The Couple On Holiday by Mikayla Davids
You married him. But can you trust him with your life?
Standing on the balcony of our gorgeous villa, I gaze out at the turquoise sea and drink in the white-sand beach and palm trees. I’m in paradise with my new husband, Owen, by my side and my life couldn’t be more perfect. I can’t imagine that anything bad could ever happen, here on this beautiful island…
I turn to clink glasses with my husband. His mysterious brown eyes and strong arms fill my heart with happiness. When we met, it was love at first sight and, after a whirlwind six month romance, we married. I’m determined to fill our honeymoon with precious memories of late-night swims and champagne breakfasts.
But one night Owen and I have our first argument. I yell at him for drinking too much and he accuses me of flirting with another man. I’m distraught and, the next morning, I wake up early and go for a walk along the cliff-tops to clear my head.
As I climb down the sandy steps to the lagoon, my heart hammers in my chest when I see a trail of blood spots.
At the bottom of the cliff is the body of a woman… who looks just like me.
Who killed her? Should it have been me? Can I really trust my new husband?
Review
‘The Couple on Holiday’ is a thrilling and captivating storyline that kept me hooked to the last page! This is basically a ‘locked room’ mystery but the room is a luxury private island in the middle of the Caribbean.
Siena is on honeymoon with her new husband Owen, on her family’s private island in the Caribbean. After a whirlwind six month romance they secretly married in Cuba without telling anyone. They intend to make memories and spend time together whilst on this idyllic island. But one night there is an argument after drinking too much and Owen accuses Siena of flirting with another man. Siena wakes up early the night morning to go for a calming walk to the lagoon but as she walks down the steps she sees blood, a lot of blood. At the bottom of the step is a body and she looks just like me. Does someone want her dead? Siena turns round and Owen is at the top of the steps. Does he want to hurt her…
I really enjoyed this book as the author has an amazing awareness when it comes to the location. I felt as if I was on the island with them - I was picturing Richard Brandon’s Necker Island in my head! I was following Owen and Sienna down those rocky paths and dining on the deck.
Told from various points of view - Sienna, Owen and the killer’s perspective - it allows the reader to start exploring links and questioning people’s motives right from the start. There were a host of characters that might have motives, Sienna’s ex turns up, has a member of staff got a grudge and maybe worst of all Sienna and Owen question each other’s motivations as events move forward. I did manage to guess who the killer was quite easily but I definitely did not get the ‘why’ behind it. That was quite a clever reveal!
Let me know if you pick this one up!
