Genre: Domestic Thriller

The Holiday Home by Daniel Hurst

The Holiday House

Posted on July 7, 2023 by Nadene @ Totally Addicted to Reading in Reviews / 11 Comments

The Holiday Home by Daniel Hurst delivered a well paced, suspenseful read. A story which will have readers anxiously turning the pages as they wait with bated breath for the outcome.

 

The Holiday Home by Daniel HurstTitle: The Holiday Home
Author(s): Daniel Hurst
Published by Bookouture on March 1, 2023
Pages: 243
Genre(s): Domestic Thriller
Source: Publisher
Format: eArc
Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon|Audible
Rating: One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star

The perfect holiday or the perfect nightmare…
I sit sipping champagne in the warm water, bubbles frothing around me as I admire the breath-taking view of gorgeous blue skies and mountains. I can’t believe I’m here, at this stunning holiday home. It’s to die for…
My best friend and her husband have invited me and my family to their lakeside property for the weekend, to experience their luxury lifestyle. I’m not envious of their wealth, although I know my husband Ryan is. All I want is to escape from our recent troubles and get my marriage back on track.
Then I overhear Ryan having a whispered conversation late one evening, and he says something that sends a shiver down my spine. In this beautiful paradise my whole world is turned upside down.
Just when I think things can’t get any worse, I discover a second secret. The truth is even more shocking than I imagine, and now I have no idea who to trust.
This was meant to be the perfect holiday, but someone isn’t going to survive it…

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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This is my second time reading the author’s work, and it was indeed a treat. Two couples, Kim and Lewis and Nicola and Ryan, as well as their children, took a vacation together at a holiday house in Scotland in a secluded area. The house is owned by Kim and Lewis. Kim and Nicola are best friends since high school while their husbands, for the sake of their wives, barely tolerate each other.

Secrets, lies and betrayal permeate the pages. This created drama, tension, and suspense throughout the story. Figuring out the secrets was pretty easy, but waiting for the other shoe to drop kept me glued to the pages. Not only would the secrets threaten Kim and Nicola’s friendship, it would cause an upheaval in all the characters’ lives. So much so that of the six people who went on vacation, only five would return home alive.

The characters except for their children were not likeable. It would seem at first that Nicola, the main narrator, was the best of them. However, that view changed at the culmination of the story. Hypocrisy at its best. The only difference between her and the others is that her secret and lie remain hidden.

The story was narrated from multiple POVs, giving readers a glimpse into the state of mind of the characters. This added to the story’s intensity, thus piquing my curiosity regarding how the events would eventually play out.

Readers who enjoy thrillers, especially those of the domestic variety, would get a kick out of The Holiday Home. 

 

Story Evaluation
Plot
4
Characters
4
World Building
4.5
Writing Style
4
Cover
4
Enjoyment
4
Ending
4
Overall: One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star

 

About Daniel Hurst

Daniel Hurst was born in the northwest of England, a part of the world famous for its comedians, pasties and terrible weather. He has been employed in several glamorous roles in his lifetime, including bartending, shelf stacking and procurement administration, all while based in some of the most exotic places on the planet, like Bolton, Preston and South London. Since following his lifelong passion for writing in 2020, he has amassed a loyal and devoted set of readers, and regularly has several books in the top 100 of the Psychological Thriller Charts on Amazon. His title The Passenger became the #1 selling psychological thriller in the UK in October 2021.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

Nadene @ Totally Addicted to Reading

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