Steph, Katie, Abi, Ruby and Darcie, all longtime friends, longtime friend rent a chateau in the south of France for a getaway and to celebrate Steph’s 50th birthday. Their first night is filled with heavy drinking, spiraling into arguments and a very regrettable choice involving local men. The next morning, a planned hike up nearby Mont Ventoux turns into a nightmare when a wildfire breaks out and the women are separated on the mountain. One of the friends falls to her death. As the police investigate, they discover that it was no accident. Everyone is a suspect, the five friends, the mysterious man who followed them on Mont Ventoux and the two handymen who live nearby. It will take days, months and years to unravel this twisted case.

Simon McCleave, a best selling crime writer, has delivered a very different mystery from his Angelsey and Snowdonia series. Five Days in Provence is multi-layered, moving skillfully back and forth in time. The characters are well developed and we see how their behavior is affected by their past. There are two conclusions, both surprises. McCleave always receives 5 star reviews!

Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing and Simon McCleave for this ARC.

★★★½

Five Days in Provence by Simon McCleave is a gripping UK thriller set against the gorgeous backdrop of southern France. Five lifelong friends gather at a picturesque farmhouse nestled amidst the lavender fields to celebrate a birthday, but beneath the sun-drenched skies of Provence, their dream escape will end in murder.

McCleave’s skillful writing and tight plotting made this a one-sitting read for me. The narrative is filled with twists. Some I anticipated due to foreshadowing, but others caught me completely off guard and kept the suspense alive throughout.

However, the portrayal of female friendships felt somewhat exaggerated. The frequent bickering and occasional physical altercations among the women seemed unrealistic, which detracted slightly from the story’s authenticity.

Despite this, the novel serves as an entertaining palate cleanser between heavier reads. Its blend of mystery, scenic settings, and unexpected turns makes it a worthwhile pick for thriller enthusiasts looking for a quick escape.

I was gifted this title from NetGalley and Storm Publishing in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Five lifelong friends gather at a picturesque farmhouse nestled amidst the lavender fields to celebrate a birthday, but beneath the sun drenched skies of Provence, their dream escape will end in murder!! Great read! This book had thrilling suspense, murder, mystery, dark past secrets, and a few wild twists! The story was very interesting! I highly recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

This was a great read but I’m a bit disappointed I saw the plot twist coming wayyyyy before the ending. The clues are quite obvious along the way it’s less of a bread crumb trail and more slices of bread trail.

The writing style was the best part of the book. It flowed well, the setting was vivid and the characters are all well rounded. I might be a bit young as the target audience and kept thinking my mum would really enjoy this one.

Darcie was incredibly unlikeable the entire time. I genuinely felt bad for everyone else having to deal with her negativity the entire time.
Do we get Shaun’s backstory in an early interconnected book because I want to know what his arrest warrant was for!

I would definitely pick up another Simon McCleave book due to how easy this was to read.
Thank you to Storm publishing and NetGalley for the arc of this book. This is my honest opinion.

Wow. This book doesn’t pull any punches. It is 5 friends and dashes about through time, jumping years, or days or months to paint the picture of a group of friends with layers after layers of bonds, lies, ties and emotions that shape who they are and how they get to the end of the book. The secrets are slowly unveiled and each came to a surprise to me, but not uncomfortable, the book made sense and worked coherently. The book is a bit madcap, however the characters are believable, have real thoughts and telling the story through multiple viewpoints kept the pace up, the epilogue doesn’t disappoint either and ends the book solidly.

I liked the first part but overall, I saw the twist coming way before the ending. Also, they were 50 years old but sometimes they acted like broody teenagers, it was a bit off-puting.
Some things made no sense either, some others had no explanation (I don't want to give examples, it would be a big spoiler)
It started great but then I lost interest.

Five Days in Provence, by Simon McCleave, is a fast-paced, short thriller with twists that will keep you guessing until the very end. 5 friends on a fiftieth birthday adventure, when they become four... The reader is kept in the dark for a while as to who is missing, and the story unfolds one twist at a time. The ending is worth the wait.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of the ebook, which I read and reviewed. All opinions are my own.

Five Days in Provence whisks readers away to southern France's sun-soaked lavender fields, only to pull the rug out from under them with a chilling twist. Simon McCleave has crafted a gripping tale where friendship and suspicion collide under the intense Provençal sun.

The story follows Steph, who has meticulously planned a dreamy birthday getaway with her closest friends. The setting is idyllic, with long lunches, crisp wine by the pool and plans to climb the majestic Mont Ventoux. Yet, as with all good thrillers, paradise does not stay perfect for long. A wildfire sweeps through the mountains, and as the group becomes separated in the chaos, one of them turns up dead.

What follows is an engaging blend of suspense and drama. McCleave does a fantastic job building tension within the group as the remaining friends grapple with the horrific possibility that the killer may be one of their own. The fast-paced timeline keeps the reader fully invested, with each page offering a fresh twist or revelation. I found myself second-guessing every character and hanging onto every word.

Although the book is on the shorter side, it is packed with enough drama and intrigue to keep you hooked from start to finish. McCleave manages to balance vivid descriptions of the Provençal landscape with a tight, claustrophobic sense of dread. The result is a satisfying page-turner that leaves you questioning how well you truly know those closest to you.

Perfect for fans of quick, atmospheric thrillers that deliver both escapism and edge-of-your-seat tension.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

A very exciting read. Five friends go to Provence to celebrate a milestone birthday. The story highlights long term friends and complex relationships. The characters are well defined, some unpleasant but really ties in with the story. Steph, Abi, Ruby, Darcie and Katie all go to the idyllic Provence but one does not return. The story was good, spreading mainly over the 2 days. I enjoyed the suspense throughput and even though you felt you knew who Dunnet, there is still room for surprises. It's a book that once you get into it you won't leave down, just like I did.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion

A treat of a read that i demolished in an evening. Five friends go to Provence to celebrate a milestone birthday. With unpleasant and complex characters, complex friendship dynamics and twists a plenty kept me turning the pages. The plotting was pacey and well thought through making an engaging read. I really enjoyed this.

This is a good thriller from a seasoned author. Five female friends are having a short holiday together to celebrate a milestone birthday, but things don’t go as planned and ultimately only four come home. There is plenty of friction between the characters, so plenty of options for the ‘who did what to whom’. I found some aspects were easy to predict but there was a major plot twist that I didn’t see coming.
This is one of those books you can almost read in one sitting.

5 days in Provence deserves a 5-star review!
– Brilliantly Twisted and Utterly Addictive! This book was a total surprise—in the best possible way. It’s not usually the kind of genre I gravitate toward, but the way it was written completely won me over. Cleverly constructed with layer upon layer of twists and misdirection, it kept me constantly second-guessing and unable to put it down. Every time I thought I had it figured out, the story would shift again, pulling me deeper in. It’s one of those rare reads that plays with your mind in all the right ways. Gripping, smart, and thoroughly enjoyable—I’m so glad I gave it a chance! Well done Simon McCleave another one of your many books that could be made for TV. The writing was so good that I got to know Shaun, Tom, Steph, Darcie, Abi, Ruby, Katie I would now like to get it in audio format.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this ARC.

The majority of the story takes place over two days in summer 2022 when Darcie and her sister Ruby plus friends Abi, Katie and Steph rent a luxury farmhouse in Provence for five days in order to celebrate Steph's 50th birthday in style. Darcie is an influencer who has been plagued for years by a stalker who she can't seem to shake off.

There is a lot of tension between the five friends, and I can't say I liked anyone much. The only first person POV belongs to Steph which I found a bit random as everything seems to be centered around Darcie. We have to mention Shaun and Tom, two young handymen who deal with maintenance of the farmhouse, but there is something not right about them. On the second day they all attempt a mountain hike, there are wild fires, and one of the women ends up dead. We don't immediately get told who it is, and the hunt is now on for the murderer. Has Darcie's stalker made it to France?

To be honest, I figured out the stalker straight away but there were still a few good twists about what really happened. And did we ever find out why Shaun had an arrest warrant out for him? The storyline was captivating and fast-paced but I thought the subplot about Darcie's husband Hugo was unnecessary. Read if you like hidden secrets between friends and outdoor suspense.

3.5 stars

I loved this book! I stayed up all night reading as I just couldn’t put it down. I had to find out what happened and I couldn’t go to sleep! I am totally speechless wow!

From the minute I picked it up I struggled to pull myself away I was hooked! There were SO many twists and turns it was amazing! My heart was pounding throughout! Absolutely FANTASTIC!!!

This was truly first-class thriller writing! I’d highly recommend this book it’s a must read when it comes out!


⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars!

Five friends travel to idyllic Provence but their well-organised holiday turns into a bad dream when one of them is murdered.
The first part of the book introduces the characters. Long time friends, they have their little quarrels and differences but they are also very close although their lives are not always free of drama.
In the second part it is a clear ‘whodunit’.
The suspicions are clear if you are a seasoned thriller reader, yet the author manages to keep you interested until the end thanks to a fast pace and some unexpected twists.
Overall a very enjoyable read.

This book looks like a fun romp with lots of intrigue, but the sheer volume of mistakes, spelling, grammar and tense makes it impossible to read.

Steph planned a perfect birthday getaway—five friends, five days in the French countryside, full of wine, sunshine, and a hike up Mont Ventoux, but when a wildfire breaks out and the group gets separated, only four friends return. One is found dead, and suddenly no one feels safe. As the police close in, the trust between them starts to crumble.

I’d recommend this to anyone who loves a good, quick thriller! I read it in one sitting and would totally check out other books by Simon McCleave.

Thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

This book is such a gripping thriller I read it in one sitting. Its a fabulous mystery with so many suspicious characters you wont be able to guess whats going to happen next. It is fast faced and full of tension. A must read for all thriller fans!

📚I was able to read an advanced copy of title thanks to NetGalley, Simon McCleave and Storm Publishing📚
📚All reviews and opinions are entirely my own📚

Steph, Ruby, Darcie, Abi, and Katie go to France to celebrate Steph's birthday. There are def tension between these women: jealously, entitlement, down right bullying. When they go hiking one day, one of these girls ends up dead. Meanwhile, Darcie's stalker is rumored to be in France. Is he there? Did he kill her?

I wish we would know why there was a stalker to begin with. I feel like it was just thrown in there. Also very predictable who the stalker was. The book was still really good; some really good twists.

Suspicions were bouncing around my head like a game of pinball! We have our pick of suspicious characters and secrets. I read this in one sitting, full of cattiness and tension from all involved, keeping you on your toes until the very end.