interview with producer Jackie Stone, and contestant Lex Hazelton, before the start of It’s Behind You: Season 3, Episode 10 (Umber Gorge Caves). Lex is very clearly not buying in to the supernatural elements of the show, and is making that obvious in her interview. She is there for the money, but Jackie knows that there is more to it than that, just like Lex knows that Jackie would do anything to get her viewing ratings back up. You can tell immediately that these two do not get along.

Before she even enters the caves, weird things begin to happen to Lex, and despite her beliefs that it’s all Jackie playing pranks on her, and her claims that nothing scares her, it’s beginning to creep her out. If this is what she feels like already, who knows what it will be like once the show actually starts! From the way the book begins, I couldn’t wait for the creepiness to continue, and for it to increase as the story went on.

We are soon introduced to the rest of the contestants, and they’re a very interesting mix of people. All of them are completely different, and have their own reasons for entering the show which they openly discuss, but do any of them have a hidden agenda? Lex is clearly not interested in getting to know any of them, and just wants to scare them all in to leaving so that she can win all of the prize money for herself. I immediately liked Lex, despite her cocky, arrogant attitude. She was so much fun, she made things more interesting, and I loved her no care attitude.

As the story goes on, things begin to escalate. It seems that the contestants are not alone in the caves, and weird things begin to happen. It isn’t until they find the cameraman dead that they realise the severity of their situation. But could it really be the Puckered Maiden? Is she real? Are the caves actually haunted? Those are the questions that I was desperate to find out the answers to.

From there onwards, the intensity of the story really picks up. Secrets begin to reveal themselves, and there are so many twists. The contestants begin to form a friendship, and really start to stick together and stand up for each other, but that doesn’t stop the danger and the horror from continuing, or getting worse. The contestants could never have prepared themselves for what they endured in those caves. There were a few big reveals towards the end of the story, some of which I saw coming, and others that I didn’t, and the ending itself is left open for you to make your own mind up about.

Although I predicted some of the outcomes, overall this was a really fun read, and there were certainly elements that I wasn’t expecting. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.

I give It’s Behind You a 4.5 star rating!

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