Loved the Agatha Christie theme of this book where everyone is a suspect!! Al throughout the book you are changing your mind on who you trust!

Great book great set of characters I really
Enjoyed this tale.. Great summer read If like me you love a good psychological thriller!

I can only describe this as pure escapism. If you are looking for an easy to read, unbelievable book for the sunbed this summer, then this is the one. A book that can be read and enjoyed in one day. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance review copy.

Great book for a holiday read.
Belle and Emily have been best friends forever but three years ago their yacht got boarded by pirates and they went their separate ways.
Belle has married into a wealthy powerful family and she has sent Emily a letter asking her to board their luxury cruise ship for the 5 night maiden voyage.
Family drama or a murderer in the family?

This book immerses the reader in the lives of the Scarmados - a family that harbors more than one secret and an abundance of animosity towards one another. I didn't encounter one likeable character, most of them were quite bland and lacked development. Some twists were far fetched and the friendship between Belle and Emily felt very insincere.
This wasn't a bad read but it lacked tension for me. Readers who like their thrillers more on the light side might appreciate this novel more.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Netgalley and Aria & Aries in exchange for an honest review.

A real dark gripping page turner - not what I expected at all from the cover and title but I absolutely loved it! Full of twists, turns and suspicion. A great holiday read.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

Five Nights by Rachel Wolf is a captivating thriller that delves into the hidden secrets of a wealthy and influential family during a five-night luxury cruise. The narrative revolves around the Scarmados, a powerful family whose unity begins to crumble when the patriarch decides to embark on this consequential voyage alongside his four adult children.

Emily and Belle were once inseparable best friends, until an incident three years ago strained their relationship. Currently, Belle is married to Mattia, an older and wealthier man, while Emily, a struggling single mother, faces financial challenges. When Belle extends an invitation for Emily to join them on the inaugural cruise of her husband's cruise liner, they strive to reconcile their lost time. However, Mattia's adult children harbor animosity towards Belle, and as strange occurrences unfold, Emily becomes concerned. Trapped on the ship with no means of escape and with a distant destination ahead, tension rises.

Over the course of five nights, "Five Nights" takes readers on a thrilling journey filled with suspense and intrigue. The characters in the novel are wonderfully deceptive, heightening the air of mystery and suspense. The combination of the opulent setting and the Scarmados family's menacing secrets creates a captivating atmosphere, intensifying the suspense throughout the story. The setting plays a significant role, as it provides a confined and isolated environment where family members must confront their troubled past and the imminent threat posed by the onboard assailant.

While readers need to suspend disbelief, once they immerse themselves in the narrative, they will be thoroughly entertained, as I was. This gripping novel is an excellent choice for a holiday read, offering a compelling storyline. However, I found the connection between Emily and Belle somewhat lacking sincerity, rendering it difficult to relate to. Despite being somewhat implausible, the story had me completely engrossed and reluctant to put it down.

A powerful family. A luxury cruise. A dark secret.
The Scarmados are the most famous family in Britain, notorious for throwing lavish parties funded by their media and shipping empire. Now, head of the family Mattia is about to retire, and he's taken his four children and his new young wife Belle on the maiden voyage of one of his luxury cruise ships. The tabloids are buzzing: is he about to announce his successor?

Friday night, drinks with the girls or this book? I decided with respect to the publisher for allowing me to have an advanced copy I decided on a night in with this book and I am so glad I did. What a wild ride this was and I stayed up late to finish it. For five nights on a ship there is so much packed into this story. Some truly awful entitled people who it seems will do anything to hang on to the family inheritance and get their share. This is a story that leads to heartache for many but is also what makes it so good.

Emily and Belle have been friends since childhood but then at a later stage in their lives a major event occurs that changes things for them both and they lose touch. But then Belle gets in touch with Emily and invites her onto a five night cruise on the Scarmodos luxury liner. Emily comes face to face with this very wealthy family and soon things take a turn for the worse. Everyone has secrets including Emily herself, and as usual in these situations lives will be shattered and truths uncovered.

Yes, you need to suspend belief but once you do and just go with the flow you will be totally entertained, or at least I was. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book, all opinions are my own.

Unfortunately this one just didn’t work for me. The story itself was fine, it’s the writing that made it less enjoyable for me. There were several times where I stopped and had to reread a sentence multiple times because it was worded strangely. There were a lot of things that read as very cheesy and cliche like the fact that in the first chapter the character gets a note saying ‘STAY AWAY FROM THE SHIP. I KNOW WHAT YOU DID.’
I do think that if you like a thriller that’s not necessarily realistic but IS entertaining, you should give this one a go. I think a lot of people will really like this one.

I really liked this story. The suspense seems to be built slowly, but we quickly change our minds. I enjoyed the flashbacks to Viola's story, although I figured out her story pretty quickly. A pleasant read. I advise.

Netgalley once again, many thanks for the opportunity to read this book.
#fivenights, #netgalley

A summer thriller based on the maiden voyage of a luxury cruise ship where family secrets are revealed and sabotage is afoot.

Read it if: you’re obsessed with Succession.

Don’t read it if: you want something realistic to get your teeth into.

Emily hasn’t spoken to her friend Belle in several years after a dramatic incident at work tore them apart. But when Emily learns Belle is to marry a powerful cruise ship magnate and wants her to accompany her on their latest ship’s maiden voyage, she can’t resist getting back in touch. Emily joins her friend and new husband Matti Scarmado, alongside his four children who are all vying for his approval and clearly do not approve of their father’s marriage. Across five nights on board the ship, Emily attempts to reconcile with Belle whilst contending against some very creepy and unexplained goings-on.

This is a great holiday read with a compelling story, but it was a little too far fetched for me and I found Emily and Belle’s connection quite insincere.

With thanks to Aria & Aries and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I started reading the prologue I thought I'd restarted Five Guests as both books begin with an invitation, both of them on expensive paper...

Then I turned to chapter one...

I was whisked away onto a luxury cruise ship, definitely a different book.

A mix of succession and bit of the TV series Revenge, I raced through it as the plot raced as quickly as the 'Belle' across the Atlantic.

Would highly recommend, my only bit of critical feedback is the titles of five guests v five nights being so similar and the prologues felt the same too.

Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to review this book, this is my honest opinion

I know this will be a 'hit' in February 2024.

This book is filled with secrets and mysteries. It feels quite claustrophobic: as a reader, you feel trapped on the cruise ship alongside Emily. No one can be trusted - it's difficult to believe or trust anyone. I didn't even really trust Emily; she was hiding something.

I think people will really enjoy this.

First off, before we get started can we all just take a second to appreciate the cover, what a total eye catcher!

This is a story about Emily. Three years ago Emily was involved in a horrendous incident alongside her lifelong best friend Belle that left her broken. Simce that day Emily & Belle haven't spoken... but then an envelope falls on her doormat. Enclosed is an invite to join Belle on a 5 day cruise aboard a brand new cruise liner owned by Belle's new husband Mattia Sa

Once on board Emily meets the rest of the family, Mattia's five self entitled children. Now all grown up bit still seemingly living off 'Daddy' each sibling appears to be hiding something but the one thing they dont hold back on is their opinion on their new stepmother.

All Belle asks for is for Emily to 'be there's for her. She is sure the siblings are trying to harm her but what proof does she have? Can Emily protect Belle from the children before someone gets hurt?

Nothing is as it seems at sea. Secrets are kept, confessions are made and truths are told.

Whilst the first half was quite slow and sometimes monotonous in places it soon gathered speed and alongside the speed came the twists and turns around every corner. The suspense was built in brilliantly and the ending was wrapped up just so. A cleverly conducted story that was well executed with characters that were likeable and despicable in equal measure.

Was it entirely unrelatable.. yes!
Was it totally implausible ..yes!
Did it have me gripped and unable to put down..YES!

With thanks to netgalley and Aria and Aries for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley, the Author and the publisher for the advance copy to read.

Firstly, the cover for this book is so eye-catching and will make for a great read around the pool on holiday.

The story follows Emily as she is invited on a 5 night cruise with her lifelong best friend Belle who is now married to Mattia. Emily and Belle haven't seen each other for three years following a terrifying incident that they experienced together. However all is not what it seems on the boat as we follow an action packed plot full of secrets, lies and mystery.

The first half of the book is slightly slow and I found it quite repetitive with lots of recapping monologue on the things that had already happened in previous chapters. The style of writing didn't work so great for me either. It was very character based and I prefer a rich descriptive novel depicting the locations.

That said I imagine lots of people will adore this twisty page turner.

3.5 stars.

Wow, you can cram a lot into five nights.


Did I guess where a lot of this was going? YES
Did I find a lot of it totally unbelievable? YES
Did I struggle to find a truly likeable character? YES

Did I ignore all that and buckle up for a wild ride that was fast paced and such good fun?
I think you know the answer.
Perfect beach read.... or sofa, or bus.
A bit of escapism where we can see richer isn't always better (and other stuff)

agatha christie meets succession in this cleverly crafted, fast paced mystery that I tore through in less than 24 hours. If you are looking for a book to get you out a slump, this one is definitely for you and is available on publishing date: 29 feb 2024 !

thank you to netgalley & head of zeus for this arc.

I really struggled with the first half of this book, it felt disjointed and hard to follow. I stuck with it because I love cruise ship novels, and there aren’t many! I’m glad I did, it got better and better! The 2nd half was like a different Novel!

I found this book a struggle if I’m honest mainly due to the uninteresting and unlikeable characters none of whom I could really make a connection with apart from maybe Viola. It’s only when you get to about half way through the book that a sense of a story starts to develop but then it’s still seems stilted. Having said that the last hour in the book is what really saves it because the pace ramps up and the story starts to come together and the ending was good and not one I predicted. Not a bad read and the style of writing was good but it just lacked tension and character development

WOW! Absolutely brilliant, gripping from start to finish, couldn't put this book down! Lots of unexpected twists and turns that kept you hooked and wanting to read on. Looking forward to reading more from this author.