Day: March 29, 2022

I am a fan of Shalini Boland (see my reviews of some of her other books at the end of this review). A psych thriller from her is usually interesting with good twists. The Family Holiday is one of her best.

It kicks off with a mystery narrator (I love those). The reader knows something bad has happened. But the exact situation and victim are unknown until very late in the book (I love that also).

After the brief prologue, the action jumps to Beth and her husband Niall as they decide to take a family holiday to Italy and decide to try a house swap. That’s really all you need to know at this point.

The action is told mainly from Beth’s point of view. A few chapters are from Amber’s (the owner of the other house in the swap) perspective. Italy for England – it certainly seems like Beth and Niall are getting the better end of the deal.

However, there are several layers moving below the surface of the plot, and this is where the story truly becomes a page-turning psych thriller.

Amber is hiding something, but what? Niall is obnoxious and obviously doesn’t want to be on holiday. Why not, if he was the one to suggest it in the first place?

And who is the mystery narrator who appears in brief, periodic chapters?

Anyone who has read this blog knows that I read a lot of psych thrillers. It is difficult to get one by me because I often try to “outwit the author” and guess what the motives and twists are.

That is why, when I find one that has me guessing throughout, I’m super excited to talk about it. And The Family Holiday once again fits that description.

Just when you think you know why Niall is being a jerk or what Amber is hiding, the author throws another twist in.

Honestly, I was up late into the night because I just couldn’t put the book down when I got to the last third of the story.

And when everything is wrapped up and the characters have reached their endpoints, the author still has more in store for the reader.

The Family Holiday is one of the most well-crafted, best-paced, layered psych thrillers I have read in a while. Shalini Boland just keeps getting better.

Other psych thrillers from Shalini Boland: The Other Daughter, One of Us is Lying, The Wife, The Couple Upstairs

Author Bio:

Shalini lives in Dorset, England with her husband, two children and Jess, their cheeky terrier cross. Before kids, she was signed to Universal Music Publishing as a singer songwriter, but now she spends her days writing suspense thrillers (in between school runs and hanging out endless baskets of laundry).