3.5 stars, rounded up. Solidly interesting story, though the true "action" of the mystery happens pretty quickly at the end. Despite the increased action towards the end, the overall pace is still solid and the story moves quickly with points of view from all the characters for at least a short time. All of the characters are keeping secrets, and despite their longterm relationships and friendships there are things that will surprise the others. It has that luxurious getaway feel with a beautiful estate, but the heaviness of the secrets impacts everyone's experience.

Kate, Rowan, Jennifer, and Izzy have long been friends. To celebrate their 40th birthdays, they meet at a large villa in Corbieres, France. They bring their children ranging in age from 5 to 16. The villa can easily accommodate them with lots of amenities.

Kate suspects her husband is having an affair perhaps with one of her friends staying at the villa. But who? She is constantly trying to check her husband’s phone for messages trying to figure out who he’s corresponding with.

The children bring their own share of problems which appear to be the usual worries and personalities of their age groups. While their parents are hoping they have offered them all a lovely vacation, they don’t realize that their children’s actions and worries may be deeper than they think.

Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. The weather is hot, the pool deliciously cool, the countryside is beautiful, and the surrounding grape vines are full and luscious.

I loved the great descriptions of the French countryside and the yummy food. I got really frustrated with Kate’s ceaseless searching for anything she can “get” her husband on. But what is truly happening is much more frightening that she thinks.

While this book seems to drag somewhat it picks up in the end to give readers a conclusion they won’t soon forget.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Vacation is told from multiple points of view, over the span of therir Vacation. The novel was full of red herrings and cliffhangers. I I found that the first 80% was a slow burn for me and then finally some suspense happened and the last 20% was amazing, thrilling and totally messed up.

The Vacation follows Kate along with her three best friends and their families as they take a vacation together in Framce. Kate finds something on her husbands phone that makes her believe her husband is having an affair with one of her best friends. She decides to take it into her own hands and tries to figure out which of her friends could betray her like this. As Kate is trying to uncover this major betrayal she uncovers more than she bargained for. One thing is sure, no one will come out of this vacation the same person they one were. This book was full of

The year that four best friends turn 40, they travel to France with their families, to stay at a luxurious villa together. Kate is on edge though because her husband Sean has been acting distracted, uninterested in her, and she suspects that he is having an affair. When she checks his messages on his phone, she realizes that he must be having an affair with one of her three best friends. This week long vacation just goes downhill from there, as Kate frets about what to do, how to save her family, and how to find out which woman is cheating with her husband. 

So many secrets and Kate has them, too. She has wronged, intentionally or knowingly, all three of her friends, at one point or another. Any of them would have a reason to hurt Kate if they decided to do so. And it's beginning to look like someone might be willing to kill to keep the affair a secret. Too many things are going wrong, too many people, including the husbands and children, are acting strange. Just what is going on?

There is something that I didn't enjoy about the story and that is when Kate would be on the verge of learning something important from someone, so many times, as the person was on the verge of blurting out what was going on, spilling their guts, telling on someone, a catastrophe, big or small would occur, in mid sentence and off everyone would go, sentence unfinished. I was okay with it a few times but it seemed to happen way too often within about a five day period. But otherwise, I enjoyed the story even if I didn't really like the characters. I even would get a chuckle because of the little five year old red headed brat that would act out...I would not have wanted to be around that kid in person but from this side of the page, her tantrums made me laugh. 

That little girl highlights a problem with this group though...that the parents don't seem to have control of their children, have no idea what their children are up to. The entire group is pretty messed up, no wonder so many "things" happen to them. While the parents are dealing badly with what is going on between them, the teenagers have their own problems that may outweigh those of the parents. 

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

Absolutely loved this twisty thriller about friends who vacation together, just when you thought you knew "who did it" you were dead wrong. Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Title: The Vacation
Author: T.M. Logan
Genre: Suspense, thriller
Rating: 4 out of 5

It was supposed to be the perfect holiday - a group of families enjoying a week together in the sun. Four women who have been best friends for as long as they can remember making the most of a luxurious villa in the south of France.

But Kate has a secret: her husband is having an affair. And a week away might just be the perfect opportunity to get the proof she needs - to catch him in the act once and for all. Because she suspects the other woman is one of her two best friends.

One of them is working against her, willing to sacrifice years of friendship to destroy her family. But which one? As Kate closes in on the truth in the stifling Mediterranean heat, she realizes too late that the stakes are far higher than she ever imagined . . .

Because someone in the villa may be prepared to kill to keep their secret hidden.
The author did an excellent job of keeping me guessing and of keeping my interest…which is really saying something, considering I didn’t really like any of the characters. Normally, that’s reason enough for me to stop reading, but not this time.

I cannot imagine being Kate and finding out one of her three best friends was having an affair with her husband…right before a family vacation with all of them. No wonder the characters drank all the time. This is a solid thriller/suspense novel, and is sure to keep the reader guessing.

T.M. Logan is a bestselling author. The Vacation is his newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

This book is chock full of suspense and misdirection. Four friends and their families go on vacation to a secluded villa in the south of France. Lots of secrets, suspicions and alcohol fuel the story and mayhem ensues.

The setting is France and Kate is minutes away from meeting her three college friends for a long overdue joint vacation with them and their families. They were the best of friends and roommates in college and spent vacations together every year until they drifted away from the tradition five years ago. She’s looking forward to it, her husband Sean, teenaged daughter Lucy and 10-year old son Daniel all in tow. Soon after their arrival, Kate notices her husband being overly protective of his phone. When he’s otherwise occupied, she checks it and finds a cryptic message that leads her to believe he’s involved with another woman...and it has to be one of her friends based on what’s said. Is it Rowan, the wealthy host of the fabulous vacation villa who owns her own business, or Jennifer the full time helicopter mother of two teen-aged sons or Izzy the single one who is constantly moving around the globe?

This would have driven me crazy and it was doing the same to Kate since she opted not to confront Sean. The vacation devolves into suspicion and intense scrutiny of every move her friends make, especially when interacting with Sean as she tries to figure out the who. I could identify with Kate’s paranoia and it gets even more complicated by her daughter’s odd behavior where she’s clearly weighed down by something. Everything takes on more meaning and suspicion shifts to all of the friends at some point.

The psychological aspect of this story was off the charts. It had a wonderful start, pulling me in immediately. However, I got bogged down in the middle as too many scenarios had my brain spinning. Fortunately, the last half took a turn and was impossible to put down. The ending was exciting and there’s a sweet little twist at the end. I enjoyed the story despite that slow down in the middle. That’s two books by this author that provided compelling reading experiences and he’s now an auto read. 3.5 stars

Kate and her family take a long overdue vacation with her three friends from uni and their families on the south coast of France. A tradition that used to occur every year lapsed once the women started to become pregnant and career driven. Kate is excited to visit with her girlfriends when she soon realizes that this may be the worst vacation she has ever taken. After discovering illicit and secretive texts on her husband’s phone, Kate realizes that Sean is carrying on with one of her three friends. Little does Kate know that by discovering these texts, she has set off a group of tragic events that are irreversible that will occur over their week long vacation.

I have to admit that none of Logan’s characters are likeable, which is part of what kept me reading. Which one is the most irritating?? Which one is being a cheat and liar?? This strange dynamic kept me going. While I think he lingered too long on the plot of figuring out who Sean was secretly interacting with, I did enjoy the lead up and the mystery of what was really going on in this tight-knit group of friends. The chapters had lots of cliffhangers and I read this summer thriller in one sitting. I would categorize this novel as more of a suspense instead of a thriller as the slow burn had me guessing who was guilty and who would die constantly. Reminiscent of The Guest List by Lucy Foley and The Lying Game by Ruth Ware, I really liked this one! Thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this ARC.

Four female former college roommates go on a one-week vacation in France to celebrate their fortieth birthdays. They bring their spouses and children along. This is definitely The Vacation they will never forget.

Despite being a Monday, I was desperately looking for an easy bee-itchy beach read. I needed a fun tale to take my mind off the looming five days of working from home plus, you know, the plague that surrounds us. I found it in The Vacation.

Everyone has secrets. But one has a plan:

“I know I shouldn’t have looked [at my husband’s messages on his phone]. But I did. And that was when everything started coming apart at the seams. My husband, my soul mate, my rock, was having an affair with one of oldest and dearest friends. I’m going to smoke you out, find out which of you has betrayed me, which one of you is trying to break my family apart.”

Let the games and intrigue begin...

The Vacation is the perfect book if you want to forget your own problems by diving straight into someone else’s. It’s an enjoyable plot filled with many twists and turns. 4 stars!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a quick read and one that definitely kept me guessing. Four women that have been friends since college are trying to get back on track with their regular vacations together so they plan to take their husbands and families this time. All of the family members know each other so the women think it will be a good time for everyone. It soon becomes apparent that all the women have secrets from their families and each other. Their lovely vacation in a villa in France quickly becomes tense and dangerous. I kept trying to guess the next steps in this book but I was surprised at the conclusion. It was so hard to tell which woman was lying and when. This would definitely be a great book to read on vacation.

Four women, friends since their university days, plan the perfect vacation in a luxurious villa in the south of France. They're each turning forty and plan to celebrate in style. Spouses and children tag along, and the drama begins. Recently, Kate's husband has become distant, even cold, and after intercepting some text messages on his phone, she knows why. An affair. Her rock solid, handsome husband is having an affair. What shocks her even more is that the other woman in this affair has to be one of her three trusted friends. One of them has betrayed her. Who is it? Kate will uncover the truth during the next seven days while they're all together. However, what she discovers may be worse than she expected.

The Vacation begins with a great premise - friends, vacation, a cheating husband, a deceitful friend. I was immediately drawn into the story, scrutinizing each potential suspect, weighing the possibilities. Kate is our main narrator, although there are others, but it's mostly through her voice that the story unfolds. Through past and present chapters, secrets begin to spill, lies mount up, emotions boil over, and it soon becomes clear multiple people, including husbands and children, have something to hide. While the author utilizes short chapters to move the pace forward over seven days, it began stalling out around mid-point for me - meandering a bit too much. The focus of the story shifts somewhat and the pace slows more than I would have liked. What started off as a page turner morphed into a slow burn mystery causing my interest to wander. At this point, I had already solved part of the mystery but there was still the expected twist and shocker near the end. The Vacation is a good domestic mystery that could have reached the next level with a little more focus and fewer pages in my opinion. If you're a mystery fan, grab this one and decide for yourself.

Four female best friends from university decide to take a family vacation to a lovely villa in France to celebrate their 40th birthdays. The 12 of them should have a lovely time in a beautiful place. This was a mistake.

Primarily a domestic drama rather than any sort of suspense or psychological thriller, this book was marred by uneven pacing, unlikable characters, mostly hideous children, and a cliche plot of secrets and lies. The ending, when it finally arrived with a head-banging climax, was almost ludicrous. I found myself increasingly frustrated as critical conversations and confrontations were avoided with missed opportunities and interruptions.

Although not a book I particularly enjoyed, I'm sure there are many out there who like the author and who devour this sort of family dysfunction and the slow reveal of what is actually going on with lots of teasers and red herrings. I prefer a different sort of narrative that is more straight forward and less annoying. I've read both LIES and also 29 SECONDS and I will probably give this writer another go depending on the synopsis of the next work.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-book ARC to read and review.

Well, I tried to love this book. It just didn't hold my interest. I really enjoyed T.M Logan's book 29 seconds and I looked forward to this one. However, When I started to read it, It just felt like every other thriller book out there. I could distinguish what was really unique about the book. However, 29 Seconds, I felt hit a subject that most wouldn't think to write about. I was looking for that in this book but it just missed the mark for me. With that said, I don't plan on marking T.M Logan off my "Well Liked Author List". I hope with the upcoming novels, He finds more of that unique style I quiet liked in the previous books.

Kate and her three best friends from college go on a vacation together at a house in France with their spouses and children. But Kate's husband is hiding something from her. She finds a message on his phone and suspects that he's having an affair with one of her friends.

The story takes place over the week that Kate and her friends are on vacation. It moves very quickly, and at one point or another I suspected each of Kate's friends as having an affair with her husband. The character development was very good. I felt like I was able to get a good sense who each character was and their personality.

In this new book by Logan a group of four best friends are getting together with their families to spend an exciting week at a villa in the South of France. The ladies have.remained close throughout the years and this week is a perfect time to catch up on each other's lives. It soon becomes apparent to Kate though that something is going on with her husband and one of her supposed good friends. She do d s a compromising text that could damage her family forever. The only problem now is should she confront her husband or figure out which friend it is first and then blow a hole in what is going on. With no one she can turn to Kate decides to investigate and have some proof before she causes a scene. Along the way other weird happenings present themselves making her wonder what exactly is going on with not only her friends but their families. This is a truly intense read that will keep you on edge the while way through. I couldn't put the book down and read it in one sitting, I just had to know how it ended!!!

It was supposed to be the perfect vacation, dreamed up by Kate as the ideal way to turn 40: four best friends and their husbands and children, spending a week in a luxurious villa under the blazing sunshine of Provence.
But things are not as they seem. Kate suspects that her husband is having an affair—and that the other woman is one of her best friends.
It seems a lot of secrets are going on and just who is cheating? And what is going on with Kate's daughter?
Someone in the villa may be prepared to kill to keep their lies hidden.
I could not put this book done. It is full of twists and turns and has you wondering until the end.

I received this from NetGalley for review.

#netgalley

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and TM Logan for the opportunity to read his latest thriller. Definitely was a good way to spend most of the day reading! 4 stars.

The perfect vacation - a gorgeous villa in Southern France, 4 best college friends celebrating their 40th birthdays and including any spouses or children. But everyone involved is keeping secrets! Kate discovers messages on her husband's phone intimating that he is having an affair with one of her friends; her husband, Sean, is definitely acting suspicious. But secrets abound in this book - everyone has one or two, even the children. When the secrets come out, as they always do, will anyone be safe?

None of these characters are extremely likable but as with all TM Logan's books, the story is well written and you are glued to the pages to figure out just what's going on. At some point, I questioned everyone! The short chapters from different characters' viewpoints easily moved the book along plus each chapter left you with enough of a cliffhanger to keep you from putting the book down.

If you are looking for your next sumer read with a few twists and turns, look no further. The Vacation has the perfect blend of domesticity and suspense to keep you fully engaged throughout the story.

Four friends that go back to their university days, but now have families of their own. One of the characters, Kate, finds secret messages on her husband Sean's phone and suspects he's been having an affair behind her back. Gradually, we are introduced to the other vacationers and begin to see how each of them is hiding something. If you are like me, you will suspect everybody and try to weed out the bad apple in this tight group of friends and their children. There are several POVs, a narrative device that allows the reader to see more of the inner motivations of the characters. There is a lot of masterful misdirection with the writer keeping you on the edge of your seat until the end of the book.

I really enjoyed the pace of this thriller. The chapters are long enough to add a twist or two to your understanding of the characters (all of whom are undoubtfully flawed) and the plot and short enough to never let it drag.
Without giving you any spoilers, the ending was satisfying with the justice being served, although the lives of all characters are never going to be the same as before the French vacation.

I would definitely recommend this well-written thriller and would love to read T.M.Logan's previous and future books.

Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin's Press for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

Normally I love T.M. Logan’s books, but this one I just could not get into. I didn’t like the characters and the pace was just too slow for me.

By the time I got to the latter part of the book when things finally picked up, I really didn’t care anymore. There were still too many holes in the story.