There's nothing better than a summer vacation. Okay, hold on. If I'm being honest, the season matters a lot less than the fact that you're taking a vacation in the first place. I'm probably more accurate in saying there's nothing better than a vacation, period. But for the sake of this review, just roll with me.
Summer vacations come with ample opportunity to relax and read, which is exactly what I did this weekend. Well...if I'm being technical, I actually spent most of it walking what felt like a marathon around Disneyland celebrating the park's 71st anniversary. Still, the flights there and back gave me plenty of uninterrupted reading time, and I happily spent them with Ally Condie's latest thriller, The Girls Trip. If you're going to take a vacation inside the pages of a thriller, though, you'd better expect a little drama. Ally Condie delivers plenty of it.
Two years ago, Hope, Ash, and Caro were complete strangers. They met during an online book club that didn't exactly go as planned. While everyone else logged off, the three stayed behind, struck up a conversation, and discovered an unexpected friendship. They still meet regularly for book club, though these days the books are often secondary to simply catching up.
Despite talking for years, they've never actually met in person.
Now, all three women find themselves in need of a getaway. Hope, a Hollywood actress, can't escape the spotlight. Caro, a doctor, is reeling after the death of a patient has left her questioning her career. And Ash, who runs a successful business with her husband, isn't so sure their marriage is as strong as it once was.
A few days together at the secluded Sonnet Resort in Eden National Park seems like exactly what they all need. But each woman has arrived carrying secrets of her own, and as their long-awaited vacation unfolds, it becomes clear that someone isn't telling the truth.
The Girls Trip is exactly the kind of thriller I want to pack for a vacation. It's fast-paced, effortlessly readable, and easy to lose yourself in whether you're stretched out on the beach or squeezed into an airplane seat. Having enjoyed Ally Condie's previous novel, The Unwedding, I suspected she'd deliver another compulsively readable mystery, and she didn't disappoint. The twists keep coming, and while the plot occasionally veers into the silly and convoluted, it's all part of the fun. Sometimes a vacation read doesn't need to reinvent the genre. It just needs to keep you eagerly turning the pages until you reach your destination. And no matter where your travels take you this summer, The Girls Trip deserves a spot in your carry-on.
For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads.
(2026, 56)
