By: Tessa Bailey
Ugh. I was looking forward to reading this book. I enjoyed Tessa Bailey’s Bellinger Sisters series, especially Hook, Line, and Sinker (see review here). I really like Bailey’s writing style and the witty banter between her characters. Unfortunately, this work just doesn’t live up to Bailey’s talents. I get this is supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek murder mystery, but it fell flat for me. The main characters are pretty one-dimensional and conflict was resolved clunkily. The dual POV became problematic and I just think Bailey is a much better writer than this book would suggest.
Taylor [genuinely forgot her last name] is an upbeat, play-it-safe, second grade teacher. After pinching her pennies, she splurges on a beachfront rental house for a weeklong vacation with her younger brother, Jude. Her thorough plans immediately go up in flames when she finds the dead body of the rental property host, Oscar, with a bullet hole in his head. Impressed with herself for not indulging in a mental breakdown, she decides to use her extensive knowledge of true crime podcasts to solve Oscar’s murder. As one would do.
Myles Summer is a former Boston police officer turned bounty hunter. He is hired to investigate Oscar’s murder as a favor to a childhood friend. Also as one would do. He clearly has some sad/tragic backstory that has made him closed off and, frankly, rude. I enjoy a grump- sunshine pairing, but there is a fine line and it needs to be executed well (please read any of Lucy Parker’s books, especially Battle Royal for a master class) but Myles wasn’t a grump. He wasn’t honest about his feelings as evidenced by literally all of his thoughts. Myles was a dick.
And, my god. Myles could not make up his mind. He waffled back and forth and then forth and back. I also personally despise when a character SAYS one thing but since we, as the reader, are in his mind, know he is THINKING something different. Like, he SAYS a dick-shit thing but since he THINKS something different we, as the reader, can justify not writing him off as a complete asshole. I actually think this is a slightly dangerous writing technique because it perpetuates this “romantic” idea that although he says terrible things, he actually truly loves her, so the terrible words are ok. But, let’s be real, words matter and mean spirited words are not ok. The heroine cannot read his mind, so all she is going to know and experience are the terrible words. So hard pass on Myles, guys.
Taylor’s personality had Piper Bellinger-esque vibes to me. I found Piper to be fairly charming in that series, but similar words or actions coming from Taylor felt contradictory toward the character. Is she really this buttoned up teacher? Or not? And, not that we cannot be two different things or many, many different things, but this just felt so disjointed. And I think that was my whole problem with the story. The main characters were pretty one dimensional— although Taylor’s relationship with her brother was well done— and having these two characters fall in love and completely evolve and change in five, short days felt rushed.
And my final also, the sex scene IN THE CHURCH was extremely cringe to me. NOT IN THE ACTUAL PHYSICAL CHURCH–guys. Nooooooooooo.
🌟🌟/5
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1087928532/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1661565833&sr=8-1
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/my-killer-vacation-tessa-bailey/1140922507?ean=9781087928531
Or an independent bookstore! Try Books Are Magic, which frequently stocks signed copies of Tessa Bailey’s novels: https://booksaremagic.net/item/yT4hZ-fmFaWrsnj2uFfK9Q