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The Family Holiday

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The Family Holiday

By: Shalini Boland
Narrated by: Katie Villa
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Two families. One house swap. A vacation to die for.

The white-washed Italian villa is perfect. I thought it might feel odd, living in a stranger’s house for the summer, but as my husband and children swim in the infinity pool, I start to relax. And then, in the back of a wardrobe, I find something that shatters everything....

Sparkling green eyes, square jaw, lopsided smile. A young man with his arm around a beautiful woman. The picture is old and faded, but I’d recognize him anywhere. The man is my husband.

But we’ve never met the family we’ve swapped homes with, and my husband swears it isn’t him in the photo. He’s lying. We argue on the balcony with the sun setting behind us, and I storm out.

When I finally calm down enough to go back to the villa to confront him, I find his dead body sprawled across the veranda.

Who killed my husband? Was our marriage a lie? And are my children now in terrible danger?

©2022 Shalini Boland (P)2022 Bookouture, an imprint of Storyfire Ltd.
Psychological Suspense Thriller & Suspense Marriage Fiction Exciting Holiday Mystery
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Two families decide what they need is a house swap. Within each family one family member is hiding an explosive secret. One family live in the U.K. while the other family live in Italy.

The story is told predominantly by two points of view Beth and Amber.

Beth the put upon wife and mother of two children who gave up her career as a chef in order to look after her boys, she is so used to placating her husband that she loses herself as well as her self confidence. I found myself shouting at her.

Her Husband Niall is a successful writer and has controlling issues and his moods tend to affect the household and the fact after so many years of not wanting to take the family on holiday he says they will be doing a house swap. Beth is uncomfortable about it at first but when she sees the location and beautiful house with a pool she is sold on the idea.

In Italy Amber mainly wears the trousers in her relationship with her husband Renzo. She is also cold and calculating with a ulterior motive. Her husband adores her and they have two children.

As each family get on their flights and arrive in their respective countries, things start to get dark and sinister. Beth soon discovers a huge secret that will affect her marriage, whilst Amber is busy scheming until things take a devastating and drastic turn, when the secrets start unraveling one person pays a heavy irreversible price, whilst the other blows up their life.

*Be Careful What You Wish For*

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Really enjoyed this and the narration was spot on. But the twist at the end was fantastic!

Very enjoyable

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Another great psychological thriller from Shalini Boland. This one is set partly on the Amalfi coast and partly in the Dorset countryside. I have to say that right from the beginning I wanted to strangle the husband, Niall. Why on earth did his wife, Beth, put up with him?? I was screaming 'Leave the Bas*ard' at Alexa as she read the book for me!

The book is a fast paced, east listen and has all the twists and turns that I exoect from Ms Boland, and it kept me guessing to the end.

I enjoyed Katie Villa's narration.

Entertaining psychological thriller

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really enjoyed this book? the ending was good and just when you think you know what happened...a twist

a really good read

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This book is ok, I found the story to be overly convoluted amd lacked any character to like or care that much about.

didnt love it

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