Title: The Guilt Trip
Author: Sandie Jones
Published: June 29th 2021
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Pages: 416
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Thriller, Suspense
RRP: $32.99
Rating: 4 stars
The Guilt Trip is the compelling, twisty novel from Sandie Jones, the author of The Other Woman, and perfect for fans of T.M. Logan’s The Holiday.
They went away as friends
They came back as suspects . . .
Jack and Rachel. Noah and Paige. Will and Ali. Five friends who’ve known each other for years. And Ali, Will’s new fiancée.
To celebrate the forthcoming wedding, all three couples are having a weekend get-away together in Portugal.
It’s a chance to relax and get to know Ali a little better perhaps. A newcomer to their group, she seems perfectly nice and Will seems happy after years of bad choices. But Ali is hiding more than one secret . . .
By the end of the weekend there’ll be one dead body and five people with guilty consciences wondering if they really know each other so well after all. Because one of them has to be the killer . . .
Review:
Billed as this season’s hottest thriller, The Guilt Trip is the latest release from domestic suspense author Sandie Jones. With twists aplenty and secrets galore, The Guilt Trip is an absorbing read that is full of drama and mystery.
Questions of innocence and guilt swirl around the brand new tale from domestic noir specialist Sandie Jones. When The Guilt Trip begins, we meet five longtime friends and the fiancée of one member of this group. As the group prepare for a big trip to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of Ali and Will, this friendship circle sees the time away as a chance to get to know each other more, especially newcomer Ali. It seems that Will may have finally made the right choice with Ali, but Ali is a woman hiding a secret. By the end of this exotic getaway to Portugal, there will be a death and a shock for the group to bear. But with everyone hiding a secret or two, it is unclear as to who may be responsible for the dead body. The question remains, how well do these friends really know each other?
London based author Sandie Jones hit my radar last year when I reviewed her 2020 release The Half Sister. This domestic noir tale blew me away. Soon after I read The Half Sister I sourced a copy of Sandie Jones’ first novel, The Other Woman, which I also enjoyed. I was quite bedside myself when I saw that Sandie Jones had a new book coming out, based on my love of her previous titles. The Guilt Trip proved to be another winning tale from this fabulous author, who I now consider to be a firm favourite.
There was a great sense of involvement for the reader in this tale, which began from the very opening of the novel. I felt like an extra friend, hotel companion or even tourist onlooker, as the events of this novel unraveled. The focus group of this tale, five long standing friends and a fiancée, were left quite exposed by the story at hand. I revelled in their respective secrets, lies, betrayals and admissions that were disclosed as this domestic suspense novel moved along at a swift pace.
Sandie Jones does a good job of building the tension, suspense and sense of blame in her tale. There is a strong sense that trouble is about to be unleashed on this holiday, which is clear from the book’s blurb, but the sense of anticipation surrounding a possible death compels the reader to invest their all in this engrossing tale. With plenty of blame shifts, red herrings, twists, blocks and turns, it is hard to know where The Guilt Trip is going. If you are a seasoned thriller or suspense fan this style of narrative will make you very happy.
The setting base of Portugal with its stunning coastline and chic hotspots help to illuminate the events of The Guilt Trip. With a cast that are both detestable and likeable, Sandie Jones has produced a divisive tale. The relationships featured in this novel are both supportive and toxic in the same breath, adding some interesting dynamics to the story at hand. The guilt, shame, secrets and lies that follow this small group of friends was really scandalous at times but really fun to uncover too! The race to the finale was great as the sense of intrigue reaches its final peak.
A story full of complicated relationships, past history, personal issues, deceit, deception and a whole lot of drama, The Guilt Trip is another fabulous read from Sandie Jones.
The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones was published on 29th June 2021 by Pan Macmillan. Details on how to purchase the book can be found here.
To learn more about the author of The Guilt Trip, Sandie Jones, visit here.
*Thanks extended to Pan Macmillan for providing a free copy of this book for review purposes.
