Their dream getaway? The exclusive and isolated Sapphire Island Resort. With luxurious private villas, crystal-clear waters, and sun-drenched white sand beaches, relaxation is guaranteed. But this is no ordinary friendship, and they’re not the only guests on the island with secrets. Who left the body on the beach—and who’s next?
Comment: September is already half way and it's time for the TBR Challenge post. The theme for this month is "lush life" which I interpreted as having something to do with an extravagant way of living. For that reason I had picked a certain book but, sadly, DNF'd, which made me quickly look through the pile and finally picked this one instead. Three friends are having some holiday in the Maldives. Fancy!
Kate, Darcy and Camilla are spending some time together in a luxurious resort to celebrate Darcy's divorce. The setting should be the perfect place to also step over the anniversary of the date that united them. Twenty years ago, a massacre happened in Egland, where they are from, and Kate was the only survivor. Darcy's boyfriend at the time and Camilla's twin were killed but the women have always had each others's support and this is the moment in their lives in which such a thing became possible. However, at the same resort there is a couple in his honeymoon, and he seems to be abusive, and then there's a man who seems very friendly but who ends up dead. What is going on and what secrets do these women hide?
I think I've added this book to the pile because the exotic setting and the idea of such a vacation seemed great. Plus, I love the cover of this book, it's likely edited but who cares, it's gorgeous.
The story is told by the three friends and we also get the POV of Jade, the wife of the apparently abusive husband. This is an obvious choice since the book is a sort of thriller but I must say I was often distracted by the different "voices" which seemed to be a little forced, in the sense that the author certainly tried to give them all different personalities and, to a point, sometimes this felt exaggerated. I think third person, even with a focus on each of their POV would have been better.
In fact, perhaps that option would have helped with the suspense part. There is a big twist happening closer to the end but the author had to include red herrings which, once things become obvious, seem quite weakly done in comparison. The first person narrator wasn't always that smooth here and I often thought that no one thinks like that or speaks like that if it's a personal thought. I get it, we need to keep up with the mystery vibe, but there were times where this wasn't solid.
I liked the three main characters and Jade too, in a way, and I was certainly invested in peeling off their layers and learning what made them be and act the way they did. I think Kate was made to be slightly more special because she is the survival of the massacre. Still, in spite of this becoming a focus and of us having their POVs, I confess I never really felt I was deeply rooting for these women. I don't think the author conveyed that properly how these different people connected as friends. As fellow mourners yes, but a friendship to the point in which rich Darcy pays such a vacation to them, perhaps not that obvious.
The massacre as a common ground for them was an interesting choice. The author also used the date September 10th in 2001 to easily explain why the whole thing didn't have a huge coverage as it probably would. If so, certain details we learn later on would have made the final twist a little more complicated to accept. There also a few elements, related to how this mattered more than we can understand at first, that felt a bit too convenient. For instance, the connection between this and the couple honeymooning - this isn't a spoiler, I mean, it has to be obvious that there would be a connection - didn't feel as well planned as it was made to seem. In terms of character behavior I mean.
The identity of the villain was surprising, but not for who it was - the clues point at that person even if one suspects it might be a red herring - but for the motif. Again, not impossible, and psychologically speaking, it did make sense, but the explanation of why seemed flimsy. How that person went on to be this villain, and killer...anyway, I can understand why other readers found this to be a weak story.
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