The Guilt Trip: A Novel

Rating: 2.3/5 Having read the marketing blurb I was expecting a very different book to the one I ended up reading. I quote: 'They went away as friends. They came back as suspects.' And then: 'By the end of the weekend there’ll be one dead body and five people with guilty consciences wondering if they really know each other so well after all. Because one of them has to be the killer . . .' Now, I'm pretty sure it isn't just me getting hold of the wrong end of the stick, but doesn't that suggest the tried and trusted premise of a "locked room" style murder mystery? But that isn't what "The Guilt Trip" delivers at all. It is much more of a drama story with a "frenemies" theme to it, that is full of secrets, lies and deception. At the heart of the story is the imminent marriage of Will and Ali in Portugal. They are joined on the trip by Will's brother, Jack, and his wife, Paige, in addition to Rachel and her husband, Noah. Most of the group, except for bride-to-be, Ali, are in their early 40s and have been close friends for many years. For the sake of remaining as spoiler-free as possible I will not go into great detail here, but suffice to say that the plot development very much hinges on a number of secrets, lies and deceptions - some more recent, but others that are quite long-standing. How much each individual will enjoy this novel will, I suspect, depend very much upon the amount of dramatic licence they are prepared to grant the author. Personally, I found it difficult in the first instance to envisage the likelihood of this group of people being such devoted friends, given their history. However, if you are prepared to accept this, then there is still the fact that this group of, supposedly, incredibly close friends seem incapable of communicating with each other in order to sort out even the most minor of potential misunderstandings. If you are prepared to look beyond this, then the writing is generally quite engaging and there are twists and turns along the way, with plenty of misdirection too. On the whole, the pace is good, though during the middle third of the book I did feel as though the story was meandering around for a while without really going anywhere very quickly. Overall, this a fairly easy read with some appealing elements, but it stretches credulity a bit too far and the misleading blurb doesn't do the writer any favours.

Her first novel was well plotted and entertaining; however, each book written after it has become more and more ridiculously plotted and implausible; the characters in this book are one dimensional and unrealistic. The protagonist is naive/stupid beyond belief, and every other character is either all good or all evil. I guess the success of the first book went to her head...........or, she's doing renovations on the new homes she bought and needs more money........

Three couples head to Portugal for a destination wedding and a chance to relax at the beautiful villa. To one of the guests it appears that the bride to be is keeping secrets. As the weekend goes on it seems everyone has secrets they are trying to hide. Secrets that could destroy a marriage and friendships. The characters are great and the story well written. This is a fast paced read that will have you turning the pages. Highly recommend!