The Honeymoon

Goodreads Description

For as long as she can remember, Jemma has been planning the perfect honeymoon. A fortnight's retreat to a five-star resort in the Maldives, complete with luxury villas, personal butlers and absolute privacy. It should be paradise, but it's turned into a nightmare. Because the man Jemma married a week ago has just disappeared from the island without a trace. And now her perfect new life is vanishing just as quickly before her eyes. After everything they've been through together, how can this be happening? Is there anyone on the island who Jemma can trust? And above all - where has her husband gone?

My Review

In a nutshell, I loved this one. It was an easy read, with short, punchy chapters, that kept the plot moving along. And it had a twist within the first third of the book that I didn't see coming at all. I loved that because normally in psychological thrillers there's one big twist at the end, but more often than not, there's nothing during the story.

I also thought that the characters were all very distinct, and the way that the author described them, allowed me to form a clear picture of each of them in my head. I must say that I wasn't very keen on the main character, Jemma. And she only got worse throughout the story. By the end, I was feeling incredibly sorry for her husband. She was grating on my nerves so badly that I wanted to drown her in the lovely, clear blue sea of their island get away! So well done to the author for stirring such emotions in me.

Now for the ending, mmm, I'm not sure quite how I felt about it. Let's just say that I didn't love it. I've reworded this final paragraph of mine a few times, and each time I write it, I find that I might actually be giving something away. With that in mind, I'll keep my feelings short and sweet - the ending was dark, totally unexpected, perhaps a little bit far fetched, and a little bit of a let down for me. The ending just seemed to pop out of nowhere and probably caused me to award 4 stars to this read, rather than 5.

This is a great book that I would describe as an easy, gripping and entertaining holiday type read. It's the type of book that you can slip into your handbag, stash in your beach bag or even have lying on the passenger seat of your car, to be grabbed and read at any spare moment. I thoroughly enjoyed it, even if I did find the ending slightly weak.

And in case this makes you feel disappointed, or perhaps you now think that you won't read it after all, let me leave you with this thought: the ending made me feel physically sick! So go on, read it, and let me know your thoughts...

My Rating: * * * *

Publication Date: 30 June 2017 (South Africa)

Genre: Psychological thriller

Format: Paperback

Source: Review copy received from the publisher. Many thanks to author, Tina Seskis and Penguin Random House SA for my copy. It was my pleasure to read and review this title.