This is a twisty suspense thriller set in a run down LA backpackers’ hostel, about a group of strangers all running away from their pasts. It’s Marrs’ second novel, and the third of his that I’ve read - he’s since become well known for writing The One which I loved! This was a chilling reminder that you don’t know who you can trust.

It really isn’t a book about travelling - almost all the action takes place in and around the hostel, and while some of the characters’ have been on the road a while, we hear very little about their travelling adventures.

While not as dark as his later books, this had a surprisingly high body count, but any violence is only briefly described. Marrs does a good job of wrapping up most of his characters’ fates and lots of unexpected plot turns!

After finishing the book, I am wondering why the name was changed. The first name is definitely the better name, as this wasn’t a book about a vacation! Very strange.

Let me begin by saying I love John Marrs’ work, having read most of his books to date. I understand this was an early book that has been re-released. That is clear from the writing, which has developed so much since this early book.

Unlike the title, this is not a book about a holiday. It is about people who are running away from where and who they were, and now find themselves where they are. The first title is the better title in my opinion.

The list of characters are initially mind boggling, but as the book progresses it is easy to distinguish who they are and what their stories are about. Tommy works in the reception of the hostel that all the characters book into. He has become someone they all talk to for his advice. Savannah was my favourite character. Her father is one of those tv preachers we have all seen on American tv. Rich and controlling he takes it badly when his daughter leaves home.

Marry and Declan are friends from Ireland who had decided to travel around America. Ruth is an Australian woman who is travelling alone. Strong and independent she is a real tonic, but can she be trusted? Nicole, Eric and Jake are all British. Jake changed his name when he left Britain, what is he running from? Nicole and Eric worked together in Britain. What is their agenda?

All characters descend on the Venice Beach International Hostel. Loved more for its cheap prices than facilities offered, they all have poor finances in common. All the characters have their own stories which rarely overlap. The chapters are short, as usual for Mr Marrs, so it makes reading quick and easy. Their stories range from fame, abuse, rape, crime, obsession, crime and death. Love makes a very small appearance.

As usual, all the ends are tied up nicely by the end of the book. This is no mean feat as there are some real straggly ends. Despite the dire stories of a lot of the characters, I found this a real feel good book. Perhaps that says more for my life than it does for those poor souls involved. If this is your first or your multi visit to John’s work, I am sure you will enjoy this and look out his other work to date.

John Marrs is hands down one of my favourite authors. It had been a year since I'd read his most recent book The Minders, so I was very excited to see The Vacation arrive in my inbox.

The Vacation is a re-edited release of Welcome to Wherever You Are, in which 8 strangers find themselves together in a hostel in Venice Beach negotiating their interactions, their own demons and the lives that they're running from. What's made very clear from early on is that everyone has something to hide or run from and no one is who you think they are. 8 central characters at first seems like a lot to keep track of but John is such an amazing writer, each of these characters are so well created and defined with very distinct and well written storylines, that you immediately know them inside out and are invested and begin rooting for them.

As the storylines develop, within quick, snappy and punchy chapters, a continued sense of unease and menacing foreboding quickly starts to take over. Despite it being a gripping page-turning thriller, we are treated with some very well placed and evolved softer and more tender moments which add even further to the character development.

As with any Marrs book I couldn't put it down and found myself sneaking chapters in at every opportunity. There are plenty of twists to keep you guessing and clung to the pages. Grab a copy, a nice cold drink, sit in the sun and be prepared to be shook!

I really enjoyed this book, it was different to the psychological thrillers I have read before, it felt like it was aimed at younger reader who are just getting into thrillers. Set in the USA we follow a group of backpackers, all with their own stories and adventures. I enjoyed the fact their stories all came together in the end and nothing left undone. It was definitely different from the other books I have read by this author which to me shows just how talented his is!

John Marrs has become a firm favourite of mine in recent years so I was delighted to be afforded the opportunity to read The Vacation, a standalone psychological thriller about eight travellers. Tommy, Eric, Nicole, Declan, Matty, Savannah, Ruth and Jake all end up in a hostel in Los Angeles. All have their own story. What are they fleeing from or seeking?

Told from different viewpoints and timescales this is a riveting psychological tale. So compulsive, it's layered with secrets and the short, snappy chapters keep the pacing alacritous. The characters were well-formed within the context of the story and each one provoked emotion as they got under my skin. Complex and clever I was wowed by The Vacation and the fact that this is a release of the author's, 'Welcome To Wherever You Are' made no odds to me as I hadn't yet read it. The plot threads eventually combine for a creditable, neatly tied up conclusion. I'm really looking forward to my next book by John Marrs, whether it's another one from his back catalogue or a new release.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Pan Macmillan via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

I was looking for a great beach-read (even though I was reading it in my back garden due to the current restrictions) but this fell short.
Sadly there were too many characters for me to keep track at times, even though they were interesting characters.
The pacing wasn't the best at times either, especially given what I expected in terms of the type of story that it is.
I did like how their paths all came together along with the setting and it hasn't put me off reading another John Marrs book in the future, as a result.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Second book I have read by John marrs and again it did not disappoint.
A hostel on Venice beach sees different people cross paths, all with their own secrets. What's led them there and what will they discover about themselves and the people they meet. Can they really trust one another?
Gripping read, few trusts and turns I didn't see coming. Have tissues handy, couple wee emotional bits.
Thank you netgalley for the copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I would absolutely recommend this book.

This is a re-print of a previous John Marrs book under a new title, which might be disappointing to some- but not one that I'd read before. A gripping read - multiple lives intersect at a down market LA backpackers' hostel, everyone with hidden secrets and troubles from the past that they are trying to escape. Even though there's a large cast list, its structured so well that you are aware of who is who and the details of their story. I enjoyed how the different characters interacted, the repercussions of one decision on someone else's life - and how things worked out in the end.

A hostel in Venice Beach which is full of secrets and lies. What and why are they running from their lives and ending up here.
This starts with a punch and ends well. My first John Mara read and won’t be my last, I can see why he is such a recommended author. Short chapters kept my interest piqued and I will read more.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

This is the first book I read by this author and won't surely be the last as I thoroughly enjoyed.
The author is a talented storyteller, the multiple POVs never made me feel confused and they added layers to the plot.
Great plot and character development, a gripping and entertaining story.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

First book I have read from this author and am impressed. Good character build up at start which I find helpful..looking forward to reading his other books

This book was previously published under a differnet title. It has had a couple of updates but the story is pretty much the same. Having sid that, I never read the original and so I got the enjoy this story for the very first time reading The Vacation and I wasn't dissapointed. I love John Marrs as an author and there isn't a single book of his I haven't read so far that I don't love. His twisted, warped and sometimes sick perspective on situations make for compelling reading and this is another great example of complex characters and a very clever storyline. Another brilliant read!

I love Marrs' books, and this one wasn't different. really gripping, page-turner with a good pace of the plot. Entertaining, super summer read.
Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

I enjoyed reading this book. The storyline of following a group of strangers within the hostel intrigued me – they really were an eclectic group of individuals.

Each character has their own interesting backstory to give the reader an insight into their personalities, background and also to explain how they’ve found themselves in a run down beach front hostel on Venice Beach.

At first I struggled slightly to keep track of the different characters as they were introduced but that soon settled and the book started to come together.

I felt this book wasn’t as gripping as others from John Marrs – it is definitely a slower pace at the beginning but it does start to gather momentum with a few shocking twists along the way.

As the cover suggests, this is the prefect Summer read for those who enjoy the thriller genre.

Many thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for the review copy.

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this! Marrs is quickly becoming an auto-buy/read author for me. His writing is great and hooks me from the start.

This book follows eight characters and how their lives interlink. Despite the various POVs, they are written well and it is still easy to tell the characters apart as they all have a distinct voice.

An easy thrilling read for summer. Thoroughly enjoyed

This one wasn’t for me unfortunately. I liked John Marrs’ other books but this read like earlier writing being republished and sadly it showed. The characters felt cliche and corny and the storyline didn’t pull me in. I’ll definitely continue to read this author’s future works however.

What can I say about this book, apart from that I absolutely loved it and devoured it in one day. Sunday was a write off for me as I had to finish it once I had started. I am a huge John Marrs fan and don’t think he has written a bad book and this rereleased version of Welcome to wherever you are was a complete joy.

Set in the USA and centring around a grotty hostel which houses nearly all the central characters who are all hiding their pasts and previous troubles from each other. There are lots of main characters but the story is so well constructed that it is easy to follow and to be engrossed and invested in them all. Each of them is travelling for a different reason and many of them hiding from someone or something in their past.

The story is well told and as you move through the unravelling of the story of each character some become entwined with others to create a patchwork of tales. The ending for each is different and all not rushed or petered out.

Great book and highly recommended. Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

It took me little while to get into this book with so many different pov’s (which were all done very well) and I was a bit dubious, but once it got some history under its belt and really got going I couldn’t put it down. All of the separate stories were really great, but I can’t put my finger on it - something was just missing that tied it all together to make. Really great book. Definitely worth a read!

Not the best book by this author, but it still was entertaining.

The book started slow with 8 varied characters landing in the same hostel on Venice Beach, each with their own secrets.

The chapters moved between the past and present slowly, keeping me quite confused in the first 2/3rds of the book. Then the author decided to remove the masks on this storyline by linking the subplots and enmeshing the characters together.

To weave a cohesive story taking care that all characters had equal page time and all thread were tied seamlessly was a great feat, which the author managed quite craftily.

Overall a fun read.

My rating: 3.5 Stars

The Vacation follows a group of eight strangers who all staying at same hostel in Venice Beach throughout the book we learn that are all hiding something and are trying to run away from their troubles.

I have to be honest I wasn’t too sure about this book at the start, it took a while to get into and all the backstories felt disjointed. But then everything is slowly revealed and it was at this point in the book that things really interesting and I couldn’t stop reading. There are some really good twists that I really didn’t see coming, which surprised me as they sort of came out of nowhere.

Although there are a lot of characters to follow, I actually found it wasn’t too difficult to do. They were very well developed and they were all very different and very distinguishable from each other. I found some of the characters more interesting than others, but on the whole they all felt realistic and believable.

Whilst I ended up enjoying and liking The Vacation, I still feel that this is my least favourite of from the books I’ve read by John Marrs so far.

A little heads up for those who have read John Marrs earlier books this is an edited re-release of ‘Welcome To Wherever You Are’.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for my eARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.