The Holiday

by T M Logan

[zooloo1983]

Wow, where can I start with this book!? It gave me a book hangover for sure! The twists and turns, I just did not see them coming. I suspect everyone and everything, would it be as cut and dry as an affair being discovered in the idyllic French resort?

A holiday with a large group of friends always sounds like so much fun in theory. Hey, let us take a week off, go stay in somewhere grand and watch as everyone starts to crack underneath the secrets they all hold. I mean ok, it is not going to be like that every time you go away…but in Logan’s book well what do you know! And do you know what I thoroughly enjoyed every single crack getting bigger and bigger!

Kate, on holiday with her 3 best friends from university, discovers that her husband Sean is not so loyal and honest as it first seems. In the days following she suspects everyone of her friends, and so did I! But is it that simple? Aaah no! Told predominately through Kate’s eyes, you only have her point of view to consider. Her thoughts and feelings slowly envelop you and become your thoughts and feelings. I did find a few times I wanted Kate to have a bit more of a backbone and say NO. Maybe if I had the chance to push her in the pool she might have woken up a bit quicker. However, through watching her you garner things she does not at first, and it becomes obvious that 2 and 2 become 5.

Does Rowena have everything you are led to believe? Why does she need to be completely squeaky clean for this upcoming audit? What is she whispering into Sean’s ear?

Jennifer, always protective over her boys, maybe more she than she should be, what is she hiding? Why is secretly hugging Sean when no one is looking? Does she want to rekindle her old flame with him?

Izzy, the single lady, the one dating a married man. Is it Sean she is dating? Being his oldest friend, does she want more? Why won’t she tell Kate? Is there more than meets the eye?

Well, these are just some of the questions me and Kate were asking throughout the book. Whilst Kate is wrapped up in herself, we see chapters from other characters. We have Kate’s daughter Lucy, what is she hiding from everyone? Why so sullen? Her son, Daniel, worried about his sister but are the boys bullying him? Why are Ethan and Jake, Jennifer’s boys, just wanting to find oblivion? Why such darkness in them? Is Odette, Rowena’s little girl, just a little girl wanting her parent’s attention? Or does she know something darker?

You see!! So many blinking questions to answer, all flying through my head when I was reading. My head was spinning, still is when I think of it. The ending came so left field, that if I had been playing rounders I would have had a ball in my face, I should have seen it coming but Logan just blind sighted me for sure! It was a heartbreaking discovery, one where my heart stopped and the tears flowed until the shocking and intense conclusion.

It is a perfect book to devour….maybe when you are on holiday! It makes you question friendships, social media and watch everything your friends and partner does. It sows the seeds deep in your mind. My only disgruntle is Kate began to get a bit whiny and did not stand up for herself when she first discovers the messages but waits a long time to confront Sean.

If you want a book that batters you with answers and red herrings at the same time in such a rampant tirade, then The Holiday is for you. However this is a slow burn, it is not all action. With each bit of new information you get, you have time to digest it as you are given a new point of view, a new situation to think about. All the while making your head spin, wondering which way is up!

The Holiday gave me such a book hangover! It is one that stayed with me once I had put the kindle down and I could not stop thinking about it until I got the chance to carry on reading. It will have you hooked and it will throw you through the wringer, but it will take a long tortuous time doing it, making you suffer until the final jigsaw pieces start to fit. For me, this is a contender for book of the year!!