It may only be April, but vacation season will be upon us soon. While you start planning your summer trip, let’s take a quick look at some of the best worst-case-scenario vacation books on my shelf.
Echo by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
Echo was one of my most recent reads after Johnathan surprised me with a copy once it was finally translated and released in the U.S. I’d previously read the super creepy Hex by Heuvelt (and also gifted to me by Johnathan), and was eager to check this one. It was actually more creepy than Hex and thematically very different.
This horror thriller with a unique supernatural twist follows Nick Grevers, a travel journalist, rock climber, all around adrenaline-seeker type who embarks on a journey to climb a remote and very seldom visited mountain in the Swiss Alps with his climbing buddy, Augustin, only to quickly find out that there are some very good reasons this particular peak is so infrequently visited—or even talked about. Nick returns from the trip alone and with horrendous facial injuries that have rendered him permanently disfigured and temporarily unable to speak. But the worst part is, though the injury inducing incident may be behind him, the horror is far from over. Nick is haunted both emotionally and literally by something difficult for humans to understand,
This book alternates POVs between Nick and his boyfriend, Sam, who is not a climber (in fact, not the outdoorsy type at all), and is doing his best to support Nick, muddling through the process of moving on from the accident and restoring their relationship, without realizing the supernatural shitshow he is walking into,
As such, the book deals with some very natural horrors—how a couple moves on from an accident, how it will impact their lives and their relationship—as well as supernatural ones, like the eyeless sprits closing in around them or the unexplainable events everywhere they go.
This was super freaky. It’s a wild ride and very, very creepy. There are some spooky scenes that will definitely stick in my head, including one in a surgery theater that had me saying “oh my GOD” out loud as I read. I found myself covering my mouth in horror several times while reading. I would definitely recommend this one…but maaaaaybe not for those who are squeamish with reading about injuries—specifically gruesome facial injuries.
We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz
Imagine you go on vacation with your bestie, one of you gets in an altercation with a guy you just met, and she ends up killing the guy, and then convincing you to help her dispose of the body.
And then imagine you go on vacation with her again the next year, and LITERALLY THE EXACT SAME THING HAPPENS.
That’s this book.
And then to top it off, after Emily gets home to Wisconsin and starts attempting to put this absolute horror and gruesomeness behind her, said bestie involved with the crimes literally shows up on her doorstep and announces that she is moving literally across the world—from Australia to Wisconsin—and is about to be Emily’s new neighbor. Now Emily can’t get away from her horrific past, the horrific acts she was involved in, and her best friend who she is starting to think might not be exactly the person she always thought she was. She begins to wonder—does lightning really strike twice like this?
This one was nerve-wracking all around. Anyone who has ever been a part of a toxic friendship or relationship will feel the tension just radiating off the pages between Kristen and Emily s they try to navigate their post-crime life and slowly devolve into near madness, There are scenes that will have you yelling at the characters (especially Emily), scenes that will have you holding your breath waiting to see what happens next, and some scenes that will just leave you shaking your head.
I will admit, I’m not too sure I loved the ending of this book, but I enjoyed the rest of it. Right from the jump, Bartz does a great job of making her readers immediately understand what kinds of people Kristen and Emily are, and then she Spartan kicks them into unimagine scenarios. It’s a lot of fun.
Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay
Every Last Fear, much like the other two books ahead of it on this list, kicks things off with a vacation and then spiderwebs out into many different directions. In this thriller novel by Alex Finlay, Matt Pine is one of the only members of his family not on a vacation to Mexico because he’s away at college. Matt gets the devastating news that his entire family has died in their rented vacation home in another country, leaving behind only himself and his brother, Danny, who is currently in prison for life for murdering his girlfriend in high school.
Matt returns home for the funerals of his family and things spiral out in several different directions as Matt deals not only with the loss of his mother, father, and two of his siblings, but also with the rumors and attention surrounding Danny, the brother in prison. You see, Danny was recently the subject of a Netflix documentary that built the case for Danny’s innocence—think Making a Murderer—and Matt’s small town has a lot to say about it. But while he’s back in town, he will find out a lot more not just about his parents’ and siblings final days, but also about the situation between Danny and his girlfriend and what really happened.
This one was pretty interesting because it went in quite a few different directions and there were actually several murder mysteries being solved, as well as several different POVs, but it definitely still fit the theme of vacation gone very, very, very wrong.
Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin
Saint X centers on Claire, who was only little—seven years old—when her sister disappeared during a family vacation on a Caribbean island. The disappearance brings to mind the story of Natalee Holloway, if her story had taken place during a family vacation. Two local men who work at the resort they stayed at are accused of killing her, but authorities are unable to gather enough evidence to make the charges stick and they are eventually let go, leaving the case unsolved.
As an adult, Claire runs into one of the men accused of her killing Alison in New York City, and dives back into what she thought was a closed chapter of her book, dredging up old memories and re-opening old wounds trying to figure out not only what happened to Alison, but how it changed her as a person from that point forward. She almost becomes a little obsessed with the man in the pursuit of answers, and we travel back and forth in time between the present and the fated vacation where everything happened as the story unravels.
This one will be a really interesting read for many fellow true crime fans, especially since it brings to mind a lot of famous cases we’ve all probably spent years dissecting on our own, but this story puts us inside the minds of the families permanently damaged by these awful scenarios.
In the Lake of The Woods by Tim O’Brien
In the Lake of the Woods is definitely the outlier in terms of vibes when you look at this list, but everyone knows I love Tim O’Brien and I think his writing is outstanding, so of course I included it. In this mystery novel, John Wade, a Vietnam vet running for Senate, has some secrets come to light during his campaign and decides that the best thing to do would be to run off to the lake house with his wife and just lay low for a while.
But then his wife vanishes.
And all of us true crime fans know that the number one suspect is always the spouse. So we all know where this is going.
As Wade deals with the fallout, law enforcement tries to unravel what exactly happened, and Wade wrestles with even more demons in the form of trauma and memories from his past.
If you’re not into content regarding the Vietnam war, you probably won’t be into this one. It’s a consistent theme in O’Brien’s work, and this one is no exception. One thing that’s really cool about this book is that it’s mixed media, which I thought brought an added element that was really enjoyable. I admit—I’m kind of a sucker for mixed media.
What do you all think? Have you ready any of these? Did you like them? What other vacation themed thriller would you recommend? Let me know in the comments! And don’t forget to pop over and follow my Instagram for even more book reviews and content, @samsaraparchment.