As a fan of John Marrs book The One I was interested in this book and it did not disappoint. So many characters with back stories, secrets and problems. Lots of surprises along the way that kept me turning the pages long after I should have asleep! It was an interesting premise by having a hostel as the backdrop with the various guests with their metaphorical baggage. Likeable characters and twists and turns galore. A master storyteller!

The Vacation Really Surprised Me – In the best way possible!

During a long hot summer in Los Angeles, nine travellers from all walks of life and corners of the globe – Tommy, Jake, Nicole, Eric, Savannah, Ruth, Jane, Declan, and Matty – have checked into the Venice Beach International Hostel. They are there for a variety of reasons – some are on a mission, others are trying to find themselves, and all are trying to escape and outrun trauma and tragedy in their past. By the end of their stay, for better or worse, all their secrets will be exposed.

Because the past never stays buried!

The Vacation was John Marrs’ first novel, republished and rebranded in 2021, originally published under the title Welcome to Wherever You Are back in 2015. I feel the former title was a more fitting one, as none of the characters were really there on vacation, well not the kind of vacation most of us picture as one anyway. The Travellers would’ve worked better. Also, the cover art of the edition I read doesn’t work for me, as floating in an inflatable pool ring had nothing to do with this novel, as like I said, it wasn’t that kind of vacation, and It’s misleading to readers.

For some reason I went into The Vacation thinking it was a locked room Agatha Christie style mystery. I have no idea why I thought this or where I got my information from, as I was way off. This novel was mainly drama, soap opera, action, character study, with elements of thriller, suspense, crime, and romance thrown in (like any good soap opera, right?). And even though the plot wasn’t what I was expecting, and despite it being completely different from anything else John Marrs has written, I absolutely loved it. I loved the camaraderie and friendships that developed between the hostel guests, and the idea of like-minded strangers being drawn to one another in the most difficult of circumstances when they really needed each other most. And that being surrounded by supportive people also taught them to stand on their own two feet.

There were ninety-eight short chapters, plus a prologue and epilogue, mainly unfolding from the POV’s of the nine guests, but occasionally narrated by other’s as well. Chapters were usually divided into two parts – the present, and then a flashback to how the character narrating got to where they are. I cannot emphasise just how much drama there was, so trigger warnings for nearly every topic, but nothing too graphic. There were definitely serious scenes, situations, and topics, but they were conveyed in that soap-operish kind of way, if you know what I mean? I should also mention that there were a lot of characters, but I never struggled to keep track of who was who.

I’m thrilled over how much I enjoyed The Vacation and am happy to name it as one of my top reads so far this year, and probably my favourite John Marrs.

I’d like to thank Netgalley, Pan Macmillan, and John Marrs for the e-ARC.

Another great book from John Marrs, he manages to make thrillers which great characters that you really feel connected too!

This book is told over a dual timeline. It feels a bit disjointed in places. There are some good twists and turns. The short chapters made this a fast read

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

Absolutely superb novel from the absolute master storyteller.
Of all of John Marrs' exceptional novels, I suspect this one is my favourite. For some reason, one of the characters also reminds me of my daughter when she was back packing too.
I've already recommended it to several friends and always with a smile reserved for those books that I know will astound.
Not sure how he does it, I'm just so glad he does.
Easy Peasy 5 stars from me.

I have seen a lot about this author on various book groups and recommendations for his books so when I saw this one I knew I had to give it a try.
It did not disappoint, the surprises just kept coming, from start to finish I was hooked, and the twists!
I will definitely be checking out more from this author.

John Marrs always writes books that make me want to compulsively read them and this wasn't too different. however, the plot line and the characters of this book just didn't end up doing much for me. i found myself craving what he did with The One, What Lies Between Us and the Passengers. This was fun but just not fun enough for me to find it to be a book I can wholeheartedly recommend.

It is with huge regret for me to write that I will not be reviewing this book as unfortunately this book was a do not finish for me.
I really struggled to connect to the book and found myself unable to continue to read
This is a huge huge huge shame as I am a big fan of the authors work and have loved all the other books I have read by him
However; this felt very flat for me and did not hold my attention.
I will not be posting a review on this book

I really loved John Marrs' other book 'The One' and it was one of my favourite reads of 2020, so when I saw another book by him I was really excited to read it but this one just did not excite me as much as The One did.
I think the plot of this book was well thought out and was well executed but something about the whole book just fell flat for me and I felt myself having to push through in order to finish this book.
It was simply a good read, nothing too overally exciting and not very memorable but was definitely a fun time whilst reading.

Another great read from the author. I was swept along and desperate to learn all of the many secrets of the guests. Gripping and very tense at times. Can't wait for more!

I love love love John Marrs books!! I love all the different characters, the drama that each story has! And this one was absolutely no different! The links between all the characters are so interesting and intriguing and I just had a great time reading this one!

The Vacation is a real twisty read that I found very compelling. The chapters are short and there are lots of cliff hanger endings, all of which makes this hard to put down.

The book started relatively slowly as we are introduced to all of the main players but it soon starts to pick up pace. There are a lot of characters in this book but it is so well written that they are all easy to keep track of. They each have their own back story and as with all good books as the stories start to unwind the characters lives begin to merge.

I liked the way that all the stories were tied up properly at the end, some with endings I didn’t see coming and some with endings that were just heartbreaking. Throughout the book my views of each of the characters had kept changing and this continued right to the end.

I would recommend this great read for all fans of a twisty well written tale.

This was my first John Marrs book and I will definitely be looking to read more of his work! A very interesting read that I couldn’t put down!

This was my first book by John Marrs and it won't be my last. Very enjoyable, thrilling and intense. Would definitely recommend.

This book was everything I look for in a book. It was so exciting. The plot was fantastic. It really had me on the edge of my seat, and my heart racing. It was very well written and flowed well.

This wasn’t my favourite of John Marrs. I couldn’t really connect to the characters and didn’t find it as tense and fast-paced as his others.

He does, however, know how to build a back story really well and combine everything together towards the end nice and neatly. There were some right shady characters - all a bit suspicious - but I felt I wasn’t really connecting to any of them.

The whole hostel / motel situation didn’t quite appeal to me. I had ideas in my head how this book was going to be, and I was just a tad disappointed.

It’s not going to stop me from reading any more of his books as I’m a massive fan of his. It just wasn’t my favourite.

I think the original title of this book 'welcome to wherever you are' was a lot more fitting for it. 'The vacation' made me think it was going to be a very generic 'murder on holiday' kind of story but it was totally not what I expected at all.

The story follows the lives of 8 different travellers so many different sub plots which intertwine together. It was very well done and I found myself wanting to read on and find out more about each character. Some of the sub plots had better endings than others but all in all I really enjoyed the book. The ending was all very neatly tied together so that may put you off if you don't like that type of slightly unrealistic ending.

I would thoroughly recommend giving it a read.

The Vacation was not the first John Marrs book I have read but it was the first ARC.

I am always grateful for the opportunity to read a book in return for an honest review and mines below the Books synopsis


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 mind than an extended vacation.



If the synopsis sounds familiar it may be because the book was originally titled Welcome to Wherever you are and has since had a change of title.

As with previous books I was gripped from the beginning, there are a number of characters to keep track of but as previously John makes each one unique and compelling bringing warmth and humanity to them.

Each chapter is from a different characters view point which gave a great variety of content and kept the story fresh. They were easy to read and I found I struggled to put it down as I wanted to see what happens next for each character.

I don't like to leave any spoilers so wont discuss any of the characters individually but as the book progresses the twists and turns are a real surprise and there are some thrills and heart warming moments.

Fabulous read
All of them are running from something. And they all have secrets they’d kill to keep…

Originally published as Welcome to Wherever You Are, The Vacation is another outstanding novel from John Marrs. I found it a bit daunting at first as there are a lot of characters but oh my word, I enjoyed every second of it.

Set in Venice Beach, Los Angeles this is a brilliant character driven novel with a whole range of colourful characters who are thrown together in a rundown hostel. They all have different reasons for staying there and I devoured each and every one of their wonderful stories.

With short, punchy chapters written from a particular character's perspective, The Vacation is a real page turner as something might happen to that character at the end of the chapter and you can't wait to continue their story but it's time for someone else's perspective to take over. It definitely exercised my speed reading muscles as I just couldn't read it fast enough.

I loved each and every character and I couldn't pick a favourite as I was deeply affected by many of their stories. John Marrs' wonderful writing brings the characters to life and the way that their stories ebb, flow and intertwine is sublime.

Completely addictive and filled with suspense, The Vacation is the perfect holiday read for 2022, although it's so addictive that you're sure to finish it well before your holiday ends. An easy five stars from me for this highly recommended book.

I received a digital ARC to read and review for the blog tour; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.