T.M. Logan can certainly spin a yarn, as an old saying goes (I'm aging myself here, lol), he can also captivate us and have us guessing... delightfully realizing that we can be wrong in our assumptions.
This newest effort releases in the U.S. July 21, 2020

What was anticipated as a week long enjoyable vacation for 4 families that turns into a nightmare. What you think you see, read, or hear isn't always what it seems, either. The women in the group Kate, Rowan, Jennifer and Izzy have been friends since college and get together once yearly. This year they are turning 40. Renting a villa in France is how they intend to celebrate, and include their families.

Unfortunately they take their kids along. This reader doesn't appreciate teen angst. Been there, done that, don't want to read about it. The kids were all bratty, privileged, spoiled and rude, except for one child, Daniel, the 7-yr old son of Kate, our narrator for this domestic drama. The teens are aggravating, two boys and one girl, living in their own little worlds, phones attached as an extension of their bodies, dramatizing everything. The teen girl 16, also belongs to Kate, the boys to Jennifer, and the 5-yr old bratty girl to Rowan. Kate's focus is to validate her suspicions that her husband is having an affair with one of her friends at this villa, based on texts she has seen on his phone just before leaving on vacation. As impossible as it seems, she must find out who it is.

None of the characters were very likable, except for Izzy, the only single person of the adults, no children, with a caring and kind heart. Still, it dragged for me at times, midway. The few surprises towards the end made up for that and I honestly didn't see that ending coming. It was well layered and plotted. It kept me engaged enough that I needed to know who the culprit was. There is a murderer amongst them, but who?

My thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for my preview copy and the chance to post my personal opinion.

The Vacation was my favorite of the three T.M. Logan books I've read. What I loved about this one is that I thought the plot was headed in a certain direction, but it completely twisted into something else that I didn't guess or see coming and I loved it. This one kept me turning the pages late into the night.

For the most part, the story was told through Kate's POV and she provided an interesting narrative. This is the second thriller I've read in recent weeks that was set in a lavish villa/estate in France. In The Vacation, the setting lends itself ominously to the plot. I really enjoyed this one. I definitely recommend it, especially if you're a fan of the author's previous books.

When I started this book I was completely pulled in but as it was a very mysterious and interesting read it was really slow up until about 80% into the book. Sometimes as I was reading I felt like it was just dragging on like i was just dying for some kind of action to happen but nothing would. It would just be another little puzzle piece for the story. Once I got to the 80% mark that's when all the excitement started to happen. At this point I was really excited to see how everything played out. These characters was not very likable at all because literally every character has some big secret they don't want everyone else to find out. Which means this story does have multiple POVs. You read as every character just about but the main character is Kate and Lucy's flashback chapters. If you like character development and some major mystery you would probably like this one.

A vacation in France where four college friends come together with their families for a vacation for the first time. As secrets and intrigue pile up throughout the week, the trip ends with a bang: a dead body. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was a beautiful setting and enough subplots that you were constantly trying to figure out what was really going on; and ultimately a satisfying ending

Devouring!

!ow! This was better than I'd anticipated!

Four old friends are vacationing with their families in France. It's supposed to be a fun, relaxing time away but when Kate discovers suspicious texts from a woman on her husband's phone - all signs pointing to the woman being one of her friends on the trip - the trip quickly turns into a nightmare.

I ended up becoming very engrossed in this story! There were some things I found predictable (I knew all wasn't as it seemed and I knew what it was that wasn't what it seemed) yet the story was so fast-paced that I kept needing to know what happened next! I also liked that we got little tidbit POVs from other characters that gave the reader insight into what was going on or could completely lead the reader astray!

Overall, a good domestic summer thriller!

3.5 Stars!

Thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Ok where do I start! First off, this was the first book in about 5 or 6 that I haven’t struggled to get through! I’ll get about half way then flip to the last few chapters to see who did what. But definitely not this one. The Vacation is truly an edge of your seat thriller! Just when you think you know, you have no idea! The characters are well developed. The writing is superb. This is the first time I’ve read a book by T.M. Logan but it definitely won’t be my last!

4.25 stars! I did not want to put The Vacation down. It's a quick read about four old friends and their families on holiday at a villa in France. But these friends have old grudges and secrets that are determined to ruin their happy reunion.

What I enjoyed most about this one, besides the dreamy location, was the author's ability to keep me guessing. To masterfully convey that ever so slight edge that had me second-guessing everyone. And I mean everyone. Even five year old, Odette. But while most of the characters are unreliable, I didn't mind it like I usually do. It worked in The Vacation.

Most of the book is narrated by Kate, who just so happens to be a crime analyst. It's her analytical point of view that simultaneously helps and hinders her search for the truth about her husband and his secrets. She has a hard time separating herself from her job even while on vacation, her mind working overtime, dissecting each person's actions and comments. And while she slowly processes her thoughts and observations, the tension is building leading to a breaking point between these guests.

This was my second book by Logan, and it will not be my last. He's an author I can count on to fully distract me from the world. This is the perfect book to read by the pool, the beach, or during a rain storm. Just be prepared to not want to set it down.

An interesting read, although it was a bit slow to build towards the finale.

In The Vacation, Kate and her family are joining her three best friends for a vacation. Of course, the vacation does not turn out as expected. Kate begins to suspect that her husband is having an affair with one of her best friends and spends her vacation vacillating between having an explosive conversation with her husband or accusing one of her friends of being his mistress. The story builds very slowly and then everything comes to a head in the last 1/4 of the book. Everyone seems to have their own secrets and these are not likeable people, so I can't say that I was really pulling for anyone in this story.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

What I loved about this book was the character development. You can’t really trust any of them. Sean’s character was not as well put together as I would have expected but then again neither was any of them really. You definitely get to see Jennifer’s true colors as the story unfolds. I liked how Izzy, Rowan, and Jennifer were all suspicious in the events in the book. The ending fell a bit flat for me. I thought it was going to go in a different direction.. All in all I would definitely recommend for a light domestic thriller.

Four college girlfriends have managed to stay friends throughout the years, but after marriages, kids and jobs it’s been harder to meet for their yearly get always. But this year they have something special planned. A summer trip for all the families at a spectacular villa in France. The first day of the fated trip, Kate finds messages on her husband, Sean’s phone. Messages that make her immediately suspect Sean of having an affair, unfortunately it looks like it’s with one of her three friends. As the week progresses Kate goes into detective mode, it could be any of them, but which one is it? The story is multi layered with multiple voices. It seems many in the villa have secrets, including the kids. Logan keeps those secrets locked up until nearly the end. The Vacation is a whirlwind of a read and the final pages fly by in a blur, leaving the reader breathless.

4.5 stars—What a FANTASTIC summer thriller! This one was so mysterious and had sooo many twists that I couldn’t figure it out for the life of me. The author did a fantastic job intertwining all the characters and seriously left me wanting more. I finished this in less than 24 hours! Highly recommend!

It follows four families that go away to a summer mansion in a vineyard in France. When one of the wives discovers texts from another woman on her husband’s phone, she never for one second thought it would be another woman on the trip, let alone a good friend of hers. So which woman is it? And when tensions run high—someone turns up dead. Are those two people the same color different?

The Vacation by T.M. Logan | review.

Genre: Thriller.

Rating: Four twisty stars!

Four best friends (and their families) meet up for a week long vacation at a beautiful villa in France together. But Kate has a secret; she suspects her husband is having an affair with one of her friends and she’s ready to catch him in the act…

Y’all this book should win an award for the most horrible characters. I hated them all… Even the kids were basically assholes… but somehow I was still interested in their story and ready for one of them to get what they deserved!

This was a quick, easy read. The writing was gripping and enjoyable. There were lots of twists and turns and I wasn’t ever quite sure who was the bad friend. And the reveal was surprising and believable which is always important for thrillers.

Now can we sign the whole bunch up for parenting classes ASAP?

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin Press for sharing this page turner ARC COPY with me in exchange my honest review.

WOW!!!
Great book, captured me from the start. I have to say I thought the book was going in one direction, and boy did it go in another direction (don't want to give it away).
A group of four friends together with their families meet at a house in France to celebrate their 40th birthdays. Each family is dealing with different stresses and situations that come with having children. But when one of the four suspects her husband is having an affair with one of the others, things take a turn. Accusations are made, lies are told and uncovered, and arguments follow. But things are not at all what they seem even during all the chaos. Something larger than an affair is in the air, but can all the truths be uncovered before someone gets hurt?
Loved this book and all the twists and turns it took. Truly kept me guessing until the end.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Logan wasted no time jumping right into the crux of the story; Kate believes her husband is having an affair with one of her three best friends and they're all vacationing together (with their families) in France. There are no shortage of 'suspects' and every interaction becomes something more for Kate to add to her tallies. And this is where the storyline fell apart for me. There was so much insinuation and subterfuge that everything felt drawn out and even the smallest details seemed to become bigger then necessary. None of the chapters seemed to have any redeeming qualities. The brothers and their mother especially. Around the 3/4 mark I was ready for the book to be over and started skimming to finish. The ending was a complete 180 from the start and felt disconnected from everything. This was not the book for me unfortunately.

I can’t believe I finished reading this book in two days! The author drew me in so deeply with the story, and led me to feel so strongly for Kate, the main character, that I had a hard time putting it down to cook meals for my family or sleep. That’s saying a lot for me as I often take up to a week or longer to finish most books.

The characterization was so well done that even small things most of the characters said or did gave me a window into their behavior. Another strong tell was their parenting skills, and lack sometimes. The setting was well described and gathering all the families together for a vacation was an excellent idea—it gave me a choice of several women who could have been behind the messages.

I loved this book and hope to read more by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, T.M. Logan and St Martin’s Press for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Another amazing summer binge-worthy thriller in the books! I really enjoyed how tense this thriller got and I was getting so frustrated right along with the main character because I needed all the answers! I loved the atmosphere, the scenery and the totally different characters all thrown together in a beautiful small village! This one may not be as fast paced as Logan’s usual, but it is totally worth reading through until the end! I definitely enjoyed and have already recommended.

Out July 21st

T.M. Logan’s latest is a fast-paced easy beach read about four long-time friends who meet up for vacation in a fancy mansion and there is more going on than it seems at the surface. I tend to like this type of book and there were some twists and turns. It was easy to feel aggravated with the main character Sarah who handled things poorly. It was interesting how the author had sub-plots with the kids in the families as well as the adults. The author also captured the feel of a miserable family vacation in a beautiful place very well. Overall, it was a good read but not terribly memorable.

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author T.M. Logan for an advanced digital review copy. This story will be published July 21, 2020.

Three close families go on the vacation of a lifetime to a Mediterranean villa. Early in the trip, Sarah discovers some disturbing texts on her husband’s phone. They hint that he is having an affair, which will be revealed sometime during the week. Now Sarah is on a mission to determine which one of her friends has been hiding this unbearable secret from her. She now trusts no one and begins to dissect every conversation that she has.

Overall I enjoyed this one, but it wasn’t one of my memorable books of the summer. It began by hooking me in and kept me reading. I needed to learn the answers about the affair. However, I did lose some interest in the middle when the plot started to sway more towards the families and their children. If you like character development, then this probably wouldn’t bother you! The ending did pick up a bit and provided some twists, but I would have preferred a more consistent pace. Have you read this one yet? What did you think? Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for providing me a copy for an honest review.
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5
#julyreleases #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #bookstagrammer #quarantinereads ##vacationbooks

This was one of those books I sped through because I needed to see what was really going on! The story centers primarily on Kate, who used to take an annual trip with her 3 best friends until other commitments got in the way. On the wake of their 40th birthdays, they plan a whole week together, this time including kids and spouses, and staying in a mansion that her friend Rowan has procured through her job. Almost as soon as they arrive, Kate finds incriminating texts on her husband's phone (her husband, who had been acting strangely for the last few weeks) and determines that he is cheating on her with one of her best friends on the trip. The rest of the book revolves around her trying to figure this out, while also delving into the not-so-perfect lives of her friends. There are also a few intermittent chapters authored by Kate's daughter, Lucy, giving a backstory to some of the events that unfold on the trip.

This was a really fast paced read overall- lots of things were happening and they all got the right amount of attention. I did get impatient with Kate at times, accusing first one friend and then another about having the affair, and then switching it up again. I didn't think she handled the situation with maturity at all. None of the characters was extremely likable, honestly, but they did seem real, and the author did a good job of getting the reader to understand them, even without a ton of backstory.

The end had a pretty big twist, but it seemed out of character for Kate and just not super realistic. Definitely exciting, though!

All in all, with some irritations, this was a well put-together-story with a lot of mystery and excitement. I'd recommend it to those who like mysteries and domestic suspense. I look forward to seeing what else TM Logan writes!

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a great suspenseful read. I loved how the four girls went on a vacation and it seemed like Kate would have the only storyline. But there were many shock moments and that’s what I love in a great suspense read. And the ending— I loved it!