I was hooked the moment I read the description of Bad Tourists! What's better than a girls trip set in the idyllic location of The Maldives? Well, you add a murder or two, and spice it up with some mystery and you have your perfect match! Darcy, Camilla, and Kate are going on a retreat to celebrate Darcy's divorce. Everything is going just fine until some secrets and lies comes to the surface, and old wounds are reopened. This is a book with multiple POVs and the way its written makes you want to keep reading to see which POV you'll get in the next chapter. It is fast-paced and the ending twist is one I didn't see coming! I 100% recommend this book to any Thriller/Mystery/Suspense lovers out there!
This was the first book I've read from Caro Carver, but it will certainly not be the last! She has also published other titles under C.J. Cooke.

*Trigger warning: Graphic murder, domestic and sexual abuse

All my thanks to NetGalley, Avid reader Press/Simon & Schuster and Caro Carver for the advance reader’s copy of Bad Tourists.

I can't remember the last time I audibly gasped when reading a thriller before picking up Bad Tourists by Caro Carver. The journey this took me on as a reader was one I'll remember for a long time. Highly recommend to anybody who rolls their eyes at the predictable formula of the typical thriller, because the twists and turns in this book were anything but expected. What an incredible debut!

Loved this. Read in a day. Couldn't put it down. Lots of twists that I didn't see coming. Best thriller I've read on a long time!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I wasn't sure what to expect when I requested it, but I am so glad I did. Characters you love to love and those you love to hate- an unexpected storyline with twists and turns....

An absolutely enjoyable, sometimes uncomfortable, read. Highly recommend.

This one was hard for me to rate, but I ended up with a 2.5/5... not all the way a 3 star book for me, and here is why: the first half of the book was only about relationship building between the three main characters and then introducing another character that's a side character but receives her own point of view....

Initially, I found all three main characters interesting and wanted to learn more. But then it became boring when nothing happened for 150 pages. This is when my book hangover began, and it became increasingly more difficult to pick it up (even though I wanted to know how it ended).

That being said, the second part did pick up with the thriller aspect, and the characters became unpredictable! I didn't expect that ending, but again, being dragged through half the book with nothing happening kind of left me lackluster about the characters.

I tried reading this while I was sick and unfortunately I couldn’t get into it enough to keep going. I hate not finishing books but I just didn’t find it interesting enough.

I received an advanced copy from netgalley in exchange for a review and opinions are my own.

TW: DV









I LOVE tourism thrillers, and this was no exception. I was shocked discovering these three women were essentially strangers, but had such a shared trauma that they were connected as best friends. Twists and turns the whole way through kept me hooked and PRAYING for Jade. Domestic violence is a terrifying experience.

Do you ever really know someone, or do you just let yourself think you know them? A fantastic story told in a back in forth from past to present fashion from multiple points of view. I truly enjoyed the story and will definitely be on the lookout for anything else written by Caro Carver.
22 years after a life altering event happens that involves all three close friends, Darcy, Camilla, and Kate they are taking a vacation together. Heading to the amazing Sapphire Island Resort in the Maldives to celebrate Darcy's divorce everything seems to be going perfect, until it isn't. A death brings back the bad memories from 22 years ago and suddenly the friends do not know what to think or who to trust.
I love a good story with strong female friendships with a thriller hidden in the pages. A great book for readers of women's fiction and thrillers.
Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the gifted ARC. The honest opinions are my own and I was honored to give them.

great book, had me on the edge of my seat from the beginning, amazing unique storyline, so many twists and turns and what a shock ending reveal - loved it!

This book is the definition of a perfect summer thriller! Three friends on vacation in paradise but nothing is as it seems. So many twists that I didn’t see coming, and I can honestly say I was surprised by the ending. I will definitely read more from Caro Carver.

Thank you NetGalley and Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Publishing July 9, 2024

Wow! I can foresee this being the hottest thriller of the summer!
From the start, I was drawn in immediately. Three deeply connected friends embark on a divorce retreat of sorts to the idyllic Maldives. Multiple mysteries started happening all at once, and without giving anything away, all are interconnected. I found myself flying through the pages to find out what happened.
Dark, twisty, and binge-worthy!
Run to add this to your tbr!

Loved this one! I think we will be seeing it as a highly-sought after pick for a lot of book clubs. I highly recommend this unique story.

What a rollercoaster of a read! The lies. The deceit. The drama. This book was SO fun and just what I needed. A fast paced, twisty page turner. Such a great read!!

This was an amazing book. I highly recommend it to everyone. Great characters and a great plot. I will be looking for more books by this author. The book is superbly written. Lots of twists, turns and shocking turns of events. Quickly becoming a go to author for me!!!! If you love to read a book and be shocked by the ending then check out this author for sure. You will love this book and this author

Carol Carver, I’m buying more of your books! This was a fast read, carefully plotted with some well written twists I wasn’t expecting. Seems there is now a thing with women going on a post divorce girls trip in . I’d go to the Maldives too. But not with friends like these.

Bad Tourists follows best friends Darcy, Camilla, and Kate as they escape for a post-divorce retreat in the Maldives. It was supposed to be the best way to celebrate a happy beginning until their traumatic past begins trickling back in.

The tension was never-ending. You could feel it from the first page and it continued until the end. I was completely hooked.

I am usually really good at guessing plot twists but I have to admit that the ones in this book threw me and I was genuinely so shocked but it was all set up so perfectly that if I were to reread this, I know I would be able to see the foreshadowing throughout the book.

This might also be a silly thing to appreciate but as a domestic violence survivor, I appreciated the representation and the way Jade’s character was written, especially her thoughts because they took me back to a time where they were my own.

I discovered after reading this book that Caro Carver is actually a pseudonym and they usually write under C.J. Cooke who is an author that has been on my radar for a while so this served as a perfect reminder that I need to pick up her works immediately.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press for providing me with this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I didn’t know what to expect with this book. The cover is stunningly beautiful, but I try not to judge a book by its cover. The deeper I got into the book, the harder it was to put down! There were a few good twists and I guessed at the big one but I didn’t think it would prove to be true! What a wild ride. Great story, fun characters, and a satisfying mystery.

I love to read a book with a tropical setting. When I found out this book is about 3 friends that take a trip to the Maldives to celebrate their friends divorce I jumped at the chance to read it. I loved that the women were successful women in their forties. It was such a change of pace.

The author did a great job of really allowing you to explore the Maldives. I could picture the beautiful turquoise water, the huts, the white sand, snorkeling, scuba diving. It was fun! The book took a turn when I realized there was more to this plot than just soaking up the sun. These friends are linked to a tragedy that happened 20 years ago. The ending was full of twists.

I thought the plot was fun and I didn’t guess the ending which is a bonus.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for a review. This review expresses solely my opinion.

Darcy, Kate, and Camilla all accompany Darcy to the Maldives to celebrate her recent divorce from Jason, an AI Software company executive. This seems like the regular girls trip where something goes horribly wrong. But all three of these women have something in common; an event in the past that ties them all together. Twenty two years ago, Kate was the only survivor of a massacre at the Spinnaker House Inn. Two of the victims were Camills's brother and Darcy's boyfriend. As the anniversary of the event gets closer, strange things start happening on the islands. Someone wants revenge.
The killer was allegedly caught but the 3 women still think there is an accomplice out there, so Darcy hires a private investigator to do some digging. Why this took 22 years to do, who knows? When he finds a potential 2nd suspect, and that suspect just happens to also be on the island (of course!!), on his honeymoon no less, things get more strange, as the women try to decide whether to confront him, or kill him.This book had lots of great suspense and tension. The descriptions of the islands were spot on, making you feel like you were sitting on the white sands and crystal clear waters with these women. When we find out how the 2nd accomplice is discovered, it seems legitimate, but as the layers get peeled back further, and some shocking secrets get revealed, it gets a bit implausible.  
The true killer turns out to be someone they know, and no one had any clue this person was a psychopathic serial killer?? And then also kills someone else on the island, 'because they could'? 
It fell a bit flat for me after that big reveal, since no motive is ever found. This person didn't have a bad childhood, wasn't abused, just became a serial killer. This book could foster some good discussions about the nature of psychopaths as we know they just seem like normal people in real life. If the real killer was a bit more realistic and had an actual motive, I would have liked this book more.

I really enjoyed reading this book! The twist just kept coming! I never expected the outcome of this book.