Gripping, emotional, haunting. “Two women. Two secrets. One terrible night. PAXOS, GREECE The vacation house is a luxurious getaway for a wealthy English family, windows open to sun and the sea, a sparkling swimming pool, and a verdant garden. One hot summer night, while the parents and their friends drink wine and amuse themselves, a young woman, the teenage daughter of the Greek caretaker, ventures for a walk on their private beach. Her life will never be the same again.” I didn’t see the twists coming. Parts of this book did feel a little slow, however they were necessary to the story and couldn’t be left out. This book is well written and quick read.
Thank you to NetGalley for this copy, which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

This is a fast paced thriller with a dual time line. It was a great story and held my interest. It rotates between Paxos, Greece and current day London. The story centers around events that happened at a vacation home a wealthy family owned. It has several twists that develop toward the end. It does have some possible triggers-neglect, rape, suicide. and abuse. I would recommend to friends.

A story of revenge, two women, and the brutal crime that tied them together.

This story is set in beautiful Greece which adds a unique element. Not to mention, you'll want a snack while reading, as the Greek food described is mouth watering. It switches from the points of view of the two women as well as timelines amped up the suspense. It was slow in some places--I skimmed a few parts--but I was still interested and invested to read to the satisfying conclusion.

Thanks for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

This book just did not hold my attention. I tried several times to get through it and just couldn’t.

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC for an honest review.

"I recently finished reading 'The Vacation House' by Jane Shelmit and I was completely captivated from start to finish. Set in the picturesque Paxos, Greece, the story takes us on a journey through two timelines, revealing the intertwined lives and buried secrets of the characters. What impressed me the most was the author's skillful storytelling, which kept me hooked with its perfect pacing and seamless transitions between the past and present. The characters, especially Sophie, were unique and compelling, and I found myself invested in their journeys. The ending beautifully brings together all the threads, leaving me satisfied and wanting more. If you're looking for a riveting read that will transport you to a stunning location and keep you guessing until the very end, I highly recommend 'The Vacation House'."
Please check TW.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Vacation House.

A vacation house in Greece becomes the backdrop of a brutal crime and ties two not dissimiliar women for a decade.

When Julia meets Laurel, a beautiful therapist, their lives collide in ways Julia would never have imagined.

Told in alternating timelines, Sofie's POV from a decade ago, and Julia's in the present, readers are shown what happened one summer night and why these women are forever bound to each other.

I love revenge stories, and even though I knew who Laurel was, I wanted to see how it would play out.

The present timeline is Julia's story; how she empowers herself to reclaim her life and identity with Laurel's help; reestablish her relationship with her daughter, Lottie, and find her voice.

I loved how Sofie and Nico work together on her plan for revenge, and the ending is bittersweet, yet apt.

I did feel parts of the narrative dragged, especially with Sofie's side of the story.

There are graphic descriptions of the assault, and some readers may find this triggering and disturbing.

The descriptions of Greek food were mouth watering, and the author described Paxos, the people and land well.

A bewitching story of a vacation house in Paxos, Greece and the life of a headmaster's wife in a prestigious school in London.
Julia and Sophie have much in common but it's not obvious what it is at the start of the novel. Switching between times and Pov's Shemilt crafts a tale that brings it all together with surprising circumstances. It's not a book for the faint of heart as a trigger warning for mental and emotional abuse and rape.
#WIlliamMorrow #TheVacaationHouse #JaneShemilt

The Vacation House is a story that takes place in Paxos Greece. The house is owned by a wealthy English family who decides to come out one summer in 2003. The couple and their friends party it up one night. The daughter of the Greek caretaker, Sophie, ventures out to the private beach. That night something bad happens to her that changes her life forever. The story follows two girls who each have a secret. The story bounces between 2003 and 2023. In 2023, the secrets remain until they finally unravel all the pieces. Question is, will knowing the secrets and what happened 20 years ago help to set them free or destroy everything?

I found this book to be quite interesting. It read at a good pace. The main characters were unique and I liked Sophie a lot. The ending does a good job at merging everything together. I liked the unraveling of this story and was happy that it had duel POV. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends. Thanks Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you're looking for a fast-paced psychological thriller that will completely disconnect you from the outside world for a few hours and immerse you in a tragic story, moving back and forth between two timelines and two points of view - once of a victim and of struggling survivors - then this book is absolutely everything you need. It's unputdownable, mind-bending, dark, and a twisty tale.

The storyline of thirteen-year-old Sophie takes us back in time 20 years ago, leading us to a luxurious getaway: a vacation house located in Paxos, Greece, where her family works as caretakers for a wealthy British family. This family includes an ambitious investor named Peter, his depressed, day-drinking wife, and their daughter Julia, who is used by her own father to gain leverage in his business deals. Sophie appears content with her life, helping her family clean the place and serve food and drinks to guests, all while trying to befriend Julia. But when a group of teenagers arrives as new guests, she has no idea that her life may change in a single night, dragging her entire family into a catastrophic chain of events, and burdening her young shoulders with an unbearable tragedy.

The other storyline takes place in present-day London, where an older Julia (in her mid thirties) has recently remarried to provide financial security and a planned life for her fifteen-year-old daughter, Lottie, in exchange for losing her freedom and identity. Her college professor husband, James, exhibits controlling habits, and her packed schedule includes writing and editing her husband's speeches, cooking, catering for special events organized for high society, and trying to act as the perfect, flawless wife, all of which leave her exhausted and feeling increasingly trapped with each passing day. However, her life will take another turn when she crosses paths with beautiful, confident, and successful psychiatrist, Laurel, who may help her confront many truths about her own life that she has been denying. Little does she know that her therapy sessions will lead her to delve into an ominous night at their family house in Paxos, which forever changed the lives of the caretakers who worked for her family. What happened on that night, and why was she kept in the dark about the secrets her family hid from her for years?

I can honestly say that some parts of the book were truly hard to digest, leaving you disturbed and feeling deeply sorry for the main characters and the tragedies they endure. The story touches on many triggering subjects, including physical and verbal abuse, as well as family neglect, which will open your wounds and make you empathize with the characters at each chapter, feeling their pain even more than you could imagine.

While some of the twists are predictable from the beginning, I still enjoyed the sentimental ending and the well-developed characterizations of both Sophie and Julia.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to thriller and mystery lovers who crave a fast-paced, riveting story to get lost in during a single sitting.

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for sharing this thrilling book's digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This was my first novel by Jane Shemilt and won’t be my last. I couldn’t get into the book at first and actually almost stopped completely. The beginning was slow, and I didn’t connect with any of the characters or like them. But, I am so glad I kept reading. I was hooked by the second 1/3 of the book. I grew more interested in the story line, the characters, and the intertwining relationships. I guessed one of the twists but a few twists surprised me. I did really enjoy the book by the end and would recommend.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Wow, as first, the story of the 13 year-old was far too painful (trigger warning sexual abuse of child, btw). I honestly almost had to walk away from the book, if was that horrific, however, if you can make it through that truly awful bit, I can almost ensure you will be glad you stuck around.

Also, I was a bit disheartened and surprised by a certain female's character's betrayal. I can't say too much, but if you read the story you will know what I mean.

A heartbreaking story of abuse in its many forms, the story does not leave you in a puddle of misery, but rather gives one hope for rebuilding and for redemption.

This one will put you through the wringer, but if you stick with it, you might ultimately be made while at the end of the journey.

A well-written story that I am glad I read...

Until next time, be careful who you trust, sometimes the past has a longer reach than you could ever imagine.

Would be 5 stars, if not for the painful part of the process, easily a solid 4 1/2, if such ratings were possible.

The Vacation House
By Jane Shemilt
Pub Date: Dec.26, 2023
William Morrow
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
I liked this one! The story is dual timeline between 2003 and 2023, the year of the incident and twenty years later.
Trigger- sexual violence that occurred in Paxos in 2003.
I recommend this book for mystery thriller readers.
4 stars

Glad that I got to read this early. Good story with some surprises. Will recommend to patrons. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

Interesting book, but highly disturbing at times. Shemilt's writing style, as always, was readable and gripping. Stories set in two different timelines can be hit or miss for me, this one fell somewhere in the middle.

A family of Greek caretakers suddenly leave the island of Paxos after a serious incident with the English owners of the vacation house where they worked. The story rotates between 2003 and 2023, the year of the incident and twenty years following.

I liked how the seemingly disparate stories merge in the end, and the two major characters meet again to help each other. There are outrageous villians, young and old, in this novel, and seeing how they fare or whether they will see justice finally is part of the interest and the suspense.

The sexual violence that occurred on Paxos in 2003 is graphic, and there should be trigger warnings for readers.

I loved the pacing of this novel. I thought the story was meticulously planned and loved the addition of the "villain" towards the end to help tie in the lose ends and give the reader a sense of justice/retribution. The sexual assault was awful, it was really hard to read and this book does not shy away from the heavy topics of sexual assault and abuse. I could feel the shame, horror, numbness, and then ultimately the relief at the end. This was a cathartic read for me.