Jade, Stef and Zoe are hiking Washington’s Bones Hollow Trail, braving cougars, snakes and the storms that roll in without warning. The friends’ paranoia isn’t helped by listening to a true crime podcast about the serial killer whose hunting ground they’re hiking through.
Then when Stef twists her ankle – badly – there’s no one to hear them scream for help. The only sign of life for miles is a cabin that looks straight out of a horror movie, with an owner who’s a little too eager to invite them in.
The friends must soon find a way to survive as things spiral out of control. After all, who can you trust when your back’s against the wall? But unfortunately for them, the only thing more twisted than this nightmare is their friendship…“
Hello and welcome to damppebbles. Today I am delighted to share my review of Backstabbers by Eliza Jabore. Backstabbers was published by Sphere Books on 2nd June 2026 and is available in hardcover, audio and digital formats. I chose to read a free eARC of Backstabbers but that has in no way influenced my review.
Three friends whose lives have taken different directions have a long standing agreement to meet once a year for a vacation. Rather than heading to a luxurious, sun-drenched resort, this year they’re heading to the Bones Hollow Trail. Nothing wrong there until you discover that the trail is the hunting ground of an infamous serial killer. A serial killer who is the subject of a very popular podcast, which, wildly, the three women are listening to whilst they hike! Asking for trouble, much?! Before long, one of the women has an accident which means she cannot walk comfortably. The women are ill-prepared for such an event, with no way to call for help or any shelter. Plus their food and water supplies are running low. They slowly press on until they find a shack hidden deep in the woods. The shack’s inhabitant is a man who puts the women on edge. But his offer of help is the only one they’re going to get, and they’re in a bit of a pickle! The situation turns from really quite bad to a LOT worse very, very quickly…
I very much enjoyed Backstabbers. Can you call a dark survival thriller fun? Yes. Yes, I think you can. My kind of fun anyway! I found this compelling debut to be a thoroughly readable and engrossing tale of toxic female friendships. I spent most of the book wondering where the most threat was coming from: the woods, the cabin and its ‘odd’ occupant or the trio of women. I thought Jabore had written the characters well. Zoe is the ringleader who decided they would trek a serial killer’s stomping ground for their yearly trip. She’s antagonistic, a firm believer that she can talk her way out of any situation and utterly selfish. I found her horribly obnoxious, but I revelled in how much I disliked her. It made the book all the more interesting, waiting to see what terrible thing Zoe would say or do next. Jade is the main protagonist, and we see most of the story unravelling through her eyes. At times, I wanted her to grow more of a backbone. Stand up to Zoe’s reckless, irresponsible, impulsive behaviour. Take her down a peg or two when she’s verbally berating a hungry bear of a man. Steph is more in the middle, the go-between trying to keep both parties calm and together whilst being the cause of all of their problems with her twisted ankle. The dynamic between these women is fascinating. There are secrets, tensions bubbling under the surface and long-held frustrations which all come to the forefront on their trip into hell.
Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. Backstabbers is a wonderfully dark novel that kept me within its pages throughout. Things really do go from bad to worse for the women. It’s one of those books that you sometimes feel you need to read from behind a pillow, somewhere comfortable and safe. The tension is high throughout, the plot is engrossing, and the twists are solid. Although I could see one twist coming from a mile away. Perhaps I read too many survival thrillers (never!). All in all, Backstabbers is a thoroughly entertaining survival thriller that I absolutely devoured with a big ol’ grin on my face. The ending was perfect. The setup was done well, and everything in-between worked for me. It’s a little hard to believe that three adult women would be this daft, make the decisions they made and go into the wilderness as unprepared as they did, but I didn’t really care about that. I was entertained and I enjoyed the book. Looking forward to more from Jabore in the future. Recommended.
I chose to read and review a free eARC of Backstabbers. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.
Eliza Jabore began globetrotting at seventeen and spent the next decade devoted to travelling. She met her husband abroad and, after many years of adventure, finally planted roots back in her hometown in the Midwest where she has two kids, two cats, and a dog. Backstabbers is her debut novel.
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