"They seem like the perfect family. But their secrets are about to come out…"

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This was my first Alison James novel and I will definitely be picking up more!

The books centers around what appears to be the perfect couple with the perfect marriage on vacation at a luxury villa. When secrets start to come out, things come crashing down. With multiple POV's, each chapter kept me hooked and I flew through this book in just a couple of days. Each time I thought I had it figured out, the next chapter proved me wrong.

Overall, this is a fast-paced and twisty read that would be a great summer thriller!

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

This was my first book by Allison James and I don't think that it will be my last. It was all around a great thriller -- and a perfect beach read. I enjoyed this book immensely!

Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Everything isn’t always as it seems and this invitation is too good to be true, but what the reader gets is an engaging story that through her writing made me feel as if I was watching the whole thing unfold with a great ending.

Publication date: June 19th, 2024
Page number: 332
Genre: domestic thriller
POV: multiple
Setting: multiple


Louise believes that she has the ideal family when her husband Tim is invited to bring his family to the South of France to close a big deal. Tim has a secret from the past that he has not been able to tell Louise for years, that he covered up, but will catch up with him on this trip, along with additional twists and turns until the very end!

This was an enjoyable story to read. Would make a great beach read for this summer!

Thank you to author, publisher, NetGalley for advanced audio copy. This is an honest voluntary review.

Just the nicest family. That’s what you will think too when you are first introduced to the Cutlers. Veterinarian Tim and his wife Louise are still madly in love and hardly ever separated. Tim is offered a dream vacation at a villa in the south of France. It’s a business trip but their two children are invited and they can invite another couple to join them. Here things begin to go spectacularly wrong. The couple they invite, Shona and Kevin, are both obnoxious and Shona embarrasses them by flirting with their host’s partner. Louise worries about the changes in Tim’s behavior. She’s right to worry because the rest of this vacation will not end well.

Several narrators move this family drama/thriller moves from the past to the present. The characters are well-described although all are hiding secrets that they think are damaging. This is true and all will be revealed in a conclusion that piles surprises on top of surprises! 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Boohkouture and Alison James for this ARC.

When you see the cover of this book you think oh this will be a good summer read and my goodness it was shocking! There was so many twists I literally lost count. Every single one of them came as a shock to me and I couldn't have predicted them. The characters in this where fantastic and I enjoyed working out who was who and how they where linked. This is a book you will not be able to put down, you will want to keep reading till you work out whats happened!

Who wouldn't want a holiday in a beatiful villa with their family and friends? In this case me! This is a well written, suspenseful novel that twists and distorts reality right before your eyes. I really enjoyed it and the rich holiday narrative made me feel like I was there. I'd love to go, just not when these characters are! Fab pool or beach read.

I was a bit jealous when I read that Tim and his family were invited to a villa in the South of France. I could see myself, next to them on a sun lounger, enjoying a good book and cooling of in the pool every once in a while.

They were allowed to bring guests, so I was trying to make them invite me, but to no avail. ;) 

In the end I am so happy I was not there, because of the other guests and what took place there.

There often is more to people than the eye can see. A lot of people are pretenting to be something they are not and they make decisions they better should not have made.

I loved the characters. Some were very lovable, others were created to be disliked. Some would do anything to protect what they have, others would do anything to get what they want. Some get away with it, others though...

I was taken away by the atmosphere of the book. I heard the splashes in the pool, smelt the delicious food that was being served and heard the laughter.

Did I expect the book would end this way? No, not at all and I was smiling when I read it. I always love this kind of surprises. 5 stars

Thank you

A family vacation...family and friends...secrets and red herrings...this talented author has written a page turner...a quick read with twists and turns...enjoy an afternoon of intrigue and mystery. Thanks Netgalley.

Tim, a dedicated veterinarian, seizes a career-defining opportunity. Accompanied by his wife Louise, their two children, and a somewhat unfamiliar couple and their daughter, Tim aims to finalize a promising deal with Renee's influential company. The offer to stay at a luxurious French villa paints the perfect vacation backdrop until the unsettling discovery of a stranger's body is found. The novel weaves timelines, alternating between the present and Tim's past, revealing a grave error that he has desperately concealed.
The twist at the end was a stand out.

Tim and his family are invited to a luxury villa in France to negotiate the sale of his practice.
He has a dark secret in his past and he knows that if it is discovered, he can lose all that he holds dear.

A fast paced, suspense filled psychological thriller with unexpected twists.
I found the beginning a little stilted, but then the book started flowing a little easier.

The characters were well described, and the shenanigans between two of the guests I expected.

The Cutler's were a nice family, but not as perfect as outsiders saw them.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this book.

I love this author and this is another cracker of a read.
The twists kept coming and kept me guessing.
I found myself urging one particular character to just tell the truth!!
Brilliantly written storyline and well written characters.
This is a must read.
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

Another good book by Alison! Three couples end up together in a villa in France. Tension is high. Relationships from the past are revealed. Tim’s biggest mistake ends up at the villa in ways he never would have expected. While parts of this book were very predictable to me, it kept me hooked and i loved it!

This is a page turner. Hard to put down. Don't start this book at night if you want to get any sleep. Plenty of twists and turns and it will keep you guessing.

So I have never read a book by Alison James before but now I am hooked. I went in only with the blurb. I am giving nothing away. This is twisty and secrets will be revealed. I could not put the book down!