Wealthy sexagenarian marries very young woman, his adult kids are enraged, they all go on a luxury cruise along with her estranged best friend, and secrets explode in everyone's faces. Boom.

It's a highly entertaining, gleefully rich-people-are-awful romp, with tons of glitz, drama, and plot turns. The fun is all in working out what everyone's hiding and what secret will detonate next. Basically, a book born to be read lying next to a perfect blue swimming pool with a frozen margarita to hand.

I had an ARC from the author. thriller31 s Mandy White (mandylovestoread)2,323 668

A luxury cruise ship travelling from the south of England to New York…what could go wrong?!!?

Five Nights is an addictive, popcorn thriller, full of wild twists and unable characters. Estranged friends, Emily and Belle reunite on the cruise ship, owned by Belle’s new, uber rich husband. The whole Scarmando family are there, and the children and not keen on their new step mother. Emily answers Belle’s call for help and joins for on the ship. It is not long before things start to go wrong, people are injured and threatened. Is it the kids warning Belle off, or does someone know Emily’s deepest darkest secrets?

I was entertained throughout this book, even though I had guessed a few of the major plot twists. Always love a rich people behaving badly story, and a locked room mystery as well. It is a fun, quick read.

Thanks to Aria and Aries for my advanced copy of this book to read. Published on February 29th.net-galley z-read-in-202326 s Jannelies1,115 94

A book about a family that is filthy rich and thus think themselves way better than other people. The Scarmado family are the kind of people I never ever hope to meet. So, it was easy to understand why Emily was rather reluctant to accept the invitation of Belle Scarmado, her erstwhile best friend, to join her on a 5 day cruise with this family. Belle married the head of the family and of course most people think she's a gold digger - especially Mattia's five children, of which there are a few only a couple of years younger than she is.
But, three years ago Emily and Belle went through a horrible experience together, and Emily still feels guilty over the way she handled the situation.

The book is set on board of one of those cruise ships that don't offer any interesting stops at faraway places; this one will travel to New York in five days. All the people on board have to do is enjoy themselves - mainly by eating and drinking too much.
Emily receives a threatening note just before she boards the ship and she's only a couple of hours on deck before the first of a series of disturbing accidents happen. Now how can she rekindle her friendship with Bella, help her out of her latest predicament and save herself from having to tell the whole truth?

Although there are a couple of interesting scenes, and there is a lot of tension going on between the family members, Belle, and Emily herself, it's rather slow paced until about three quarters of the story. It's then that the real secrets get spilled and all hell breaks loose.

I enjoyed it but I would have d it to be more compact and with fewer time spoiled on just sitting, drinking and quarrelling.

Thanks to Aria & Aries and Netgally for this review copy.light-mystery netgalley-202415 s Anna Avian559 84

This book immerses the reader in the lives of the Scarmados - a family that harbors more than one secret and an abundance of animosity towards one another. I didn't encounter one able character, most of them were quite bland and lacked development. Some twists were far fetched and the friendship between Belle and Emily felt very insincere.
This wasn't a bad read but it lacked tension for me. Readers who their thrillers more on the light side might appreciate this novel more.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Netgalley and Aria & Aries in exchange for an honest review.10 s aaron55 28

agatha christie meets succession in this cleverly crafted, fast paced mystery that I tore through in less than 24 hours. If you are looking for a book to get you out a slump, this one is definitely for you and is available on publishing date: 29 feb 2024 !

thank you to netgalley & head of zeus for this arc.6 s Jamedi504 92

Five Nights is an addictive thriller, written by Rachel Wolf, and published by Head of Zeus; Emily has been invited to a luxury cruise ship by her friend Belle, three years since the last time they reunited (and due to a good reason). But Belle needs her support to deal with the Scamardo family and their machinations, an opportunity for Emily's redemption.

But if the Scamardo family and Emily share something, is their life being full of secrets; and after receiving some threatening messages, Emily decides to start investigating, all to see if she can help Belle. However, passing five nights will be proven as tricky, especially as things start to heat, and the actual personality of many of the Scamardo's siblings are revealed.

A plot that starts unraveling more questions than answers, combining three timelines in order to let the reader try to guess who is the assassin inside; all while dealing with the unable personality of many of the characters. The pacing is fast, going from scene to scene without a single moment to breath, creating a great intrigue that only gets resolved a few pages before the gran finale.

A really interesting thriller, which is perfect if you character-driven narratives with multiple timelines; an intriguing proposal that Wolf executes almost flawlessly. If you are looking for your next film, read Five Nights.4 s The Honest Book Reviewer1,197 19

3.5 stars

Five Nights is a closed-circle mystery and suspense novel. The author limits the setting to a luxury cruise ship, which does add to the suspense, since the wealthy family at the centre of this story seem only to keep within certain areas of the ship. The setting works well, and I do a small footprint mystery.

If I were to break this down into sections, and the book does by splitting this into five days/nights, I would say that the last few days/nights are the most gripping. The setup of the story took a while to hook me, even with mysterious notes suggesting a mystery or a threat later in the story. Maybe it's the way the characters were introduced or described early on? I'm not sure. Whatever it was, I did find my attention waver during that first section, but the story does grab you more as the days/nights progress.

A huge theme of this story is secrets, big and small, and how those secrets often have dire consequences. The characters in this story also exude jealousy, greed, paranoia, arrogance, and hate. All ingredients that make you dis them but, at times, find them engaging and compelling. Still, in a book such as this, characters that behave in those ways do make you wonder if they will be next. That becomes all part of the fun in a book this.

One thing I found perplexing is the friendship between Emily and Belle. It reads the most toxic friendship imaginable. I recently read another suspense/thriller that showed a similar friendship and I wondered about that to. Are toxic friendships common in thrillers? Despite the author being able to take those elements and use it to drive more suspense and doubt, I do hope it doesn't become a trend.

One the whole, this is a novel to just sit back and suspend belief. It's a bit of ride, it does pull you into the story, and it may make you think twice about taking a cruise.

Thanks to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for providing a copy of this book for an honest review. All comments are my own.2024 arc-read suspense3 s4 comments Mana592 19

Five Nights by Rachel Wolf is a captivating thriller that delves into the hidden secrets of a wealthy and influential family during a five-night luxury cruise. The narrative revolves around the Scarmados, a powerful family whose unity begins to crumble when the patriarch decides to embark on this consequential voyage alongside his four adult children.

Emily and Belle were once inseparable best friends, until an incident three years ago strained their relationship. Currently, Belle is married to Mattia, an older and wealthier man, while Emily, a struggling single mother, faces financial challenges. When Belle extends an invitation for Emily to join them on the inaugural cruise of her husband's cruise liner, they strive to reconcile their lost time. However, Mattia's adult children harbor animosity towards Belle, and as strange occurrences unfold, Emily becomes concerned. Trapped on the ship with no means of escape and with a distant destination ahead, tension rises.

Over the course of five nights, "Five Nights" takes readers on a thrilling journey filled with suspense and intrigue. The characters in the novel are wonderfully deceptive, heightening the air of mystery and suspense. The combination of the opulent setting and the Scarmados family's menacing secrets creates a captivating atmosphere, intensifying the suspense throughout the story. The setting plays a significant role, as it provides a confined and isolated environment where family members must confront their troubled past and the imminent threat posed by the onboard assailant.

While readers need to suspend disbelief, once they immerse themselves in the narrative, they will be thoroughly entertained, as I was. This gripping novel is an excellent choice for a holiday read, offering a compelling storyline. However, I found the connection between Emily and Belle somewhat lacking sincerity, rendering it difficult to relate to. Despite being somewhat implausible, the story had me completely engrossed and reluctant to put it down.3 s Laura93 7

3.5*

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

Wow I flew through this book, the story was addictive and I couldn't stop reading. The pacing of the writing was spot on for the story.

This book has so many interesting characters and a plot that keeps you guessing as we learn more and the days move on. I would have d a little bit more time on the ending of the cruise itself but otherwise I really enjoyed this book. Will be a great holiday read!20243 s River Scott Tyler343 11

I've finished reading Five Nights by @rachelwolfauthor, and I rate it 5 stars
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