Member Reviews
Thank you to @stmartinspress, @netgalley, and @tmloganauthor for the early copy of The Vacation. It publishes July 21! A week in a villa in the south of France is the ultimate vacation for four best friends. Add in their three families. And one killer. You have a recipe for disaster. This was a well written thriller, filled with secrets, betrayal, and more family dysfunction than you can shake a stick at. I whizzed through this book in just a couple of days. This is the perfect summer thriller to take along on your vacation, or read by the pool! 4⭐️ *review will be posted to Instagram on publication day, July 21 |
Margaret P, Bookseller
This is the third domestic thriller from this British author. His first two books were 'Lies' and '29 seconds'. This new title was called 'The Holiday' in Britain. The plot of this book revolves around Kate and her three college friends. They get together in France together with their spouse and kids for a vacation. Kate, however, suspects her husband is having an affair with one of the friends and investigates. The vacation begins to go downhill as secrets begin to be exposed. This book has flawed characters, but the flaws are more understandable and I was able to still root for most of them. This is a great recommendation for fans of the genre |
This book had such an intriguing premise and I couldn’t wait to read it. However, if you are anticipating a traditional murder mystery/ thriller, this is not it. The majority of the book up until the last 30 pages was written like a contemporary read. A woman thinks her husband is cheating on her with one of her three best friends. She halfheartedly confronts him and he denies it. The vacation continues and the children are annoying, the men drink too much….blah blah blah. The last 30 pages is what I was waiting for the entire book. Unfortunately, this feel flat as a thriller/ suspense novel. Maybe if it was marketed differently, I wouldn’t have felt so let down. |
I thought I knew but did not know the whole story. Four lifelong friends and their families gather in France for a long awaited vacation. What happens next is mysterious and at times anti-climatic but so very good. It kept me reading to find out what would happen next. None of the cast of characters were very likeable except for Daniel and Izzy and look what happened to them. The main character, Kate, left a lot to be desired with her unfounded accusations and jumping to conclusions. Set in a picturesque Villa in France, the setting would make a lovely made for television movie. Kate, Rowan, Jennifer and Izzy have not seen each other for years and have brought their families together in France but not all of them will be making it back home. Each family comes with secrets that threaten to destroy their families and the women's friendship. The children also have their own secrets that adds to the chaos. I think that the author does a wonderful job of keeping us guessing and thinking that we have the mysteries solved. The ending was totally unexpected and upsetting to me. I nice rainy day read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own. |
kATHLEEN G, Reviewer
Is it Rowan, Izzy, or Jennifer who is the Coralgirl who has been texting Kate's husband Sean? These four women were all at university together and while they like to think of themselves as besties, they've all done damage to each other at different times. Kate's arranged for them to bring their families together at a house in France- she knows there's something that will happen between Sean and the person and she's determined to find out who it is. Well, those kids- omg they are pains, up to and including the 5 year old. Told mostly from Kate's point of view, this is one of those secrets and lies novels where you'll find yourself boo hissing and, better, surprised in spots. Most of the characters are unlikable (seriously) but that makes this all the more readable. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. I didn't guess and there will be no spoilers from me. |
Wow! I've been a huge fan of Logan's ever since I got an advance copy of Lies a few years ago, and each book gets better and better. This one had it all - lies, secrets, tension, drama, action. You name it, it was in there. I really enjoyed this story and I was both sad at the end and glad at the end (so conflicting, but you'll see what I mean!). I will definitely be reading more by this author! 4.5 stars. |
Stephanie M, Reviewer
Addictive writing, a steady pace, and a teasingly revealed mystery made The Vacation an unputdownable read for me. The characters were all mostly awful people, but I felt invested in finding out what happened with them. Kate has been noticing that her husband has been acting off recently and when she stumbles upon messages on his phone, she suspects he’s having an affair with one of her three best friends, all of whom they are on vacation with. She spends a lot of time trying to figure out which of her friends is lying to her and there are suspicious things about each of them. It doesn’t help that her husband, Sean, remains cagey when she eventually tries to confront him. Thrown into the mix are the group’s children and a subplot you might be tempted not to pay too much attention to, but should. All of the children were even more awful than their parents, with the exception of sweet, innocent Daniel, Kate and Sean’s son. The story is mostly told through Kate’s POV, but interspersed are chapters from other characters’ point of views and I thought it was done very well. It helped keep the pace steady and move the mystery along. I will say, though, that I thought things dragged on a little too long. While I didn’t guess everything that Kate eventually discovers, I was certain that things weren’t all they appeared to be. The clues that something more was going on felt pretty obvious, which made me a little frustrated with how long it took to get to a resolution. That said, I thought everything did come together nicely and I enjoyed it. Overall, I enjoyed The Vacation. I thought the writing was addictive and I loved the use of multiple POVs. While I wish there was a little more of a twist, I was surprised by how things wrapped up and I liked that. I definitely recommend this one and look forward to Logan’s next book. Overall Rating (out of 5): 4 Stars |
T. M. Logan has done it again, with yet another outstanding thriller! Kate, Jennifer, Izzy, and Rowan have planned the holiday of a lifetime. Spending a week with their families at the beach in the South of France, this should be a vacation of a lifetime. As the families are settling in and getting reacquainted Kate makes an astonishing discovery, her husband is having an affair. Based on the messages she's read- it's with someone in the house. What starts off spectacular vacation takes a starting turn as Kate tries to uncover exactly which woman is the other half of the guilty party. Full of suspense, drama, and family issues, The Vacation is a must read on your summer book list! Thanks to St. Martin's for the ARC! |
Four best friends go on a vacation with their families. What could possibly go wrong or more likely what doesn't go wrong? This book was full of secrets, drama and suspense. The characters were a bit dry but the soap operas happening between them kept me turning the pages. This is a fun, light read for the summer. |
I wanted to love this book but just didn't. I didn't like the characters and couldn't get into it. It was a mess. |
I am a great fan of TM Logan having read 'Lies' and I was equally thrilled with "The Vacation". I loved everything about this book - the story-line, the characters and all of the many twists and turns as four female university friends go on holiday together to France with their families. The setting was glorious, but all was not perfect with the families' relationships, giving rise to surprises, shocks, drama and suspicion. The development of the interrelationships between the families and their children meant that I was totally addicted to this drama-thriller from start to finish and could not put it down. The clever writing by TM Logan made it unclear as to what exactly was going on but that resulted in an even more compelling story. "The Vacation" is very highly recommended and it is another must-read from this brilliant author. I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from St Martins Press via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion. |
This is my third book from T.M. Logan and it was another winner for me. I found the storyline with the wife trying to expose her cheating husband incredibly addictive, especially since she suspects he's cheating with one of her best friends who she is currently on vacation with.. This is a wild ride, filled with secrets, lies, and dysfunctional relationships, and I enjoyed every minute of it. |
Blown Away to say the least! This book transports the reader on a seemingly fun French vacation where nothing is what it seems. I enjoyed the seemingly different cast of characters. Three families with children and a single friend, all friends, coming together for what used to be a girls trip. We go into the psyche and the stories of all the characters and TM Logan parcels the information at the time you most need it. A question pops into your mind and it is answered at about the exact moment you want to flip through pages to figure it out. I am just blown away and a literally blew through the pages needing to find out what happened next and what foods would make my mouth water!!!!! |
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was a suspenseful, unputdownable book! Kate and her 3 best friends (and their mates and children) have a vacation planned in France. The vacation of a lifetime is halted not too soon after they arrive after Kate finds cryptic messages on her husband's phone, leading her to believe he is having an affair....with one of her 3 friends. As the week moves on and as Kate gets closer to finding the truth, there are so many twists and turns that it's hard to know who is telling the truth, who is lying, and who is he having the affair with! This one definitely kept me guessing until the very end! Loved it! |
Once again, author T.M. Logan demonstrates his ability to write a tight and captivating story. “The Vacation” is a tale of secrets, and throughout most of the story I believed this was going to be another typical old-friends-get-together-and-their-worlds-fall-apart book. Those stories are not my usual choice, but Mr. Logan had me intrigued as I tried to work out the truth concerning Kate’s marriage as well as the other substories that kept circling about. When it came time for the big reveal, the story moved in a direction I never expected. It’s hard to say much about the book without spoiling the surprises. In general, the writing is brilliant and the characters are well-drawn and easy to tell apart. There are multiple narrators, although Kate is the main character. I found it interesting that the story is told in present time although there are some chapters when the author chooses to relate a connecting clue in an event that happened anywhere from one to nine months previous. In the end, all the tiny tidbits left on various pages are explained and everything makes sense. The book is over 350 pages yet I found myself racing through the chapters. I can’t say there were any parts that dragged or were unnecessary. This is a great story that won’t disappoint. Five stars. My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a complimentary electronic copy of this title. |
Kate, Izzy, Rowan, and Jennifer lived together all through college and took annual girls' weekend trips each year. Having missed these weekends for the last five years Rowan invited them to bring their families and spend a week in an amazing villa in France owned by a rich client of hers. There are indications before even leaving home that things may not go well, when Kate looks at her husband's messages and finds indications that he is having an affair--with one of her best friends. This sets the tone for the vacation from hell. Kate is suspicious and preoccupied and can't sleep, Rowan is antsy waiting for the deal of a lifetime to go through, teenagers Lucy, Jake, and Ethan can't stay off their phones, and Odette is being a brat trying to be the center of attention. The husbands are drinking a lot and wondering what they are doing there. Author T.M. Logan did such a good job building the atmosphere that I wanted to go home and I wasn't even there! His characters were very realistic and well developed through some back stories related by Kate. The tension and suspense ramps up as Kate sees indications that first one then another of her friends could be the secret lover. There are some lessons to be learned here. First, don't look at your spouse's messages. Don't assume you know everything about another person. Think about how far you would go to protect your child, And by all means, think twice before you go on vacation with a group of friends and their families. |
Kate and her three friends from university--Rowan, Jennifer, and Izzy--are celebrating their 40th birthdays at a mansion on the French coast. As they arrive, Kate inadvertently reads messages her husband, Sean, has received which imply he's not only having an affair, but having an affair with one of her closest friends. The week would be stressful enough for Kate, as she tries to determine which of her friends is committing this ultimate betrayal, but it ends up being stressful for everyone as husbands, children, and the friends themselves interact. And on the climactic last night, Kate realizes there is far more at play than her assumptions about her husband's dalliance, as she learns what led to those damning messages. Anyone who has ever gone on a multifamily or multigenerational vacation knows that they aren't always as stress-free and restorative as you anticipate, but THE VACATION is unlike any vacation most of us have experienced. T. M. Logan has crafted a suspenseful, impossible to put down novel with a memorable setting. #TheVacation #NetGalley |
This is my first book from TM Logan and after my weekend with The Vacation, will not be my last. This story begins when 4 longtime friends plan a vacation getaway to France with their families in tow. All the guests arrive at the gorgeous Villa and, with Logan’s description, your transported to a beautiful vineyard in the south of France. The kids are playing, the adults are drinking, and then Kate makes some starting discoveries on her husband’s phone that leads her to one conclusion: Sean is having an affair with someone on this trip. She begins to suspect each girlfriend after noticing little signs of flirtation, a slight touch, a lingering hug. Should she confront Sean and be done with it? Imbedded in this story, is a backstory involving Lucy, Kate and Sean’s daughter. Lucy is a typical withdrawn teenager, but when she explodes at her younger brother for making a video of her,with the family video cam, her mother fears there’s more to her sudden outburst. What is making Lucy so uneasy and what role do her friend Jennifer’s sons, and a boy back home named Alex, have to do with her constant unease? This book started as a vacation with friends and ended with a literal bang. I didn’t see this one coming and highly recommend The Vacation. |
Reviewer 656670
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I went into this book very excited based on the blurb and the idea of a vacation thriller, but this book just didn’t work for me. The characters are so unlikable and annoying. The plot moves so slow that nothing really happens in the first 70% of the book . I’m sure there is an audience for this book ,especially based on the high ratings and raving reviews I’ve seen for it, but it’s definitely not for me, |
My first introduction to this author was Lies. Loved it. Then came 29 seconds. Another winner. Now we have The Vacation, and I think it might be his best yet. Logan is the King of Misdirection. Just when you think you know what’s going on, you don’t. I absolutely love how he relates his stories. In this book, there is a slow build that follows one main character, with sporadic chapters from other characters’ points of view. There is no set “back and forth” switching; instead, the action moves seamlessly between the different perspectives. The story belongs to Kate, who is vacationing with three college friends (and their families) at a villa in France. But secrets abound, and not even the youngest (5-year-old Odette) is immune. By the way, she’s also one of the brattiest kids I’ve ever read in a book. A lot is going on, but the author handles it all deftly. I felt Kate’s uncertainty, Rowan’s stress, and Jennifer’s worry (she’s quite the helicopter parent). As with his other books, everything is laid out nicely, like place settings. But then, like a magician, he pulls the tablecloth out from under them. Everything is still standing, but maybe slightly moved or altered. The last quarter of this book flew by. All of the revelations started to come to light, and the truth emerged shockingly. I honestly gasped a few times. Do yourself a favor and grab this one as soon as it’s released (July 21). It’s the perfect summer thriller. |








