Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this arc.

I was really excited to read this book because I love travelling and mystery/thriller books and I really wanted to read one that was based on a cruise. I enjoyed the story but it was very slow and predictable.

Whenever I read a book like this, where suspicion falls on a group of irritating characters, I worry that the annoying personalities will cloud my enjoyment of the story. However, this was not the case here at all! Obviously with this super rich family and their ultra-modern cruise, there are going to be moments where you take a genuine dislike to one or two of them, but on the whole, there were enough endearing qualities dotted around to still care about the outcome.

The best thing about Five Nights is that you actually get three stories for the price of one. You have the present-day cruise and the dangerous things that are plaguing Emily and the Scarmardo family. Secondly, you get the flashbacks and backstory of what happened between Mattia Scarmardo and his first wife Viola. Finally, there is also the mystery of what actually happened between Belle and Emily three years ago during the kidnapping incident. Each of these storylines is just as engaging and you actually do need to understand what the truth is behind every one of these situations to be able to get to the full conclusion.

Breaking down the story into the five separate days and nights on the cruise was a really clever tactic. Knowing right from the start that somebody dies on the third night meant that I was constantly looking for clues, using that given countdown to try and work out who it would be, why they would be targeted and by whom.

I really enjoyed the suspense mixed in with all of these complicated relationships and of course, the difficult family dynamics. I'm always a fan of a closed-circle mystery and, in this case, the luxury cruise ship heading to New York gave a modern twist on a Death on the Nile vibe. This book is pure escapism, it's a fun and enjoyable murder mystery and would make an addictive holiday read.

Five Nights
Thriller
Rachel Wolf
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

• ᴛʀᴀᴜᴍᴀ • ꜱᴇᴄʀᴇᴛꜱ • ʀᴇᴠᴇɴɢᴇ •

I really enjoyed this book. From the very beginning there was a sense of tension, especially when it came to Emily and her past.

I really liked the flashbacks throughout the book from Violas POV. At first I wasn't sure of the timeline but it soon became clear.

The pacing was very good and I found myself trying to figure things out even when certain clues were still missing.

The characters themselves were developed well. They all had their own issues and troubles. I wish there were some POVs from each of them though.

There were some great plot twists that I didn't see coming and I liked how suspicious I was of everyone. The author did a good job of planting the seeds of doubt.

Overall this was a nice thriller that had me double guessing everyone's motives.

*Thank you to @Netgalley, the author, and the publishers for providing this ARC. This is my own opinion and an honest review, which I am leaving voluntarily*

Love the descriptions of the cruise but the story itself was too slow and predictable. Thank you netgalley for the advanced copy

A book about a family that is filthy rich and thus think themselves way better than other people. The Scarmado family are the kind of people I never ever hope to meet. So, it was easy to understand why Emily was rather reluctant to accept the invitation of Belle Scarmado, her erstwhile best friend, to join her on a 5 day cruise with this family. Belle married the head of the family and of course most people think she's a gold digger - especially Mattia's five children, of which there are a few only a couple of years younger than she is.
But, three years ago Emily and Belle went through a horrible experience together, and Emily still feels guilty over the way she handled the situation.

The book is set on board of one of those cruise ships that don't offer any interesting stops at faraway places; this one will travel to New York in five days. All the people on board have to do is enjoy themselves - mainly by eating and drinking too much.
Emily receives a threatening note just before she boards the ship and she's only a couple of hours on deck before the first of a series of disturbing accidents happen. Now how can she rekindle her friendship with Bella, help her out of her latest predicament and save herself from having to tell the whole truth?

Although there are a couple of interesting scenes, and there is a lot of tension going on between the family members, Belle, and Emily herself, it's rather slow paced until about three quarters of the story. It's then that the real secrets get spilled and all hell breaks loose.

I enjoyed it but I would have liked it to be more compact and with fewer time spoiled on just sitting, drinking and quarrelling.

3.5 stars

Five Nights is a closed-circle mystery and suspense novel. The author limits the setting to a luxury cruise ship, which does add to the suspense, since the wealthy family at the centre of this story seem only to keep within certain areas of the ship. The setting works well, and I do like a small footprint mystery.

If I were to break this down into sections, and the book does by splitting this into five days/nights, I would say that the last few days/nights are the most gripping. The setup of the story took a while to hook me, even with mysterious notes suggesting a mystery or a threat later in the story. Maybe it's the way the characters were introduced or described early on? I'm not sure. Whatever it was, I did find my attention waver during that first section, but the story does grab you more as the days/nights progress.

A huge theme of this story is secrets, big and small, and how those secrets often have dire consequences. The characters in this story also exude jealousy, greed, paranoia, arrogance, and hate. All ingredients that make you dislike them but, at times, find them engaging and compelling. Still, in a book such as this, characters that behave in those ways do make you wonder if they will be next. That becomes all part of the fun in a book like this.

One thing I found perplexing is the friendship between Emily and Belle. It reads like the most toxic friendship imaginable. I recently read another suspense/thriller that showed a similar friendship and I wondered about that to. Are toxic friendships common in thrillers? Despite the author being able to take those elements and use it to drive more suspense and doubt, I do hope it doesn't become a trend.

One the whole, this is a novel to just sit back and suspend belief. It's a bit of ride, it does pull you into the story, and it may make you think twice about taking a cruise.

Thanks to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for providing a copy of this book for an honest review. All comments are my own.

Video link will be added soon.

A debut crime novel Five Nights (2024) by Rachel Wolf is a psychological thriller set aboard a luxury cruise liner. Emily and Bella were best friends growing up next door to each other. Yet for the past three years, they have had no contact due to some unknown event. Emily receives a surprise invitation to join Bella and her billionaire husband on the inaugural cruise of their cruise ship, sailing from Portsmouth to New York. Yet the wealthy family are caught up in secrets from their past, jealousy and a fight over their share of the inheritance. Emily is supposed to be looking out for Bella, yet she too has secrets and a past she doesn’t want revealed. Its building tension, numerous surprise revelations and misdeeds make this a three stars read rating. With thanks to Aria & Aries and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own, freely given and without inducement.

Thank you Netgalley for my copy!

I enjoyed this book. The characters and some of the sub plots, not to mention the main plot were a bit unbelievable but as it focuses on the most awful, entitled m/billionaires I can let it go because those people do not love by the same rules as the rest of us.

The descriptions of the destinations and the cruise were nice and I really liked those. And I loved floppy hat and cola guy.

More than happy to read more by Wolf!

3.5*

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

Wow I flew through this book, the story was addictive and I couldn't stop reading. The pacing of the writing was spot on for the story.

This book has so many interesting characters and a plot that keeps you guessing as we learn more and the days move on. I would have liked a little bit more time on the ending of the cruise itself but otherwise I really enjoyed this book. Will be a great holiday read!

I did enjoy the fact it was set on a cruise ship, however the story was just slow and boring that I found it so hard to actually read it to the end. I did complete it but I wouldn't rush out to buy it and read it again!

The writing was boring, took too long to get into the main plot, felt like it was just words to make up space and also the main character is just stupid because who would accept an invitation from someone they haven't spoken to for 3 years and who knows that she is upset with her over their "secret".

Emily receives an invitation to join the wealthy Scarmado family aboard their luxury new ship, as estranged best friend, Belle, is now married into the family. Soon Emily starts receiving threatening notes and terrible things start to happen. Will she make it back to shore?

I enjoyed the setting of the luxury cruise ship, although this has been done quite a lot recently. I also enjoyed trying to work out the secrets and there are a few twists within the story. Unfortunately this is as far as my positives go. There is a lot of characters and I struggled to connect with most of them; many came across as unlikeable or one dimensional, with unbelievable relationships. I found the overall story quite slow while finding I wasn’t really that invested and struggled to carry on reading. It may be that I have too many similar books recently that this one did not really hold my interest. This book would, however, suit those looking for a quick, easy popcorn thriller. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

A Powerful Family, A Luxury Cruise, A Killer on board.

Despite losing touch recently when Emily receives an invite from her oldest friend Belle to join her on a cruise ship owned by her billionaire husband she finds it hard to refuse. She soon wishes she had said no though when miles from land and safety threats become real and people start to get injured. Who is behind it all and exactly how far will they go to protect the secrets of the Scarmado family.

This book was full of secrets and I found myself disliking every single character. I really didn’t believe Emily and Belle’s friendship but liked other relationships that formed. Thanks to @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book and good luck to the author in its release.

Publication Date - 29/02/2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️

#FiveNights
#RachelWolf

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. Firstly it’s the first book I’ve read by this author and it was fabulous. The character build left me wanting more and more from them and the twists were fabulous. I devoured this in a day so to say I enjoyed it was an understatement! Excellent!

This story will grab you by the seat of your pants and not let go till the end!!! I’ve got no nails left the tension was so real and I tried my hardest to work out who the baddie was and I couldn’t!!!Honestly, what a great plot!! I loved the characters, the setting, which all came together perfectly!!!
Fantastic 5 star read!!!
Many thanks to Head Of Zeus for the opportunity to read this arc copy for review consideration via Netgalley.
#Netgalley, #HeadOfZeus, #RachelWolfAuthor.

Addictive, edge of your seat thriller that I couldn't put down!

Loved the cruise ship setting for something a bit different.

Definitely recommend

I was looking forward to this one as love books set on cruise ships,I did like the descriptions of the boat and life on board,the luxury and wealth but the story I found at times hard going and the characters dialogue interaction not great,also the constant mentioning of what happened 3 years ago without telling you what had happened wore thin quickly so apologies but this was a dnf for me

It all begins with a invitation for a five night luxury cruise a cruise sent to Em from Belle, They were once close and old childhood friends till 3 years ago. They were involved in a traumatic event, which caused the split of their friendship.

The story is told via different people over several time periods in different locations. Em is the main character and she is navigating her way through the becoming best firends with Belle. Plus how the family Belle married into reacts to Belle. Along the way, we are introduced to them and they aren't the closest family I have met. It sets the tone for the plot and how it all comes together. There is tension, suspence and an ending I didn't see coming!! I felt the descriptions of the ship were well written and I found myself on the ship along with the characters.

I have to say that this book appealed to me and I have enjoyed it, but It did seem totally implausible to have so many bodies during a 5 day journey.
It was very formulaic, as if the author had been to a crime writers group and learnt the possible scenarios and then put them all into one story.

That cover first of all is brilliant

I was hooked! And then I started reading it and was even more hooked. Never go on a cruise with rich people thought! IT seems like a very bad idea after reading this.

Great concept thriller and whilst some of it is unbelievable, there's nowt so queer as rich folk so you never know!