The allure of a vacation, especially in a luxurious seaside destination is so great that the thought of something potentially dark lurking beneath the sun and glitz feels particularly frightening to me. If we can’t be safe in paradise, where can we be? We almost expect darkness in the woods, in a haunted or deserted house, in remote, inaccessible areas and lonely car parks but most certainly not on the beach or at a luxury hotel resort.
My third thriller, The Ex-Husband, is about a reformed con artist who finds the roles are reversed when a former victim seeks revenge. Charlotte Wilson and her ex-husband, Sam, worked on luxury cruise liners. Surrounded by wealthy guests, they stole from people who they decided could afford it. However, Charlotte’s past comes back to haunt her when Sam goes missing. She takes a job onboard a superyacht to escape the threats but soon realizes that her tormentor is on board and wants revenge.
The Beach by Alex Garland
The Beach by Alex Garland was a brilliant example of this. A backpacker looking for authenticity hears about an idyllic setting on an isolated beach and sets off in search of it. When he finds it, he believes that he’s discovered true paradise. At first, it seems he has. But their idyllic lifestyle start to unravel when some people die and it appears that he will never be able to escape. The Beach is dark, addictive and shines a very bright light into the dark side of paradise.
Agatha Christie, Death in the Clouds
Agatha Christie obviously wrote many brilliant books on this subject, far too many to list. However, my favourites are: Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile, Evil Under the Sun and Death in the Clouds. Although Death in the Clouds is set onboard a plane, rather than in paradise, I’ve chosen this book because air travel can be perceived as glamorous and something fun to do, rather than place where a character could get murdered.
Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson
In Every Vow You Break, Abigail Baskin marries a millionaire named Bruce Lamb. He books a luxurious honeymoon at an island resort off the Maine coast. However, once there, things appear a little off and only get worse when one of the guests on the remote island is a stranger she had an encounter with at her own Bachelorette party. With no way to escape, a supposed honeymoon paradise becomes a true nightmare.
Castaways by Lucy Clarke
Another brilliant example of a thriller in a paradise setting. Following a plane crash (one of my absolute nightmares) an unlikely group of people are forced together to survive. It soon becomes clear that some, if not all, have deadly secrets. Against a paradise backdrop of trees filled with ripe fruit, gorgeous beaches, swaying palm trees and crystal waters, they must eat, live and bury those who died, all the while trying to find a way to escape.
He Started It by Samantha Downing
Speaking of deadly secrets, another book I loved was He Started It. Instead of a paradise setting, it’s set on a road trip which conjures up (for me) images of freedom and endless possibilities. This road trip is obviously not like that. Stuck in a car for hours with siblings and partners, the group stay in motels along the route, all the while secrets from the past unravel. It soon becomes clear that this trip is anything but a vacation. I loved the claustrophobia of this novel, the sense of something which could be so fun and fulfilling, spiraling into something dark and tragic.
The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
Another favourite and a book I re-read from time to time.. I love it. This is another great example of the dark side of paradise and how desire and greed can cloud judgement. Set in Manhattan and the sun-drenched beaches of Italy, Tom Ripley immerses himself into a world of glamour and wealth, then refuses to leave resulting in murderous consequences. I enjoyed how Tom Ripley justifies his actions and how we, as the reader, go along with them, despite the evil.
Rock, Paper, Scissors by Alice Feeny
I also thoroughly loved Alice Feeny’s recent book. Set in a remote part of the Scottish Highlands, a couple go away for their ten-year anniversary. However, trapped in a creepy house—not the luxurious guest house they expected – it becomes clear that at least one of them isn’t telling the truth and knows more than they’ve let on. I enjoyed the twists and turns, not knowing who to trust or how it was going to end.
Shiver by Allie Reynolds
In Shiver, a group of friends reunite for a weekend of snowboarding in a wintery paradise. However, they’re soon trapped in the French Alps and it becomes apparent that the mystery of one of their friends who went missing ten years previously may be about to haunt them again. I loved the atmospheric backdrop to this clever, well-written, locked room mystery. Instead of the freedom of skiing and snowboarding, this group of friends are forced into close proximity, with devastating results.
They All Fall Down by Rachel Howzell Hall
They All Fall Down is set on a private island off the coast of Mexico where all is not as it seems. Once again, paradise is hiding something darker, which is a favourite theme in the thrillers I love to read. Amidst the green seas and lush forest, secrets unfold amongst the group of strangers. The sense of foreboding and trying to survive makes this another truly frightening set up in what should be an idyllic location.
The Vacation by T.M. Logan
In The Vacation, we meet another group of friends where all is not what it seems. Set in the South of France, surrounded by the dazzling Mediterranean Sea, one of the women, Kate, discovers a text message on her husband’s phone. It appears he is having an affair—which is bad enough—but it also appears that the other woman is on holiday with them, but who? Again, I loved the claustrophobia of this novel, the sense that instead of being able to switch off and relax, Kate must dig deep into secrets from the past.
Stranded by Emily Barr
I love the travel themes in Emily Barr’s books. In Stranded, a woman named Esther needs to escape after the breakdown of her marriage. She travels to Malaysia. Upon taking a day boat trip with a group of fellow travellers to a deserted island, they find themselves trapped in paradise when their guide disappears. As time passes, it seems that they may never escape. I enjoyed the truly frightening sense of time running out and being stuck in what the travellers had initially assumed was paradise.
Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
What I loved about this was the allure of an isolated and luxurious spa. The idea of stepping off the world for ten days to heal and be pampered sounds like paradise. However, in this case, they are trapped by the owner’s desire to offer them perfection and it unsurprisingly, turns into a nightmare.
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