I received the ARC from NetGalley for an honest review. This is another outstanding mystery by T.M. Logan. The story has many surprising twists and shocking revelations.. The story is about four college friends and their families who rent a villa for one week for a reunion vacation. Most of the characters have deep, dark secrets that get revealed as the book progresses. The story delves into lies, coverups distrust and out of control behaviors. I enjoyed the story and the surprise ending, And trying to figure out who the villain actually was.

This is a highly readable mystery, set in France when a group of long term friends gather at a luxurious villa for a vacation. The narrator is beset by suspicions that something is going on and over the course of the days that follow layers of deception are peeled back as the tension mounts. The author kept me guessing until the end and it is one of those mysteries that are hard to put down, although I didn’t find the characters particularly engaging hence my four star review.

"Who was she? Which one of my friends had betrayed me?"

Kate and her three best friends from college, Jennifer, Rowan and Izzy, used to reunite every year for a vacation, until babies and husbands and work commitments got in the way. Now that they're all turning 40, they decide to go all-out with a week in the south of France, with families in tow. For Kate, that means her husband Sean, 16-year-old daughter Lucy, and 9-year-old son Daniel. Rowan has arranged for them all to share a magnificent vineyard estate. Sounds like paradise, right?

However, Sean has been acting odd lately, and when Kate snoops through the text messages on his phone, she finds evidence that he's having an affair—with one of her three friends! Now, instead of having a relaxing holiday, Kate (who works as a crime analyst with the Metropolitan Police) must try to figure out which of her pals is the guilty party. Plus, Lucy, as well as Jennifer's two sons, Ethan and Jake, are going through some major teenage drama; they may be hundreds of miles away from their London home, but thanks to social media, there's really no getting away from it all. And then there's the perilous cliff on the property, which looms over the proceedings like Chekhov's gun.

This is one of those novels where everyone is hiding secrets, and the mutual mistrust between the vacationers leads to huge problems that could be, at least to some extent, cleared up if people were only honest with each other. (Of course, when one person is finally about to reveal a shocking truth, they are interrupted by a disaster just as they're about to say something that could clear up most of the misconceptions.) More than once, I thought of the old adage, "Never assume—it makes an ass out of u and me." However, Logan is an ace at building suspense, and the conclusion genuinely surprised me. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as his previous book, 2018's "Lies," but this summer thriller would still provide a few pleasurable hours of poolside reading.

I am a sucker for novels about a group of close friends who go on vacation together and someone dies, so I jumped at the opportunity to get a galley edition of The Vacation by T. M. Logan. The story involves four women who have been best friends since university – Kate (married with two children), Rowan (married with one child), Jennifer (married with two children), and Izzy (single and no children). For the occasion of the four women turning 40, they decide to take a trip to a French villa with all of their families. The day before they leave for vacation Kate discovers texts on her husband’s phone that seem to indicate that he is having an affair with one of her best friends. Instead of confronting him, Kate makes the highly questionable (and unbelievable) decision to go ahead on the vacation and try to figure out which friend it is while there. Really?!?
For about 75% of the book, nothing more happens except Kate waffling about whether it’s friend A, B, or C, and everyone seeming to have a miserable time. Seriously, over four days there’s not a single occasion when any of the twelve vacationers is having fun!! All of the action, such as it is, happens in the final 25% of the book, and I have to say that once the “big secret” is revealed, I was angry. A day later, I’m still angry. Almost all of the characters in this book are extremely unlikeable, including four of the five children. I simply can’t enjoy novels without a single sympathetic character, and The Vacation doesn’t have one. Moreover, once the secret is revealed, the reader also discovers that the characters are not only unlikeable but thoroughly lacking in moral fiber, including Kate who is supposed to be a criminal investigator for the police.
T. M. Logan is a talented writer, and I liked his last novel 29 Seconds, but I was hugely disappointed by The Vacation. My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. I’d rate this one 2.5 stars, which I’ll round up to 3 because it’s well crafted.

4-5 stars, what a twisted read! So unexpected making you think it’s one way, when in reality it’s a different! While I did have some suspicions correct, it was hard not going the route the author laid out, which in my opinion means it was hitting the mark it was supposed too! Very chilling scenes, as well as heart wrenching, and shocking! Well written, hard to put down, and fun! Love T.M. Logan and look forward to more by this author!
Will make sure I buzz it up on all the different platforms!

I received a complimentary copy of The Vacation from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Great book! I was already a big fan of T.M.Logan's previous suspense novels, so I was definitely looking forward to reading this book. I was on the edge of my seat for most of this one.

I must say, I was right there with Kate, a forensic examiner. I was thinking the same things that she was...every step of the way. My heart broke for her as she contemplated her ruined marriage, her husband's infidelity, and the betrayal of one of her three best friends; Izzy the world traveler, Jennifer the near-model, and Rowan the soon-to-be millionaire. Some huge plot twists (with clues that I didn't immediately zoom in on) changed my entire focus, challenging my own ability to determine the truth of the situations Kate was facing. This was a well written novel, the stress of which (living vicariously through Kate) was actually quite enjoyable!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Spoiler alert: there is no actual affair. There. Now that that's out of the way....there is plenty of sneaky evidence to the contrary. There is also a lot of kids behaving badly, adults behaving worse, and atmospheric tension that kept me up reading, way past my bedtime. I couldn't put this one down. My only complaint was the fact that Kate was the queen of jumping to conclusions, often to her own detriment, as well as the detriment of others, including her own children and her marriage. I wanted her to just LISTEN sometimes.....other than that, I just adored this book, and will.definitely be recommending it.

This book has promise but it took me a long time to get through it. The ultimate reveal just didn't do it for me. Decent plot and characters but just average for me.

T.M. Logan is back has written a taut and engrossing page turner of a thriller with The Vacation. Well worth the read!

Wow oh Wow oh Wow! That ending is amazing, that twist was so unexpected. How can so much go wrong when 4 friends get together in a beautiful spot? The lies and secrets are slowly revealed. Friendships and marriages start to show cracks. This book was so good!!

A fast-paced thriller with some fun red herrings and a setting that is almost a character in and of itself. Lots of plot threads that weave together rather seamlessly, and a solid twist at the end. Would be a fun choice for book clubs!

WOW, Amazing, incredible, phenomenal book. I loved very page. I read it in two sittings because I could not put it down. Four women, friends since university, three husbands and assorted children, travel to France for a week in a villa. There are a lot of secrets and the Author does an amazing job of leading you down the garden path, or me anyway! Absolutely brilliant writing. My favourite kind of book. There were so many things I was wrong about. Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and the Author for allowing me to read and review this book.

Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for this book. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I Absolutely LOVED this book. It was sooooooo good. I was guessing throughout the whole book and the ending was surprising. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!

OMG! Crammed full of all of the shocks and surprises we have come to expect from T. M. Logan, this was an easy 5 stars.

A group of long time besties vacationing in France after a few years apart, one has discovered her husband is cheating on her and suspects it is with one of her friends. She decides to use the vacation to get all of the dirt but when she digs in she learns there is much, much more.

Gah...this was so good!

Thank you to T.M. Logan, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you, thank you, thank you Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for this WOW of a book!!! OMGosh it was Fantastic. I was involved right away with the characters, I NEVER figured out who it was with one of the main characters and was surprised at the ending. I'm sad the book is over, it was just sooooo good.

A group of long-time friends and their children, get together for their annual group trip, staying in a beautiful private villa in France. When Kate discovers evidence that her husband, Sean is cheating with one of her closest friends, everyone and everything is suspicious. Imagine vacationing with your three closest friends and not knowing who you can trust?

TM Logan blew me away with his debut novel, LIES - so of course, I devoured 29 SECONDS and then had high expectations for THE HOLIDAY. He did not disappoint. I found myself so emotionally invested in Kate's search for answers - I couldn't even get through one emotional reaction before another bomb dropped!? Highly recommended author and title - I'll surely be back for more!

T.M. Logan certainly had me beguiled as I read The Vacation. I knew from the start that I would have to pay very close attention to each character. So, I started by making a diagram of the characters, their children, their careers, their looks in order to help me keep everyone straight with the thought that it might help me solve the mystery. Well, that didn't seem to help. The author was able to make the characters mysterious and intriguing and the plot only deepened as I went along. The author's description of France and the area was so vivid that I felt like I was there. T.M. Logan created a great story that proves people you hold dear, depending on the circumstance, might behave in ways you would have never believed they were capable. I can't wait to recommend this book when it comes out.

Well, truly I hate the guts of the characters. I didn’t care what will happen to them! I didn’t care one of them die, hurt, get abused, terrorized, kidnapped, wounded etc. But I have to admit they’re the ensemble to get awarded as the worst unlikeable characters, have no idea why they’re created!

If I would be the author of this book, at the first chapter I would have killed them at a bloody massacre ( So bloody that Tarantino movies look like Disney movies if you compare it with my harsh, vulgar, violent opening) So thanks God, I didn’t write this. So so so so much better author wrote this book. Why is he so much better?
Because even though I was out of my patience and I fantasized million ways to kill those characters, he gave me the reason to keep on reading with his great written plot, meticulously developed story progression and satisfying pacing. Actually if some pages of the book could have been emitted, it would have been more helpful to be hooked on the story. But the second half was surprisingly twisty, entertaining, exciting.

So Kate decides to go to a vacation to France with her longtime friends, including husbands, kids. She thinks her husband is cheating on her with one of her the very same friends she goes to the trip. She starts to conduct her own investigation to find out the identity of this shameless bitch is and she plans to scratch her face with sharp nails and then jump on her to punch till she gets unconscious. Oh sorry, I confused her plan with regular Jerry Springer show scripted episode.

But as soon as she opens the box of secrets, she realizes she finds out more than she can handle. So much lies, secrets, schemes, twists, you feel like all those scumbag characters are worse than day time soap opera actors who are stabbing each other behind their backs.
The conclusion of the story is good but it could be better. There are still so much blanks needed to be filled. And I still have so much questions but I cannot talk about them without giving spoilers so I already put duct tapes on my mouth but funnily my hands still work but don’t worry my best friend Ashley watches my computer screen like a hawk and if I try to write anything inappropriate she’ll hit my hand with ruler.

So let’s round up my 3.5 stars to 4 because I enjoyed the writing and gripping story-telling but I wished I chose some better book of the author because his previous books stayed at my tbr so long that they might feel like they stayed at the purgatory so long. (Just like some of my long time requested books at NetGalley. They are not rejected but they are also not approved. They directly go to the archive cemetery.)

This is one of my good thriller reads but not one of the best and memorable reads. I recommend you to take it when you go to the holiday with your friends so you may give them dubious and disgusted looks during your vacation and learn the lesson of your life about how to lose your friends and alienate people!

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

I actually read the European version of this book titled The Holiday!!!!!! I loved this story!!!!!!! T.M. Logan is becoming known for his shocking suspense and this book did not disappoint!!!!!!!


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 realises 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. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for my honest review

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview The Vacation by TM Logan. I have read two of Logan's novels, and have liked them very much.
The Vacation to me is more of a family drama with suspense and plenty of secrets to go around. A group of women, turning 40, decide to go on a vacation in France. The lead character, Kate, narrates "the vacation" and takes the reader through the past relationships with her friends, her own marriage, and family dramas. Kate believes her husband is having an affair - she discovers this on day 1 of the vacation - and she believes one of her friends is the mistress - BUT WHO, WHICH ONE...
The plot takes on alot of information - some necessary and some not so much - but the book is solid and fans of this genre will like the descriptive narration and drama.
For me, I found the book ok - I just could not relate to these characters. A bit entitled and obtuse.
2.5 stars.