I received an ARC of this book and was not disappointed! "Bad Tourists" by Caro Carver invites readers on a thrilling journey to the Maldives, where three friends, tied together by a dark past, convene to celebrate Darcy's divorce.

Carver deftly weaves a tale of friendship, loyalty, and intrigue against the backdrop of a luxurious, picturesque private island. The story lines converge in a twisty, smart manner that leaves the reader guessing until the very last page.

Carver's book successfully integrates components of modern day life, such as AI, into the plot, which has not yet been well-accomplished by many thrillers.

I cannot recommend this book enough! 11/10 stars!

I was super excited to read Bad Tourists, especially after discovering that it was written under a new pen name for C.J. Cooke! While I haven’t read any of her previous works, A Haunting on the Arctic is on my toppling TBR. A luxury resort in the Maldives was the perfect setting for this book. As someone who would love a tropical vacation right about now, this story let me live out a bit of my fantasy 😅. The synopsis was really just the tip of the iceberg, and I enjoyed the unexpected direction the plot went in. This was a very slow-burn for me. There were little threads that kept me fairly invested in the storyline but I wasn’t necessarily itching to pick it back for the bulk of my read. Nonetheless, this would make a good addition your beach bag this summer.

Read if you like:

✨Tropical settings
✨Escapist reads
✨Female friendships
✨Characters you love to hate

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read this ARC!

an isolated location thriller with white lotus vibes? count me in! i was hooked from the beginning and didn't want to stop reading this. it's very well-written and has some great, nuanced characters. the one downside is i saw the twist coming (to an extent) so there wasn't a big ah-ha moment for me. i would definitely recommend this as a perfect beach read if you're into thrillers with truly psychopathic characters!

cw: domestic abuse, some graphic violence

thanks to netgalley and simon & schuster canada for my ARC of bad tourists by caro carver. all opinions are my own.

Wow! This was a fast paced and intense book. I read it in a day. Loved all the different women in the book and how the chapters flowed with differing POVs. Sadly I was disappointed in the ending….dare I say the conclusion was a bit to far-fetched and dark? Otherwise a solid, captivating and well developed plot and overall read.

Thank you go Simon and Schuster for this early review copy.

I enjoyed this book immensely! It was such an interesting take on a thriller—meeting three people who were involved in a mass murder 22 years ago who are trying to find justice in the lives that they lost.

I was on the edge of my seat throughout the novel! I really liked how each bit of the mystery was solved and explained to readers, and how the killer was revealed. So good!

I’m giving it a 4/5 because it was a bit slow in the middle and it was difficult for me to remember who each character was/their purpose in the story.