Monday 11 December 2023

Book ~ "The Vacation" (2023) John Marrs

From Goodreads ~ How far would you run to escape your past? 

Venice Beach, Los Angeles. A paradise on earth. Tourists flock to the golden coast and the promise of Hollywood. But for eight strangers at a beach-front hostel, there is far more on their minds than an extended vacation. All of them are running from something. And they all have secrets they’d kill to keep.

There is a rundown hostel in Venice Beach. It's not fancy but it's cheap and that's the attraction for many. This story focuses on eight people who staying there including Tommy who started off with his friend, Louis, touring around the States and is working there in exchange for room and board, Nicole and Eric who are reliving the adventure of an elderly patient of Nicole's who had recently passed away, Matty and Declan who are two young fun Irishmen, and Savanah who has run away from her controlling father and is trying to start a new life.

I liked this book. This is the fourth book I've read by this author and I liked the writing style. I found that it started off a bit slow but really picked up about halfway through. It is written in third person perspective in the various voices depending on what's going on. I found there were a lot of characters so it took a while to get to know them and keep them straight. The timeless jumps back and forth from present day to the past and it took a bit to get used to the rhythm. The endings of the characters' storylines were a bit farfetched but I went with it. As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

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