Title: The Holiday
Author: T.M. Logan
Genre: Crime/Psychological Thriller
Goodreads Rating: 3.97
My Rating: 4*
Source: AudioBook
Synopsis:
It was supposed to be the perfect holiday – a group of families enjoying a week together in the sun. Four women who have been best friends for as long as they can remember making the most of a luxurious villa in the south of France.
But Kate has a secret: her husband is having an affair. And a week away might just be the perfect opportunity to get the proof she needs – to catch him in the act once and for all. Because she suspects the other woman is one of her two best friends.
One of them is working against her, willing to sacrifice years of friendship to destroy her family. But which one? As Kate closes in on the truth in the stifling Mediterranean heat, she realises too late that the stakes are far higher than she ever imagined . . .
Because someone in the villa may be prepared to kill to keep their secret hidden
My Review:
As my first try of Audible went so well I decided to go on another whim and try a book that interested me but I didn’t have a copy of yet. I have never read anything by T.M.Logan before and came across this book last year but it was one of those where I added it to the list and that was as far as I got.
From an audio point of view I really enjoyed listening to this book. The narrator (Laura Kirman) does a brilliant job of doing all the accents as well as the teenage narratives. I think had I been reading it I may have got a bit lost, after all there are quite a few characters and they all interject with their POV’s at different times.
In terms of the writing I loved the vivd and beautifully described scenery, I think I may consider holidaying in France in the not too distant future. Listening to this book whilst we have this cold spell definitely made me crave some summer sun and the idea of having a swimming pool made the house sound like a dream.
There were plenty of interesting characters in this mix but my two stand out favourites were Izzy and Daniel. Izzy had a candid nature and you couldn’t help but warm to her personality. From the minute she entered the story I felt that she was a loyal friend and really hoped that she had nothing to do with the affair. Listening to her backstory with Mark tugged at my heart strings and whilst she seemed to be this carefree traveller, deep down you knew she wanted what the other three women had, family. Daniel was such a sweetheart, innocent and kind hearted. He was at the difficult age where he wants to be involved in more grown up things but still likes to do silly things that the teenagers didn’t think were ‘cool’. Listening to his dilemma when he was with Ethan and Jake you knew he wanted to do the right thing but was worried about the repercussions. What would they do to him if he didn’t comply?
Jennifer was my least favourite character. From the second she started talking I knew she was going to grate on me and she did. She wanted to portray this picture perfect life but really her little darlings were demons and she didn’t have a clue how to handle them. She was an obsessed mother and it probably would of done her some good to get out and do a job separate from her children. It didn’t help that her husband Alistair, who was a bit creepy, seemed to be so flippant about parenting and spent his whole time psychoanalysing everyone. It really is no wonder how those children turned out the way they did.
For the most part you are left gentling simmering away getting snippets of information and piecing together the jigsaw. There is a lot of back story that needs to be laid and getting to know the characters really helps. Then BANG, you are suddenly hit with everything all at once and let me tell you I was very surprised by the final revelations. It was shocking, heart wrenching and terrifying all in one.
My only niggle is with the front cover, I think it is a little misleading. Yes the holiday is seven days and yes there are three families but the killing doesn’t materialise until the last quarter of the book. I kept listening thinking, someone will be killed in a minute and then nothing happened.
All in all I enjoyed this book and the complex story, once I got used to it. I shall definitely be trying a few more of T.M.Logan’s books in the future. This is another one for my Beat The Backlist and I can cross off Shocking Plot Twist from my bingo card!
What did you think of this read?
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