Review by what_heather_loves - Bad Tourists

what_heather_loves 's review for:

Bad Tourists by Caro Carver

4.0

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

"Darcy laughs hard, a head-thrown-back belly laugh. Kate joins her, and then Camilla. The glasses are empty, the sun is high, the trees shifting and glittering with colourful birds. Darcy reminds herself that she isn't lonely, not at all. She is here, in this beautiful place, with two of the finest women she has ever met.

And today, she will tell them the truth. Because she has been lying to them both all along."

A debut contemporary thriller for this author, AKA CJ Cooke, know for her historical, gothic thrillers. I didn't realise this until I finished reading, but it makes sense. This is a tense, hot climate, friends-with-secrets thriller, but well-written than others in this 'beach read' genre can be. Present day perspectives from the three friends, Darcy, Camilla and Kate, who all share a past trauma twenty years earlier, are interspersed with some past narratives for context. Taking place over a short stay in a luxury Maldives island resort, I can see the White Lotus comparisons, with the situation gradually worsening for the holiday-makers, particularly our protagonists. There are short chapters with plenty of action and cliff-hangers. Despite some red herrings, I did begin to get an inkling who the killer may be but was not disappointed in this entertaining summer thriller.

I received my advanced copy at @the_book_taster #TastingNotesLive last month.

Content Warnings