Cover Image: The Vacation

The Vacation

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

to read this book thanks to NetGalley. I am a huge fan of this author and was thrilled to be approved for this title. It did not disappoint and I loved it. I loved the setting, the story; and the characters. It was fast paced and exciting snd it kept me guessing until the end! This one is a must read for all thriller fans. I will always buy this author’s work and can’t wait for the release of the best book! Thanks again to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Was this review helpful?

I wanted to.like this book so much because of all the great reviews but I felt like the story fell a little flat. I wanted a bit more suspense and action. I made it a little more than half way through and then had DNF it.

Was this review helpful?

Four life long friends go to a vacation home in the South of France. It’s not a normal rental property my so there are many dangers in the property. They bring their husbands and children with them. All of them have secrets and all of them have different issues. The story alternates between the parents issues and the teens problems. It is a holiday week that goes dreadfully wrong.



Thank you Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Was this review helpful?

This had all the makings of a thriller that would draw me in and keep me on the edge of my seat, but it fell flat. It was slow paced and full of so many dramatic family side issues that I continually asked myself when someone was going to actually die. I knew it was a murder mystery, but for many pages there was no murder.

A group of college besties travel to a vacation home in the south of France with their families, to relax and reconnect to their youth. But, there are secrets among them. The secrets were real and intense, but so varied and ubiquitous that it was hard to follow. I would have rather had more focus on fewer of them. All in all, this was an ok read, but not something I'd recommend to others.

Was this review helpful?

There are some books that you want to sink your teeth into like a juicy gossip magazine. The Vacation did that for me from the very beginning. I love the idea and the execution of this book, luxury in the south of France, a group of friends and an adulterous spouse. Seriously pour yourself a glass of wine, find some dark chocolate and enjoy this read.

Was this review helpful?

I was very excited to take this journey with four former college girls who are meeting for their 40th birthday. Typically, it’s just the four of them when they get together. But this being a special year, they are bringing their families with them to a beautiful villa in the south of France so they can spend their days under the Mediterranean sun sipping crisp wine.

Though Kate, one of the college friends, narrates most of the story, it occasionally jumps to one of the other guest’s viewpoints.
I feel that Kate, who worked with the police as a crime analyst, had no backbone. When she discovers a questionable text on her husband’s phone she never confronted him about it. She just whined and sniveled around jumping from one conclusion to another. It’s not until the very last of the book that she began acting like a grownup and tries to find out who of the women she came with the text was referring to.
I did enjoy this book and can’t wait to read more by this author.

Was this review helpful?

This was definitely a fun read. Logan always weaves interesting characters into a fast-paced storyline. Couldn’t put it down. Addictive.

Was this review helpful?

The Vacation is a thriller with an intriguing premise that never quite delivers. There are twists and turns to the story, but they never seem to be worth the effort of getting to them. As Kate tries to unravel the secrets her husband and apparently everyone else is keeping from her, she becomes obsessive and paranoid, unsure who to trust and who might be working against her. Unfortunately, all of the characters are so unlikable that it's difficult to care what happens to them or what they do to each other by the end. There are some really great moments, but for me, they didn't quite outweigh the not so great bits.

Was this review helpful?

::walks out of my house::

::climbs up onto my roof::

::cups hands around my mouth::

This is not a thriiiiiiiiiiiillllllleeeeeeeeeeer. WILL YOU PUBLISHERS STOP MARKING BOOKS AS THRILLERS WHEN THEY ARE, IN FACT, DOMESTIC DRAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS.

I am so sick of being excited for a thriller when, in fact, they are NOT THRILLERS.

We got literally to the ass end of this book before anything thriller-y happened, and that was a dud and a half. I am disgusted, and most frustrated because it's not fair to T.M. Logan that I hate this.

This is a well written, if incredibly annoying, book. Honestly, I'm not usually one to scream about books that focus so heavily on lack of communication. But in this one, it makes legitimately no sense that this entire book rides on Kate's inability to FUCKING SPEAK.

This isn't a bad book. But this is not what I signed up for when I started it.

So annoying.

Was this review helpful?

The Vacation is a solid character-focused thriller about friendship, trust and above all, family. Logan does a great job setting the stage and introducing the characters. But warning, most are pretty unlikable. This doesn't bother me, but I know some are not a fan. I especially enjoyed getting the kids' perspectives throughout the book and thought Logan did a great job with their character development. Daniel was the best! There is good tension throughout the book as we reveal the layers and connections between each generation of characters.

I recommend this book to readers who like character-focused thrillers and family dramas.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

Was this review helpful?

I feel like I've read this story some where before. I didn't feel original for some reason. It was still a fun beach reach, a vacation between friends and family gone wrong. Who has ill will? Is there a killer on the loose? Or are they closer to home than they think?

Was this review helpful?

This was another great story from Logan. I have enjoyed all his books so far and will continue to be fan. He has such a good way of engaging you in the story and keeping you on your toes. This wasn't as much of a thriller as the last couple of ones but definitely a good story!

Was this review helpful?

Kate, Rowan, Jennifer, and Izzy are best friends, and all meet up with their families in the South of France at a fabulous vacation villa. The Vacation starts off promising, but unfortunately dragged on way too much for me. On the first day of the trip, Kate discovers messages on her husbands phone that make her believe not only is he having an affair-- but she suspects it's with someone who is on the trip too. Which means her husband and one of her closest friends are involved. Cue the drama! Except... the drama just goes on and on. Most of the characters are unlikable, and the main character Kate was downright annoying by the midway point. The book finally picked up in the last quarter or so, but by then I was just ready to find out what was going to happen and be done with this book. Unfortunately, this is not a book I'd recommend. It has a good premise, but I felt like the execution could have been better.

Was this review helpful?

Four college friends, with their spouses and children, unite for a vacation in France. On the first day, Kate discovers text messages on her husband's phone that lead her to believe his having an affair and worse than that, the affair is with one of her friends on this vacation. This combines with subplots involving the children, turns into a thrill ride of a book right up to the very end.. I've now read all of Logan's books and this makes me look forward to the next.

Was this review helpful?

4 friends turning 40. A beautiful house in France to celebrate. A week long vacation for the 4 friends and their husbands and children. What could possibly go wrong? But Kate has a problem, she suspects her husband is having an affair with one of her 3 friends. Which one and dare she confront them or her husband? Having acted on suspicion before, with disastrous consequences, she decides to keep silent and investigate herself. Everyone has a reason and everything is connected in this tense thriller. Good page turner.

Was this review helpful?

A group of best friends and their families enjoying a week together in a luxurious villa in the south of France. It should have been the vacation of a lifetime. Will doubts, secrets and lies ruin it all?

I love a good secrets & lies leads to murder story and this one certainly delivers! Its filled with drama, lying spouses, sneaky friends and a long suspect list!!!

I mean what would you do if you thought your husband was cheating on you with one of your best friends? Confront him? Come on, what's the fun in that! No you have to do some stealthy detective work, go through each of your BFF's and eliminate them from the list one by one. Of course this means you bring about even more trouble as you involve others and share your suspicions turning your perfect holiday into a perfect nightmare!

I must forewarn you - these characters are so unlikable. I wanted to yell at them at every turn of the page. They were so frustrating and of course sinfully entertaining. I've had a tumultuous relationship with TM Logan's books but this one was definitely a hit outta the park!

Was this review helpful?

I’m a big fan of T.M. Logan, but sadly this one wasn’t my favorite. The story would of been a great one if it would of been half as long. Way too many details about daily living and especially Daniel the little boy. I kept wishing the book would get going, but that never happened. I wanted to skip ahead but was afraid I’d miss something important. At about three quarters of the way through it really started to get some where. The ending had a big twist I didn’t see coming. I read the book and purchased the audible version so when I couldn’t read I could listen. The narrator did a great job.
A very special Thank you to st. Martin’s Press via NetGalley for an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

3.5 stars

The Vacation was suspenseful and mysterious for sure.

I thought the author did an incredible job of keeping you guessing and wondering. I found the story to be a bit chaotic at times due to the number of characters and their individual side stories. So much was going on all at once, however I think that added to the uncertainty and curiosity around the plot. There was a lot going on, despite the entire story really only taking place over a week’s time.

I was sucked into this read immediately and found myself feeling terrible for the main character Kate and her emotional well being. As a reader, I was thrilled when she maneuvered though her growing suspicions in the same way I would have if I were in her shoes. There’s nothing worse than when a reader is yelling at a character to do something and they do the opposite or avoid the situation all together. Kate was a act now, ask questions later kind of character and that really worked for me! She faced her inklings head on, but sometimes seeing red blinded her a bit.

I was a little let down by the big reveal. It was extremely complex and somewhat overly dramatic. But I will say this... I didn’t see it coming! Maybe that’s why I struggled to enjoy the very end of the story, because it was so far from my suspicions. I was bummed I didn’t catch a killer. But, I do think that’s one thing I actually like about this particular author. Nothing is ever what you think, so you have to go into the read knowing that you’re probably going to be wrong all the way through.

I still have so many unanswered questions and assumptions lingering after I finished this read. I may have to do a fast re-read to see if I missed something or didn’t read between the lines enough in certain chapters.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you for letting me read this book. I found it a little slow to start, but I soon settled in. The story was good and I enjoyed it.

Was this review helpful?

Unlikable characters.A slow plot.An anti climatic climax.

This fell flat for me.I love domestic thrillers but this didn't work for me.It was unmemorable.

A received a copy through Netgalley

Was this review helpful?