A holiday in the Maldives is just what Zach, Cara and Alexa need to get over the traumatic events of the past few months. Sun, sea, sand - what could go wrong? Instead of the perfect holiday in paradise, their visit turns into their worst nightmare as secrets rise to the surface and they find themselves driven to do things that are totally out of character and put themselves and others at risk! A great read, full of twists and turns which leave you guessing right until the final full stop.

This book had the makings of an exciting tale - an eco-businessman, his wife and their teenage daughter book a holiday in the Maldives to recover from two upsetting incidents (the author keeps us guessing what they were so I won't spoil things). It starts with the drama of a little boy finding a skull buried on the beach. The chapters have a time clock clicking down, so obviously something exciting will happen at zero hour.

The characters are all hiding secrets and none of them are remotely people I could identify or empathise with - spoilt, self-centred and devious. The mother and daughter relationship is damaged and Cara is hoping the holiday will repair that. Her relationship with her husband is also under strain, while he is struggling to keep his business afloat. The book then becomes a little beyond ridiculous, stretching credulity way beyond my boundaries. Again, I won't say why so you can read it for yourself. But you can drive a coach and horses through the plot.

And at zero hour? Well, don't get your hopes too high. The whole thing is a silly, summer read - fun for the setting, a lot of stuff about climate change and saving the planet, but not much substance. Overall, disappointing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin General UK for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin for allowing me this eARC...

This was an enjoyable, quick read for me - one that I can imagine packing in my suitcase to read on holiday. My first read from this author, but it definitely won't be my last!

It is a modern day thriller, where we follow a family of three from the UK on their luxury holiday to The Maldives.

We quickly learn however, that the Hamiltons are not the perfect family that they appear to be - with secrets and lies between them threatening to be exposed, and even fellow guests not being as they seemingly appear.

With plenty of twists, turns & surprises throughout to keep you guessing, this is a good holiday read for the summer.

** Amazon review pending approval

Firstly, I would like to say a big thank you to Penguin General UK, and NetGalley for the ARC.

This is the perfect beach read for summer – an intense, spine tingling thriller with the glorious backdrop of the Maldives.

Nikki Smith is definitely one of my favourite thriller writers. Her writing style just has a way of making my skin crawl from all of the well built tension and unforeseen twists and turns. The ending, which most definitely was left on a cliffhanger (I’m begging for a sequel), made me gasp. I didn’t see it coming, much like every event in this book. With the Hamilton family, you just knew you couldn’t relax as they kept on getting themselves in horrid messes.

I really like how each chapter had a countdown at the start. That, along with it being from third person perspective, made everything so intense and eerie. My heart was thumping as the countdown got less and less.

This book had a wide range of characters, and a manageable number to keep up with. Zach Hamilton harbours a lot of secrets, and his downfall was most satisfying.

Ultimately, this is a brilliant thriller for summer, and it will keep you firmly planted on the edge of your seat.

Really liked the concept of this book and the way environmental issues were woven into the plot without feeling out of place.

Zach, Cara and their daughter Alexa are on holiday in what should be paradise. Asana Fushi is a luxurious beach resort in the Maldives but instead of enjoying their time away they are all busy trying to hide secrets. The book reveals their different secrets as it progresses and the way they affect the plot as well as appearances from the other guests and the staff of the resort.
Will the family see it to through to the end of the holiday and return to the UK together or will the secrets being kept tear them apart.

I enjoyed the mix of characters used to tell the story and loved the setting. The way the author describes the location I could imagine being there.

Perfect for a beach read!

This is the book you pick up at the airport, it will make your plane journey go quicker and you finish reading on the beach, the perfect holiday read!
Amazing setting, well paced, twists and unguessable ending and a book that will engage from the opening chapter till the end. Nikki Smith is on of the strongest writers currently in this genre, recommend wholeheartedly.

This is a novel of sun, sea and secrets. The Hamilton family have travelled to the Maldives to celebrate Zach's 50th birthday but they are using it as a getaway for Cara as well; and their teen daughter Alexa. But all is not champagne and fun at this exotic resort. All manner of lies and deception are lurking under the surface. Throw in some extra characters and you are in for a great read. I devoured this book.

The Hamilton family (Zach, Cara, & teenage daughter Alexa) arrive at the Asana Fushi resort in the Maldives for a luxury holiday. The resort prides itself on being luxurious yet environmentally friendly, & Skye Elliott, a 'Green Influencer' is also there to provide an in-depth review. Add in a professional rival of Zach's & the stage is set. Beneath the gilded exterior, everyone has their secrets & some might kill to keep them hidden.

I thought this was quite an absorbing thriller with a small cast of characters. The strong points included the plot having lots of different strands & no-one seems to be quite who they say they are. Nor are they very likeable & it made it a tense read. I also really liked the eye-catching cover. Weak points though were that the characters were rather stereotypical (i.e. moody teenage daughter, menopausal mum, etc) & I think the ending let it down a little for me as it was too open-ended. Overall it was very readable & kept my attention well but the character tropes & ending mean that I rate this one 3.5 stars (rounded down).

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Penguin, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

The Guests was a book I flew through, yes it’s a little far fetched in places but it could get away with it.
Cara and her husband, Zach and their daughter Alexa are heading to the Maldives to Asana Fushi a sustainable resort that is the height of luxury. Zach feels the two women need a break after suffering a traumatic break in at their home and being left tied up. Zach is a business owner that he has built from the bottom up but he’s hiding a fair few secrets but to what lengths will he go to, to make sure they stay secrets as his life will never be the same again should they surface.
This was a book I flew through, it was very twisty and I loved it for that. I wasn’t keen on Cara at the beginning of the book but the more you learn about her and what she has suffered and is trying to protect her daughter from the more I liked her as a decent female lead character. A decent storyline with not too many characters, quite short chapters so very easy to pick up when you’ve not got long.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Penguin General UK, Fig Tree for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

The Guests was a great read. Plenty of twists and turns and set in an idyllic location it kept me hooked. I didn't particularly like any of the characters but I enjoyed reading about them.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

The book began strong with the discovery of human remains. It then took us back to before the event, giving us a countdown till the big crescendo.
The story followed Zach and his wife and daughter in the Maldives. A family trying to forget something that had happened and rebuild their relationship. For me the book slowed down a lot during this part. None of the characters are likeable but they aren’t meant to be. They are all equally flawed. However, I felt like I was constantly waiting for something to happen. The ending was a little predictable and left too many open ends. Nevertheless, this book is a pretty taut thriller that will definitely appeal to fans of T.M.Logan. A quick summer read.

Imagine a dream location - The Maldives.
Sea, Sand, Luxury hotel
But every guest there has a secret and soon everyone is watching everyone including the staff.
Who can be trusted?

Unfortunately my copy was missing the prologue!

This book started a little slow for me, but it was really just introducing the characters before the main plot started. Gradually you got to learn why they needed the holiday and about the secrets every one kept from each other. I didn't expect what happened towards the end and felt a twinge of sympathy towards a member of staff who got a bit sandy (no spoilers here). The ending was relatively easy to guess, but not until near the reveal. A good read

I was so excited to see the next destination thriller from Nikki Smith after loving The Beach Party. The Guests is a brilliant almost unbearably tense read - especially if you like your to be families dysfunctional and any new friendships toxic…. Set in the Maldives, a dream holiday destination soon turns into a nightmare, with some deliciously unlikeable characters pursuing their own agendas. I stayed up all night to finish… perfect reading for the beach…

Set in a luxury holiday village in the Maldives, the arrival of a sea plane brings another clutch of rich guests. Life in the village is vividly portrayed. I could almost imagine being there among the palms, enjoying the beautiful backdrop of sun, sea and white beaches. Then there is the opulence of the resort, the accommodation, and a service catering for every creature comfort. Sadly, all this luxury was in some instances, spoilt by the arrogant entitlement of a few of the guests, but I guess that's only to be expected. No one was likeable; in fact some of them were downright awful.

Three sets of new arrivals are central to the story, which incorporates a rich selection of issues, including business ethics, environmental issues, marital infidelity, and blackmail. The structure of the book is set as a countdown between the group’s arrival and the date/time when some unknown event occurs. And when it happens, lives are changed for ever.

It's an unputdownable read which does not disappoint. There are the usual twists and turns to throw you off course and an ending I didn’t see coming. Another great read from Nikki Smith.

Highly recommended.
I would like to thank Penguin, the author and Netgalley for an ARC of The Guests in exchange for an honest review.

After a break in at their family home that left them traumatised, a family heads to the beautiful Maldives for a chance to refresh, relax, and reset. They seem like the perfect family, but appearances can be deceiving, and everyone has secrets.
I felt like this one had the potential to be great. However, it missed the mark for me. Every single character was unlikeable, and a lot of their actions really baffled me. There were plenty of twists throughout the story. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough to make up for the fact that I was a little bored throughout a lot of the story. And to top it all off, it ended on a twist and didn't really wrap anything up. Which is probably going to bug me until the day I die. Unless there's going to be a second book, which I will have to read just to find out what happens, despite not overly liking this one.

This is a good read and a thriller with a beautiful setting but for me it failed to deliver and although I enjoyed it I found the characters mostly unlikeable and the countdown to the ending a bit lacklustre.

There is some great writing and the descriptions of the beauty of the reef are particularly good but the plot lacks believability for me.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

4.25*

I needed some glamour in my life so I knew as soon as I read the synopsis that I needed to read The Guests and it didn't disappoint - I devoured this exotic thriller in one day.

This, to sum up from the start, is a proper holiday read thriller with the massive bonus that it's well written too.

Set in the Maldives, we follow a group of guests including the Hamilton family as they try to get away from the stresses of everyday life to relax and enjoy the beauty of their luxury resort. Unfortunately, as is often the case, their secrets and lies aren't quite so easy to leave behind.

This book was glamourous and trashy in all the best ways. The characters all fit classic thriller tropes but feel human and flawed - and incredibly annoying at times. Despite these flaws I didn't get to the point of not caring about them.

I enjoyed the glamourous setting that also managed to feel seedy and dark. There's also plenty of hidden information that is drip fed to us as the story unfolds and I kept reading to see what would come next as the lives of the characters unravelled before my eyes.

This book is all about the sun, sea, sand and secrets. There's lies, deceit and plenty of twists which makes for a fun and compelling read that you need to pick up to read by the pool when you get away this summer.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin General UK - Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking, Penguin Life, Penguin Business | Penguin for a digital review copy of "The Guests" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

A dark twisted thriller which takes you off to an exotic location. I really wanted to love this but it just felt a bit flat for me.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

The Maldives, a dream destination. A place where wishes and fantasies come true. Unfortunately this is not the case for the Hamilton family who are on a much needed break to distance themselves from a recent break-in and bring together their fractured relationship.. Tagging along is their teenage daughter Alexa who would rather be back at home. The resort is filled by what seems to be rather unsavoury guests out to broker business deals rather than enjoy the beauties that this island has to offer. Cindy an ex co-worker of Cara Hamilton and her sneaky, portentous husband Ryan are particularly shady and one does not warm to them at all. Similarly Skye the eco warrior and influencer manages to highlight issues surrounding the planet using dubious methods. A regular poster of sumptuous breakfasts while in reality she only drinks black coffee.
Even the staff, the resort manager Marc and butler Devi lack an real moral values. It is however through their portrayal that we see the darker underbelly of the working and living conditions that many workers experience in those high end establishments.Being at the beck and call of entitled guests who have nothing better to do than to make their lives miserable.
The plot has deception and greed at its heart as we see Zach's betrayal of his family in his quest to build a business around sustainable projects. He however is anything but squeaky clean with his double dealings and affairs soon to be his undoing. Is everything about to turn on its head, of-course it is. After all secrets can only remain secrets for so long.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this. Definitely a book for the beach.