This is definitely the summer of destination thrillers; I do not know if that is a real subgenre, but it certainly should be if it is not. ‘Bad Tourists’ is a book that I had seen getting a lot of love on Instagram, so I was definitely influenced to read it as soon as I could.
I am really going to struggle to talk about this book as I refuse to put spoilers in my reviews but this is an impressive thriller. Darcy, Camilla and Kate are on a luxury holiday together, celebrating a new chapter in their lives and trying to forget the past. However, once they have arrived, things are a little unsettling: a newly wed couple who are not all that they seem – and do the three best friends really know each other as well as they think they do?
I did not see the twist coming in this book; although it is cleverly hinted at throughout, you can never quite believe that this is what is going to be – so, you gloss over it as you read it, as I am not sure you really want to believe it. And, to me, that is a sign of an excellent story, as the author can take you down so many different paths, and you never know what you can or can not believe.
Caro Carver also does that brilliant thing of making an absolute paradise (in this case the Maldives) seem like such a small and enclosed place. When you are not in your own space, it is amazing how trapped you can feel, despite all the beauty and opportunities that surround you. A paradise island can so easily become a prison when you are uncertain about what is going on around you.
This may have to be a short review, other than to tell you to read this book, because it is a fantastic, slightly claustraphobic thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat.