Our Holiday

LoveReading Says

Every year as I select my holiday reads, there just has to be one sizzling Summer thriller, and Our Holiday by Louise Candlish fitted the bill perfectly for my 2024 leave.

Set in idyllic Pine Ridge, a small coastal village off the South Coast, somewhere near Bournemouth it's THE place to be for well-heeled DFLs (Down From London) looking for their second home by the sea.

Charlotte, Perry and kids and Mango, their fox-red labrador arrive for their usual 4 weeks of bliss at their Cliff View home of fifteen years, to be attacked by the #NJFA (Not Just for August) crew, incandescent that these holiday homes are killing their communities. And Cliff View was one of the best of them, perfectly complemented by The Nook, Charlotte's pride of joy summerhouse.

For the first Summer they are joined by their London neighbours the Shaws who have recently bought a dilapidated bungalow next door but one and are well and truly trying to keep up with the Joneses. But this year it's different. It's not all fun in the sun, quaffing wine on the veranda. The small mumblings of opposition to DFLs is escalating and the holiday home hostility is reaching fever pitch as locals are forced to live out of town or in caravans in Golden Sands Park. Split into four parts the book flits between two timelines - early August and the bitter end - and each chapter is narrated by a different character. Like breadcrumbs we follow the plot and uncover underlying tension, skeletons in the closet and holiday romance. It's got it all. With a murder like the cherry on top. Complemented by a crisp glass of the very best chilled rosé.

Bursting with suspense, twists and turns galore and enough tension for you to bite your nails right off, Candlish delivers another psychological thriller with aplomb. Cleverly weaving topical social issues into the fray, strap yourself in for a Summer rollercoaster of a ride in true Candlish style.

Deborah Maclaren

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