7 Gripping Travel Thrillers That Will Make You Happy to Staycation

June 10 2020
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Canceled summer plans have put me in quite a slump. Fortunately, books give me a brief reprieve from my now mundane and isolated life. And for a little added zest, sometimes I’ll pick up a thriller to throw in some suspense to my day! After reading these travel thrillers packed with sudden disappearances, unsolved deaths, and creepy murders, a staycation doesn’t seem half bad. I can guarantee these page-turning vacation thrillers will make you happy to be safe on your couch this summer.  

The Woman in Cabin 10
by Ruth Ware

As a writer for a travel magazine, Lo Blacklock is assigned the project of a lifetime: travel for a week on a luxury cruise for a story. But when things suddenly take a turn for the worst, she realizes she is way in over her head. One night Lo witnesses a woman being thrown overboard. However, the next morning the ship carries on as if nothing happened, and all passengers remain accounted for. Desperately trying to convey the tragedy she witnessed, Lo has a restless, uneasy journey packed with surprise twists.   

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The Woman in Cabin 10
Ruth Ware

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The Passenger
by Lisa Lutz

After Tanya Dubois leaves her husband’s lifeless body at the base of the stairs of their home, she trades in her clothes, hair, and name for a new identity. In her desperation, she trusts Blue, another woman eager to leave the present behind. Together they set off on a fugitive’s race through the country, living off the grid as various identities. But as Tanya is chased through her travels by her dark secret, readers are left wondering if she will ever be able to outrun her past.    

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The Passenger
Lisa Lutz

With its white-knuckled plot and unforeseeable twists, it’s no wonder Off the Shelf readers consider this Lisa Lutz thriller a must-read. After leaving her husband’s body at the base of the stairs, Tanya flees town and meets an ally, Blue, along the way. From heart-stopping escapes and devious deceptions, readers are left to wonder: can she possibly outrun her past?

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MENTIONED IN:

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The River at Night
by Erica Ferencik

To say Winifred needs a vacation would be an understatement. After the death of her brother, the end of her fifteen-year marriage, and feeling burnt-out by her job, Wini feels defeated. So when her best friends decided to take an excursion together, she is all in. Their journey begins with a hiking and rafting adventure in the Allagash Wilderness, but things quickly take a dark turn. A freak accident leaves the women stranded and separated from their raft and supplies. When they seek refuge in a nearby campground, long-kept secrets between the girls begin to emerge.  

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The River at Night
Erica Ferencik

A “raw, relentless, and heart-poundingly real” (Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author) thriller set against the harsh beauty of the Maine wilderness, The River at Night charts the journey of four friends as they fight to survive the aftermath of a white water rafting accident.

Winifred Allen needs a vacation.

Stifled by a soul-crushing job, devastated by the death of her beloved brother, and lonely after the end of a fifteen-year marriage, Wini is feeling vulnerable. So when her three best friends insist on a high-octane getaway for their annual girls’ trip, she signs on, despite her misgivings.

What starts out as an invigorating hiking and rafting excursion in the remote Allagash Wilderness soon becomes an all-too-real nightmare; a freak accident leaves the women stranded, separating them from their raft and everything they need to survive. When night descends, a fire on the mountainside lures them to a ramshackle camp that appears to be their lifeline. But as Wini and her friends grasp the true intent of their supposed saviors, long buried secrets emerge and lifelong allegiances are put to the test. To survive, Wini must reach beyond the world she knows to harness an inner strength she never knew she possessed.

With intimately observed characters and visceral prose, The River at Night “will leave you gasping, your heart racing, eyes peering over your shoulder to see what follows from behind” (Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author). This is a dark exploration of creatures—both friend and foe—that you won’t soon forget.

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Something in the Water
by Catherine Steadman

Erin and Mark embark on their dream honeymoon to the tropical island of Bora Bora, but as they are scuba diving during this beautiful vacation, they spot something in the water. They are left to decide whether to tell people about their findings or leave the secret between themselves. Their decision triggers a chain of nightmarish events. Packed with twists, this novel will have you flying through its pages to uncover the lies characters are desperately clinging to.  

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Something in the Water
Catherine Steadman

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Perfect Days
by Raphael Montes

Teo is a loner, with no friends or company other than his paraplegic mother and her dog. That is until he meets Clarice, an aspiring screenwriter working on a screenplay about three friends who embark on a summer road trip through Brazil. As Teo becomes more and more obsessed with Clarice, he kidnaps her and embarks on his own twisted journey through Brazil. He forces them to travel the same route that Clarice’s characters were meant to travel in her play. Teo is convinced that he just needs more time to prove to Clarice that they are meant for each other, but as the days drag on, he sinks himself further and further into his tense and disturbing obsession.    

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Perfect Days
Raphael Montes

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MENTIONED IN:

7 Gripping Travel Thrillers That Will Make You Happy to Staycation

By Holly Claytor | June 10, 2020

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Searching for Sylvie Lee
by Jean Kwok

Sylvie, the beautiful, brilliant, successful older daughter of the Lee family, flies to the Netherlands for one final visit with her dying grandmother—and then vanishes. Amy’s sheltered younger sister has always looked up to Sylvie, but now that she is gone, it's her turn to step up. Amy retraces Sylvie’s steps, flying back to the last place that she was seen. But in this excursion, Amy unravels secrets Sylvie kept hidden that reveals more about their complicated family than she could have ever imagined.  

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Searching for Sylvie Lee
Jean Kwok

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MENTIONED IN:

7 Gripping Travel Thrillers That Will Make You Happy to Staycation

By Holly Claytor | June 10, 2020

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All These Beautiful Strangers
by Elizabeth Klehfoth

Take a trip to the lake this summer with ALL THESE BEAUTIFUL STRANGERS. Grace Fairchild, a beautiful young wife, vanishes at her parents lake house, leaving behind her seven-year-old daughter, Charlie. Years later, seventeen-year-old Charlie is desperate to let go of her tragic past life. She dives deep into the “it” crowd at her high school and taps into the elite secret society that terrorizes faculty and administration.  To become an official member of the elite crowd, Charlie must partake in a diabolical scavenger hunt. But as Charlie sinks deeper into this new life and her past slowly begins to reveal herself, she becomes unsure whether she will survive her past family truth or her current life’s path. 

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All These Beautiful Strangers
Elizabeth Klehfoth

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MENTIONED IN:

7 Gripping Travel Thrillers That Will Make You Happy to Staycation

By Holly Claytor | June 10, 2020

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Photo Credit: Kritchanut/iStock

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