Caroline and Esme are best friends: they survived being freshman roommates and have been close ever since. One year early on in their friendship, they make a commitment to each other to take a vacation every year together no matter what. Now, 30 some-odd years later they have stuck with that commitment, but the trip this year couldn’t come at a worse time: Caroline’s son is battling drug addiction and Esme is just coming out of a particularly nasty divorce, but they made a commitment. One trip a year, no matter what. This year, the two best friends are joined by Caroline’s husband John, as well as Esme’s brother Nick and his husband Ford. Unfortunately, their week-long vacation is marred in the first night by tragedy after one of these five is found dead (no spoilers here!). What unfurls is a quick and fun whodunnit.
There was a solid mix of twists and reveals that were true shockers and painfully obvious. The plot itself is not anything new or exciting, and the ending felt phoned in. However, Hunt does a great job of giving many of her characters depth in just a short amount of time. This is especially true with the narrator Caroline who gives the reader peaks into her inner monologue as a wife and mother dealing with marital challenges and a son with a drug addiction.
I listened to this novella on audiobook through Audible. This novella clocks in at 2 hours and 47 minutes and is narrated by Taylor Schilling (of Orange is the New Black fame). While Schilling does a great job with the voice acting, some of the production and editing is odd. Sound levels change randomly throughout, and at times Schilling sounds closer and further away for no reason.
