by Rachel Wolf
SYNOPSIS
A powerful family. A luxury cruise. A killer on board.
You're invited to join the infamous Scarmardo family on a five night voyage aboard their glamorous new ship. It's a chance to see your best friend, Belle, newly married to Mattia Scarmardo. You haven't seen her in years.
FIVE
On the first night, you'll be wrapped up in the glamour of the ship.
FOUR
On the second night, you'll wonder who is sending you threatening notes.
THREE
On the third night, someone will die.
TWO
On the fourth night, you'll discover that someone knows the truth of what you did.
ONE
On the last night, you'll be left for dead.
WILL YOU MAKE IT BACK TO SHORE ALIVE?
REVIEW
Whenever I read a book like this, where suspicion falls on a group of irritating characters, I worry that the annoying personalities will cloud my enjoyment of the story. However, this was not the case here at all! Obviously with this super rich family and their ultra-modern cruise, there are going to be moments where you take a genuine dislike to one or two of them, but on the whole, there were enough endearing qualities dotted around to still care about the outcome. The best thing about Five Nights is that you actually get three stories for the price of one. You have the present-day cruise and the dangerous things that are plaguing Emily and the Scarmardo family. Secondly, you get the flashbacks and backstory of what happened between Mattia Scarmardo and his first wife Viola. Finally, there is also the mystery of what actually happened between Belle and Emily three years ago during the kidnapping incident. Each of these storylines is just as engaging and you actually do need to understand what the truth is behind every one of these situations to be able to get to the full conclusion.
Breaking down the story into the five separate days and nights on the cruise was a really clever tactic. Knowing right from the start that somebody dies on the third night meant that I was constantly looking for clues, using that given countdown to try and work out who it would be, why they would be targeted and by whom.
I really enjoyed the suspense mixed in with all of these complicated relationships and of course, the difficult family dynamics. I'm always a fan of a closed-circle mystery and, in this case, the luxury cruise ship heading to New York gave a modern twist on a Death on the Nile vibe. This book is pure escapism, it's a fun and enjoyable murder mystery and would make an addictive holiday read.
Thanks to Head of Zeus - @headofzeus, Sophie Ransom @soph_ransompr, Poppy Delingpole @poppydelingpole and Rachel Wolf @RachelWolfWritr for the opportunity to read and review.
Publisher: Aries Fiction / Head of Zeus Genre: Crime Thriller / Psychological Thriller
ISBN: 978-1803287829
Pages: 336pp