Four friends head to a dream trip to Thailand...An unexpected encounter with a stranger, creates unease amongst the friends. He's here for one of them and as suspicions grow within the group, secrets are held.

The friends traveling through Thailand, their encounters with the stranger, the connection between the stranger and one of them. The majority of this book is build up to the murder and while it's not slow paced and boring, in fact it's actually fast paced and moves along nicely... it feels like you're waiting forever to get to the action! And when I say majority I mean 88%! After the murder, things move along faster and a final twist is uncovered, so it felt like the author rushed the ending a bit.

The Trip is told through multiple POV by 3 of the characters, using present tense for two of the characters and third person POV for the third. The multi viewpoint telling of the story helps create the suspense, and shows how everyone experiences a similar event in different ways.

All in all, it was an easy fast read and if you need something to bump up your book count, add The Trip to your list.

A big thanks to NetGalley for this ARC. I love a whodunnit thriller/mystery, which is exactly what I was expecting from this book. However, I think it kind of fell flat for me. I didn’t love it and didn’t hate it. I think this story would have worked better as a short story because it dragged for a large portion. Overall, probably wouldn’t recommend.

I enjoyed the plot of this story however it kind of felt like a slow burn. I think this would have been better if there was a little more twist and suspense. It dragged out until the last leg of the book. Which made me glad I stuck it out. However, it also caused this book to almost be a “DNF”.

The Trip by Phoebe Morgan was a great 3.5 star read for me! Who doesn't love a vacation mystery? The beginning was a bit slow but finally picked up. I will recommend to my freinds wanting a good vacation read.

This was a tense thriller about friendship, secrets, and betrayal. The suspense builds well, keeping you hooked as the mystery unfolds. The characters are flawed and intriguing, though some twists felt predictable. While the pacing can be uneven at times, it’s a solid read for fans of psychological thrillers.

This thriller slow builds in the best way. Told via multiple POVs the stakes are high and the story moves quickly especially in the second half. This dream trip quickly turns dark. I loved the descriptions and the author did a great job with the setting and mood. Highly recommend this vacation thriller.

Four unassuming friends from the UK are taking a trip to Thailand where they will find their friendships threatened when they discover out that someone's past came back to haunt them across the ocean and now they are all targets of a sinister plot that may ruin a marriage or possibly cost one of them their lives. What dangerous webs lies will weave!

This was a terrific book with wonderful, atmospheric storytelling along with great writing. The story mainly takes place in Thailand and beauty of the descriptions of the scenery and tourist sites was so well-done that I could visualize everything that the couples were seeing and doing. I found the writing very appealing and special, The story started light and easy and then took a fast turn down a dark road which was so interesting and intriguing that I couldn't stop reading when I should have been doing other things, lol. Definitely a page turner and I'm looking forward to reading more books by author 'Phoebe Morgan' in the future.


I highly recommend this fun and fast paced thriller!

I want to thank the publisher "WILLIAM MORROW" and for the opportunity to read this novel and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given a rating of 4 SINISTER AND DEVIOUS 🌟🌟🌟🌟 STARS!!

The Trip was a three star read for me. The standout to me was the atmosphere—vibrant Thailand. 🇹🇭 The descriptions were very well written and I could just feel the heat, smell the food, see the bright colors, hear the music. It was like taking a vacation myself and I loved that part.
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Ultimately I thought the plot was just boring. I wanted more twists, better pacing, something really wild to happen. I knew exactly what was going to happen on that cliff so it didn’t feel shocking. I did like the very last little bit and thought good for them! 😆
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Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the arc!

4/5 stars. This book had some of my favorite components: unlikeable characters, a tropical setting, vacation gone wrong, and lots of secrets. I really enjoyed it- this was a fun read and I'll definitely look forward to future books from Phoebe Morgan.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for an advanced copy to honestly review.

Phoebe Morgan delivers a sun-soaked yet chilling thriller in The Trip, a gripping tale of friendship, secrets, and betrayal. Set against the stunning backdrop of Thailand, this novel masterfully blends paradise with paranoia, creating a tense and immersive reading experience.

At the heart of the story are four friends, bound by loyalty but fractured by hidden truths. When a brutal murder disrupts their dream vacation, the lines between trust and deception blur. As the narrative unfolds, Morgan expertly weaves suspense and psychological depth, keeping readers on edge as they try to uncover who is truly guilty—and of what.

What makes The Trip so compelling is its intricate character dynamics. Each friend harbors their own secrets, making them all unreliable in their own way. Morgan’s sharp writing and clever pacing ensure that the tension never lets up, leading to shocking revelations and a climax that lingers long after the final page.

For fans of atmospheric thrillers filled with moral dilemmas and unexpected twists, The Trip is a must-read. It’s a gripping exploration of how far people will go to protect themselves—and how quickly paradise can turn into a nightmare.

"How well do you know your friends?" - from Goodreads synopsis.

Two years ago I read The Wild Girls by this author and really enjoyed it so I jumped at the chance to read this one. I also love a vacation gone wrong story which made me eager to pick this one up too. It's not a spoiler to say that we know from page one that something has gone wrong and someone is dead, but that's all we know. Then we jump back in time to the beginning of the trip getting to know these two couples who are all friends and vacationing together. The author builds the tension in the book slowly but steadily. Because each chapter switches between one of the three main characters, we are able to learn some of the secrets and things that they are hiding from the others. It definitely helped add to the overall level of suspense. My one complaint was the ending which I didn't love. Obviously I'm not going to share spoilers here but it just didn't really hit for me like I think that the author intended. That's just a personal preference though - others might feel differently.

Readers looking for a suspenseful read perfect for beach reading should pick this book up. I preferred The Wild Girls if I was comparing the two, but thought that this was a solid fun read. Four stars overall.

Thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book. Honest thoughts are my own.

The Trip follows four friends on a trip to Thailand. There are a lot of twists and turns along the way when the trip doesn’t go as planned for them. I found myself not really liking any of the characters. Overall the story kept me interested but it wasn’t anything that will be super memorable. I will definitely recommend to other thriller readers.

The Trip by Phoebe Morgan is a chilling and suspenseful thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the final page. The story follows four friends—two couples—on a dream vacation to Thailand that quickly turns into a nightmare when a brutal murder shakes their idyllic paradise. What begins as a celebration of friendship and adventure soon becomes a web of lies, secrets, and betrayal.

Morgan masterfully builds tension as the group grapples with the aftermath of the crime. While only one of them is the murderer, the others are far from innocent, each hiding their own dark secrets. As the plot unfolds, the suspense intensifies, and readers are left questioning who is guilty and what they’re willing to do to protect themselves.

With its gripping pacing, complex characters, and shocking twists, The Trip explores themes of trust, deception, and the dark undercurrents that can lurk within close friendships. For fans of psychological thrillers with a touch of mystery and moral ambiguity, this novel is an absolutely thrilling ride.

I thought this was a pretty standard but entertaining thriller. The setting was fun and the chapters were short, which is always a plus with this kind of book. I didn't really care about any of the characters, but the plot was pretty twisty. I don't think it'll end up being one that I find particularly memorable, but it was a decent popcorn book.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

A tourist’s worst fears come to fruition in this novel as a group of friends face a series of misfortunes on their vacation in Thailand that turn more and more dangerous as the days progress.

Four friends go on vacation to Thailand and strange things keep happening. They all feel like someone is watching them but who could it be? They meet a new friend who seems odd at times and they wonder why he keeps joining them.
3.5 stars

Phoebe Morgan’s The Trip promises intrigue, tension, and suspense but delivers a reading experience that may test the patience of even the most devoted thriller fans. Touted as a slow-burn psychological drama, it lives up to its “slow” descriptor a bit too well, with the central event of the story delayed until almost 80% of the way through the book. By the time the much-anticipated twist occurs, it feels less like a shocking revelation and more like a relief that something is finally happening.

The first three-quarters of the book are painstakingly drawn out, focusing on character relationships and dynamics that, while well-written, ultimately feel repetitive and overworked. This extended buildup detracts from the tension rather than amplifying it, leaving the reader begging for the story to progress. While Morgan’s smooth prose and skillful descriptions are commendable, they alone aren’t enough to sustain interest through the overly long prelude to the main event.

The structure of the narrative feels backward. The time spent setting up the relationships could have been better utilized exploring the fallout of the central event. The book’s blurb suggests this is the heart of the story—how relationships unravel in the wake of a life-altering incident—but instead, it leaves many of its own questions unanswered and skips over what could have been the most compelling aspect of the plot.

The open-ended conclusion is another letdown. Instead of feeling thought-provoking or ambiguous, it comes across as unfinished, leaving the reader with a sense of “is that it?” rather than meaningful closure. The twist, while competent, lacks impact, likely because the long buildup robs it of momentum.

Despite these criticisms, Morgan’s writing style is polished and engaging, which is perhaps the most redeeming quality of the book. It’s what kept me reading to the end, even as I grew increasingly frustrated with the pacing and structure. However, the story itself falls short of delivering the taut, suspenseful experience it promises, leaving me hesitant to pick up another book by this author.

Overall, The Trip is a missed opportunity. With tighter pacing and a stronger focus on the aftermath of its central event, it could have been a gripping exploration of fractured relationships and human fragility. Instead, it meanders too long in setup, squandering the potential of its premise. For readers with a high tolerance for slow burns and a love of elegant prose, it may still hold appeal, but for those seeking a fast-paced, twisty thriller, this one might be better left on the shelf.

Theo and Saskia. Holly and Lucas. Two couples that are going on a luxurious vacation to Thailand. Theo and Saskia are wealthy and have no worries unlike Lucas whose strapped for cash but he’s determined to enjoy this exotic holiday. Holly is unaware of Lucas money problems made a spreadsheet to watch their money since their saving for a bigger place so they can move into together. So right away their trip is starting on lies. But when they arrive it gets off to rocky start, the hotel shows no booking. They head to a hostel for the first evening. During the first night, a sinister feeling of being watched looms, and when a strange photo is left in their room it shocks them. But then along comes Caleb. A mysterious traveller who helps them. Then won’t stay away or get the hint to leave. He becomes a bit overly friendly and it creates tension and friction among the group. Soon the trip turns deadly But all four know how to keep a secret. And they’re all guilty of something…

Full disclosure I got to 52% in and decided this book wasn’t going to be for me. I don’t enjoy books where the plot is so dependent on all the characters keeping secrets from each other. I read in another review where the reader said she isn’t a big secret keeper, so it makes it hard for her to get into a plot that relies on the characters all keeping secrets. That is the same with me, for better or for worse. ;)
I think someone else might have read this book and enjoyed it. It just wasn’t for me.
Did anyone else keep picturing the two couples vacationing together from The White Lotus season two?
Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this as an ARC.

3.5 rounded up. I enjoyed this book overall. The plot is original and there was a decent blend of likable and unlikable characters but the story felt drawn out at times. The ending while it contained a twist I did not expect, it was kind of unsatisfying.