"i know what you did."

I picked this up through Netgalley, with thanks to Rachel Wolf, Head of Zeus and Bloomsbury Publishing for gifting me this e-ARC </i>

reuniting with her best friend after not speaking for three years, emily joins belle on the opening cruise of a lifetime with her new rich fiancé and family, the scarmandos. but when threats start coming in to get off the ship, and things start to go wrong, secrets begin to surface and will she make it off the cruise alive?

rating: ⭐⭐⭐

my thoughts: once again another delayed review, and looking back on this i want to say that i loved it, but honestly it felt like it dragged. i was really intrigued by the premise, a locked room murder mystery type of book, stuck on a cruise ship for 5 days etc etc, but now looking back i found myself disappointed along the way.

the first half of the book was so long winded and dragged out with things happening with no explanation, and the ending of the book with the reveals feeling rushed. a lot of the book was rich people drama and felt unrelatable in any form.

i was looking forward to a best friends murder mystery with below deck vibes, and this just wasn't it. there's so many secrets and so much drama, and a few too many storylines to keep track of.

Thanks, @netgalley, for this copy.

A cruise from the UK to New York, add in a filthy rich and dysfunctional family;what could possibly go wrong?!
This book is split over the events of 5 nights (hence the title), and was quite enjoyable in parts yet in other parts, it was quite predictable, but it did have some twists and turns!
For a "thriller," it was easy to read but just didn't feel the hype for it.

Good book, not amazing but worth a read. Fast paced in places bur disappointed in end. I would like to read more from this author

The premise of this book intrigued me but the twists and turns were not believable
I also didn't warm to the main character at all

Thank you for the opportunity to review this new novel.

This was too slow for me and not enough thriller pace.

Years ago Belle and Emily were inseparable as they worked together on ships, that was until one day tragedy happened and pirates invaded the yacht and people died and Belle ended up kidnapped. You see it wasn't supposed to end up like this, but almost eight years later - Emily is a single mother to her son Finn and Belle marries a billionaire who it is discovered owned the ship she was kidnapped from. The pair went their different ways and now eight years later, Emily has received an invitation to a cruise vacation for five days from Belle. Emily is reluctant but decides this is finally the time for her to apologize to Belle and clear the air. The thing is that this cruise is about to get even more dangerous and will Emily be able to survive the five nights as looks like Belle has invited her for revenge. Emily might not be the only one in danger on the ship as Mattia's children have also been invited and are about to discover that they may be disinherited as Belle has another secret which puts their inheritance at risk. Five Nights in the middle of the sea can cause more than cabin fever as murders occur, family secrets are revealed and it looks like everyone on the ship is hiding something. Can Emily make it back home to her son Finn? What has she stumbled into as the holiday from heaven turns rather hellish? Five Nights by Rachel Wolf, will leave you reconsidering cruises as a holiday vacation as can you trust a group of strangers you are stuck in the middle of the ocean with? Five Nights by Rachel Wolf is a gripping tale of betrayal, secrets, and survival that will make you think twice about setting sail with hidden agendas and dangerous pasts lurking beneath the surface.

The plot was captivating, with intriguing twists and well-developed characters that kept me hooked. The pacing was spot-on, and I enjoyed how the tension built as the story unfolded. While it didn’t completely blow me away, it was a thoroughly enjoyable and gripping read.

Emily has been invited by her estranged best friend Belle to join her new but elderly and rich husband on their cruise ship’s maiden voyage. Needless to say things don’t go well and the children of the elderly husband aren’t impressed one bit by his very young new wife who is regarded as an interloper. Things of course happen, the ubiquitous storm (of course). The five nights feel more like five weeks! The family and Emily are all flawed so impossible to root for. It sounded like a great book but sadly didn’t live up to its blurb and definitely not to be compared with the one and only Agatha Christie. It might be more entertaining if it were shorter and placed in a holiday read section, especially if you happen to be on a cruise!

Elle’s best friend Belle has recently married a wealthy new man Mario, who owns a glamorous cruise ship. His first wife died and he has five grown up children. They are all on a five night cruise and invite Emily to join them. Emily hasn’t seen Belle for a number of years and as the story progresses we discover their secret past. On the cruise Belle reveals that she fears for her safety as the children seem to want rid of her and resent their father as they are all wanting their inheritance. It soon becomes clear that everyone is hiding secrets and things come to a climax as the truths are revealed. This is a fast paced book with plenty of suspense and tension. An enjoyable read.
Thanks to a Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

A page turner set on a luxury cruise liner sounded like a great holiday read but for me this didn't quite live up to expectations. The characters are really unlikeable which I know is intentional but you have to want to root for someone! Also there were so many different characters I get a bit lost on who was who. Again this might just be me! Not for me on this occasion.

A gripping and fast paced read with so much suspense and tension as we build towards the explosive finale. Really enjoyed it and will look out for more from the author.

"Five Nights" by Rachel Wolf is an engaging thriller set aboard a luxury cruise with the enigmatic Scarmado family. The story unfolds with suspense as Emily reunites with her estranged friend Belle, only to find herself entangled in a web of secrets and threats. The opulent setting adds to the tension, creating a claustrophobic atmosphere that heightens the stakes. While some character development feels lacking, the twists and turns keep the narrative gripping. Overall, it's a captivating read that delivers on suspense and intrigue, making it a solid choice for thriller enthusiasts. 4 stars.

Your best friend invites you on A luxury cruise with all expenses paid, ofcourse you'd jump at it. But secrets, lies and murder are on board aswell. Excellent read!

Five Nights has an interesting premise, following two best friends, Emily and Belle, who lose touch after a traumatic event. The reunion takes place on a luxurious vessel owned by Belle's uber-rich husband. However, things aren't as amazing as they sound, because multiple secrets are threatened to spill, and someone might even lose their lives

The book had a solid plot and intrigue, but it was the execution that seemed lacking. It was fairly readable because you wanted to find out what's going to happen, but the writing was too heavy and too much. I think the book would've worked fine without 30-40% of the book.

The characters don't make sense at all. You can't root for any of them, because they all seem horrible with no redeeming qualities. Emily started as a poor-me character, who's been through so much, but we find out that she was actually to blame for a lot of things, and she's a horrible, horrible friend. Belle is also portrayed as an innocent person who falls in love with a wealthy businessman after his wife's death, but she's full of secrets, too. She's also a horrible friend.

At first, the Scarmado family rightfully ignores Emily, a person who they never met. Similar to all wealthy families, they think they are better than the rest, but out of a sudden, all of them accept and confide in Emily as if they've known her their entire lives. It makes no sense for them to spill their secrets like that.

There are several interesting twists that you don't expect, but they sometimes get lost in the useless descriptions and rambling, and you might lose the rhythm if you end up skimming the book like I did.

Thanks to Netgalley and Aria and Aries for my advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Thanks netgalley for this book, which was overlong but still enjoyed it.
Emily has been given an invite to go on a cruise with her best friends very wealthy family and her step children.
Emily and her friend Beth had parted on very bad terms, and Emily was scared what could be discovered if they remet again,
After thinking about she decided to go she needed a holiday and it would be a good excuse to get their friendship together again.
The cruise liner owned by the family was amazing, and Beth looked amazing too but the family were forever arguing about money and secrets.
Emily also found out that someone knows hers and Beth’s secrets and she was terrified.

Five nights cruise.
Luxurious trip, full of entertainment became a fatal trap...

Honestly, it was good. Like page-turning, I was totally hooked at the beginning and then the tense was still going through the roof.
But the ending... that was weird. Complicated, yes, but also kinda unexpected.
Interesting twist and I'm really curious if only I find it unusual or it just doesn't fit to the vibe

A brilliant read, very clever and twisty. I enjoyed this one. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

I enjoy stories of high society, I love a good mystery embellished with family secrets and I am obsessed with cruises (who wouldn't be) so needless to say this immediately grasped my attention and I set my hopes quite high! Unfortunately though perhaps a little too much so.

I really wanted to love this one, however for me personally it just fell flat. It took me a lot longer to read than it probably should have and I couldn't get into it in the way I had hoped. I personally struggled to follow the vast array of characters and this lost much of the story and intrigue.

Overall, it was well written and well formatted with a brilliant concept and promising potential. For me, however it just missed the mark unfortunately. I do wish for the author every success and look forward to seeing other works.

I thank the author, publishers and Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this e-arc.

This narrative of this book was really good and the plot flowed really well but I did find it slower in some places and I just wanted to be able to keep reading on the edge of my seat the whole time.

I seem to have a habit of picking books that have a rich family with no likeable characters. The book title and cover gave me a lot of intrigue and this book would be a great read for a holiday.