Book Review: The Holiday by TM Logan

Seven days. Three families. One killer.
 

It was supposed to be the perfect holiday, dreamed up by Kate as the ideal way to turn 40: four best friends and their husbands and children in a luxurious villa under the blazing sunshine of Languedoc-Roussillon.
 

The central theme to The Holiday is deception – it is a tale of secrets and lies.  Whilst I’m not a religious person, I think there is something to be said in the biblical quote “the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). 

Of the three couples in the story – Kate and Sean, Jen and Alistair, Rowan and Russ – all of them have secrets, not just from the other couples but from their partners also. There is a distinct lack of communication and honesty amongst them, which appeared to be a repeating theme throughout the book. I was disappointed at how quickly Kate jumped to conclusions about her husband’s activities and yet steadfastly refused to confront him about her suspicions. Surely this indicates an underlying lack of trust in their relationship? I also fail to understand why certain characters would put their own relationships at risk in order to keep someone else’s secret.

The plot is complex and whilst the reveal is a bit of a slow-burner, the story does have a good pace to it. Every time I thought I had figured out what was happening, another twist or red-herring appeared!  It is obvious from the start that something bad is going to occur and the author then keeps the reader on tenterhooks as to when the event will occur and who would be involved. This really ramps up the suspense. It is not until well into the final quarter of the book that the action really takes place.  The tale is not action-packed and instead relies on this underlying tension and suspicion to drive the story towards its conclusion.

The setting for the tale is well thought-out. There is nothing like muggy summer heat, rising temperatures, a large family group and a bit too much wine to fray tempers and set moods slightly on edge  On a lighter note, my parents have a house not too far from Beziers, in the Languedoc-Roussillon region and it has made me want to explore the area a bit more when I next visit.

With a gripping plot and past-paced writing, The Holiday is certainly a page turner. This book will undoubtedly be a summer hit – perfect holiday reading!  

Thank you to Zaffre Books for providing me with a review copy of the book.

Bestselling author TM Logan was a national newspaper journalist before turning to novel-writing full time. His debut thriller Lies was one of Amazon UK’s biggest ebooks of 2017 – selling 350,000 copies, gathering more than 1,400 5-star reviews and winning a Silver Award at the Nielsen Bestseller Awards.

Together with his second standalone thriller, 29 Seconds (2018), his books are now published in a dozen countries around the world including the USA, South Koream Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Hungary, Serbia, Romania and the Netherlands. His new thriller The Holiday is due to be published in the UK by Zaffre Books on 13 June 2019.

Tim lives in Nottinghamshire with his wife and two children, and writes in a cabin at the bottom of his garden.

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