Trouble in paradise is about as classic a concept as they come—it all started in the Garden of Eden and only got wilder from there. A dreamy but flawed protagonist filled with hope and expectation arrives in a stunning location only to discover they are still the exact same person they were at home. What could possibly go wrong?
In my latest book, Before We Were Innocent, Bess and Joni’s dream vacation in Greece turns into a nightmare when their best friend Evangeline dies, and they are arrested for the crime. When the world’s media turns their attention on them, they are judged not only for the night Ev died but for every moment leading up to it. Now, ten years later, Joni is tangled up in an eerily similar crime, and she turns up on Bess’s doorstep out of the blue, asking her for a favor.
In the book, one of the characters quotes Yevgeny Zamyatin: “Those two, in paradise, were given a choice: happiness without freedom, or freedom without happiness. There was no third alternative…” and this is the same quandary in which many literary protagonists have found themselves over the years (and in two seasons of The White Lotus). Boredom, greed, and lust are all powerful things and, when combined with the disorientation of being far from home, they can become lethal. Two classic literary examples of this are Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley and Alex Garland’s The Beach, in which good intentions sour fast and the worst facets of human nature take over.
Writing my book in another London lockdown, I always knew the events would unfold in the otherworldly Cycladic Islands in Greece but that the three girls wouldn’t find the dream vacation they were hoping for there. Instead, the summer would be unsettling and discordant, filled with moments of quiet cruelty leading up to the moment their lives were finally ripped into two. And it’s these moments that interest me the most—the danger lurking around the corner that can shatter even the most well-planned vacation. Some of my favourite books examine this relationship between beauty and ugliness, hope and terror in idyllic locations, and they range between creepy, thrilling, thought-provoking and horrifying. Death feels somehow crueler when it’s preceded by beauty and this is why the genre continues to be so deliciously appealing….
Here are some books that explore similar themes…
Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin
In Saint X, Claire’s older sister Alison dies during a family vacation on a fictional Caribbean island, bringing a violent end to her family’s bubble of privilege. Two hotel employees are arrested for Alison’s murder before being released, and the death irrevocably changes the course of their lives too. Now an adult herself living in New York City, Claire is left to make sense of the tragedy that shaped her and, after a chance encounter with one of the released men, she ingratiates herself into his new life as she searches for answers. This razor-sharp debut offers a raw look at tragedy and grief, privilege and race, and human connection.
Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan
One of my all-time favorite books, published when Sagan was only nineteen. Precocious teen Cecile spends the summer in the beautiful south of France, left mostly to her own devices by her philandering father and his current girlfriend. When her godmother, Anne, arrives the dynamic shifts with tragic consequences. A coming-of-age story with a jagged center, set in a locale so perfectly-rendered you can feel the sun on your skin as you read it.
The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante
Leda is on vacation alone in southern Italy while her two daughters are across the world with their father. At first, she is surprised by how liberated she feels, her peace disturbed only occasionally by a brash Neapolitan family who take over the beaches and restaurants of the small coastal town. After a seemingly trivial incident involving the family, Leda finds herself obsessively ruminating over her complicated relationship with her daughters, and the book takes a violent turn as Leda grapples with the decisions she made as a young mother trying to lay claim to her own identity, and those she’s made this summer. This is a fascinating portrayal of the complexities of motherhood and sacrifice, and it was adapted into a movie that makes a beautiful companion piece to the novel.
We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz
Best friends Emily and Kristen are in Chile for their annual reunion trip. The vacation unfolds as planned until the final night, when Emily returns to the hotel to find that Kristen has killed a backpacker, claiming self-defense. Something eerily similar happened on their trip the year before but Kristen immediately chalks any similarities up to a freak coincidence. It’s only when Kristen shows up at Emily’s home in Wisconsin (and begins inserting herself into Emily’s life in increasingly disturbing ways) that Emily really allows herself to question Kristen’s story. This book has it all – toxic friendships, a creeping sense of déjà vu, a wild twist – and I loved reading Bartz’s tale of a friendship turned deadly.
The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian
Cassie, a flight attendant, meets a charming man on a flight to Dubai and wakes up in bed to find him dead beside her. As a binge drinker, Cassie is used to blackouts but this one clearly has higher stakes than usual—she can’t remember what, if anything, she had to do with the bloody scene in the hotel room. Too frightened and disoriented to call the police, Cassie escapes from the country seemingly unscathed. But as Cassie lies to everyone in her life about what happened, she finds herself examining her relationship with alcohol and addiction, and what she may be capable of in her darkest moments. I enjoyed both this book and the TV series adaptation immensely.
Leave The World Behind by Rumaan Alam
Amanda and Clay take their teenage kids on vacation to a luxurious rental in an isolated part of Long Island but their reverie is interrupted by a knock at the front door one night. The older couple who owns the home have arrived with the startling news that a blackout has hit the city, and Amanda and Clay have to decide whether they can trust these strangers or if something more sinister is at play. As more disturbing events unfold around them, the characters are faced with difficult decisions about their fate, and the fate of the world at large. A powerful and propulsive book that examines race, privilege and trust.
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