The Holiday Home by Daniel Hurst @dhurstbooks @Zoe_Mills2016 @bookouture

the setup…
Nicola, her husband Ryan and their 11-year old daughter Emily are spending a vacation in the Scottish Highlands with her best friend Kim, her husband Lewis and their 15-year old son Cole. The house is a luxurious log cabin, a reflection of Lewis’s business success, which he never passes up an opportunity to flaunt. Nicola and Kim have been best friends since college but Ryan and Lewis seem to only tolerate each other for their wives’ sakes. Nicola is having a wonderful time until she overhears her husband whispering about a devastating secret, one that is life changing.

the heart of the story…
Based on Ryan’s behavior, I’d sort of guessed what that secret was going to be but it didn’t affect my interest because it was all about how Nicola digested and handled the information. Her reaction was authentic and I bonded with her in where her mind went. There were other little twists and surprises so it wasn’t all too predictable. We eventually got the points of view of everyone except Emily but it was Nicola’s perspective that shaped the story.

the narration…
I enjoyed the performances overall but the voice for Cole just didn’t come across like that of a 15-year old boy. That was a hard sell and I couldn’t buy it. Otherwise, the storytelling worked.

the bottom line…
I’m a fan of the author, noted for his delicious twists and that’s a component in this one. The story was entertaining but didn’t leave me stunned as the others had before. It’s still an interesting tale and I never lost interest.

Book Info

• Release Date: March 1, 2023
• Narrators: Zoë Mills & Richard Burnip
• Audio Length: 6 hours, 49 minutes
• Publisher: Hachette UK – Bookouture

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(Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)