12 thrillers about vacations gone very, very wrong

by Lucy Clarke

🎧 Audiobook

A missed flight can certainly ruin a vacation, but a missing flight is a whole other story. Sisters Erin and Lori were supposed to be on the same flight, but an argument left only Lori on the flight, which disappeared over Fiji. When the pilot turns up alive, Erin heads to Fiji to look for her sister herself. What was supposed to be a vacation of a lifetime instead became a life-altering incident. This destination thriller of vacation gone awry is a great escape.

by Sulari Gentill

🎧 Audiobook

A trip can be a great opportunity to reset or get up to some trouble. When fiction writer Joe sets out on the Orient Express, he’s ready to relax, while his sister Meredith is hoping the literary connections will inspire his writing again. The two siblings are enjoying getting to know the other passengers, until one morning a crime scene appears—but where is the body? Joe, Meredith, and their new friends aboard the train start an investigation of their own. Still, more bodies start dropping. There’s only so much time to solve the mystery before the train reaches the end of the line. Looking for a trip full of intrigue? All aboard! 

by Jaclyn Goldis

🎧 Audiobook

As teenagers, summer camp was all about fun, and what would be more fun than a treasure hunt in the Azores? When a camper disappears, lives are changed. Now, 10 years later, the campers and camp counselors come back together for a documentary about Sydney—the missing camper. This should be another trip to paradise, but recounting the events of the last time they were all together is sure to boil over. New hints reignite the treasure hunt but also reawaken a murderer. Long buried secrets and long-lost treasure keep the suspense high.

by Chevy Stevens

🎧 Audiobook

Who doesn’t love a well-planned trip? Especially a road trip! In the summer of 1976, Alice and Tom set out through Canada in their RV with everything all planned out. Until they meet people hitchhiking and offer them a ride. New passengers Simon and Jenny are hiding secrets soaked in blood. This vacation quickly becomes a nightmare as Alice and Tom become hostages in a crime spree that was never a part of the plan. A gripping, high-speed thriller is a journey all its own.

by Clémence Michallon

🎧 Audiobook

Resorts are for lounging by the pool and relaxing after soaking in the beauty of the surrounding landscape. As Frida and Gabriel look to reconnect after a rocky upbringing—growing up in a cult can strain a relationship—they head to a secluded desert resort in Utah. When a body is found and Gabriel becomes a suspect, Frida can’t help but remember the scrutiny from their childhood. Timelines alternate between escaping the cult as kids and the investigation at the resort. This immersive mystery is full of tension and compassion.  

by Arturo Perez-Reverte

🎧 Audiobook

This Greek island resort is full of beauty, beaches… and bodies? Set in the 1960s, an out-of-work actor heads on vacation, which is soon interrupted as a storm cuts off the secluded island. When a body is discovered, guests turn to Ormond, who used to play a detective on the big screen. As the ongoing crimes seem performative, with clues akin to those found in Sherlock Holmes stories, Ormond must truly step into the role of detective. A locked-room mystery full of wit beckons to the golden age of mysteries.

by Rachel Moore

🎧 Audiobook

A vacation with coworkers is already a rocky start, but it doesn’t take long for this corporate retreat to devolve. Fletcher is assistant to the CEO and dying for a promotion. When she fights her way into the corporate retreat with a reputation for promoting people, she thinks she’s finally on track. The safari park private island is quite the sight to behold. More shocking still is the CEO’s death and last will—survive the week and inherit the company. Wild animals and wild coworkers are no small obstacles. And yet, that promotion is still possible. This funny and suspenseful thriller of the corporate world gone cutthroat is a wild ride. 

by Amber and Danielle Brown

🎧 Audiobook

Eager for a getaway, Iris heads to the Catskills to spend a week with her partner and his group of friends. When she arrives early at the lake house, the stress is not melting away, but rather building. She sees a bloody man burying something in the night, but the next day there’s no sign of any of it. More people arrive at the house, more strange things happen, and no one believes Iris. Feeling like she is being gaslit, Iris searches for the truth and finds herself wrapped up in a dangerous game. So much for a getaway. 

by Erica Hendry

🎧 Audiobook

Expert in all things pop culture, Melanie is in her element on a yacht in the Mediterranean living her Below Deck dreams. Things have not been going well for her lately, so this trip is the escape she’s looking for. When a passenger goes missing and no one else seems concerned with the disappearance, Melanie is on the case like the true crime aficionado she is. She couldn’t save her friend, but maybe she can save this woman. The banter keeps the laughs coming in this twisty tale. 

by Mary Kubica

🎧 Audiobook

A quiet, serene lake resort was the family vacation everyone needed, or at least that Courtney needed and everyone else got. Sometimes family trips have some hiccups, but not quite like this. Courtney is enjoying the seclusion of the Wisconsin lake resort, until some family members wind up dead and others missing. While looking for the truth, many secrets also surface. This twisty thriller delves into family dynamics and is propelled forward by the alternating narratives.

by Emy McGuire

🎧 Audiobook

Celebrating high-school graduation and 18th birthdays for the twins, the Camerons set off on a family sailing trip. As weeks go by with no word from the family, and no response from the captain, tensions crest when the luxury sailboat is found empty. The family of four and their crew of three are all missing when the boat is recovered 80 miles off the coast of Florida. Flashbacks to their voyage are interspersed into the investigation in the aftermath. Where does the danger lie—the open ocean or family secrets?  

by Ally Condie

🎧 Audiobook

As an online book club blooms into friendship, three women head out on an adventure that will take them all by surprise. Meeting in person for the first time, these friends decide to go off the grid and explore a national park. Mother nature—and perhaps a third party—have other plans. When one of them vanishes, they wonder how well they really know each other. Exploring their friendship and the parts of their lives they’ve left out, this story builds on the suspense of uncertainty.