What could be better than a group of friends escaping to a holiday home in Scotland for the weekend?

Well, just about anything could be better, since, as we are told from the beginning (and repeatedly) that not everyone will be leaving alive.

Told in alternating POV, tension was attempted by ending chapters with foreshadowing statements like “if only I’d known what was going to happen” or “things would soon get worse” or little did I know someone would soon be dead”. (btw, these are not specific quotes, but you get the idea). This is not a favorite literary device and it feels lazy. I was never furiously turning the (virtual) pages, anxious to see what would happen next.

It didn’t help that the main characters were dumb as a box of rocks and there were plot holes you could drive a truck through. No spoilers, but let’s just say apparently none of these characters have heard of basic forensics.

The supposed big reveals and the “surprise” twist at the end were predictable and disappointing.

Daniel Hurst is my go-to for a quick entertaining popcorn read, but sadly this one is by far my least favorite. I’d recommend starting elsewhere if you plan to read your first book by this author..

For being such a short book this was not a very entertaining or “quick” read. The plot was very drawn out and the “twists” were not very shocking. I found most of the characters to be generally unlikable and dishonest which left me unsure of who I was supposed to believe in this story. The setting was cool, a huge holiday home in the Scottish highlands, luxury all around and beautiful views. But I just found myself not caring about any of the characters. There were some very drawn out scenes that were obvious fluff, and full of inner dialog saying the same things over and over again. The narration was pleasant which is the only reason for the 3rd star.

Nicola and her family are invited to join her best friend and her family at their holiday cottage in the Scottish highlands over a long weekend. A free vacation is hard to pass up when money is tight.

Hello, hot tub overlooking a loch. A quiet weekend to connect with nature among family and friends sounds like a perfect getaway until it becomes a nightmare!

I like that there are a few characters on this trip. A secluded location is nice and inviting and when secrets emerge things get quite exciting!

You know I enjoy Daniel Hurst novels. His books drew me in and I'm usually hooked and can't stop listening. I find his thrillers juicy and suspenseful. The Holiday Home had a strong start but didn't grip me like his other ones. Characters are flat, secrets are okay, tension is lacking and the ending is a nooo. I think the narrator tries very hard to make it suspenseful. Not working. 😢

At this point, I'll get Daniel Hurst's novels without reading the blurb. Chances are I'll get an entertaining and engrossing thriller. But as you see by my rating that this one didn't work for me.
2.5⭐

This was my first time reading a Daniel Hurst book. It kept me entertained but at times it seemed very formula driven. The narrators did an excellent job breathing life into the characters who were not very likeable. I enjoyed their nuances, especially since the story is told from several points of view. Lewis and Ryan were both volatile characters so I immediately assumed one of them would not be returning home.
Two couples, each with a child, travel to a luxurious vacation home in rural Scotland. Their secrets are gradually revealed and are somewhat predictable. From the beginning the author lets you know that everyone is not surviving the trip. The foreshadowing cliffhangers worked well for the first few chapters but then became redundant.
All in all it was an engaging read. My thanks and appreciation to Daniel Hurst, Bookouture, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read an arc of this soon to be published book. I will be seeking out more books by Daniel Hurst.

I am a huge thriller/suspense lover, and unfortunately this book wasn’t my favorite. Besides being a bit predictable and unoriginal on the story line, the author spent numerous chapter endings warning the listener/reader of the impending doom, which started to feel a bit cheesy after the first time. Additionally, the main characters were all very unlikeable and their actions didn’t seem to be consistent with the people they were supposed to be. Don’t even get me started on the plot holes. I will also say that the female narrator was pleasant enough but the male narrator was a bit irritating to listen to.

All in all, it was a quick listen and if you need something to listen to this might be enjoyable but it wouldn’t be even close to my first choice in the genre.

I received an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

3.65⭐

Featuring ~ multiple 1st person POV, secluded vacation, secrets of course

Nicola & Ryan & Kim & Lewis, along with children Emily & Cole head on vacation together. The ladies are bff's and the men are not fans of each other and seem to just tolerate each other.

So we're led to believe something is up when Nicola reads a text on Ryan's phone, but it turns out to be something way bigger than she expected. I felt too many chapters went by when she was just thinking about confronting him and not actually confronting him. Like, girl, just ask this husband of yours what's up.

This dude pops out books left and right and I felt this one was mostly true to Daniel's form. He builds up the suspense with having multiple narrators, but the intrigue is a little less since we know what's happening on the flip side. It was less of a thriller IMO too. Can't say I loved the last little zinger either. Not my favorite, but still enjoyable enough to hold my interest.

I was fortune enough to receive a kindle copy and an audio book to review. Either way worked perfect fine.

Narration:
Zoe Mills & Richard Burnip ~ 6 hours 48 minutes ~ they both did a fine job.

Solid psychological thriller with a twist at the end you may or may not have seen coming. Quick read. Great pool book that you can easily pick up and keep track of what’s happening. Definitely a popcorn read that moves along slowly but surely.

This is a good thriller, despite it being a bit predictable. I guessed the ending quite early.
This review is of the audiobook, however, which is well narrated by Zoe Mills and Richard Burnip. They team up to bring out the best in this book. My rating is 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. Minus the narration, I would give the book three stars.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from Bookouture Audio. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

The Holiday Home was packed full of plot over one treacherous weekend away. It did hold my interest enough to keep reading, but I was constantly wanting more emotionality from the characters. There were also perhaps too many coincidences that made me struggle to suspend disbelief at times. But there was always a plot point to pull me through with enough curiosity about whether I was anticipating what would come next correctly. This, of course, is my own opinion, so if you like thrillers set in remote areas and families bonded by secrets, check it out.

The narrators did a great job with differentiating the characters in this audiobook, and brought the story to life. I listened at 1.75x speed, which is my normal listening speed. Though, I can see the possibility of listening a little slower than a listener’s normal speed for this one.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookcouture Audio for this advanced audio copy.

Not quite as good as some of his previous books that I've read, but still a good read. There's not as many shocking twists in The Holdiay Home so I felt like it fell a little bit flat. I felt all the characters were quite unlikeable but the story flowed well and there was no unnecessary faff that I find there is in a lot of thrillers. The narration was decent, particularly Zoe Mills' parts. I'll still always look forward to a new release from Daniel but I just hope I like the next one a bit more.

3.5🌟
Ahhh…at long last! A family vacation in the Scottish countryside with your best friend and her family! Sounds perfect right!?

I think I can safely speak for our protagonist when I say that this turned into the vacation from hell!🏻‍♀️

Nicola, Ryan and their daughter Emily join her long-time friend Kim, husband Lewis and son Cole for a weekend getaway to Lewis and Kim's luxury cottage. A time for the two families to relax and pamper themselves with champagne, great food and even a hot tub!

When Nicola accidentally overhears a conversation, her world is destined to be forever changed. Now she needs to find a way out before someone gets seriously hurt! But it may already be too late for that!

I’ve become a huge Daniel Hurst fan, jumping at the chance to listen to this latest audio. And while the author always treats us to a character or two to despise, I absolutely loathed Ryan. I know that’s harsh! But you’ll understand if you read/listen to this one! Perhaps that dampened my overall enjoyment of this book? Hmmm….maybe. Let’s just say not a favorite. But that won’t stop me…or slow me down from picking up his next (or I still have a few more past books to keep me occupied)!

I listened to the audio and thought both narrators did a great job. This book lent itself perfectly to a dual narration.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio

The Holiday Home is a great suspense thriller that will have you hooked from the very first page. This is the second book I’ve read by this author and he is fast becoming one of my favourite thriller authors. As soon as I had finished reading the prologue I just knew this was my type of read. The author has a great way of writing about their characters and it didn’t take me long to get to know them all. The suspense throughout the book was great and just had me wanting to listen on. From start to finish I loved it.

Two couples go away to a remote cabin in Scotland. The wives have known each other since Sixth Form and the husbands barely get along. But a holiday away will do wonders, right? So when one of the wives overhears something that she shouldn't have, it starts a chain reaction which will end with no all of them coming home alive...

As you know, over the past few weeks, I have binged two other of Daniel's thrillers - The Couple In The Cabin and The Doctor's Wife - and I hoped that this would be the same. I would fly through this and while they would be insane, soap-opera style twists, I wouldn't be able to put this down.

Alas, that wasn't the case.

Out of the three, this was the weakest. It was the slowest to pick up the pace and reveal the reader what was going on and why (whereas with The Doctor's Wife and The Couple in the Cabin, we knew what caused the stories to spiral out of control and the pace to pick up almost immediately).

All the characters seem to make really dumb decisions and choices with no real logic or understanding why (with the previous two books, even when the characters were making outrageous decisions, you understood their logic over why they were behaving the way they were) and some of the writing decisions were odd. A good example is we have a young character who is aged 11 and yet, her behaviour and the way she was spoken to was to a child much younger...

But it was fun and it's a perfect thriller to read by the pool on holiday. But, if I had to recommend a Daniel Hurst book to start with, it wouldn't be The Holiday Home.

Enjoyed this audio book. As I have come to expect from Daniel the plot is fast moving and entertaining - kept my interest from start to finish. Liked the setting in Scotland - the remoteness of the cabin added to the tension. So many secrets being kept. Plenty of twists and turns in the plot. Not sure whether I cared much for the adults in the story - none of them were as they first seemed. Felt sorry for the kids - they didn't ask to be put in the predicament.
Liked the narrators too.

I didn’t care for this audiobook much mainly because of the narrator. The twist didn’t surprise me much as I thought too much was given away early on in the book.

A holiday from hell in a remote Scottish cabin, surrounded by beautiful scenery and terrible people. Can you really ever trust your life long friends and your own family?

I really enjoyed this, it had a fast pace, yet it was a slow burn. I found an interesting take where we carry through the novel with a morsel of the truth, several hints of what is to come and a take from each of the characters of what to expect. All reaching a really satisfying end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to listen to this audio book in return for an honest review.

Two couples go to a holiday home with their families. They are supposed to be having a nice time. The women are college best friends. The men put up with each because of their wives
While at the holiday home, it is discovered that someone is cheating
Then a collection of other things happen
But at the end of the day, someone ends up dead

An interesting story with a few plot twists. Family and friend drama collide in the snowy Scottish countryside.

Two best friends spend a weekend at a vacation home with their husbands and children. Secrets are discovered that can rip both families apart and have everlasting consequences.

While possibly a thriller, some of the bigger turns were hinted at early on. While there is a major twist at the end, it didn't necessarily add to the story the way that it might have.

A quick read with family drama.

I received this book free from netgalley for posting a honest review.

I was able to listen to the audio version of this book as an ARC, thanks to NetGally. I have heard a lot of good things about the author, and I was excited to finally read one of his books. I found the story easy to follow along, as each character had their own narrator and you were able to see their version of the story through first person point of view. I was hoping that the book would have been a little more of a thriller, but overall found the story to be intriguing.

Wow, honestly just wow! This audio is stunning. It starts off with everything all hunky dory. Just two families off on a Scottish lodge holiday. One family own the lodge the other, old friends join them to enjoy the incredible lodge in the middle of nowhere. Then and you just know there's a then..... everything changes on the strength of one conversation. Somebodies world is about to come crashing down.
The tension is palpable and you really are left breathless when everything hits the proverbial fan. Just exactly who does know what? Who the heck is going to survive? Is anyone going to survive? I was literally on the edge of my bed. I listened at night and quickly wished I hadn't. There was no sleep happening and I just had to keep going until the fantastic ending. Honestly Daniel Hurst is the master of tension intrigue and testing his characters to the nth degree. Loved every single word. 5 huge stars from me.