I do think that the thriller tag on this is a little misleading, but still enjoyable, and a bit different from my normal reading. I found it a little less easy to read than some of Louises other books, but generally okay. Felt quite politically heavy at points.

Set in Dorset where many properties have been purchased as holiday homes which are left empty in winter. Unfortunately this results in locals being very angry as because of this they are unable to get on the property ladder. I completely sympathies with them. Charlotte and her friends meet up in summer when one up man ship takes over and secrets unfold. I found it hard to get into, mainly because of the numerous characters. I appreciate other readers will enjoy this book more than I did.

I’ve really enjoyed all of the author’s novels and her previous thriller The Only Suspect was definitely her best. Our Holiday is set in Pine Ridge, an idyllic coastal town on the Dorset coast where second home owners are increasingly outpricing locals in the housing market. Londoners Charlotte and Perry have had their second home there for years and Charlotte is thrilled when their London friends Amy and Linus join them as homeowners in Pine Ridge, Both families are there for August and become the targets of a local campaign group highlighting the impact the second home owners have on the community.
I absolutely loved Our Holiday and was completely immersed in it over the course of 24 hours. Louise Candlish is brilliant at giving the reader hints at what’s going on and creating a multi layered and tense narrative. Second home ownership is obviously a very current issue especially in many coastal towns and the author really highlights the impact it’s having on young people. I loved the portrayal of the relationships between the older generation and their children and although the ‘Down from Londons’ are unlikeable characters Candlish gives more than stereotypical characterisations.
A satisfying and compelling read that I’d recommend.
4.5 stars.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

I’ve been a big fan of Louise’s for years and have loved watching be journey into different genre .
Whilst this book was of course an excellent read like her others , it didn’t quite have the gripping factor for me personally.
It’s a busy plot with a lot of characters that were hard to keep track at times.
However Louise’s writing always impresses with her layering of reveals ,twists and turns . She has perfected writing unlikeable characters and flawed families .
This book gives an insight into 2 sides of a hot topic and it was interesting to read both .
Secrets,lies and a sizzling summer escape what could possibly go wrong .
Thank you hq for a copy in exchange for a honest review

Rating: 3.3/5

I always enjoy reading novels by Louise Candlish, but inevitably, there are some that I enjoy more than others. I loved her previous offering, "The Only Suspect", which I would personally rate as being the best work she has produced so far. There is plenty to like and admire about latest book, too, although overall, I don't think it shows Louise Candlish at her very best.

The setting on the Dorset coast is terrific and the backdrop is wonderfully painted by the author. The theme has been astutely chosen too, which looks at the problems created in local communities by wealthy out-of-towners purchasing second homes in the area. The potential for conflict is well-depicted and it is impossible not to have sympathy for the indigenous population that finds itself being priced out of the area.

There is quite a large cast of central characters in "Our Holiday" and it did take me a little while to recognise and become comfortable with who each one was, without having to refer back to my notes. However, each of the protagonists is well-drawn and the author has succeeded in giving them distinct and appropriate voices.

Although described in the accompanying blurb as a thriller, this is far more of a drama. It is also quite a lengthy read and whilst I never lost interest in the story, I do think that some more severe editing may have aided the pace without detracting from the impact. Much as I am an avid reader of novels, I could actually imagine that this would work more effectively as a serialised TV drama, rather than in book form. Perhaps the screenplay may even be being worked on already! Who knows? Either way, I dare say that I will be back for the next offering from Louise Candlish.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

A page turning book, bringing in topical elements. Each character had their flaws, some with more vulnerability than we first think. Certainly puts me off owning a holiday home. Bound to be another best seller.

I thought this was fab. All the drama of holidaying in Cornwall with teenagers / families / friends. Secrets, lies and local hostilities packaged up into this great thriller by Louise Candlish.

Thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Ridge Pine is overrun with second home owners who swan in for summer and vacate leaving the properties empty whilst local residents experience a housing crisis. A group of locals are taking a stand against this, steered by resident mechanic, Robbie. Summer ends with a fatal catastrophe and the race is on to find out who the perpetrators were.
I struggled to get into this book initially and I never really warmed to any of the characters so it was a 3 star read for me. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book and found the topic of second home owners interesting and thought-provoking. Unlikeable characters and I was sometimes confused about who belonged to which family - but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment. It was a very entertaining read.

I’m a huge fan of Louise Candlish, so was naturally so excited to read this new book.
Wow, it certainly didn’t disappoint.
This book is so well written and has lots of complex themes throughout.
I loved the writing style, the pace and the hugely unpleasant characters.
It’s one of my favourite reads this year and I would definitely recommend.

A good story which gathers pace as it moves into the second half. The story is told from the point of view of several characters which is sometimes confusing as the reader learns the characters.
I was pleased to see that there wasn’t a ‘tidying up’ chapter at the end. The story lines are complete but one or two of them are left to interpretation.
Interestingly the characters address some of the issues of today, second homes, privilege, resentment and potential action against the issues, and the huge gap between the haves and have nots. As all this resentment was being addressed I found it difficult to connect with any of the characters. In common with many readers I suspect, I don’t have a second home or live in a caravan but could relate to the feelings of both sides without having a connection with either.
Recommended

Many thanks to netgalley, the author and Harper Collins for approving my request to read this book.

Our Holiday is a slow burning mystery/thriller. The main focus is local residents that are protesting against holiday home owners who are buying second homes at inflated prices so they cannot afford to live in them. They become so embroiled it results in a summer house being driven off the edge of a cliff.

I can't say too much more without giving much away but it's a great read, well written with characters with many layers and secrets! Looking forward to reading more by the author.

I only discovered Louise Amazing Books about 3 years ago and I am slowly working my way through her backlog of amazing books she has written over her 20 year Carer as an Author , This book is my favourite of Louise I have read over the last 3 years years, This story will have you gripped from the 1st page and you will not want to sleep as you are so gripped by the story and the characters and you need to find out what happens next, Lucky I didn’t have work the next day after staying up all night to finish this amazing book.

if you like books with twist and turns this book is for you as I live in area in Kent which is Popular with second homes like I do I could totally see this book becoming a real life scene as it is so relatable

Many thanks to Netgalley and HQ for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for this review, I would highly recommend this book

Louise Candlish has a knack of writing pretty unpleasant characters. This novel is highly relevant to society today and concerns the differences between the haves and have-nots. In this case the haves are the DFLs (down from london) who every year invade coastal towns to spend some time in their second homes which have been priced out of the locals' reach. This is a problem which is only going to get worse with so many unable to get a foot on the housing ladder while some families have two or even three homes.

The DFLs consist of Charlotte and her truly obnoxious husband Perry. They've had a house at the sea for fifteen years. Joining them are their neighbours in London who have just bought a bungalow as a 'fixer upper. These neighbours have a beautiful teenage daughter, Beattie who causes quite a stir in the neighbourhood. Tensions rise between the DFLs and locals until a tragedy happens.

Like Candlish's other work, this is very readable. However it can be quite exhausting reading about so many unpleasant characters and I'd love to see her write in a character who is less nasty.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I’m a big Louise Candlish fan and I absolutely loved this tale of the haves and have nots, warring along the south west coast. The characters are unlikeable but we always empathise with their selfish yet human desires. We can laugh at the horrifically smug upper middle class families, trying to keep up with each other, but they’re also really sad. The out-priced locals manage to find a way to win in the end. Even though the lowest in society fall through the cracks. It’s a grim satire of the property dilemma, with second homers pricing out locals in coastal beauty spots all over Britain.

‘Our Holiday’ by Louise Candlish is a slow-burn suspense novel set in Pine Ridge, a clifftop community on the idyllic Southern coast of England. As tensions mount between second home owners who descend over summer to enjoy the fruits of their labour (or privilege) and locals who have been priced out of any accommodation other than cramped caravans, multiple smaller conflicts and secrets bubble under the surface, culminating in a August Bank Holiday Monday tragedy!

I love the author’s work, especially ‘Our House’ which I consumed in one ravenous sitting, but unfortunately this book didn’t grip me to the same extent. Too many characters were introduced in the first third of the book - long-time holiday home owners Charlotte and Perry, recent purchasers Amy and Linus, their various offspring, and activist locals including ringleader Robbie. Sadly, none of these characters had sufficient depth or goodness for me to truly care about them which meant I didn’t feel desperation to unravel the tale and reach the end. The pace and intrigue picked up around the half-way mark though, and in typical Louise Candlish fashion, the aftermath of the finale had significant bite!

I enjoyed the political elements of the story and the conflict between Perry and his son’s girlfriend Tabitha who stayed in their fancy holiday home by night and assimilated into Robbie’s “Not Just For August” activist group by day. Beattie, Amy and Linus’s 17 year old daughter, was another interesting character and I found her secret acts and developing relationship with not-exactly-single Pine Ridge activist Tate compelling. The book was definitely thought-provoking about the ethics of owning properties that are left empty for much of the year in communities where safe and affordable housing is vanishingly scarce.

Ultimately, I’m giving this 3.5 stars (rounded down). If the subject matter interests you, and if you want a juicy, slow read with an abundance of unlikeable characters and a cleverly interwoven plot, I do think you should give this one a read. It just didn’t reach the heights of Candlish’s other novels for me.

I received an advance Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher HQ via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

While the plot is decent and the characters seem somewhat realistic, the book offers a mildly engaging journey. It plods along through a range of emotions and events without truly captivating the reader. The characters lack depth, making it hard to invest fully in their struggles. Overall, it's an okay read that may leave you wanting more excitement and depth.

I enjoyed the plot but found the characters unlikeable and hard to keep track of as there were so many! The controversial issue of second home ownership was interesting and the arguments from both sides of the debate were covered sensitively by the author.

Thank you Netgalley, HQ and Louise Candlish for this ARC.

I have enjoyed the authors previous novels and the blurb sounded promising. The first quarter of this book sounded interesting but then it went into other scenarios and lots of different characters that unfortunately I couldn’t connect with. This is a slow burn of a story and in end found it too slow for me personally that I couldn’t finish the book. I am quite disappointed to be honest. Although this is fictional, I thought this was more of a political statement than a fictional story. 3 stars from me.

Keenly Observed..
Holiday homes turn hellish in this sharp and keenly observed novel of suspense. Pine Ridge is a sought after area, holiday homes littering the pretty coastal cliffs, but there is trouble afoot when local demonstrators begin to voice, and act upon, their feelings. With a superbly drawn cast of characters, a well realised setting and an engaging narrative brimming with twists and turns, this is a compelling and immersive tale of toxicity and keeping up with Jones’s.